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The Sultanah Ch. 01

By: YKN4949



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 1 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for.

The first section here does not dive directly into sex (there is sex, but maybe not quite as much as later chapters). This is a very long story and all of the pieces fit together to tell a single story in a series of episodes, so there is a good deal of background to set up. As the story goes on, the sex becomes more and more central to the story. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

The Sultanah

Part I: An Empire in Ruins

Prologue: Desperate Times

"All rise for Kral, Sultan of Ülke and fourth of his name since the founding of the Hanedan dynasty, Emperor of Bütün Dünya, Lord-Mayor of Şehir, King of Bolge, Devlet, Vali, Yer, and Popo, Admiral of the Akdeniz, Descendent of Gunes, the Sun God, and Defender of the Faith, vassal only of Tanri, God of all creation!" So said the Royal Herald in the early evening on the 13th day of Temmuz in the year 1297, 22nd year in the reign of Kral IV. And so he said every time my father entered the throne room of his palace. No one, including myself I suppose, gave a damn that it was, almost entirely, a pack of lies. And not only lies, but embarrassing, transparent lies. Lies designed to sooth our fragile egos but which, instead, served to highlight our degradation. 

Let me explain.

Perhaps it would be best to start with the claims that, at least, bore some semblance of truth. My father Kral was certainly the Sultan of Ülke and therefore a member of the Hanedan dynasty. All members of the Hanedan dynasty claimed to descend from Gunes, the Sun God. However, very few people still honored the Sun God. Certainly, my father did not. It was included in the procession, because it had always been included by the Royal Herald. My father was, further, the Lord-Mayor of Şehir, the Capital of Ülke. Everything else the Herald stated was an outright falsehood.

For example, Sultan Kral was not the fourth of his name since the founding of the Hanedan dynasty. He called himself "Kral IV" but he was the fifth to take that name. Four hundred years before my father's coronation the Güllerin Savaşı War had pitted two branches of the Hanedan Dynasty against one another in a civil war. At that time, Kral of the Kıdemli branch of the Hanedan Dynasty had seized the throne upon the death of the Prens IX, who had died without children. He proclaimed himself Kral II. His cousin, Kral of the Askeri-Oğrenci branch of the Hanedan Dynasty claimed a more direct right to the throne. More importantly, he backed it up with a private militia almost half as large again as the National Army. The two cousins marched against one another and, at the famous Battle of Berbat, Kral of the Askeri-Oğrenci branch overcame overwhelming odds and defeated his cousin, killing him. This Kral also named himself Kral II and declared that his cousin had never legitimately held the throne, and so his name was not included in the official lists, despite his 11-month reign. 

The other lies in the Herald's proclamation were less technical and more humiliating. My father claimed the title of Emperor of Bütün Dünya. Officially, Bütün Dünya was the name of the Empire founded by the Sultanate of Ülke, with the capital in Şehir. A thousand years before my father's reign, the Sultan of Ülke was the most powerful man on earth. Hence the reference to Kingship of Bolge, Devlet, Vali, Yer, and Popo. These were the ancient Kingdoms that the Sultanate of Ülke had conquered to form Bütün Dünya. Those countries had not existed for well over a millennium. And that land where they once sat had not been a part of Bütün Dünya for hundreds of years. In fact, the entirety of Bütün Dünya was at that time only the traditional heartland of Ülke. 

Actually, it was far worse than that. The Sultanate of Ülke had withered to the point that that it was little more than the capital city of Şehir and the farmland surrounding it. A massive empire that once stretched 2.5 million square miles and most of the known world had withered to 750 square miles. In its place, new kingdoms - Temsilci, Dusman, Surgun, Doldurucu, Astar, Tikac, and dozens of other, minor nations - had arisen. Many of these countries had once been Prefectures of the Empire, ruled by civilian governors and military attaches. Over time, these regional governments had grown more and more autonomous, until they no longer recognized central authority. It happened so slowly, that by the time these Governors began to call themselves Kings, the Empire was too weak to enforce its legitimate claims. By the time of Sultan Kayıp Zafer VI, the Empire had faded until it was just one weak country, roughly Ancient Ülke, among many.

Except, that the Empire still had delusions of grandeur. The Sultans who followed Kayıp Zafer VI behaved as though their actions were still backed by a massive land and sea empire, with thousands of paper soldiers. In the end, their bellicosity with their new neighbors cost them dearly. The newer, more vibrant countries chipped away at even the borders of Ancient Ülke, until just Şehir remained. While Şehir was still the largest, and most magnificent, city in the known world, my father's inheritance was minor compared to his history.

This degradation explains the next lie in my father's heraldry, Admiral of the Akdeniz. Şehir was a river city, sitting at the confluence of two rivers, Kuzey and the Güney, forming the Bati. The Bati ran 200 miles to the Bay of Defne. The Bay extended another 75 miles before it reached the great interior Akdeniz Sea. The borders of Ülke were nearly 200 miles as the crow flies from the sea and had been for a hundred years. Other than river skiffs, the Sultanate of Ülke had no Navy. No need for an admiral.

Finally, there was the appellation "Defender of the Faith vassal only of Tanri, God of all creation." The worship of Tanri had begun almost 500 years earlier in what was then the semi-autonomous region of Dusman. At that time, most of the known world had worshipped Gunes, the Sun God and patron of Ülke. As the empire faded, nations chose other Gods, following the stronger lights of more successful idols. Sultan Kâfir I had converted to the worship of Tanri three hundred years before my father's reign, attempting to regain the slipping authority of the empire even within its own narrow borders. As a result, the worship of Tanri was known as the "New Religion" and was still referred to in that manner in my father's time. Sultan Kâfir III attempted to move the center of worship from Kasaba, the capital of Dusman, to Şehir a hundred years after "The Conversion," but by that time, the Empire was too weak to enforce such a move. Şehir remained a theological backwater, with Kasaba a smaller but more culturally potent city. My father believed in Tanri, but he was hardly a religious man and certainly no defender. That God had never protected us, why should we do anything for Him?

And so, as my father strode confidently into the throne room, a bright smile beaming upon his face, he was preceded by disingenuous but comforting words. He looked absurd in his traditional, Sultan's clothing (a billowy pair of pants that cinched at the ankles, a large belt with golden buckle, a white shirt, a long robe over the top, and his golden crown), as though he'd stepped out of an earlier century. I sat at my normal spot, at a chair along the side wall of the throne room, with the other women of the Court. I did not note the absurdity of the situation at the time, it was as things had always been. It is only now, late in my life with many years to reflect, that my father's unstated and perhaps unknowing mortification is apparent. 

At the time, I was simply sad, mourning a personal embarrassment that I could scarcely stand, forced to sit and watch this ceremony as it was performed. The throne room was filled with people that day for a rare (though not unheard of) occasion. The room itself was stately and intimidating, quite indicative of the former power of the Empire. It was nearly 300 yards long and 100 feet wide. The entrance was a massive, oak door imported from the wilds of the far North. All along the side walls were massive windows that stretched from the marble floors, nearly to the ceiling 30 feet above. Between these windows were large tapestries depicting the foundational events of the Empire. Large marble pillars held the ceiling in place. All along the walls were high-backed, comfortable chairs (one of which I sat upon) that could accommodate nearly 300 people and there were nearly that many present. From the entrance, a long, thin red carpet ran up to the dais where the Sultan's throne was located. The throne sat nearly ten feet from the ground (with a smaller throne for the Consort to its left). The Sultan, my father, had strode out from the large door to the left of the throne to make his entrance before the sycophants of the Court.

"Welcome one and all, welcome on this most glorious occasion!" My father proclaimed, dipping his head slightly and allowing his long, bushy mustache to wiggle. The fact that my father spoke was a signal for those of us in attendance to sit, all except for two men standing on the carpet before my father. In a sign of respect, my father descended the dais and approached these two men. His arms were outstretched as though in preparation for a hug and his smile seemed to grow still larger.

"King Sican, Prince Lider," My father said warmly, "I welcome you to Saray Palace, it has been too long." This too, was a lie, the King and his son had been present for a week, in careful negotiation. But it was important to maintain the fiction.

"Yes your grace," King Sican said with less cordiality than my father. King Sican, like the other Kings of the various countries formed after the collapse of Bütün Dünya, refused to refer to the Sultan of Ülke as "sultan" or, heaven forbid, "emperor" believing that to do so would legitimize the claim to overlordship that the Sultan nominally maintained. King Sican was even more meticulous in this habit than most. 

Sican was the King of Dusman and the Lord-Protector of the Temple of Tanri. Of all of the successor states to the Empire, Dusman was the most powerful. And King Sican was a worthy, ruthless leader of that powerful country. And that day, in my father' throne room, he looked the part. He was dressed in a more modern style than my father, wearing a martial chain-mail hauberk, plate armor around his legs, and metal greaves on his feet. He had close cropped hair (in opposition to my father's flowing, traditional locks). He had a stern, hawk-nosed face and icy blue eyes and pursed lips. He looked like, and had a reputation as, a harsh man. His son looked remarkably like his father, though his eyes were warmer brown color and his hair had not yet turned gray. I suppose that Prince Lider was even slightly handsome.

"My friends, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" My father asked theatrically. Behind my pink veil I rolled my eyes. This was all an act. Every person in the room knew the purpose of this meeting. However, the throne room was a place for ceremony and show.

"You grace, I come to make a request," King Sican said, his voice sounding like he was speaking from rote memory (which he was).

"But of course my friend, any request will certainly be granted. It is the feast of Şükran today," My father said, looking around the room as though he was surveying his bounty.

"I ask..." King Sican began, then he stopped. A few moments later, his son spoke.

"Oh...Actually father, please let me..." he began. Clearly, Lider had forgotten his lines and ruined the effect of taking control. I tried to stifle a giggle, but was unsuccessful in the attempt. I felt a sharp stab in my rib and turned to my right. Arkadas, my servant, gave me a withering stare. I suppose that as my servant, Arkadas should not have taken it upon herself to rebuke me. But she was nearly five years older than me, my lifelong companion (my father had bought her as my playmate after all), and my very best friend. One of her jobs was to keep me out of trouble. She did so now. I quieted myself and turned back to the ceremony.

"Your grace...I ask for permission to marry your youngest daughter, Nislani." Lider finished and a murmur went through the crowd as though they did not know. I looked across the room to where my sister Nislani was sitting. She was just 18 years old and only just eligible for marriage. She was a pretty girl, around 5'2 and 100lbs. She had long black hair, a dark olive complexion, a pretty face (that was somehow enhanced, rather than harmed, by a somewhat large nose), and an ideal body for child production, a good queenly body. Her breasts were high and firm and her hips wide, with an extremely narrow waist. And, having heard those magic words from Lider, she was beaming with pure joy. At that moment, I hated her like I'd never hated another person in my life.

"My...my youngest daughter!" My father said, looking down the room to Nislani. He looked completely distraught and shook his head vehemently. "My friends, you know that I can refuse you nothing. But I beg you, request anything else for I cannot bear to part with my youngest child. Anything else!"

"How about your second youngest daughter. You know, Varis," I whispered under my breath, quietly so Arkadas would not hear. But I needed to say it. Yes, at 21, I was the second youngest daughter of Kral IV, but I remained without betrothal. My eldest sister, Kardes was sitting on the opposite side of me vis a vis Arkadas, and must've overheard my comment despite my caution. She put her hand on top of mine gently and then gave me a smile. 

Kardes had just returned home for the first time since her marriage. She was nearly 38 years old and now a widow, her husband (the sixth son of the Duke of Astar) had died six months earlier (gored by a wild boar) and she had returned to live with our family during her mourning period. Apparently their marriage had not been particularly happy as she had no children and appeared blasé about his death. I only vaguely remembered her from before her marriage, but I smiled back at her now. She looked much like Nislani, though two decades older with a handful of wrinkles. She had the same nose, the same hair, complexion, and features. Her breasts were larger and her body slightly rounder. Further, her eyes were a deep emerald color that gave her a kinder aspect than my bratty little sister. Her eyes were honest, as she did not reproach me as Arkadas would; she clearly knew how painful the day would be for me.

"I apologize for any embarrassment your grace," Lider said woodenly, "But...But I can ask for no other reward. My heart wants only Nilsani, I mean Nislani." Perhaps his tongue wanted something different.

"Would you love her with all of your heart for the rest of your days?" My father asked, sounding more serious now. Nislani had always been his favorite and some of the reticence must've been real.

"On my honor sir, I would," Lider promised. My father smiled broadly.

"Would you make her your Queen when you succeed your father, and treat her with the respect due to her in that position?" My father asked.

"On my honor sir, I would," Lider repeated. And this was the crux of the issue. My mother (16 years dead at the time) and father had 10 children. Two sons, Ilkolu and Kafasiz, and eight daughters. Early in my father's reign he had attempted to expand the borders of Sultanate of Ülke to their tradition limits, by force. He had built the army up to a level not seen in decades (at great, grinding expense) and marched on his neighbors. He was defeated in battle at Aşağılama Field by the combined forces of Dusmun, Surgun, and Tikac, the most complete loss for the empire in nearly a century. 

After the loss, my father had pivoted his diplomatic strategy from the battlefield to the negotiating table. He attempted to cement alliance and maintain the independence and vitality of Ülke by marrying his daughters into the royal families of the various nations of the known world. Unfortunately for my father, given the weakened position of the Empire after Aşağılama Field, he was generally only able to marry his daughters off to men unlikely to reach the throne. Kardes to a sixth son of a Duke, another sister, Yegen, to the nephew of a King with four sons, and so on. Now, for the first time in his various attempts, my father had managed to snag, for one of his daughters, an heir. And not just any heir, but the sole heir of the most powerful nation in the known world. Powerful in fact, not in heraldry. This marriage would cement an alliance and end nearly 50 years of constant (if usually minor) warfare between Ülke and Dusman. 

And so my father's last question had been the only one that really mattered. The affirmative response to that question was my father's justification for spending nearly 1,000,000 Nakits on my sister's dowry. At long last, Kral IV had pulled the empire back into the ranks of respectable nations.

"Well, my heart is heavy with your request. However, I recognize that you do me, and my daughter, a great honor with your entreaty. It is not possible for my daughter to find a better match," My father opined. I might have been more inclined to believe him, if he had not said the same thing three years earlier when my sister Sümük married the cousin of the Prince of Balgam, a man forty years her senior who picked his nose constantly and farted loudly during a ceremonial dinner.

"It is an honor to be in the same room as Nislani, your grace," Lider said as though a crossbow was against his back. My father clapped his hands.

"I grant my leave to you," My father said, "But that is not sufficient. Nislani...please come forward." I turned back to looking at my sister. She rose quickly. She was dressed in the traditional garb of a lady of the court. She had a headscarf that covered her hair and a thin, see-through veil across her nose and mouth. She wore a long, form-fitting dress that was designed to lift her breasts and her ass. The end of effect was simultaneous concealment and exposure. I was wearing the same thing, if I recall correctly. Nislani quickly shuffled up the carpet until. She passed Sican and Lider and stood beside my father.

"Have you heard all that has transpired?" my father asked, placing his hand on the top of her head.

"I am a lady, my Lord," she lied in the traditional fashion, "It is not my place to hear."

"Very good," my father said, "but this man, Lider of Dusman has requested your hand in marriage. What say you?" My sister looked at Lider and blushed, and looked back down at her feet. The whelp!


The Sultanah Ch. 01



"Father, I have no opinion," she continued, "I am yours to give as you please."

"I have consented," my father said, nodding at my sister's submissiveness, "But I have decided to consult you in this matter. What say you to Lider of Dusman, heir to the throne?" Once again, my sister hazarded a glance at the Prince.

"Father, I can think of no better match and would like, to the best of my poor abilities, to be his wife and helpmate," my sister replied.

"Then it shall be done!" my father proclaimed and a great cheer went up from the crowd. I remained silent, brooding at this stolen moment. As the crowd roared louder, my father took my sister's hand and then placed it in Lider's. When the noise faded my father spoke.

"Under the traditions of the Empire, a princess betrothed has seven days to spend with her family. We will need this time to bid her good-bye and to prepare her for the wedding. King Sican, Prince Lider, I ask that you grant us this time and return in one week, prepared for marriage."

"We..." Lider began, but now his father cut him off. This time, it was not staged. The King was protecting his prerogatives.

"The Traditions of Dusman require the mother of the heir to be present for his marriage. My wife is absent. We shall return to our country and prepare her for this wedding, over which she will be most pleased. We will likely return in seven days. If this interim happens to coincide with an ancient tradition then this is a happy coincidence, but Dusman tradition dictates," King Sican said. This was another humiliation. Sican could not recognize any Ülke traditions. They had resolved on this wording in the ceremony as a compromise, though it sounded like a victory for Dusman.

"Then I will see you both in seven days, at the wedding," my father said, not acknowledging their word. Sican nodded and Lider bowed slightly. Lider released my sister's hand and then the two men turned and walked out of the throne room. Once they passed through the doors, the room erupted into cheers once more. My father hugged my sister closely; both because he loved her and because his diplomatic strategy was, at long last, vindicated. 

Over the sound of the crowd, I heard the door open once more. I turned and saw that my father's personal advisor, Cin, had entered the door. Cin was dressed as usual, in a long-sleeved red dress with a plunging neckline (nearly exposing her small, pert breasts), tight waist, and flowing skirt. Her hair was the same bright red color of her clothing, the color of strawberries, as were her lips. 

Cin was the Grand-Priestess of Gunes, also known as the Sun Priestess. While Ülke had officially converted to the New Religion long ago, many still followed the traditional religion of the Empire. The Grand-Priestess was the highest official in the religion and, by tradition, held the role of advisor. Unlike many Sultans over the last few centuries, my father actually listened to the Sun Priestess, despite the fact that he was ostensibly a follower of the New Religion. I hoped that he listened to Cin (his only female advisor) because she was extremely intelligent and wise, but I suspected that my father did so because she was undeniably beautiful. She was extremely tall, perhaps the tallest woman in the Empire, and exceptionally thin. It gave her kind of sexual majesty that added to her authority as well.

Whatever the reason, I knew as I saw Cin enter that my father would certainly listen to anything she said. She hastened up the carpet toward the front of the room. I thought for a moment that she glanced at me as she walked by (I had always liked and admired Cin and she took special interest in me). Eventually, she stood directly next to my father. At first he did not notice her, then he smiled and turned to her.

"Oh Cin, I did not realize you were present," he said, "My daughter is betrothed!" Of course Cin knew. And I had heard from gossip within the palace that she had fought against the marriage and lost. But she played the part well, smiling.

"Excellent news your grace," she replied, "Congratulations Nislani."

"Thank you Cin," my sister replied, acidly. She was clearly aware that Cin had tried to prevent the wedding.

"Did you predict this outcome, did you come to celebrate?" My father asked, hinting at Cin's well-known power of foresight and teasing her about it gently.

"No," Cin replied quickly, then catching herself, "though perhaps I will later. My lord, an emissary from Temsilci has arrived and wishes an audience." My father looked down towards the door. Usually, he would not conduct business unless he knew precisely what would occur, but he was still flush with excitement and so he quickly relented.

"Yes, of course. We have already had good tidings from old friends, let us have more. Cin, please allow him in," my father decreed, "Go sit Nislani." My sister retreated to her old seat, still smiling like a fool. My father climbed up the stairs and sat in his throne. The crowd grew quiet so that my father could conduct his business. Cin walked down the carpet and opened the door. She spoke briefly with the emissary and then they walked together back up the carpet towards the dais. My father sat impassively, but seemed to find some difficulty in preventing a smile. Finally, the emissary reached the area directly in front of the throne and dropped to his knees, placing his head on the floor. Cin continued to walk, climbing up on the dais and standing next to my father's throne.

"Rise," My father commanded, "What news do you bring from Temsilci? How fares King Köylü?"

"Excellently your grace, few years have matched this one in either success at arms or the fertility of our fields," the emissary said, giving the traditional Temsilci response to my father's question. Temsilci was a minor nation, though rich from trade on the Akdeniz Sea. Its capital and port had once been a minor part of the Empire. 

"Glad to hear it," my father said, still so tickled that he sounded like he actually meant it, "How might I add to the King's bounty? What do you request?" My father asked. The emissary nodded quickly.

"Your grace, my liege King Köylü wishes to ask a favor of you. It would be a great honor to my King and further, to all of the men of Temsilci," the emissary said. I shook my head. All of this diplomatic nonsense was so...unnecessary. If he wanted something, he should just come out and ask it. I made a raspberry sound unintentionally and got another poke from Arkadas. 

"Ask of it and, if it be reasonable, it shall be granted," my father said. That was a qualification he had not added with King Sican. This request needed to be reasonable.

"As you are no doubt aware, King Köylü has been blessed with a great bounty of children. His wife has borne him 6 sons and 8 daughters," the emissary noted. 

"Every child is a gift from Tanri," My father said. I saw Cin's lip quiver, but she did not speak. I knew of her hatred for the New Religion. But she was smart enough to keep quiet in public.

"Yes your grace," the emissary continued, "But they can also produce many burdens."

"Is King Köylü asking me to take one of his children off his hands?" My father joked. The crowd laughed as though the joke were funny.

"No your grace," the emissary said good-naturedly, "In fact, it is the opposite. King Köylü would like to take one of your children off of your hands." The laughing slowly ceased.

"What do you mean?" My father asked, leaning forward and sounding more serious now. My father was always sharp when someone needed something from him. I was barely paying attention at this point, staring at my shoes on the red carpet.

"The King's fifth son, Prince Tezek has recently earned his spurs as a knight," The emissary explained, "And the King seeks a wife for his son," the emissary explained. A murmur went around the room. My ears suddenly perked up and I looked to the front of the room. This was certainly interesting. As I looked, I could hear my father laughing.

"My friend, I apologize most heartily for any confusion," my father stated, "But unfortunately I cannot fulfill the King's request." 

"Your Grace..." The emissary began.

"Not that I intend any disrespect to the King. I would never dream of such an insult. I wish only to say that I have no more daughters to give. Only two of my daughters are unmarried. My eldest, a widow, is still in her traditional mourning year and cannot marry. Besides, she might be too...mature for a young prince, in any case. Further, my youngest daughter was just betrothed just moments before you arrived. My beautiful Nislani will, in the distant future I hope, be Queen of Dusman. And my grandchildren will sit on the throne of that great Kingdom." My father was so caught up in his fantasy about the future, that he probably didn't even stop to think about...

"Your Grace, I had heard the rumors about the beautiful Nislani and her impending marriage," the emissary continued, "But I did not come to inquire about her. Prince Tezek has heard that the most beautiful of all of your daughters has yet to marry and is not yet betrothed. The King has asked me request the hand of the lovely Varis, your second youngest daughter." Suddenly I felt all eyes shift to me.

I was absolutely dumbfounded. The most beautiful? I had always been told that, more so than any of my sisters, I took after my mother, Adil. But I had never heard anyone call me beautiful! Of course, no one dared say anything about the appearance of the Sultan's daughter. I was taller than my younger sister, 5'4 at the time around 125lbs. We both had exceptionally long, midnight black hair that was braided down my back. I had my family's olive complexion, though it was lighter than Nislani's. I had large brown eyes that were set slightly widely apart, a small nose and wide lips. My features were even and delicate. My teeth were small, and very white. I had high set, small tear-shaped breasts, a flat stomach, a very narrow waist and hips wider (though not too much wider) than my breasts. I had a high firm bottom and thin, well-muscled legs. I suppose I was somewhat attractive. I felt more so now, having someone else say it.

But before I could linger too long on the compliment, I considered the match that had been proffered. An eighth son wasn't particularly high on the pecking order, but I had heard once that Prince Tezek was handsome and kind. I didn't care if he wasn't. My heart fluttered. Someone had proposed to marry me. Whatever humiliation a 21 year old spinster felt at the betrothal of her younger sister instantly faded. I felt my heart welling with love for just the idea of someone who would love me and make me his wife. I allowed myself to briefly be swept into the dream, even if I knew that the dream was impossible. My father's face had become stony at the emissary's words. His lips pursed and he looked down the throne room towards me.

"That must be her," the emissary stated carefully as he looked directly at me, "She is absolutely stunning." I felt myself blush.

"The God, Tanri..." My father said loudly. The emissary turned back and looked at my father, "The God Tanri requires that all men give a tithe. They must give one part of every ten to the God as a thank you for his justice." My father stated. I felt my stomach knot, though I was not quite sure why.

"Your Grace..."

"My greatest wealth lies in my children. Nothing I own is more highly valued than my sons...and daughters. Therefore I have resolved to give one of my ten children to Tanri. Varis is not available for marriage, she is already betrothed to God," I felt a stab of pain directly through my heart. I knew that my father liked me least of all of his children. He'd never shown me the warmth he'd lavished on Nislani and the others. This seemed to confirm some sort of hatred my father felt towards me. I knew the reason for his hatred, even if no one else ever could. That did not make it easier to bear. 

"Your grace wishes your daughter to become a Tanril Virgin?" The emissary stated.

"The proper forms have already been produced. She will begin her initiation in two weeks," my father stated. I could hardly believe my ears. In two weeks I was to enter the Nunnery? They would shave my head and give me only water for a week, until I had a vision on Tanri. Then I would be married to the God, and spend my life serving him by serving Tanri's priests! I did not even particularly believe in Tanri. Nor did my father. Any punishment beyond this would have been preferable.

I wanted at that moment to stand up. To run at my father and yell into his face. To demand that he explain himself to all of these people. To cease pretending that he cared for Tanri and to admit that he hated me. To admit that I embarrassed him as a daughter and that he would be glad to be rid of me forever. But I didn't dare it. That was not the place for a woman at court. I felt myself trembling and my eyes began to water. My entire life had just been announced, it totally opposed all of my wishes, and there was nothing I could do about it. I might make snide comments that Nislani would be afraid to utter. But I said them quietly in the back of the room. I couldn't actually say anything. I was just as submissive as my sister, if more resentful of my subjugation. I felt a sudden warmth on my shoulder and saw that my "mature" sister Kardes had wrapped her arm over my shoulder.

"Perhaps he will change his mind," she whispered tightly into my ear. I looked over at Arkadas, my best friend who I would leave forever in two weeks. Her eyes were glassy and she dared not look at me, perhaps because she knew we'd both cry.

"Sultan?" A voice called out, a familiar, feminine voice. 

"Cin, do you have something to add?" My father asked. If any other woman had ever spoken up, my father would have lost his composure. But Cin was different.

"My Lord, I agree with you that a marriage to Tezek of Temsicli would not be in your best interests," she noted, "Though I mean your lord no disrespect." She said as she turned towards the emissary. I felt myself crumble. I thought that Cin had liked me, but here she was piling on.

"Good, then it is agreed," My father replied and the emissary nodded his understanding.

"But Princess Varis should not marry any False God either." Cin said acidly. There was a great murmur in the hall and the emissary looked shocked. These sorts of words were not usually spoken about the New Religion. I didn't care, I felt myself heartened. Cin was speaking for me.

"Cin, I am surprised at you!" My father said. And it was true that her words were out of character. No adherent to the New Religion, Cin had at least learned to accept that the Sun God was no longer dominant and usually kept her views about Tanri silent. At least in public.

"My Lord, on the night of Varis' birth I saw two shooting starts in the heavens above your palace. As she was born, these two stars crossed one another directly over her birthing room. A shooting star is the Sun God's emissary. Two are unheard of. Varis was marked by the Sun God for great things. You cannot allow this to occur," Cin spoke quickly. I was shocked I have never heard of Cin's prophecy at my birth. What did it mean?

"Cin, you are out of line," My father said firmly.

"Your Grace..."

"Varis will wed Tanri in two weeks. Nothing will change that. I apologize for the length of your journey and the fact that it must come to nothing, but now the emissary from Temsilci is invited to leave. I am through with discussion," My father said, and it was unclear if he was talking to Cin or to the emissary. He clearly did not want to have any more of this conversation. The more he talked the angrier he became. He actually stood up to leave the throne room. He did not like to be surprised when he conducted business and Cin's actions had embarrassed him in front of an official emissary. What was more, this was clearly not the first they'd spoken of this issue and he was uncomfortable with it. My mouth hung open.

"Gunes will not permit his prerogatives to be appropriated. There will be a reckoning..."

"Cin We have talked about this at length in private and I did not want to hear it then. I cannot imagine why you speak of this in public. You are embarrassing yourself," My father said, his face red. At his words, Cin slowly turned so that she was no longer looking at my father. Suddenly, I felt that she was looking at me. I turned towards her and our eyes met. For just a second, Cin stared deeply into me. Then she looked away.

"As you wish your grace," Cin said, completely submissive now. Had Cin been trying to tell me something? Why? I didn't have time to consider it. My father was already out of the throne room so fast the Herald did not have time to repeat the earlier lies. But his exit gave those of us in attendance the cue to leave.

Chapter 1: Dynastic Crisis

"Oh just eat something, you are going to waste away," Arkadas prodded me. It was six days after my father had betrothed me to Tanri and I was at a final banquet being held to wish my sister a fond farewell. We were in the dining room in my father's court. Only the most important functions were held there. The room was decorated brightly with banners and tapestries. Hundreds of torches were lit, illuminated the late evening dinner as though it were midday. Several hundred of the most distinguished people in the sultanate were present for the celebration. They were milling around, drinking and talking happily. Some were even dancing. A band played the most popular songs with great skill. The room was littered with large round tables and they were all covered with the most delectable foods. My father had spared no expense; it was going to be the party of the century. But I did not feel like I was at a party.

"Husbands want broad hips and generous breasts," I replied acidly, "Tanri only cares about an empty mind. That's easier on an empty stomach." Arkadas flinched. She turned on the bench at our table, and looked at me with real pain.

"You promised that we were going to go to this party tonight and have fun. We both said we wouldn't talk about the future, but just be as we were when we were girls," Arkadas prodded. She gave me the warm smile she'd always given me since childhood. The one that induced me to act in my own best interests, even when I couldn't see my best interests myself.

"You are right, I promised that," I mumbled.

"Well follow through!" Arkadas said, "Let's have fun!" Arkadas actually giggled as she spoke and I felt the normal contagious nature of her buoyant personality.

"Oh it is easy for you to have fun," I teased, "All the men are staring at you, just waiting for me to leave you alone so they can ask you to dance. Even if they wanted to ask me they are too afraid of my father and too aroused by you!" Arkadas blushed deeply, but it wasn't just from the compliment. I noticed a flicker in her eye.

"Don't say that," she said, more sadly than playfully. I tried to double down on my joke.

"Maybe you're right, my father isn't that intimidating. It must JUST be these that have fixated their attention!" I said and leaned forward quickly and pinched Arkadas breast. She squealed, blushed more deeply, and then slapped my fingers away. She looked around nervously, hoping not one saw.

I may have been teasing her, but Arkadas was just as beautiful as I had intimated. It was not in jest that I suggested the men were staring at her. My father had bought Arkadas from a slave trader who traveled the whole known world. She did not look like any other woman I had ever seen. She was slightly shorter than I, around 5'3 and voluptuous, with very large, perky breasts, a narrow waist, and a firm bottom. But what made her so special was her hair and skin. The hair was long and braided like mine, but a deep yellow color. Her skin was very pale, almost white in color and burned red any time she was out in the midday sun. She had a beautiful, inviting face with stunning, icy blue eyes. She claimed that all the people from the North looked like her, but I didn't believe her.




The Sultanah Ch. 01



"After all these years and I still can't control you!" she said, "But even though you are trouble and even if it DOES disappoint the men, I am not dancing with anyone. I am staying with you the whole night." She leaned back in her chair comfortably, showing how content she was just to spend some hours with me.

"That is only because you know I will leave in a week and you can finally marry," I said. A life-servant was not permitted to marry until her Lady married. At 26, Arkadas had waited 8 years longer than most women, and three years longer than me.

"I am serious," Arkadas said sharply, "We are not talking about that." I looked at Arkadas and tilted my head to the side slightly. She was looking at me earnestly now, trying to stem my negative mood. She looked like her teeth were grinding, like she was right on the edge of something.

"It is the only thing I can think about," I admitted finally, I wanted to have as much fun as Arkadas did, but all I could think of was the nunnery. A life of celibate service to a God I barely understood until I died. It was hard to feel in the mood for a party with that kind of future.

"So I've noticed," Arkadas said. She reached forward and placed her hand on top of mine, rubbing it gently and smiling. Without words, she seemed to tell me that she understood my fear and that there was nothing to do about it. Just to live that night. 

"Arkadas, what will I do without you?" I said, feeling somewhat soothed, "Who will keep me in line when I get out of hand? Who will be able to understand what I am thinking when I don't know it myself?" Arkadas laughed and patted my hand again.

"What will I do? I will have far too much time on my hands without cleaning up your messes!" she joke and I smiled back at her, "I really will miss you," Arkadas said. I heard a slight hitch in her throat and realized that she'd broached a subject that she had intended to avoid. I looked into her eyes and had a hard time knowing what I saw there. I knew her so well and yet, inevitably, because of the nature of our relationship, there had always been some distance between us. She knew me far better than I knew her. With so little time left, I was desperate to remedy that situation.

"Will you really miss me?" I asked, "You were always required to be my friend. Perhaps all you really want is your freedom."

"No...!" Arkadas started, her eyes getting wide.

"I won't be offended, it isn't personal," I said, though I felt my blood pounding in my temples. Here was the unstated heart of my friendship with Arkadas. Was she my friend or was she my servant? With a week to go, I want the truth before we left, "Answer me truthfully, or I won't stay for the party." I threatened (Arkadas was the only person I could ever be tough with). But I was afraid of the truth. I had learned a week before that my father bore no real love for me. I was tired of deceit; I wanted to know only the truth. I had wanted to ask this question for years. Only now, could I do it.

"I am either saddened that you think me so shallow or flattered that you think me so good an actress," Arkadas said, her head bowed. I saw a tear fall from her eye and splatter onto the bench between us. I felt my heart grow warmer. "It is so very personal Varis, how could you think otherwise? I asked your father yesterday if I could enter the nunnery with you. He declined to grant his permission," Arkadas explained. I felt the wind come out of me. I had not expected that. Arkadas had decided to give up a life outside, to stay with me. I felt a wave of guilt roll over me, but also tenderness for my friend. I wanted to apologize for my thoughtless words.

"I..." I began. But suddenly, Arkadas' eyes flashed at me. Like something had settled into her mind and she now needed get it out at me.

"All of your sentences start 'I,' Varis. Princess Varis. Every last one of them. You think you understand everything or that because you are a princess that your problems are more important than the rest. You don't give a damn about what the future holds for me, you just want to wallow. Well, I was here to have fun. For you. Just like I have always been there. For you. Not just because I had to, but because I wanted to. Because I was your friend and you were mine. But I don't care now. I am going back to my room." With that, Arkadas stood up quickly and thundered out the banquet. Several people looked at her as she stormed out. 

I sat at the table, my jaw hanging wide open. I had no idea where that had come from. I realized now that I'd asked the question with a little less tact that I could have, but her reaction was bizarre. She'd gone from sad and sweet to righteously indignant in a matter of moments. And I still didn't understand what she was talking about. In a moment she was out the door. I barely had time to think when Kardes sat down in the seat that Arkadas had just vacated.

"Enjoying the party?" My older sister asked. I looked over at her, my mind still reeling. She was smiling calmly and had her eyebrows raised.

"Oh...uh, yes," I fumbled, "It is lovely. It fits Nislani perfectly." I had already practiced that line, I would say it to anyone who asked. Kardes laughed and then picked a bunch of grapes off the table. She popped one into her mouth, chewed it slowly and then shook her head.

"Father would buy that because it would be what he wants to believe," she replied, "You are miserable tonight. And you drove away your friend."

"No, I..." I started, but Kardes gave me a grin. I did not yet know how to read my eldest sister. She had been gone so long that my memories of her were quite bare. I recalled her taking me for a walk down by the river once and chasing away an angry stray dog. She'd left when I was three. Beyond that, I remembered nothing. And since she'd returned home a month earlier, I'd rarely had time to speak with her beyond extremely awkward, formal conversations with my father present. I realized that this might have been the first time I'd had a private conversation with her since that walk by the river.

"Today was going to be a hard day for you," she said easily. She handed me the bunch of grapes. I took one and placed it in my mouth, "You don't have to pretend otherwise. Father wouldn't notice anyway and everyone else expects you to be angry." She said. I looked at her, wondering what to make of her words. I knew she got on well with father and always had. I was slightly afraid that she might be a spy. But she at least accepted my anger and my disappointment outwardly, I didn't want to hold back. 

"Well that isn't what Arkadas said," I said, "She wanted me to pretend that none of this matters to me. She wanted me to act like I was happy my younger sister was getting married and that I was to become a nun. To accept it and put on a happy face."

"Is that why she left?" My sister asked, her eyes following to the door where Arkadas had just run out.

"Well..." I said, realizing that by bringing Arkadas up, I now had an obligation to tell the truth, "I also asked her..."

"What?" My sister said, smirking slightly. She knew I was not quite the victim I presented.

"I asked if she was truly my friend or if she was glad I'd be gone, as she was only my slave," I said quickly. Kardes snorted slightly and shook her head.

"That was pretty low, Varis," she said.

"I..." I started.

"I remember when you were a very little girl, just before I left. Arkadas must've been 7 or 8. Some of other girls in the palace would tease her for bringing you with her wherever she went. Most of the other older slave girls would elude the princesses and the dukes' daughters and play by themselves. But Arkadas always brought you with her. When the girls mocked her she didn't say, 'I am required by order of the King to look after Varis.' Instead, she always said, 'Varis is already smarter than the rest of you idiots and someday you'll be begging to be her friend!' and they would laugh at her. But Arkadas was steadfast," Kardes said. I felt a deep shame at Kardes words and my head drooped. Arkadas had always been a steadfast friend. And I supposed I knew it. Perhaps I was just pushing her away, so it would be easier when she had to go.

"I am sorry," I said.

"You should tell her," my sister replied. I looked at Kardes, expecting to see her gazing down at me, her face pinched and disappointed. Instead, she was smiling at me warmly. She had not been berating me it seemed and she did not now revel in my shame. She seemed to be guiding me and I felt her empathy for me, warming me from her smile. Despite her reproach, I felt more comfortable with my sister.

"She told me that she wanted to come with me, to marry Tanri as well," I explained. 

"I am not surprised at that," My sister said, but something in her tone indicated that she was not, once again, commenting on Arkadas' loyalty.

"I think that is crazy. I am glad father denied her request. Arkadas is a beautiful woman and she will make a fine wife. I am sure, before too long she will have many children," I replied, but I felt my voice hitching in my throat. I would never have those things and it saddened me because, while I did want Arkadas to be happy, I wanted to be happy as well. As I spoke, my sister tilted her head to the side.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. 

"What do you mean? Arkadas' future without me," I explained.

"Varis are you joking or do you honestly not know?" She asked, leaning forward and furrowing her brow.

"I am make no jest," I said, feeling completely confused. Kardes reached forward and placed her hand over mine. She looked deeply at me.

"Varis, father gave Arkadas to you as a help-mate slave when you were a baby. You are going to become a Tanril Virgin, and such Virgins are not permitted to own anything, including slaves," she said, something I knew very well.

"Yes?" I said. My sister sighed deeply and squeezed my hand.

"

Well that does not change the fact that Arkadas is property. Becoming a Tanril Virgin is like dying," she said and I winced, "In a legal sense." She added quickly, "And that means, because you are unmarried and have no children, that your property will revert to father."

"To father?" I asked, confused. What did that mean?

"If father found a match for you and you were married, Arkadas would have come with you and, if you permitted, she would have married one of your husband's male servants. But that cannot happen now. Without you, Arkadas is not a help-mate slave, she has no status. Even if someone wanted to marry her, that would not be possible. She is father's slave. And a beautiful young women. Varis...Arkadas will join the Harem." Kardes words fell on me like a hammer. The Harem! With my father's concubines and their children? My friend, my servant, was to be made a whore?

"Oh Gunes," I swore, "Arkadas!" I looked over toward the door that Arkadas had fled earlier. I knew now why she'd been so angry with me. I had been so wrapped up in myself that I hadn't even thought of her and what would happen. And her fate was so much worse. I got up quickly, to run after her and apologize.

"Varis stop," my sister said, her hand clamping down on mine, pulling me back to my seat.

"I must go and apologize," I said, "you said so yourself." My sister shook her head.

"I know what I said and you must, you know that now. But you cannot leave this party, father would be furious. You must do it later," she explained. I twisted from her grip.

"I don't care about father and he doesn't care about me. I care about Arkadas," I said.

"After Nislani's wedding you will no longer be under father's control and it is right that you don't care what he thinks," Kardes said, surprising me with her vehemence, "But if you care about Arkadas, you will not make a scene here on her behalf. When you leave, she will belong to father. If you cause him to grow angry with her..." Kardes did not finish. She didn't need to. The life of a slave, especially a member of the Harem, could be quite unpleasant. I certainly did not want it to be worse for Arkadas than it had to. I felt hot tears welling in my eyes and could not tell if I was sad or angry. I believe now that I was supremely frustrated.

"What would he do to her?" I asked, "What is going to do to her?" I thought of the handsome husband and beautiful children than Arkadas deserved and felt her deprivation. More, I thought of the private jokes Arkadas and I shared, mocking my pompous father. She was now stuck with him, so much different than the man of her dreams that she'd described to me on so many lazy days together.

"Rumor has it that father rarely 'visits' his harem anymore. He is no longer...able to enjoy them as he once did. It will likely not be too bad. Perhaps just boring. They are well fed and provided for," Kardes explained, trying to cheer me. I suppose it helped some.

"It is not fair, Arkadas deserved more than that," I said finally.

"We all deserved more than what father has given us," Kardes said, very lowly, such that I could barely hear it, "You are right to be angry and you have been wronged more than most. I just came here when I saw you fight with Arkadas to remind you of who you should be angry at and who is a fellow victim." Kardes looked at me imploringly. Her hand squeezed mine tightly and I nodded. In that moment, I could feel a bond of sisterhood I'd heard about but never felt before. Kardes and I were sharing something, even if it was negative, and it went beyond words. And while I was still miserable (for myself, for Arkadas) I was happy that I'd gained something. Something I'd certainly never felt with...

"Thank you all for coming!" I heard Nislani's voice above the crowd. I looked to the head of the room and saw Nislani standing behind the King's table. She looked as though she'd had some wine and her voice was louder than it needed to be. My father was sitting in his chair next to her, smiling indulgently. Nislani was not supposed to be speaking at this dinner. Any speech was to be made by my father. But if any person would be allowed to break decorum, it would be Princess Nislani. Besides, it was only my father's men present, no need to be embarrassed in front of them, "Tomorrow I will finally be married!" The crowd cheered loudly, and I sank back into my seat.

"To the future Queen Nislani!" One of my father's men said, I believe it was Duke Hain. The crowd cheered loudly.

"Thank you so much again!" My sister beamed, "I will miss you all so much! But do not believe that I will forget you all when I leave. Ülke may be small by comparison to Dusman, but it will always be large in my heart..." I actually laughed as my father bolted upright out of his seat, falling over himself at the content of my sister's words.

"Very well Nislani, thank you for your words," My father said. It was one thing to let the Princess gush. It was another thing to denigrate the Empire. Even if Nislani, still smiling drunkenly at the crowd, was too puerile to realize she'd done it.

"To the future queen," I said acidly and Kardes smiled.

"She is just spoiled. She can't help it," Kardes said.

"I would've liked to have been spoiled," I rejoined.

"Would you? Does that seem pleasant to you?" she said, pointing up to my sister, so self-unaware that she didn't realize that she had said something that would get anyone else executed.

"Better than being a nun," was all I could muster.

"Friends!" My father said now. Clearly he had decided to make some sort of speech, something to gloss over my sister's ill-chosen words. "Welcome, uh... to my daughter's away-going feast..." My father said. He was a little bit drunk and definitely not at his best when speaking extemporaneously. Most of his speeches were well scripted by scribes and reviewed by Cin. I noticed, for the first time, that I did not see the priestess in the room and wondered if, like me, she did not feel like celebrating.

"I mean her farewell dinner," My father said, finding the right words on the second try. Then I saw his eyes brighten, and knew what he was going to say. He was going to slip into an old speech, something he was familiar with, "Tonight is a night of celebration! Not only because my beautiful youngest, and only unmarried, daughter Nislani will be married tomorrow."

"Gunes, it is like I am dead already," I hissed. Kardes sighed and nodded but did not disagree.

"But tomorrow is a beautiful day for the Empire as well. The union of my daughter Nislani with the noble Prince Lider will put an end to several decades of war between these two great nations. Furthermore, it confirms to the entire world what should have already been apparent. It shows that the Empire is still the greatest force to be reckoned with in this world. Dusman, one of the world's other great powers, considered an alliance with Bütün Dünya so important that its worthy King has decided to make his eldest son my son. Rarely have two such noble houses been fused together. And what is once fused in blood can never be torn asunder. This alliance represents the continued prosperity of Ülke for all time. I say to you, that today is the safest and most prosperous this great nation has ever had since its founding," My father's lies came fast, though believed with heartfelt sincerity. 

Just as my father's last words spilled from his mouth, and his glass raised to his mouth, the door to the Emperor's Chamber flung open. It flew so widely that it bounced against the bare wall to the side, knocking down a tapestry. The loud noise hushed the crowd and we all looked toward the door. Sir Koruma, the captain of my father's guard stood at the door. His handsome face was black with soot, save for the area around his left eye that was caked with blood. His noble clothing was in tatters and, as he walked into the room, he limped heavily on his left leg. He held his right arm tightly to his side. I had never seen the noble guard in this manner. It felt like I suddenly existed in a different world.

"Good Gunes, Koruma what evil has befallen you?" My father asked, his voice echoing in the now silent hall. Now that the noise of the party had completely died, I could hear a strange noise from the window directly behind me. It was hard to describe. Like a grinding sound mixed with loud clunking. But soon Koruma spoke.

"Emperor, we are betrayed!" Sir Koruma spoke, his words spitting out in agony. My father's face twisted into a mask. I felt a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked around the room and saw concern on every face.

"Explain yourself sir!" My father demanded. Sir Koruma took a few steps forward and then dropped into a chair, "Do not sit before the Emperor when you address him!" My father demanded.

"I can sit and speak or stand and die, my lord," Sir Koruma spoke simply. My father, ever a stickler for decorum, stood down nonetheless. My heart started to pound in my ears. I did not know what the words portended, but I felt an irrational terror growing inside of me. I felt Kardes arm wrap around me, pulling me close. She looked nervous too, but she gave me strength.

"Then sit and speak, what is the meaning of your cryptic report?" My father asked.

"Sir, your guards have been attacked by the army of King Sican of Dusman led by the King and his son Lider. They are joined by the King's allies Temsilci and Surgun," The guard said and a murmur went through the crowd. I felt that I could not breathe. Attacked?

"Liar," Nislani yelled, by my father placed his hand over her mouth, pushing her down into her chair.

"That is impossible! They should be returning tonight for the wedding," My father blustered, "This is surely a misunderstanding..."

"You grace, with all due respect," Koruma said in a manner that implied that the respect due was quire minimal, "Does it appear to you that I am a member of a welcoming party? Does it look to you as though I greeted allies at our walls? Do you believe, sir, that the pike that pierced the skull of my second in command was placed there as a result of a misunderstanding?" The crowd groaned as Koruma speak. The entire world was flipped upside down. Everything we'd been expecting was reversed. The war was not over; we had not been accepted by the Kingdoms of the world. We were under attack. And ill-prepared.




The Sultanah Ch. 01



I turned my neck and now looked out the window, realizing that the sounds I'd heard before were the sounds of war. My father's palace sat on a great bluff overlooking the city of Şehir. I looked down over the thatched roof tops of the city to the 30-foot walls that surrounded and protected the city. Behind those walls was a shorter, but still formidable palisade wall. Between them was a deep moat that was fed by the rivers. It was dark that night, no moon. But I could see numberless torches in the distance. An army moving forward towards our gates, the sound of their armored feet clunking on the ground. There were three entrances to the city, all on the eastern side of the city, the opposite side of the confluence of the rivers. I saw with horror that all three entrances were thrown open. Father had ordered them opened to allow the peasants into the city for the celebration. 

King Sican and his allies had known we would do this. Everything had been a set up. The King had engaged in long, difficult deliberations for my sister's hand and planned an elaborate wedding. But it was all to get our guard down. To pave the way for the invasion. To allow for the final destruction of Bütün Dünya. I realized in that moment that when the fight ceased (and it would probably not be long) I would be raped and then murdered. I was living the last few hours of my life. 

Or perhaps minutes, because even as I was thinking these horrifying thoughts, I saw several flames shoot through the air. Just passed the palisade walls, the archers of Dusman (or, more likely the famed archers of Surgun) had released a volley into the city. Most found arrows flew into the wooden homes in the city, instantly lighting them like kindling. Once archer, who must've possessed great strength, aimed his arrow further. I saw that arrow coming, and at first just watched it as it moved gracefully through the air. The flame against the blackness was eerily beautiful and my breath caught in my throat. Suddenly, I realized that the arrow was coming directly for my window. I dodged slightly to the left, just as the arrow shot through the glass, spraying me with shards.

The arrow entered the room and I heard a horrible "thunk." It turned quickly, shaking the glass from my hair. I saw the arrow. It had pierced the eye of a serving girl, her name escaped me. Her mouth was hung open, no sound emanated. The point of the air push out through the back of her head and her eye was flaming. After a moment, the girl dropped directly to her back. Dead on her feet. Part of me considered the fact that the arrow had very narrowly missed me, that I had very nearly died. But my mind felt as though it were in a fog. I could hear Kardes asking me, over and over again, if I was alright, but I could not understand her. It felt as though I was in a dream.

The death of the serving girl caused a panic to rile the room. People immediately began to stampede toward the door, to where it was not very clear. I had seen the army. We were surrounded on our landward side by a massive host, on all other sides were the deep rivers that protected, but also trapped us. Only one person seemed unfazed by panic. My father. Now, in the ruins of his foreign policy, he found a strength that no one, perhaps not even he, knew that he had.

"Ilkolu, Kafasiz," he said to my brothers, his voice sounding focused and stripped of pomposity, "Rush and find any men at your villas and meet me by the Duke's gate. There is no time for full armor, grab your swords and your helmets. They have breached the gates, but not overcome our walls. Our gates are narrow and they must come through a few men at a time. If we can bottle each gate, we can force them out." He said. The panic in the room slowed. The women still rushed from the room, but calmly, while the men composed themselves and began to think rationally about defense. I felt a sort of confidence I did not expect. Suddenly things did not seem hopeless. Dire, but not hopeless.

"Father, I know it is not the prince!" a voice said from the head table. Heads turned toward Nislani, still seated, her eyes wide and dazed, "Prince Lider loves me and will marry me. We must get a message to him so that Dusman may come to our aid!" It was clear that Nislani was not prepared to give up on her fairy tale.

"Quiet!" My father roared and Nislani slouched down in her chair. My father's voice softened, "Nislani, I love you dearly and I will have revenge for the wrong done for you. But now is the time for your silence."

"Father..."

"Silence," My father said. My brothers had already escaped out the door to find their men and their weapons. He turned away from my sister and suddenly, I found his eyes resting on me. "Varis, you have always been the most levelheaded of my children. Display that capacity again on this night. There may be men, or even guards, on the Western side of the city who do not know that we are under attack. Or, perhaps they do not know the degree of our peril. You must climb the Kule Tower and ring the Bell of Nara. Everyone must be summoned." I was almost too shocked by my father's initial words (and the chaos of the moment) to comprehend what he was asking. "Varis!" 

"Yes father, I will ring the bell," I said.

"I must go my daughters," Kral IV said, looking around the room to where only Kardes, Nislani, and I now stood, "I love you all. Without exception." And as he spoke the last two words he looked directly at me. Then he turned quickly and rushed from the room.

I quickly rose to my feet, trying to orient myself. I felt like I was in a place I'd never been before. Kule and Nara seemed like fantastical names with no meaning. Slowly, the world began to make sense. I could hear the sounds of war and the crackle of fires outside the window. I dared not look, for fear could slow my actions. I headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Nislani asked, panicked, after me.

"Father asked me to ring the Bell," I said.

"I am going too," Nislani said, "Father wouldn't trust you with something so important." Nislani's words came from her mouth sounding faraway and dreamy. She was still slouched at the table, but was slowly trying to rise.

"Go," a voice said next to me, I turned and saw Kardes, "Go and fulfill father's order. I will take our sister somewhere safe." She offered. I looked at my older sister, still calm in the face of this madness and I smiled briefly. I through my arms around her.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too, now go!" I pulled my arms from around Kardes and ran through the back of the hall, the servants' door. The hall emptied onto an elevated walkway, essentially an ornate bridge, that spanned two towers of the castle, high above the city. The kitchens located in a different tower, to protect the Sultan in case of a fire. Climbing out onto the walkway meant that I was now outside. The din of the warriors at the gates grew much louder and I took a half second to look at the battle. 

I could see our guards outnumbered greatly, but using the pinch point of the gates to hold the enemy off. The North Gate and the South Gate were, by that time, generally bottled up. Men were fighting and dying there, but it looked like the tide had been stemmed. The Central or Duke's Gate looked less contained. That was the largest gate in the city and used to allow great vassals enter riding abreast with their retainers. Now I could see that the courtyard immediately within the gate was packed with soldiers. In the growing darkness it was hard to make out exactly what was occurring, it looked more like a writhing field of black and red. But I could see the enemy's troops pouring into the courtyard from the gate. The enemy already outnumbered our guards in that area and each second shifted the balance further in the enemy's favor. For every man that the guards killed, two more entered the area. Worse still, our guards fell as well. We needed reinforcements. That was my task.

I shook myself and resolved not to look at the battle. I had more important tasks at hand. To reach the Kule Tower I needed to descend from the palace, go down into the streets and run west towards the confluence of the rivers. About a quarter mile from the confluence, the old tower, one of the oldest in the city, stood sentinel. It had once been the absolute edge of the city, before the empire grew out from it. I needed to traverse a dozen winding streets to reach it and time was draining. I sprang into action, resolving to keep my legs moving until I reach the Bell of Nara.

I sprinted across the elevated walkways, trying to reach the door into the main section of the palace 100 yards away as quickly as possible. As I ran, I could hear arrows whistling past me in the night. I did not know if anyone was aiming for me, or if they were stray. I did not dare stop to think of how close they were coming, I increased my speed. I reached the far side of the walkway and threw open the doorway and shuffled inside. 

I nearly tripped over something as soon as I entered the next room, just a small landing near the stairs. I looked down and saw a small child huddled there. I looked down and saw more than a dozen people crouching on the stairs. They were the palace servants. They had decided to climb to the highest area in the palace that they could access (crossing the walkway would lead to my father's chambers, only invited persons were allowed across the walkway). I didn't speak to these people, there was no time. I started to move down the stairs, trying to avoid people when possible but not worrying greatly when I stepped on someone. Worse would happen to them if I failed in my task.

After a few steps I had passed all of the servants and could now sprint down the stairs. The stairway in the palace was seven stories tall and, after descending three stories, was actually cut into the stone of the mountain. I wound around the spiral staircase trying to reach the bottom floor where a door opened onto the street below. At each floor I could see briefly into the palace and I saw many people, cowering underneath of tables or trying to stuff themselves into closets. If the enemy entered the palace, all of these people would die for serving my father. And for me.

I reached the ground floor and my heart was pounding now from exertion rather than fear. Adrenaline had surged through my veins and I felt a steely resolve. I pushed open the Servant's Door which opened on an alley behind the palace. I knew of its existence from a childhood spent exploring the castle. I could still make out the sounds of battle at the gate and turned down the alley away from them.

Most princesses who had lived in the palace over the millennia, including my 7 sisters, had feared the city greatly and almost never ventured out of the palace without an armed guard and hidden within heavy wagons. I, on the other hand, had always loved the city and had spent many days with my face covered, ambling through the streets. I knew the fastest way to get to the Kule Tower and I also knew the most discreet way. Not knowing what was happening in the city and who had infiltrated the streets, I chose the latter.

No longer on the stairs, I felt I should move more quickly. But my long, formal dress for my sister's dead party were tangling in my legs and in debris on the ground. I reached behind my back while running and unbuttoned the top of my dress. My fingers worked quickly while I awkwardly lumbered forward. Finally, I'd unbuttoned enough that I could slip my arms out through the now-gapping neck of my dress. In a few more moments, I essentially ran clean out of the dress. I kicked off my uncomfortable shoes as well.

On any other night it would have been a major scandal for the daughter of the Sultan to be running through the streets wearing only her corset and pair of lacy, tight-fitting bloomers. However, as I moved farther and farther away from the gates, I became aware of how still the night was. I could no longer hear warriors and no one was in the streets. On the ragged sound of my breath and the slap of my now-bare feet on the cobblestones. There is no scandal if there is no one to scandalize. 

It was well over a mile, maybe even two, from the Servant's Gate of the palace to the Kule Tower as the crow flies. My winding path, through alleys and over walls was considerably longer. But I knew each second mattered and, as my fatigue increased, I willed myself to run fasters. I moved as quickly as possible through the narrow alleyways of the city, through places that many were afraid to travel. The buildings over the narrow side routes were built out over the streets, creating a dank tunnel. Even if there had been moonlight, it would have been blocked. I ran, bare (but sure) footed through in that sheltering darkness. 

I dashed through sickly streams of cleaning water and through unattended barns in a desperate bid to reach the tower. I climbed over fences and walls and climbed under barriers. I moved without planning, letting my memory guide me towards my locations. If anyone was present in those dark alleys, I did not notice them. I barely felt as the skin tore from my toes and nails that had fallen from horse shoes pierced my heels. My mind thought only of my mission.

At long last (I cannot say how long) I reached the tower. The Kule Tower had been built in the early days of the Empire to commemorate a great victory in the East. It was built on the site of what was then the Sultan's Palace. That building was now the seat of City Government and controlled by the Men of Şehir. I looked up at the crumbling tower and hoped that its bell, re-forged from the armor of the household troops that died defending the defeated King Kule at the Battle of Nara, still contained some magical elixir of victory for the Sultan's Army.

I pushed into the door open and again faced a spiral staircase. I took a deep breath, realizing that I was nearly out of energy, and pushed myself into the stairs. The tower was immensely tall, one of the tallest buildings in the city, perhaps the world. I lifted my knees high as I ran, happy that I'd discarded my dress. Eventually I moved past the point of fatigue, my limbs felt numb and my mind was blank. Stairs moved past me in a blur, my feet barely registering the sensation of foot falls. I was almost surprised when I found myself at the top of the tower, overlooking the city.

I looked to the center of the tower and, almost at eye level, I saw the great bell. Unused for nearly 600 years, it looked prepared to offer warning once more. I wasted no time, quickly grabbing hold of the thick metal chain that hung from the bell. I wrapped my hands around it and pulled hard. The chain was wrapped around a series of pulleys, promising to make the bell ring with a light touch. But everything was rusty and ill-used. The bell moved, but not nearly enough to send the clapper against the metal. 

My hands were wet with sweat and my long hair clung to my skin, I was panting like a dog. I knew that if I did not work quickly, my body (used to easy palace life) would fail me. I jumped up, grasping at the highest point of the chain I could grab. I held on tightly, and I felt the chain pulling down. I lifted my feet off the ground, letting my weight pull the chain hard. Finally, my bottom landed flat on the wooden floor of the room and I released the chain. I slipped quickly back into the air. 

I looked up, I the bell turn to the side and then swing back. I thought for a moment that I had not pulled hard enough and I felt too weak to get up off of the floor. My heart sank and I dropped my head to the ground. But then I heard it. A loud, clanging that shook my body to the core and burned my ears. The bell was ringing! I looked up to see the clapper once again slap the bell, rattling my teeth but raising my spirits. I had achieved my goal, I had rung the warning Bell of Nara!

My ears still aching from the clamor, I crawled over to the side of the room. The bell tower was essentially open at the top, save for the four pillars in the corners that held up the canopy. As I reached the edge of the platform, I could look down into the city below. I lay on my stomach, with my head hanging nearly 200 feet above the ground. 

At first I noticed nothing. I wondered if perhaps the bell was quieter below of if only two clangs of the great bell was not enough. I felt my heart in my throat and turned my head toward the gate. I could not see anything through the darkness but I could smell fire. We were running out of time. I turned back toward the western side of the city. Nothing, just the town at sleep. Men and women, hours from total destruction, sleeping soundly in their beds. I had failed. 

Then, even before I knew what was happened, I felt a long sigh escape me as I saw lights in the windows of many houses. As I watched, still more candles and lanterns were lit. Somewhere around a minute after I had rung the bell, I saw doors begin to open. The men of Şehir were leaving their homes. They carried with them clubs, knives, and pikes. They were answering the call.

I looked at them as they started to move from their homes, looking confused and uncertain. They knew from the ancient tales what they were supposed to do, but they did not truly believe it. And I suddenly realized that they did not know what they were being called to do.

"To the gates! Enemies are breaching the gates!" I screamed, my hands cupped around my mouth. I repeated my report over and over again. I screamed so loud that my voice crackled and my eyes watered with pain. My throat ached like I'd never felt before and I tasted blood on my tongue, but still I screamed. Eventually, the men either heard me or deduced for themselves what they needed. The last thing I remembered before I collapsed, exhausted on the tower platform, was the sight of hundreds of men, marching east to the gates.

* * * * *

The arrow glided gracefully through the sky. The flame that spread out from its razor tip stood out brilliantly against the blackness of the night's sky. It was so incredibly, eerily beautiful and my breath caught in my throat. I realized, without surprise, that the arrow came directly for my window and I braced my shoulders against the window frame. I kept my eye on the flame, and it seemed like a great red eye with a soul of blue, staring into me. I looked back at it without fear.

The arrow crashed through the glass but could not hear it. In that same instant the great arrow pierced my socket, replacing my cold, dispassionate eye with a new, flaming orb. I felt no pain as my body rapidly started to melt. I was like a block of ice, unable to withstand the heat. I stood without moving in the window and felt myself drip onto the floor until I was nothing but an oily puddle. I was no more now, just a pool of warm gore. But the arrow still burned on the floor, sitting atop my wreckage. Slowly and without warning, flesh began to rise from the puddle; bones and sinew drew together. The arrow became a backbone and the flame became a beating heart as slowly I rose like a Phoenix. In a time that was both eternity and an instant, I was rebuilt, piece by piece, until I once again stood at the window, unbowed. My fire eyes red and crackling...

* * * * *

"You must now awaken!" I heard a voice call and suddenly I was wrenched from my dream. It was perilously dark and I had no idea where I was or what I was hearing. I felt instantly chilled to the bone and a breeze tore through my clothes, causing me to shake. I suddenly remembered where I was, atop the Kule Tower, wearing nothing but my corset and bloomers. I remembered the siege. I instantly realized what had happened. We were overrun. An enemy soldier had scaled the tower looking for treasure and found me. A terrible fate awaited. I was about to be raped and murdered.




The Sultanah Ch. 01



"Get back you...devil!" I shouted, trying to sound fierce. My voice cracked and broke, still exhausted from screaming into the night. I rolled over onto my back, trying to get away from my assailant. I was ready to kick and bite. I, like the men of Şehir, would die fighting.

"Quiet you fool!" a voice called in the darkness. I realized that the voice sounded familiar and was certainly not the voice of a soldier. I stopped thrashing and looked toward my assailant.

"Cin?" I asked. The priestess stepped out of the shadow cast by the stars and the bell.

"Yes, you must awaken," she said, without further ceremony. She walked over toward me and stuck out her hand. I grasped it and Cin easily pulled me to my feet. Her hand felt hot, almost like fire, and I broke the grip instantly.

"What has happened Cin? Have we been overrun? Are we to make our escape? Is Kardes with you? And Nislani?" I felt so terrified about all the things I did not know that I began asking them all at once. I listened out into the city, trying to make out where the looting was occurring, but it was quiet, a fog (or smoke) hung low over the city.

"Silence!" Cin stopped me. I took a deep breath and leaned back against one of the pillars holding up the tower.

"What is happening Cin?" I asked, more calmly now. The priestess nodded slightly.

"The militia arrived at the Duke's gate just as the guards were starting to falter. You father and brothers also arrived with their skilled troops. At the North and South gates, the enemies who had breached the walls were killed or driven back and the guards were able to close the portcullises. The free guards then rushed to the Duke's gate. The fighting there lasted for hours and ebbed and flowed both directions. About an hour ago, Prince Lider was slightly wounded and was pulled from the front. The enemy believed that King Sican had been killed and panicked. They escaped out of the gate, which was shut behind them. It is now less than an hour before dawn and the city is silent," Cin related the tale of night's battle in almost a bored tone, as though she'd known the results for a long time. Perhaps she did.

"So we won!" I said, "We threw the enemy back?" I giggled and clapped my hands. I could not believe it. They had maintained total surprise, but we'd managed to stop them anyway. Despite numbers, despite skill, despite everything! The Empire was not spent yet!

"They are not defeated. The enemy still camps outside the gates. They lost today, but they are still a mighty host and intend to besiege the city," Cin explained. A draw more than a victory. But, in this case, a draw was a victory. I breathed easily for the first time since my sister's party. Maybe earlier than that.

"It is hard to besiege this city. We still have access to the rivers. We can eat. Father will lead us through," I said, suddenly esteeming my father's abilities more highly than before. He had finally won a great victory, just as he'd always dreamed.

"Sultan Kral IV is dead," Cin said coldly, "As are his sons Ilkolu and Kafasiz, all died bravely in battle defending the city. They fought without armor for there was not time to get dressed. Had they paused to prepare themselves for battle they may have lived, but lost the city. Instead, they died but achieved at least a temporary victory. Ülke lives today, because they died."

For a moment, it was as if Cin had not spoken. The words reached my ears, but failed to penetrate my thoughts. Instead, I thought of Ilkolu, my older brother, carrying me on his shoulders as a small child during a fair so that I could see a man breathing fire. I thought of Kafasiz, my younger brother, as a tiny infant urinating on a nurse when she tried to change his diaper (sending me, a small girl at the time, into uncontrollable laughter). Finally, I thought of my father's final words to me before he left, "I love you all. Without exception." It was when I heard those words again, in memory, that the meaning of Cin's words struck me. They were gone.

"Dead?" I asked, but I no longer had doubts. My father and his sons were gone. The Sultan and the two heirs to Bütün Dünya were no more. I dropped to my knees on the platform. I felt tears in my eyes, but I lacked the strength even to cry. Victory was more demoralizing that defeat. The empire lived so that it might die shortly.

"Their troubles are over, but yours are just beginning," Cin said, walking around the bell until she was standing right in front of me, "There is no time for this, we must go!"

"My sisters..."

"They live, they are in the palace as we speak," Cin replied and I felt some comfort for that, "But you and your family are not safe. You must follow me immediately, down stairs to the Hall."

"What...?" I asked, sounding faraway (and still raspy). Cin reached down and slapped me hard. I shook my head, and looked up at her, my mouth open. I was desperately confused. Cin looked at her, her eyes shining brightly. There was no malice on her face, only anxiety.

"The 'great men' of the Ülke are meeting in the City Hall below us as we speak. They decided not to meet at the palace in light of the fact that you and your sisters should be there mourning. They do not know you are here. But it is well that they are not in the palace, for they seek to bury the Hanedan dynasty and the walls of that place would fall down on top of them. No one is there to speak for your family or for the Empire. You must follow me, we must prevent disaster."

"There are no heirs..." I said, "My father had no siblings, nor did his father. Distant cousins... I do not know..." I said.

"Let the lords make their arguments for themselves, you must get down there," Without further remonstration, Cin grabbed my hand. It still felt incredibly hot to the touch and was viselike. I had no choice; Cin quickly pulled me to my feet and then started to drag me down the stairs.

As we wound our way down the spiral staircase, I tried to come to terms with what Cin had told me. The changes that had been wrought in my life in a manner of hours were startling. My dynasty was at an end. My father and brothers were dead. Some sort of meeting was occurring in the room below and Cin wanted me to do something about it. What was I supposed to do? What was my purpose now?

In a few minutes Cin had led us down the stairs. Without pausing, she took me through a narrow hallway that led from the tower to the Hall, and she guided us towards the door. She then threw it open and marched inside. She dragged me in after her. As my eyes adjusted to the candlelight I could see that the hall, formerly a hall for the Sultans, had row upon row of ancient wooden benches. Upon those benches sat the Peers of the Realm. The heads of the great families of Ülke. Most lived in the city now, and those that did not had arrived for the wedding. 

There must've been 400 men in the hall, most were bleeding, some severely. They turned and looked at me as I walked into the hall and I became acutely aware that I was nearly naked, wearing only my corset and bloomers. The men did not leer at me, they were far too exhausted and, I saw in their eyes, scared. Their world, it seemed, was crashing down on them as well. Their Sultan was also dead.

"Cin, what is the meaning of this? This is no place for women or girls," A voice from the dais in the front of the hall commanded. My eyes followed to the front of the room and I saw Duke Hain standing behind the City-Mayor's (as opposed to the Lord-Mayor, my late father) podium. He was a hulking man, nearly fifty but still built like an ox. His ugly mouth was curled into a snarl, exposing his crumbling teeth. He was the Duke of Şehir and therefore, the master of the city and the most powerful of my father's vassals. He was caked in blood and gore and did not appear happy to see me.

"Duke Hain, I am Priestess of Gunes and this is, of course, Princess Varis. We are not mere women and neither of us are girls," Cin said, "We as the representatives of Gunes and the Hanedan dynasty are here by right."

"There is no time for this nonsense," Duke Hain charged, "Sultan Kral IV is dead and so are his heirs. We, the Peers of Ülke must determine a course for the future." There was a low rumble of agreement within the room.

"What time? Why must we rush? When we rush, we make decisions we may regret," Cin stated and there was a murmur of agreement for her as well. Hain did not appear amused.

"There is no 'we.' You and that girl are not a part of this discussion," Hain replied, "And rush? This is not a rush, this is prudence. There is an enemy at the gate that outnumbers us 10 to 1. We have no Sultan. We are a broken people. This meeting must act quickly and decide on a course of action." Once again the crowd agreed. Cin, still holding my hand began to walk up through the narrow walkway between the benches in the hall. I saw the men's eyes follow me as we moved forward. I felt that I was in over my head and wanted desperately to leave. But Cin was insistent. In a matter of moments, we stood together on top of the dais, next to Hain, who fumed.

"What are our options?" Cin asked, once again implying that she and I maintained an interest in the deliberations. Before Hain could reply, a voice called out from the crowd.

"There are no choices. We are defeated. Perhaps we may ask Prince Lider to honor his betrothal and accept the Sultanate as his dowry," the man suggested. This produced hardy agreement. 

"Anything else would surely be worse," Hain replied. This was the plan. To beg my father's murderers to fuck my sister. I felt my face becoming red. No one was willing to fight?

"We must fight," I said, not sure where the urge to speak came from, but I could not help it. The men turned their gaze to me. Some laughed, but most looked at me queerly. It was like they were...hopeful. Perhaps there was some fight in this room. They just needed someone to lead them. I hoped Cin was up to the task.

"We have no legitimate right to resist," Hain said, though he addressed the crowd, not me directly, "Our right to resist is based on sanctity of the throne. With no occupant, the throne is now open. The list of contenders is long, Princess Varis has many distant cousins. Sican has as good a right as many others. We might as well give it to his son and avoid further bloodshed," Hain said.

"Sican is not a member of the Hanedan Dynasty!" I said, scandalized by the thought that the insolent whelp would ever be considered for my family's throne. A historical throne going to the son of a backstabbing pirate! The absolute dishonor! I felt heat on my cheeks and spoke before thinking. But it needed to be said.

"His great, great, great grandmother was..." Hain began.

"I don't care if Tanri was his father, he is not of the Hanedan Dynasty!" I shouted back and I heard some sounds of support from the crowd. Once again, I was surprised to find myself speaking. I had thought Cin was going to speak the entire time, but I found that I could not avoid my position. My father and my brothers were dead and my sisters were not present. Someone had to speak for the family and, if there was no one else, that person had to be me. Cin was not a Hanedan either. 

"The Hanedan Dynasty, despite its past glory, is extinguished," Hain said coolly. Now he was looking at me. His cold, lizard eyes driving the point home, "The line is dead. The empire is dead. We must cut our losses. There are no direct male descendants. No one can produce a legitimate heir."

I looked around the room now and saw eyes dart away from me as I found them. I had arrived at a funeral for my family and while most of the men in the room were sad to see the Empire die, they were ready to give up to save themselves. Besides, as Hain had stated, they lacked anything to rally around. They needed a leader and a symbol of sovereign legitimacy and they had neither.

My eyes now shifted from the crowd back onto the stage. I was thinking about Hain's last words. The need for heirs. Direct male descendants. I found myself looking directly at Cin. The world seemed to slow down for a moment. I could see her bright eyes staring directly at me. Her face was blank, but it seemed suffused with meaning. Like she was trying to tell me something but without words or motion. At that instant, the sun first peaked above the horizon. I felt the light hit my eyes as it leaked into the east-facing window of the hall. At first it was blinding and I almost shielded my eyes. But then, I felt something strange, and dropped my hands to my side. It was like the rays of the sun spread knowledge with its warmth. In an instant, I realized what it was that Cin was trying to convey to me. How did she know? But she must've known, what else could that look mean? I felt my stomach knot and my pulse quicken. But, without further spot, I spoke.

"I am a legitimate heir to the Hanedan Dynasty," I said in an impossibly small voice, "My heirs will be legitimate." I heard my words waft out into the crowd, carrying over the silence. For a long minute, nothing happened. Then I heard a snort, following by a guffaw. Hain was laughing. I turned and faced him. But even as I did so, I heard other men laughing. It seemed that the entire hall was laughing at me. Even those who had cheered in support of my earlier sentiments. Perhaps laughing harder than they would have otherwise because of the tension they felt in that moment. Hain wiped a tear from his eye.

"This is not Anaerki, only men can be Sultan of Ülke. No woman has ever sat on the throne, and none will" Hain replied and the men's laughter started to subside.

'Well you claim that Ülke is dead, perhaps it is better to break tradition that to die," I offered. I was not ready to fight yet. The men had all stopped laughing now and I hoped they were thinking about my words.

"Ülke is no longer land, it is no longer armies, it is no longer power. Ülke is tradition," Hain said solemnly, "Better to let it die with honor than let a little girl piss it away." The crowd nodded in agreement, though they did not seem enthusiastic. I turned and looked at Cin, feeling hopeless. If they wouldn't accept me as a female heir (and why would they I guess, I wasn't even the eldest daughter), I needed to do something further. My stomach, already knotted, flipped. I felt like I could barely breathe, my throat was tight. Cin looked back at me coolly. She made no movements, but she never took her eyes off of me. I knew what she wanted, any doubts about her knowledge evaporated now. She knew what I was. I knew what needed to be done. I just wished there was any other way. I felt I was pulling something open long sealed, and smelling the stench of decay. I didn't think too long about what I would say or do next. Thinking would impair what needed to be done. 

"As it pertains to producing heirs," I said slowly, trying to breathe through a raw throat, "I am my father's... second eldest, and only remaining...son. I am the heir and, in light of my father's passing, your Sultanah." I said, using the feminine form of the word. Then, without worrying about their confused stares, I quickly tucked my hands into my bloomers and shoved them down over my hips. They pooled on my feet near the floor.

The men in the room were too shocked by my sudden movement to look away, as decency dictated. Instead their eyes were on me. Some men perhaps were looking initially at my face and their eyes would glide over my soft, pretty facial features, over my modest but well-formed breasts, along the gentle narrowing of my torso down to the womanly flair of my hips. Perhaps other men traveled up from my small feet, across my smooth, hairless legs and over my lady-like thighs to those same rounded, feminine hips. Regardless of where they started, all men's eyes found their way to the area between my legs. Where their eyes expected to find perhaps a patch of hair and a lady's soft cunny, they were confronted with a bewildering sight. My five inch cock and my large, chicken-egg sized balls. They could not see, because of the weight and size of my balls, but my cunny was there too, just shielded from view. The room was deathly silent.

"She...he is some kind of freak!" Hain said suddenly. I felt my face turn a deep red and I felt dizzy. It was like the nightmares I'd had since childhood were all coming true. Except I'd done it to myself. What was I thinking? What did I hope to achieve? They would likely murder me now as a witch.

"Varis is a man! She can produce an heir!" Another peer in the crowd, Lord Sadik, yelled almost immediately afterwards. Immediately the crowd descended into a tumult. It was hard to tell who was saying what. I could tell that some people, in particular Lord Sadik, were openly declaring me the Sultanah-elect, awaiting only coronation to continue the struggle. Others, including Duke Hain were calling me vicious, disgusting names. The vast majority of the crowd spoke loudly, but without content. They clearly did not know what to think. Confusion reigned. I was unable to do anything. I stood, mostly naked on the dais trying to determine what was happening. My small cock lay limp against my leg and I looked at the small, shriveled thing and its long history of mortifications.

I had, of course, been born with it. A cock as well as a cunny. According to my mother (who told me when I was very young and before she died), the doctor had never seen anything like it. My father had been disgusted by me, declaring that I was neither his son nor his daughter. He had the doctor executed so that he could tell no one. He shared my secret with only the empire's Chief Tanri Priest, Cardinal Rahip and (I had learned that evening) the High Priestess of Gunes, Cin (at the time only 14 years old and in her first year in the position). Or perhaps she had just known. Regardless, the priest suggested that I be killed. My father and mother refused (well, my mother did). Therefore, the priest demanded that my true nature be kept a secret. My parents wholeheartedly agreed.

They did not know if I would be a son or daughter. They claimed I was very sick and, for the first two years of my life, I lived within a few rooms in the palace. Some mystery about my sex existed, accentuated by my androgynous name of Varis. No one but my mother would bathe me, which was a very strange thing for a Consort to do. Eventually, my personality emerged and it was clear that I was a daughter. My father's dreams of a second son dashed, he hated me more than when I was first born. He suggested that I be castrated so that I could live as one of his daughters, my mother refused, noting that in all likelihood the procedure would kill me.

Therefore, I grew up as a princess. I occasionally saw other people naked, whether they were making love in the great hall after a feast or bathing in the river. (We royals were entitled to private rooms to sleep, everyone else slept in great halls with everyone else, sex and nudity were very often public). I knew that I was different, but I was told never to speak of it. No one was to ever see me without my clothing, not even Arkadas. As I grew and my body began womanly in all other respects, I grew to feel an intense shame about my body. I prayed that no one suspected my true nature and wanted desperately to maintain the secret my parents had created. I suppose that was a major reason my father had decided to make me a Tanril Virgin, to protect my secret.

But the secret, most assuredly, was dead. Now that the deed was done and my true nature was exposed to the crowd, I could not believe what I had done. I would never have thought that any power on earth or in heaven would ever get me to expose my cock to anyone. I wouldn't have told a family member about my true nature even if they promised on their death bed to never reveal it. But somehow, here, I had been forced into action. I had been thinking about Ülke, my family, and our glorious history. I couldn't let that die. It was more important than my individual fears or desires, it was everything my family had ever been. The throne meant more than my exposure. 




The Sultanah Ch. 01



But now, feeling my nudity exposed to the world, I wondered how I'd managed to do it. I felt so disgusting and dirty. These men had always thought of me as one of Kral's daughters. What would they think of me now? What would the world think when the truth rolled out from these doors, as it inevitably would? I felt as though I were going to be sick. Finally, seeming to sense that I was in a state of shock, Cin finally took charge.

"None of you men here have the right to make a decision about the future of the throne. The Hanedan Dynasty remains intact. Varis is the Sultanah-elect and while you may advise her, the only role allowed to the Peers. Sultanah is not a democratic position." 

"Who are you to declare that!" a voice rang from the back.

"Where is Cardinal Rahip? If any lord spiritual is to speak on this matter, it should be Tanri's representative," called another. The crowd was loud again for a moment. But then Duke Hain spoke quickly, and found a weakness in Cin's argument.

"She has breasts, she speaks like a woman, she looks like a woman. Simply because she has some strange growth between her legs does not mean that she is heir to the throne. A throne must be capable of producing heirs," he said and there was the sound of agreement.

"I..." I said unevenly, once again finding the words to speak, "I produce seed." I felt my cheeks redden farther as I thought back to those shameful nights, waking from an arousing dream to find my accursed cock erect and my bed slightly wet. I knew these for wet dreams. I had never consciously given myself a climax (though I knew from the conversation of men that is was possible and how it was done) because such things were not lady-like. But I knew that I could produce seed.

"A mule can produce seed," Hain retorted, "But a mule cannot produce an heir."

"Funny, many told your mother the same thing, yet she insisted on fucking her mule, and here you are. More the fool I, I suppose," Cin lashed out suddenly. Some in the crowd gasped at her lewdness while other laughed at the witty remark. I was frankly shocked. Hain's face grew dark and he appeared as though he would strangle her. 

"How dare..." Hain started. I saw Cin's eyes narrow.

"I know who you are Hain. I know you!" she hissed. Hain looked at her confused, but he could feel the malice pouring out of her every pore and he closed his mouth. Briefly. But when he spoke again, he seemed as though he was attempting to control himself.

"Stop with this petty name calling," he said uneasily, "My... my point remains, we do not know if she can produce an heir just because she has a member." Cin's demeanor changed and she seemed more business-like. Whatever there was between she and Hain, it seemed they would ignore it now.

"Would you accept," Cin asked, "That if she were capable of producing an heir that she would necessarily be the heir to the throne?" Duke Hain looked at the priestess warily. But he had no grounds upon which to object.

"Simply produce, no," he said, "But sire, then yes. If that...Varis can sire an heir then she is the heir to Kral IV." Duke Hain seemed uncomfortable saying it, but he looked nervous. There was no way for him to deny this, it was, after all, the definition of a father. But he seemed to hope he had caught Cin speaking farther than she actually knew. 

"Many of you doubt all the powers of Gunes," Cin said now, looking out to the crowd, "But you also know that the Priestesses of Gunes possess some great powers." There was a general noise of agreement in the crowd. I moved my hand slowly over my cock as attention was focused elsewhere and tried to figure out what Cin was driving at.

"No one doubts your abilities," Duke Hain said dismissively, as though he believed her abilities to be quite minor. Though I had seen fear in his eyes when he looked at her.

"Many of you, and many of your wives have come to me throughout the years with questions. Questions about fertility and childrearing. And impotence. You know what the false God Tanri claims, but you also know that when a serious matter is at hand that you need Gunes. You need the Priestesses to tell you the truth. I have guided many of you through the issues. Does anyone deny it?" I looked around the room. I saw some men nodding. No one denied the truth. Most of the alms that came to the Temple of Gunes were given by wives, seeking to obtain desired pregnancies or to terminate those that were not desired. Gunes and Cin knew much about virility.

"I can test Varis and determine the fertility of her seed," Cin said boldly. I wondered what that meant, "If I test her and find that she can produce an heir will you all cease your interference with the House of Hanedan and allow the right Sultanah on the throne? Will you cease your actions when they are proved treasonous?"

"We will abide!" I heard a voice call out.

"How can we trust you?" Hain asked, "Even if you can tell, how would we know you were not lying?" Cin looked at him coolly. It was a dangerous move to doubt the sincerity of a priestess.

"A show of faith," Cin said quietly. I watched her close her eyes and begin to whisper. I could barely make out her words, but I could tell she was speaking to Gunes. She was offering up a prayer. Slowly her hand lifted so that it was close to her face. Everyone in the hall leaned forward, watching her.

"Amen!" Cin yelled loudly. Then she quickly turned her wrist and placed it into her mouth. I winced as she bit down, incredibly hard. I heard a murmur through the room. Cin pulled her wrist away from her mouth and then spat. Onto the floor, a large amount of flesh bounded. My face contorted in horror. Cin lifted her wrist up to the crowd, showing that she'd bit all the way to her bone. But no blood flowed. Bone and sinew was visible, the wound was dry as was Cin's face. 

"Good God!" Hain said.

"Gunes is very good!" Cin said, "I have promised the God that if I lie to you that he may allow my blood to flow from this wound. If I lie then I die!" The crowd murmured. All eyes on the wound, disbelieving what they saw. "Does anyone now doubt me?" I looked around the room. The men were shocked into silence. But there eyes told them that some power was at work. How could they deny their eyes?

"Test the girl..." Hain said finally, begrudgingly. 

"We shall return," Cin said, "It will not take long." She walked over to me and grabbed my wrist (with her wounded hand. I almost recoiled, but was afraid to do even that).

"Can you not test her here?" Hain asked.

"Gunes is light. But nothing everything Gunes does must be exposed to the light of day. We will not be long." Cin then started to pull me across the dais. I stepped out of my bloomers, leaving them in a small pile on the floor. Cin walked me off the dais and down one of the aisles towards a door to a room off of the side of the hall. As I walked, I could feel men's eyes on me, I'd never been so naked.

Finally, we reached the door and Cin pushed it open. We walked into a small hallway with a stairwell leading down into a cellar. Cin started to walk down the stairs.

"Cin, what is happening? I am so confused," I said, now feeling able to speak since we are alone.

"We don't have time for explanations. You did well. You demanded to take what was yours, they will respect that later. But we cannot wait, they will be talking amongst themselves while you are gone and will get into mischief," Cin said. This, of course, explained nothing.

"How will you test me? What...what is all of this?" I said, feeling extremely overwhelmed.

"No more questions, do as I say and this will all work out," Cin said. We had reached the bottom of the stairs and Cin pushed it open. We stepped into a small cellar; there were barrels all over the room, presumably beer for the men's meetings. A small table was set in the middle of the cellar and an oil lamp sat upon it. Seated at the table was...

"Arkadas?" I asked. My erstwhile friend turned her head and looked at me. I was standing behind a barrel, she could not see my whole body, just the area above my waist.

"Cin?" Arkadas said, ignoring me, "Why have you asked me to meet you here? I am not supposed to be in this Hall. I want to go back to the palace and check on my friends..."

"Silence," Cin ordered. She walked around the barrels so that she was standing in front of Arkadas. "The king is dead, his sons are dead. The Empire is in turmoil."

"Tanri be merciful!" Arkadas said, her eyes growing wide and her mouth covering her face.

Tanri is a myth," Cin said. It seemed she no longer had any interest in playing nice with the New Religion. For a moment, Arkadas looked at me, I thought I saw sympathy there, but she looked back at the table.

"What does that have to do with me being here?" Arkadas asked.

"Come here," Cin said to me. I felt a lump forming in my throat. Arkadas knew everything there was to know about me. She was my constant companion. She knew everything except for one detail. Now Cin wanted me to walk over and show her. "Damn you Varis there is no time!" Once again I was being asked to forfeit my dignity for the throne. I had no choice. As I walked around the barrels, Cin spoke.

"Varis is now the heir to the throne. In fact, she is the Sultanah-elect. But the peers of the realm doubt her ability to produce heirs. I need your help to prove otherwise," Cin said. But I could not tell if Arkadas was listening to her. As I walked from behind the barrel, her eyes had flashed quickly onto my nudity. They grew wide as she saw my limp cock, bouncing against my legs. She looked up briefly at my eyes and then back down at my cock.

"She is...what?" Arkadas said, her eyes looked like they were going to fall from her head and her voice sounded dazed. I knew how she felt. I moved so that I was standing next to Cin, directly in front of Arkadas.

"Don't worry about the details," Cin said impatiently, "Just do what I say."

"I..." Arkadas said, her head tilted to the side while she looked at me. She didn't finish he words, she just stared at me. She'd never looked at me in such an alien way, I felt very self-conscious. 

"You aren't an 'I,' you are slave," Cin said cruelly, "Stop staring at your Sultanah and get over here." Arkadas did not resist. She stood up from her seat and walked over toward us.

"What do you want her to do?" I asked. I still had no conception of what Cin intended to happen.

"I need a sample of your seed to test," she said, "Your slave is going to extract it." For a moment I couldn't quite understand what she was saying. Extracting my seed? What did that entail...

"I will do no such thing!" Arkadas said at the same moment I realized what Cin was implying.

"You will," Cin replied without concern, "Now, I need you to..."

"No!" Arkadas said boldly, "Have her...extract her own seed. Or better yet why don't you do it!" Cin's eyes flared, but she maintained her composure.

"I cannot adequately perform the analysis of the Sultanah's seed if she extracts it herself. Further, I am the High Priestess of Gunes, it would not be appropriate for me to do so. I may only engage in such actions during the ceremony of...well that is not of your concern. You are a slave. This is your role. Do it without further word. I will need it collected in your mouth..."

"I do not do that! I will not...suck...Varis'...cock," Arkadas said, each word coming out in a confused struggle. The whole while I stood with my eyes cast down, listening to what Cin demanded but being unable to believe it. I, of course, knew what she was suggesting. Sex, except for royal sex, was a public occurrence as few people could afford private rooms. I had, in my life, seen many sexual acts. But I'd never engaged in any. How could I? Beyond my notable physical...handicap, I was a princess. Sex would dishonor me as well as my dynasty. Sex had never even been a consideration. Now it was being demanded.

"I see more than you realize Arkadas," Cin said meaningfully, "I know a handful of guards who would dispute whether you 'do that.'" Arkadas eyes got even wider and her pale face became crimson. Arkadas had...sex? We'd never spoken of that. Now it was my turn to be shocked.

"What I do on my own time is my business. I choose what I do and when."

"You do not have your own time, you are a slave!" Cin responded, "This is over. Get on your knees!" Cin placed her hand on Arkadas shoulder and easily forced her down. Arkadas made a small squealing noise, but dropped so that her eyes were even with my member, just a few inches away. I considered stepping back. I didn't want this either. But I couldn't. This wasn't about what I wanted. It was about what my people needed. They needed a Sultan. I could not hold that position unless Cin proved me capable. I would do what Cin demanded. If only Arkadas would.

"But..." Arkadas said, "I am not a prostitute." Her voice sounded very small, her eyes were closed. Suddenly, I realized the root of Arkadas reluctance. It was not just that this was absolutely strange and that she was shocked. Surely, that was a large portion of it. But not all of it. Arkadas had lived for a long time in anticipation that she would be sent to my father's harem. Her greatest fear was that the Sultan would force her into a life of prostitution. Her closest friend had not cared enough to worry for her and, in fact, had questioned her loyalty. And now, essentially, the Sultan was forcing her into prostitution. But that Sultan was now her careless friend. Of course she was reticent. She should have been. I had to make this right.

"Arkadas," I said calmly, "You are not required to do anything. I do not demand it." Arkadas, still on her knees before me, looked up, looking angry. She did not respond.

"To hell with this nonsense!" Cin said, her voice filling with rage, "There is no time for this. If we do not return to the hall shortly, the men will get cold feet. You must order your slave to act!" I felt a sudden rage overcome me. Cin had been quite rude to Arkadas. Now that rudeness was turning on me. Cin was working in my best interests, but they were still my interests. I would decide how to achieve them.

"Cin," I said, turning to the priestess, "Do you believe that I am the rightful Sultanah?"

"Of course, why do you think I am..."

"And do you believe I will be good at it? Do you believe I am destined to be a great Sultanah?" I interrupted her. Cin's eyes slit and she pursed her lips.

"My visions and my instincts tell me so, yes. Though neither skill is always accurate, I see only what may be if everything is done correctly..." she responded.

"Then kindly shut your mouth in the presence of your Sultanah," I said harshly, "I am the Sultanah, you are the advisor. When I need to hurry I will inform you of what is required." Cin looked as though she'd been struck, actually taking a step back. But in her eyes, I saw something else. I could have sworn it was...respect. Had this been a test? I didn't have time to dwell, I turned my eyes back to Arkadas, on her knees before me.

"Arkadas, will you consent to listen to me briefly?" I asked, intending to south as obsequious as possible. She crossed her arms over her breasts.

"Fine," she said, still intent on being angry. I agreed with Cin that there was little time to lose, so I began without preamble.

"I apologize for this situation, but it cannot be helped. Cin told the truth when she said that my father and my brothers are dead. I...I am not what I appeared to be. I apologize again for not speaking the truth about my nature, with you of all people. But...Secrecy was important. And it seems you had some secrets from me as well," I said and her cheeks reddened.

"I am not a prostitute," she said.

"And I would never imply that you are. I did not know about the harem until after we spoke. Had I known, I would not have spoken foolishly. But I was foolish. For a third time, I apologize and beg your forgiveness. But I also ask that you do me a favor. The request that Cin has made of you was not devised for your humiliation. However, I must trust Cin in this. If she says that it is required to secure my throne and protect my people, then I must find some way to do it. If I cannot prove my viability as an heir, then the throne of Ülke is vacant and Bütün Dünya ceases to exist. We will surrender." 

"Tanri be merciful!" Arkadas said, her eyes getting wide. 

"Cin tells me that we need your help now to prove that I deserve to be on the throne," I said. I didn't really think about the words as they came from my mouth. Everything I said just felt right at the moment and I chased that feeling, "But it doesn't matter if the men in that hall think that I deserve to be Sultanah. You know me better than anyone else in the entire world. Your opinion matters more. If you do not believe that I am entitled to sit on the throne, if you refuse me now, then I will not stand for my coronation. I ask you to help me now, to prove my birthright, as my equal and as my friend. Not as my slave. If you do not believe I deserve your help, then I am not a worthy heir to the Hanedan Dynasty," I said simply. 

I took a deep breath afterwards. Every word had been the truth. But beyond that, I owed this to Arkadas, as an apology for my self-centeredness. Arkadas was still on her knees before me, her eyes closed as though thinking. After a moment, those eyes flashed open and she looked up at me. They were so bright and twinkled with tears.

"As you slave...As your...prostitute I could not bear to help you onto the throne. I would see the whole country fall to satisfy my own justice," Arkadas said. I could sense Cin stirring, but I raised my hand and she stopped, "But as your friend...I would die to put you on that throne." I felt a smile spread across my face and Arkadas smiled as well.

"Thank you," I said quietly. I kissed my fingers, reached down, and pressed them against my friend's face. We stood for a long moment, basking in our reconciliation. But there was still the matter at hand. "And I am sorry I never told you about this before. I didn't...I pretended that it wasn't the case. This was not a secret I kept from you, it was a secret I kept from the world."

"I've always known who you are. What is between your legs makes no difference. What must I do?" she asked, her face becoming serious. I looked over at Cin. She eyed me carefully, and then looked at Arkadas.

"You must fellate the Sultanah and collect her seed in your mouth. You must not swallow it, and then you must await my instruction," Cin said. It was so simple. But so impossible. I looked back down at Arkadas and her face was once again red. I could tell that I looked the same. I gazed down at my cock, still dangling limp between my legs. I couldn't even imagine what was to come next.

"Act quickly!" Cin said. 

"It is so strange," Arkadas said, leaning forward towards me slightly, "I want to do it, but it feels so...unnatural." I could feel her breath against my skin. I could barely breathe. I shook my head.

"You are my best friend Arkadas," I said quietly, once again feeling the sensation of words coming from some unknown place inside of me, "And I love you. I know that you love me too. Let us consider this an opportunity to demonstrate that love. Nothing more and nothing less. Our friendly love is natural and so its expression will be natural," I said. I saw the words have their desired effect as Arkadas nodded slowly.

"I love you too Sultanah," she said slowly, "And it is my honor to show you."

Arkadas began to lean forward closer to me and I saw her hands rose shaking from her sides. I felt my heart start to pound more rapidly as the reality of the moment became clear. I was no longer thinking about politics, or my throne, or anything so complex. Sex was now the dominant focus of my mind. For the first time in my life, it sprang forward into my conscious thought without confusion or shame. I had always unthinkingly assumed I would die without ever having sex with anyone. My throat felt tight and my breathing ragged as I realized I had been wrong. Something new, exciting, and completely unknowable was about to happen.




The Sultanah Ch. 01



"It will be alright Varis," Arkadas purred and I looked down at her. For the first time in my life I noticed that Arkadas was not just beautiful in an academic sense, but in a real, physical way. I looked at her delicate skin, her long blonde hair, generous curves, and angelic face and realized and sexual attraction to her that had always been there, but was repressed and distorted. I was especially taken with the way her bodice lifted her large breasts high, her cleavage just a few inches under her chin. I was overcome with desire for her and also my fear of that desire. I didn't know if I could go through with this. Arkadas seemed to sense something. She placed her left hand against the outside of my thigh, rubbing it gently and giving me a soothing look, "I have done this before and know what I am doing. You will enjoy it," she assured me. Arkadas words seemed to find my anxieties and lift them. It was not her words though, it was the manner in which she spoke; I knew that I could trust her in this.

Arkadas' right hand now lifted from her side. Slowly she lifted it up toward my midsection. My eyes carefully followed her movements, almost unable to believe they were actually happening. Arkadas' long, slender fingers reached up between my legs. I took a quick breath in as I felt the soft pads of her fingers press gently into the skin surrounding my balls. It felt so strange to have alien fingers touching my most secret and shamed area. But it also felt wonderful. I suddenly felt a rush of sensation between my legs; like all feeling in my body was now concentrated in that single place. I held my breath without thinking.

Slowly, Arkadas moved her hand so that my balls rested gently in her palm. I bit my lip and watched as she slowly bounced them in her hand. Her skin was so smooth and her touch was so careful, it felt wonderful. She looked at my cock while she bounced it and smiled.

"I have never seen balls so big before," she said, then added hastily, "Though I haven't seen many. They are very heavy." I heard Cin make an annoyed noise, but I was too entranced by Arkada's gentle attention. Slowly her hand closed around my balls, gripping them firmly but not squeezing. Her hand felt warm and tight and I groaned slightly. Arkadas fingers moved slowly on my balls as she held them, massaging them gently.

Arkadas bounced my cock once more. It was still flaccid and my 5-inch member flopped against her hand. I, of course, had had erections before. And I was certainly more aroused than I'd ever been in my life. It was so taboo and exciting to have another person touching my body. Especially a beautiful woman with a gentle touch. And the fact that it was someone I loved and had just reconciled with added a whole new dimension to my arousal. Despite all of this, my cock remained limp. I believe my excitement and nerves had overcome me and, for some reason I could scarcely understand, I felt embarrassed.

If Arkadas noticed my embarrassment, she did not seem put out. In fact she said, "It is such a surprising thing, this cock. It looks like a man's member, but it looks feminine too. The fact that you grow no hair above it adds to the effect. I did not ever guess I would think one of these items to be 'cute' but I can think of no better word for this one Varis. You have a cute cock!" Then, Arkadas closed her eyes and leaned forward. I kept my eyes on her face as she leaned in. After a moment, I felt a soft, warm wetness as Arkadas' lips pressed against the foreskin at the tip of my cock. Arkadas had kissed my cock!

"Gunes help me!" I moaned loudly, feeling my knees go weak. The sensation I'd felt when Arkadas had touched my cock, which had seemed overwhelming at the time, was dwarfed by this new impression. My skin prickled and my head felt light. I felt the blood starting to flow as my heart beat faster.

"You taste nice too, so sweet," Arkadas informed me. I smiled, despite the weakness in my body. I reached my hand forward and placed it on Arkadas' head. I let my fingers slip into her beautiful gold hair (while, I admit, using her slightly to maintain my balance). Arkadas leaned forward and kissed the tip of my cock again and I squealed. I'd never felt anything like this before. My body felt as though it would move without my volition.

"Arkadas," I gasped, "Please, I need you now." I essentially begged. Whatever dignified distance I'd once had with Arkadas over our lives was now extinguished. I was begging her. For the first time ever, I needed her more than she needed me. But I felt no humiliation. It felt wonderful, it felt honest and perfect.

"My Sultanah," Arkadas said and I felt the wind from her words on the skin of my cock, "Your wish was, is, and always will be, my command." With that, Arkadas opened he mouth slightly. I saw her pink tongue slip from between her lips and I trembled as it slipped along the underside of the tip of my cock. Her contact was just the barest hint of a sensation, but it was overwhelming. I felt my hand tighten on Arkadas' head and I craned my neck to watch her movements.

Arkadas was deliberate, but not necessarily slow. She swiped her hot, pink tongue against the bottom of my cock again, but then opened her mouth wider. In an instant, my foreskin and the soft tip of my cock slipped into Arkadas mouth. Her tongue retreated into her mouth as well. In a moment, I was overcome by the sensation of Arkadas' tongue circling around on my tip. She poked at my foreskin and poked at me gently. Her tongue felt both rough and soft at the same time, and the wet heat it brought to my skin was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

As Arkadas swirled her tongue, my body seemed to overcome my earlier reticence or fear. The pleasure that Arkadas provided was so unequivocally good, so clearly right, that any remaining nerves evaporated. I looked down over my breasts encased in my corset, to Arkadas's beautiful, big blue eyes open and looking up at me and I felt my body reacting. My cock, to that point at best half erect, started to swell. I saw Arkadas smile around my cock, while keeping her tongue moving. In a few seconds, my 5-inch member was hard. In fact, because neither Arkadas nor I had moved, my cock had actually slipped a little bit deeper into my friend's mouth. 

I guess that Arkadas let my cock lead the way, as it were. As soon as my member was rigid, my skin taut against the flesh, Arkadas started to move her head down. She also started to move her hand gently on my balls, rolling them slightly in her hand, but not moving them too much. I made a strange, unplanned, croaking noise and bit my lip. Inch by inch, my cock slowly disappeared into Arkadas' mouth. I felt the strange, tight sensation of her mouth and her tongue and lips tightly on my hot skin. I reveled in the feel of the hot breath from her nose against my lower stomach. 

Now my cock was bathed entirely within Arkadas mouth. I could feel her rough tongue running along the bottom, undulating and sending shivers down my spine. I could feel the insides of her soft, slick cheeks as she sucked me in. I could even feel the sensation of her teeth rest gently (by no means biting) against my cock. My knees felt weak and I looked down in Arkadas' eyes. She was looking up at me with her bright, Northern eyes. It almost looked like she was smiling around my cock.

While Arkadas was slipping my cock into her mouth, I noticed that my nipples felt incredibly sensitive and I could feel them rubbing against the inside of my corset. For reasons I could scarcely understand, I desperately wanted to squeeze my breasts and pinch at my nipples, I even moved my free hand up to my corset. But the whalebone corset was too tough, I pressed my hand hard against it, but the sensation was dull and pleasure-less. In fact, the simple feeling of my nipples on the inside of the corset was far more enjoyable. 

But I still felt the need, so, without thinking, I bent slightly to one side and slipped my hand into the top of Arkadas' bodice. I heard make a squealing noise around my cock and for a moment her body was slightly rigid, but then she purred and I felt her body melt. My fingers slid into Arkadas' bodice and down across her breast. I delighted in the soft, hot feel of her flesh and moaned as my fingers tripped across her hard nipple. I squeezed gently on Arkadas' breast, allowing her nipple to press into my palm and the weight of her flesh to register in my hand. I cannot now say why I did it, if it was to give Arkadas pleasure or if it was a desire of my own, but I loved the way her soft, feminine body felt and the excitement I felt from grasping her breath. Regardless of what she felt, she moaned slightly at my touch and I felt the vibrations of that noise echo through my cock, making me shake all over and sending her lips jittering on my shaft.

After her initial surprise at my movements, Arkadas did not cease in her primary task. While I gently rubbed her breast, Arkadas slipped the last of my cock into her mouth. I could feel her nose pressed against my stomach, her chin against my balls, and my cock on the edge of her throat. The feeling was almost too much to register, my legs were shaking. I wanted more and I thrust my hips slightly. Arkadas choked around my cock and I was surprised to find that the feeling of her throat closing around my cock was almost as wonderful as her tongue.

Arkadas pulled my cock a half in out of her throat. For a moment, she just let my cock rest in her mouth, her tongue swirling underneath of it. After a moment, however, I felt her head draw back slightly. I turned my head and watched her as best as I could, while keeping one hand on her breast and the other tangled in her hair. I saw a few inches of my cock slip out from Arkadas' thick pink lips. I felt the cool air on my skin, accentuated by Arkadas' saliva. Arkadas pulled my cock all the way out of her mouth, so that just the very tip of my cock remained inside. Then, she quickly thrust her head down, once against driving my cock into her throat, only this time with much greater speed. Once again, she choked and her throat closed around my cock. I could feel her mouth fill with saliva and it felt hot and wet against my skin.

Now it seemed we both abandoned ourselves to the moment. I kept my hand on Arkadas breast, my fingers moving faster and faster with each passing second. Arkadas bobbed her head up and down with speed and abandon. My cock slid in and out of Arkadas throat, over and over again. She left her throat wide open, letting me plunge in and out of her without any concern. The sensation I felt, my cock sliding through Arkadas lips and over her tongue, was too enchanting. I wanted nothing more than to feel that sensation constantly, and for the rest of my life. The whole time, I heard myself moaning loudly, sometimes calling out Arkadas name. Any thoughts about the larger situation I was involved in, or my grief, or the risks I ran in the future had completely fled my mind, it was only this pleasure that I wanted.

After several minutes, I noticed that the pleasure I felt was now tinged with something else, a kind of frustration I didn't really understand. I had never pleasured myself in my life (to consider such an action would acknowledge the shameful nature of my body) and any sexual experience I had occurred while I was asleep. I did not know what to expect. But after several minutes of feeling and watching as my cock pounded in and out of my friend's mouth, I noticed that my body was starting to lock up. I felt my toes curl on the floor, my hand clenched slightly, and I was barely breathing. I felt that my body needed something, some kind of release, but I could not begin to fathom what that would mean. I pushed down on Arkadas head and thrust my hips, instinctively searching for something, but unable to know what it was.

In an instant and an eternity, the sensation became unbearable. It was so uncomfortable that if it was not countered by the still-pleasurable feeling of Arkadas mouth I may have stopped and given up on sex forever, confused about its benefit. But then, the tension in my body reached an unbearable crescendo. I heard myself making a squealing noise and my head felt light. Suddenly, I felt frustration overwhelm me, crest, and then collapse on itself. And when it did so, the feeling was indescribable.

My head, already swimming from lack of air, seemed to go blank. My body felt weak and I fell back slightly. My cock slipped from between Arkadas lips. With quick movements, her hand slipped up from my balls, wrapped around my cock, and continued to stroke me. But I could barely register those actions. Instead, I felt a deep, vibrational warmth emanating out from between my legs. I felt like my entire body was shaking, but shaking so fast that it could not be seen. The sensation I felt, so much stronger than when I felt it in my wet dreams, spread out over me. It crawled up and down my body, each part of my body it touched intensifying the sensation. I gasped closed my eyes, it was all too much. Soon, the wave of pleasure reached my brain, clouding out everything but pure pleasure.

The first thing I recognized after a few seconds was Cin's voice, "In your mouth, get it in your mouth!" she said. My eyes flung open. I felt confused and absolute calm. Every muscle in my body felt limp and my mind felt sluggish. I barely remembered where I was or what I was doing. But as my thoughts flooded back to me, I looked down to Arkadas, between my knees with my cock in her hand. I was shocked by what I saw.

My cock was a few inches from Arkadas' face, still grasped in her palm. I watched as my cock jerked a large blob of thick, white liquid shot from it; my seed. Arkadas now had her mouth wide open and I watched as my seed landed on her tongue and splashed against the inside of her cheek. I also now saw that I had spread a great deal more seed while my eyes had been closed. Arkadas' face was coated in thick, white liquid. One thick strand of it stretched from the bridge of her nose, across her eye, and even up to her hair. Her cheeks and chin were soaked and I saw that it had dripped down onto her neck and even onto her breasts. There was so much, like someone had poured an ale tankard of my seed on her face. I groaned looking at it. Arkadas' eyes were wide with surprised and she lowered her mouth once again around my cock. I was surprised to find that I found she looked beautiful that way and that I was aroused by the sight of her, covered in my seed. Such a surprising emotion. My cock jerked again, filling Arkadas mouth with more of my seed.

Finally, it seemed that my climax was drawing to an end. I felt slightly winded and nearly euphoric. My cock had stopped jerking and it seemed that all of my seed had been deposited on Arkadas body and in her mouth. Slowly, Arkadas pulled my now-sensitive cock from between her lips and released it. I groaned and stumbled back a bit, feeling my legs again for the first time in several minutes. I looked at Arkadas, she was smiling at me, her face milky with my seed. I wanted nothing more in that moment to drop to my knees and pressed my lips against hers. I wanted to kiss her and taste my seed on her lips.

"That was amazing," I said then, realizing something, added, "How many times have you done that." Arkadas grin grew wider, her cheeks a bit redder, but she did not speak. The scent of my seed, clean and dirty all at once, filled the stuff store room. I could smell another, musky scent directly underneath of it. Cunny. Was it mine? Was it...no, it couldn't be Arkadas'. I didn't have time to think about it. There was still business and Cin ripped me right back into it.

"Did you save some of it in your mouth?" Cin said, suddenly bringing me back to reality. This had all happened for a reason and Cin was growing more impatient. Arkadas did not speak she simply nodded her head. Cin quickly walked over to the seat where Arkadas had been waiting when we first arrived. She sat down on it, "Stand up!" she ordered. Arkadas smiled faded, she looked a bit nervous.

"It will be alright," I said, not sure if I was telling the truth. Arkadas nodded and stood. Cin quickly grabbed Arkadas' wrist and pulled toward her closely. Arkadas tripped and looked upset, but Cin seemed not to notice.

"Deposit Varis' seed in my mouth," Cin said as though she was asking Arkadas to pass her the salt. Arkadas eyes got wide and she did not move. For a moment, we all stood frozen in the room. 

"The seed damn you!" Cin bellowed after a moment. It did not sound like Cin's voice, it had a resonance I could not place and made my knees feel weak. Arkadas seemed to feel it too, and she quickly turned her head towards Cin.

Given Cin's position sitting in the chair, Arkadas was standing sort of above the priestess. Arkadas dutifully bent her head down and closed her eyes. Cin continued to grasp Arkadas' arm with one of her hands, the other reached up and found Arkadas' neck. Cin pulled Arkadas down quickly but not as gruffly as I'd feared. Now Cin also closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. I stood transfixed as Arkadas sticky, wet lips met the priestess' own lips. They kissed. And, it did not seem unpleasant. Arkadas pillowy pink lips pressed into Cin's thick red mouth. Their lips seemed to quiver. I saw as my seed, spread on Arkadas chin and cheeks, dripping slightly onto Cin's face. I heard a gentle, wet sound as they lips moved together. Arkadas body seemed to relax and she made a noise in her throat. She seemed to like it.

After a few moments, I saw Cin's tongue slip out of her mouth and run along the curve of Arkadas' lips. My seed spread along her tongue as she did so. Then, she pressed her tongue hard against Arkadas' lips. It quickly pierced into Arkadas mouth. Arkadas seemed to know instinctively what Cin wanted. Arkadas opened her mouth wider, driving her tongue now into Cin's mouth. Cin now reciprocated, spreading her lips to allow Arkadas access. As Arkadas pressed her tongue into Cin's mouth, a large white glob of my seed went with it. I watched as the two women's tongues played in the small space between them. They batted my seed between them, allowing it to coat their tongues and teeth. Finally, Cin made a gentle sucking sound and I watched as she pulled the seed into her mouth and closed her lips. 

Cin's hand slid off of Arkadas's neck and she released Arkadas arm. For a moment Arkadas seemed uncertain about what to do, she stood dreamily next to Cin. But then Cin broke their kiss and quickly turned away. Arkadas stood for a moment longer and then stepped back, dazed and aroused.

For her part, Cin no longer seemed to notice Arkadas. Whatever feelings Arkadas had felt during the kiss has been totally meaningless to the priestess. Cin placed her elbows on the table and then propped her head up on her palms. She looked ahead, her eyes almost blank. She swished my seed around her mouth, I could hear it slipping between her teeth. Sometimes her tongue would slip out along her lips, coated in a thick film of seed. A few other times, she opened her mouth slightly and I saw the frothy liquid on her tongue and coating her teeth. Finally, she rolled her head back, gargled for a few seconds, and then swallowed it down. Big bubbles of seed formed on her lips and the sound was lewd, but somehow sensual. I had no idea what she was doing or why, but stood watching her with strange, confused thoughts. And aroused. Something about watching Cin play with my seed...I liked it. 

As soon as she swallowed my seed, the lights went back into Cin's eyes. She shook her head once and looked around the room. A smile spread across her face. She looked at me, her face glistening slightly with my juices, and winked at me.

"Gunes has gifted you with much," was all she said. Then she quickly stood from the chair and started walking. I stood still, not entirely sure what she meant. As she passed me, she grabbed my wrist and started to pull me back towards the door.




The Sultanah Ch. 02



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 2 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for.

From now on the sex will be much more prominent in the story, though plot remains central as well. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. 

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapter.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 2: Coronation

"And after she walks from the stairway down towards the street..." Cardinal Rahip began.

"She should not be walking down after the crown is placed on her head!" Cin shot back, she should rise towards Gunes..."

"She should humble herself before Tanri, go down to the level of the Temple..." Cardinal Rahip interrupted in turn. Then both clergy members began to talk over one another so thickly that their words were impossible to hear. Soon other voices added to the cries, making the room reverberate.

We were in my fathers'...my throne room. I was sitting on the consort's throne (As I had not yet received my coronation, I could not sit in the Sultan, or in the future, Sultanah's throne). My elbow was propped on the armrest of my chair and I was supporting my head with my hand, watching the actions unfold before me. It had been nearly a week since my father and brothers had died and every day after the first had been like this. Constant, bewildering conflict.

The current fight was about the nature of my coronation. Cardinal Rahip, Tanri's representative in the city, was planning what had become the traditional, New Religion coronation, scheduled to occur in four days. Cin, on the other hand, was attempting to insert many older traditions in the ceremony, those that dated back to the early days of the Empire. Coronation rituals that were closely tied to Gunes. Each symbolic gesture had meaning to one or the other and it seemed that they agreed on nothing. I could barely understand the importance of each conflict and felt further and further out of my element with each new issue that arose. 

The Peers were also present in the hall, lining the walls and watching the battle closely. No formal meeting had been called and they were not required to attend. But it was clear that something important was happening and they wanted to be involved. In fact, it was clear that the stakes were extremely high. They called out to Rahip or to Cin, to cheer or to insult, taking intense interest in each jab, each parry. 

Things had moved with breathtaking speed in the days since my father's death. After I had obtained the acclamation of the Peers as my father's heir, I hadn't had any plan about what was to occur next. I knew that, given my...unique anatomy, that I was entitled to the throne. The people seemed shocked and confused by the state of affairs and they did not embrace me as they might a more traditional heir. Significantly, they had not rejected me either. It seemed that they were waiting to see what would happen. The Peers, satisfied with my right to throne (or at least cowed enough not to openly question it) agreed on little else. As such, they provided very little in the way of guidance. 

In the days that followed, I kept my mouth closed and my eyes open as events moved quickly. I noticed, without stating anything to anyone, that there were clearly two factions in The Peers. Well, I suppose that is an oversimplification. There were dozens of factions in The Peers. Family groups predominated, but there were also regional cliques (different city suburbs and outlying regions tended to stick together). But those various factions seemed to be sorting themselves into two large coalitions. At first, it seemed like the factions within each coalition had little in common. For example, why would Duke Hain, the most powerful landholder in the Empire and the Lord of the Gates see himself allied with Lord Örnek, a low born, cowardly knight with a life grant of a small farm ten miles from the city center? Why would Lord Sadik, a youthful knight with ambitions toward extensive landholdings find himself allied with Duke Eski, an elderly man with many sons and no daughters? Only one thing bound these two coalitions together and set them against one another: Me.

It had not been clear to me at first that I had been the cause of this strife. But, as each day passed it became apparent. Fights about who would sit where during the coronation were actually fights about the nature and direction of my reign as Sultan. Arguments about security for the coronation were actually conflicts about my diplomatic position toward Dusman. Even the foods we would eat and the clothing I would wear seemed to hold deep symbolic value to both sides. It was almost impossible to avoid offense

After several days, I had a working theory on what the two groups of Peers really stood for. The first, and by a wide margin larger, of the groups I called the Collaborationist (though not to their faces) and they were led, without question, by Duke Hain. They stood for continuation of my father's old policies, most specifically as it related to Dusman and the other successor states of the old Empire. The Collaborationists seemed to believe that we could simply ignore the night my father was killed, have Nislani marry Prince Lider, and things would go back to usual. We would forgive their murder of my father and brothers and, in return, they would graciously give up their intention to overthrow Ülke.

The other side, whom I called the Loyalists, were nominally headed by the Duke Göstermelik, an elderly Duke and Keeper of the Privy Seal who had been my father's closest personal friend. However, the real reins of power in this coalition were held by the youthful and energetic Lord Sadik. I could see when they met that all eyes turned to him, I noticed that preferences he stated later became the preferences of the entire group, and I could not help but note how much Duke Göstermelik relied upon him. I knew when I heard Duke Göstermelik speak, that he spoke with Sadik's words. I called them the "Loyalists" because they remained, in my mind, loyal to my father's memory. Or, at least, his symbolic memory as the leader of Ülke. They chose not to ignore the massive insult that Dusman and its allies had offered us and sought some manner of redress. They argued that if we allowed such an action to go unchecked, that it was just a matter of time before we, once again, faced annihilation.

I should note that the difference in diplomatic posture toward Dusman and its allies was not purely philosophical. The great army that had tried to seize the city of Şehir a week earlier might have been pushed out of the gates, but it had not been wholly defeated. The great host of our enemy was still arrayed on the Eastern side of the city. Catapults and trebuchets still rained destruction down upon the city each day. No trade was allowed in by land and most from the rivers was intercepted before it reached us. We had not prepared for a siege, and food would soon become scarce: fishing off the city walls was the only source of need food, and this was perilous due to archers. My actions towards Dusman and its allies would be the first, most important, and perhaps last actions of my reign. Much was riding on it.

"And I say the headdress must be white!" Rahip said, shaking me out of my thoughts. Cin actually laughed.

"Do you want your Sultanah to be a priggish virgin like those girls you keep locked up in the convent?" She spat back, perhaps forgetting that I'd almost been placed in that exact station a week earlier, "Red is the imperial color and the color of Gunes. That should be her color!"

"All of the Sultans from time immemorial have worn red!" a voice called out, and I instantly recognized it as Lord Sadik, no longer able to contain his voice.

"This does not concern The Peers!" Cardinal Rahip shot back. But even I knew that this was not true. I had noticed, during the last few days, that Collaborationists and Loyalists had quickly settled into wary alliances with the two ecclesiastical authorities. The Collaborationists had gravitated, naturally, to Cardinal Rahip. The New Religion provided the only real link between Ülke and Dusman. It represented our continued mutual interest with King Sican in at least one sphere. Cardinal Rahip himself had been born in Dusman, a bastard of Sican's Grandfather, and had been trained for Tanri there. The Collaborationists saw him as a link to peace and, by following the New Religion and Cardinal Rahip in my coronation; they hoped to show King Sican that I was ready to deal, forgiveness for the right to exist. 

The Loyalists considered this plan little better than surrender, they argued that it was a tacit admission of suzerainty by Dusman over Ülke; the inversion of the empire and its former tributary region. These men found themselves siding with Cin. Despite years of quiet submission to my father, Cin now showed that same fire and determination she'd shown that day at the Şehir city hall. She was pushing for an older style of coronation, like my ancestors would have had. This, she and the Loyalists hoped, would show Dusman that we were not cowed and that we would continue to assert our own prerogative. Men who had been tepid followers of Tanri, or completely without religion, now found themselves asserting the rights of Gunes. I wondered if that was Cin's primary concern the entire time. 

"Can we move on to some other issue, perhaps, something less contentious and then come back to this later," Lord Pısırık called over the din of yelling Peers. He was a Collaborationist, but hardly vehement. He, like most of the Peers, was less dedicated to any one position and simply flailing from one panicked reaction to another. He respected Hain's strength, so he was a Collaborationist. He was the epitome of the squishy middle, the vast majority of the Peers. I noted that, despite my nominal position as Sultanah-elect, that these men did not automatically look to me for leadership. In fact, it seemed they were certain they would not find that quality in me. Hence, their weak gravitation to one or the other coalition. 

None of these conflicts, of course, happened out in the open. I suppose I could be wrong about what I was seeing, I was young, inexperienced, and not groomed for leadership like my brothers. But that was my assessment of the situation before me. 

"What shall be the tax to pay for this coronation then?" A lord I could not see said.

"A tax! This is not a parliament, Cardinal Rahip is not qualified to levy a tax. Cin is even less so..."

"What makes Rahip any more qualified..." And the fighting once again resumed. I rolled my eyes, it seemed that everything was controversial. I looked over to my side and saw Arkadas standing next to my chair. We had not spoken about Cin's ceremony on the morning of my father's death. Our actions...seemed like they had been done by other people. But she had returned to my side, a faithful friend once again. I leaned over toward her. I could smell her perfume and my gaze went over her high breasts (despite our silence, I had noticed that something had come unloosed inside of me. Even with my natural inclinations to avoid such thoughts, I found myself unable to once again place a lid on my sexuality. Arkadas was a beautiful woman, I could not help but notice).

"I need to get out of here for a few moments, to clear my head," I whispered to her, "Please take notes if...anything worthwhile happens." I did not anticipate that Arkadas would need her pen.

"Yes Sultanah," she whispered back.

"Varis," I said, still uncomfortable with my title, especially issuing from my friend's mouth.

"Get used to it," she whispered back and smiled. I did not speak. Instead, I simply rose from the consort's seat and started to move towards the Sultan's door and my father's...my chambers.

"Let us ask the Sultanah then!" I heard Cin call out. I froze in my tracks and my blood ran cold. It was like being called upon by a tutor all over again.

"Yes, the Sultanah-elect should decide whether we hold to tradition or engage in superstitious nonsense," Rahip said acidly. I turned back toward the crowd. My joints felt creaky and my mouth was dry. The room had gone silent and all eyes were on me. All eyes were on me, but I realized to my mortification that I had no idea what they were asking of me. I cleared my throat slowly.

"Um..." I said, my voice sounding tiny and girly in the massive hall, "What exactly..." I felt terrified that they would find out that I was in over my head. 

"We have grown tired of fighting over each detail. It seems impossible to find a compromise position," Cin said directly, apparently sensing that I had not been paying attention, "We think it is best that you decide who should preside over your coronation in total: Gunes...or Tanri." It was clear by the way that she said the name of the New Religion's God that she considered it below contempt.

"Do you...agree to this?" I asked Cardinal Rahip, stalling for time.

"I believe that Tanri will grant you the wisdom to make the only choice available," he stated, but bowed obsequiously. The room became absolutely still. The whole matter had, essentially, been thrown at my feet. There was no way to evade. I was required to choose.

I looked between Cin and Rahip, between Gunes and Tanri. I had no idea what the correct choice would be. Having never found the charms of religion to be particularly apparent, I had never considered it deeply. To that end, I could not fall back on my personal preference. Therefore, I began to consider the political implications of my choice.

To Cin, and to Gunes, I owed much. Cin had been the person who had discovered my true nature and ensured my selection as my father's heir. She had been my friend when I was powerless and I felt that I owed it to be hers when I was powerful. Further, the Loyalists, and therefore Cin and Gunes, were more closely aligned with my views. I was not ready to bow to the power of Dusman and I did not believe that capitulation would be an auspicious start to my reign.

On the other hand, Cardinal Rahip and Tanri were far and away the most powerful religious force in the Empire. While few people were deeply religious amongst my people, they nominally followed Tanri. The Peers were even more devoted to Tanri than the people. It was boring, safe, and well known. Gunes seemed confusing, dynamic, and dangerous. Similarly, maintaining close ties to Tanri was the safer choice diplomatically. It would be possible to negotiate with Dusman as members of the same religious faith. If I made my Empire schismatic, it would add a religious dimension to our conflict that I could ill afford to introduce.

As I stood before the crowd, looking at me, I realized I would need some basis to make the decision, some reasoning. I realized that I had only one position from which to make decisions, one way of looking at the world that I could defend then, with my limited experience, "My father was a...great leader," I said and I saw Cin shaking her head. My first six words had already indicated to her the nature of my decision, "My father understood the fragile nature of his position as Sultan and the fragile position of the Empire relative to the rest of the world. He sought to mitigate those weaknesses with each breath he took as Sultan. I cannot in good conscience depart from my father's policies. I have not basis for doing so. The cornerstones of my father's view of leaderships were, on the domestic front, to form consensus with the Peers. On the international front, he sought to build bridges and to achieve peace, prosperity, and respect through diplomatic appeals. 

"Today, we face division amongst the peers and war from our neighbors. Our priorities must be unity at home and a just, lasting peace abroad. While I cannot form consensus, I can choose to hold my coronation in the style that gains support from the greatest portion of the great nobleman assembled here. Incidentally, that coronation will also serve to illustrate to the world at large and to our enemies in particular that we share many interests and that we are more naturally friends," I concluded. I was not certain, even as I said the words, that they were the true feelings of my heart. But I did not know what else to say. How could I disagree with the majority of my Peers? How could hope to remove the threat of Dusman if I antagonized them with my first action as Sultanah? I felt I had no choice, Rahip had been correct.

"Excellent!" the Cardinal said, not even looking at Cin anymore, he turned and started to dictate to his secretary. He was already planning out the rest of my coronation.

"This is a grave error. You will sit on that throne because Gunes found you. If you turn your back on him..." Cin said coolly. I could not meet her gaze.

"Cin..." I started, trying to make her understand. I wanted her to know that I appreciate what she'd done for me and that, in my heart, I wanted to follow her. I wanted to explain to her that I hoped that by appeasing Rahip and the Collaborationists now that perhaps I could buy myself some space to follow the policies she and the Loyalists espoused. But I couldn't explain that, it would be fatal to everything I would ever hope to achieve. Regardless, Cin did not want to hear it.

"I have vision and I suppose I should've known that you would be required to make your own mistakes. But woe be unto us all if Gunes is not a willing and extremely patient teacher. You should all pray that we are allowed one mistake," she said, looking around the room. Then, quickly, she turned and walked out. I desperately wanted to follow after her, to try to repair our damaged friendship, but I could not. 




The Sultanah Ch. 02



The Loyalist Peers sat down in their chairs, cowed and angry. They would not meet my gaze. When I saw the men who despaired at my decision and those who rejoiced, I wondered again if had done the right thing.

"No red...not a drop of it, I don't want anything tainted," Rahip was explaining to his Secretary.

"Cardinal Rahip," I said.

"No, even the carpet, make it green," he said, not noticing.

"Cardinal Rahip," I repeated.

"And, the jewels, I have them...do I have them? Yes."

"Rahip!" I called out loudly and he turned, shocked. I saw anger in his eyes, but I felt my own anger rising as well. I was the Sultanah-Elect and I had extended Tanri an olive branch, the least the Cardinal could do was be courteous, to pretend her respected me. He seemed to sense that it was in bad taste to so brazenly ignore me, and his teeth flashed quickly.

"I apologize Sultanah," he said warmly, "I have been so excited in serving your interests that I did not hear you speak." I looked around the room, and saw my Peers looking at me. They wondered how I would handle such disrespect. I wanted to be bold, to show Rahip that I commanded deference. But he was a man, and I was a woman. I did not know how to begin such a conversation.

"I am retiring to my room. Please leave any notes with Arkadas," I said timidly. I saw Rahip smirk and some of the nobles shake their heads. I turned and finally walked out the back door towards my quarters. I did not want to spend another instant in the room.

As soon as the door was closed behind me and I stood in the hallway that connected the throne room to my father's old chambers, I dropped to my knees on the floor. I felt tears welling in my eyes as the stress of my decision left me. I had been placed on the spot in the room, my ability to lead sorely tested, and I had failed miserably. My decision, whatever its merits, had not produced consensus. It demoralized the side I respected most and had failed to gain the respect of the side most opposed to me. I felt childish and ill-suited to the task before me. It was not just this one decision I suppose, it was the entire uncertain situation and the realization that it all fallen on my woefully inadequate shoulders. I realized I was going to be the last leader of the Empire. What had I been thinking?

"Good, you should be crying," I heard a voice say. I lifted my head from my hands and looked up. For a moment, I thought it was Cin. I thought she'd come to damn me for my choices. I almost hoped that it was. But, after a moment, I realized that it was not.

"You don't deserve father's throne. You are a disgusting...animal!" Nislani said, towering over me. I was shocked to hear the words spilling from my sister's mouth. She must've been in my father's room (she'd spent a good deal of time mourning there, a luxury I did not have) and heard me come out. I knew that she had been angry and confused, but I had not had the opportunity to speak with her. I was completely unprepared for the level of her hatred. I stood up quickly.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" I said quickly. If I felt ready for anything, it was to trade angry exchanges with my sister. At least I was qualified for that.

"It is the truth! You are not...right. Women are women and men are men, you are unnatural and it is wrong that you should lead us!" Nislani said. I realized that as Nislani spoke, that while she was cruder than others might be, she had essentially hit upon the source of my insecurity, both emotional and political. She was right. I was not a normal woman. And while others might not say it, many people, Peers and Commons, felt that it was wrong that I lead the people. Many probably felt, after thinking about it for some time, that it was better that the Empire cease to exist than it have me as its leader. I knew that I had no real power; the men would not let me have it. And I knew I didn't deserve it, being a freak did not qualify me to be the Sultan. Nislani was right.

"You should let Prince Lider marry me and I will rule here with him! That way you won't anger any of the Gods and we can be at peace and I can be happy," Nislani said and stamped her foot like a spoiled child. I felt anger rising in me again, replacing the despair I'd felt just a moment before. I realized now why I had taken the throne, even if I knew I was not right for it. It was probably the reason the Loyalists wanted to fight on my behalf. While my claim was imperfect, it was certainly better than the alternative. The choice was to fight for a freakish Sultanah or give in to those who'd hurt us the most. With only those two choices, what else could we do? I felt a power I had not expected before. I stepped forward towards my sister, thinking about what she'd said. My eyes flashed fire and Nislani backed away, her eyes looking scared. She'd come to kick me when I was down, she had not expected me to rile myself.

"You whore!" I yelled at her, my words chosen purposefully.

"How dare you!" she said, but her voice sounded small. I poked her shoulder hard with my finger.

"What else should I call a woman who would open her leg and expose her rotted cunny to the murderer of her father? The favorite daughter! Father hated me and I am more loyal to his memory than you! You want to fuck father's murderer!"

"Lider did not do it."

"He led the armies to our gates! If he did not want father dead he was indifferent to that eventual outcome."

"Father and Lider liked one another. It was a mistake," my sister said. I realized the depths of her delusion.

"You are a fool as well as a whore!" I said, "You must realize that the negotiations for your hand were a ruse. They were designed to get father's guard down. They allowed our enemies to know that, on the night of the attack, we'd be holding galas and parties and wouldn't notice as their army descended upon us. The long days of negotiation were all a ploy and we fell for it. You are the only one stupid enough to still be falling for it." 

Of course, I knew that wasn't quite true. Certainly every thinking person knew that the proposal was a sham, but it seemed that the Collaborationist thought that it could be resurrected. Laying out the situation to my sister made me realize how absurd their plan truly was. Buying peace with my sister's cunny was unlikely to work. My sister was the daughter of a murdered, powerless anachronism; what price could she demand? It was absurd. And, with the choice of a Tanril Coronation, it was partially my official policy.

"No..." Nislani said now. I looked into her eyes and saw that they were watery. Of course she knew, in her heart, that I was telling her the truth. But her delusions prevented it, "It would all work out if you were just gone! Everything would fall into place. The end of your unnatural existence would be a favor to every man, woman, and child in the Empire." My anger reached a new level, something I did not know that I possessed.

"I am here you cowardly bitch!" I yelled at her, "I am wearing only a robe, not father's armor. His sword is still lying across his bed for mourning. If you want me gone then kill me," I seethed. I was alive and had the right to be. Just like I was Sultanah technically by right. Any person, even my ignorant sister, who disagreed with either condition was welcome to try and stop me. My eyes widened and I stared intently at my sister. She took a step back, her eyes dropping.

"Tanri's sake Varis...I wasn't saying I would...I am just..." She was sputtering. It was clear that Nislani had spoken with more haste than she'd intended. The full implication of her words was likely not apparent until I'd argued with her. She just wanted to express her sorrow for the end of her betrothal. She had, after all, been public and outrageously dishonored. But that was not my concern. Lider, not I, had dishonored her.

"I don't have time for this childish nonsense," I said, speaking truthfully, "I had larger matters at hand. Leave me."

"Varis..." Nislani said, whining and wishing to drag it out longer.

"Sultanah Varis," I said. Nislani's mouth opened to speak again. She looked at me intently. And then, still angry, turned and shuffled away. In a moment, she was back in our father's room. I knew that she had not gone to grab the sword. She was beaten. I let out a deep breath. At least I was able to impose my imperial prerogative on someone. I stood for a few minutes, trying to regain my composure.

"You were quite rough on her," a voice said out of the darkness. I jumped a bit. I turned to my right, down a long, narrow stairway leading down to a lower level. I recognized the voice. Kardes walked out of the shadows. I had not spent time with my elder sister either, and I was surprised to find her here. Her quarters were a long way from here.

"Kardes, you scared me," I said.

"Sultanahs should not be scared of widowed princesses," she replied, I saw a wry smile on her face. I wondered for a moment what she was getting at. Was she upset that I was Sultanah as well?

"I..."

"Well I guess there are lots of things to be afraid of," Kardes said. I had a hard time reading her tone. Her face was still in the shadows and I was unsure of what she was doing. I felt uneasy. 

"I was just trying to go to my quarters. My old quarters," I said lamely. Kardes seemed to ignore it entirely.

"It is easy now with all your power to hurt Nislani. What can she say back to you?" Kardes asked. She walked over from the shadows now and stood in front of me. I was surprised by what she said. What difference did it make to Kardes? Nislani and I had fought since we were kids and after all...

"She started it, I was just..." I started.

"People will always start things. She is a tempestuous girl. You are supposed to be more than that now. But you wanted to throw your weight around," Kardes said. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. It seemed my entire family was trying to put me in my place. 

"Well Kardes, if I am doing it wrong maybe you can do it better? Is that what this is?" I spat back, immediately bringing the heat that I had left over for Nislani.

"Probably," she said, making my teeth grind, "I have been out in the world a lot more than you, I have seen more. I know more. But I don't have the right to be there. You, apparently, do. So you need to get caught up. Fast." I looked at my older sister, my brow nettled. 

"Stop being obtuse. What do you mean?" I asked. Kardes smiled broadly. She looked over to my father's old quarters, where Nislani had fled.

"Good. Decisive and direct without being overly rude," she said.

"That did not explain anything," I responded. I realized that I still did not know Kardes very well. I could not read her at that moment, I did not know what she wanted.

"I was in the throne room for a while earlier," she said, "I watched you. You looked bored. And when you weren't bored you looked confused and terrified at the same time." I felt my stomach tighten. That is exactly what I felt. I hadn't realized that I was making my internal discomfort so obvious.

"I was..." I started, but had nothing to say. I was transparent.

"And, because you were too nervous to use your power and your position in the appropriate forum, you came back here and screamed and Nislani. The history of the Empire is replete with insecure dictators who squandered their power by afflicting the afflicted," Kardes said. She was still smiling and, despite her words, I felt a sort of maternal energy. She was offering me guidance. For a moment I wanted to reject it. She knew nothing of my burden nor of my right to be angry with our jealous younger sister. I almost spoke, but I caught myself. Her smile was not as lupine as I'd initially thought. She wasn't vicious; I could see warmth in her gaze. While I didn't know her well, I knew her well enough to guess that she wouldn't just criticize my actions and then leave. She must've had something in mind. I mastered my pride, controlled myself and spoke.

"What are you suggesting?" I asked, controlling my breathing so that I did not become upset.

"You need to learn to wield your power effectively. And very quickly too. There are many people in the Empire who are not happy that you are on the throne. And I am not talking about Nislani" she said. Her words came out as nearly a whisper and she looked around nervously. I felt a cold stab in my stomach.

"What do you know about that?"

"Nothing specific. But the people are rumbling and many of the Peers are not convinced that you aren't simply a tool used by warmongers to prevent our capitulation to Dusman," she explained, "And that isn't your fault. But you have to manage it effectively," she said. She was alluding to many of the suspicions I already had. I had already recognized the problems she was illustrating. But, I had already realized, I didn't know how to handle them. I was struck by the nature of her insight and the fact that she seemed to have a pulse on everything. I did not know that women were capable of such things.

"How do you know about this?" I asked. Kardes smiled sheepishly now and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," she said wistfully, "I suppose you don't spend over half your life in the dysfunctional Dukedom of Astar married to a moronic sixth son, desperately trying to force him into advancing his position without learning something." She did not sound bitter as she spoke, but a slightly wistful. I wondered about the nature of my sister's marriage.

"Dysfunctional?" I asked.

"Let me put it to you this way, as a lesson on how to effectively wield power," she said, "My husband, Tanri rest his soul, attempted to obtain the rents from a mill that belonged to his father. He wanted these rents in order to provide for our family once his father died and his oldest brother became Duke. They did not get along. The second eldest son was supposed to get those rents. I manipulated the old Duke as best I could; I had almost obtained his consent to transfer the rents to us. That is how you do things when you don't have power. You make people think it is their idea. Then my husband, the fool, spoke too openly about our arrangement. He was boastful with his friends about his future economic security. He took credit for my slyness and was heavy-handed. He forgot that when your power lies in being underestimated, it is important to keep quiet," Kardes said and then stopped. I leaned towards here, wondering what happened next.

"Well?" I asked desperately, "What happened?"

"My husband was never a hunter," she said, "He never once went hunting for boar, or even rabbits. One my husband's second eldest brother entered the castle and explained that he and my husband had gone together on a hunt. And my husband was gored. And died. I hadn't even known that he'd left the castle until they brought his corpse back. I saw his wound. How would a man, standing, be gored in the throat by a boar? And why would the wound be the shape of a star, like a pike, rather than round like a tusk?" Kardes' brother had murdered her husband! His brother. I felt dizzy. Politics was a dangerous business, I knew. But I had not really come to terms with the level of that danger. What dangers did I face now?

"Did that really happen?" I asked, putting my hand over my mouth.

"How many widows do you know who return to their father's courts when their husbands die? Wouldn't that only happen if a woman was...no longer wanted?" she asked. It made sense. I suddenly realized that the stakes were even larger than I realized. If a man could be killed over rents to a mill, what stakes existed for an Empire? Suddenly, I felt silly for quarreling with Nislani, that was certainly not worth my attention. I needed to focus on bigger things. But where did I start? 

"What do I do? I mean, wield my power effectively, what does that mean? How do I control this?" I asked desperately. Kardes looked at me for a long time, her eyes looking both intelligent and soft. Finally she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well you must be judicious in your power and you must not alienate your natural allies," she said.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning don't abuse your little sister. I know better than most the danger of a scorned sibling," she said. She looked over toward my father's door again. My sister was inside. Hardly a natural ally in my opinion. We hated each other. And what good could she do me anyway?

"Do you want me to speak with her?" I said, my voice betraying my distinct lack of enthusiasm for the task. My sister bit her lip and then shook her head.

"I don't think that would be helpful at the moment," she said. "I will try to fix this problem for you this time. You would probably just anger her now." With that, my sister started to move towards my father's chamber, to go to my sister's aid. But I still needed more. I reached forward and grabbed my sister's elbow.

"What should I do now?" I asked, getting directly to the point. Kardes shoulder sank and she pushed some air out between her lips.

"I don't know," she said, "I can't tell you how to be the Sultanah you need to be. You are my sister and I don't know you that well. You need to find what makes you strong inside and you need to project it there," she said, pointing back to the throne room. I felt deflated. That was hardly helpful.

"How do I do that?" I asked. I wasn't even sure what it meant.

"I don't know, I am not the Sultanah," my sister said and she started to move away from me again, over towards where my younger sister was crying in my father's room, going to solve another family problem. "Perhaps pray," she said.

"Pray? You want me to do less than nothing?" I asked. She shook her head gravely and put her fingers to her lips, getting me to silence.

"If nothing else it might bring you peace," she said and she slipped into the door.

* * * * *

Forty-five minutes later I was in a small garden outside of the palace. I was sitting on a bench overlooking the Central Market, a few stories above the people milling about. I had gone to my room after speaking with Kardes and ordered a servant to bring me food. I had eaten quietly, thinking about all of the problems swirling in my mind. The coronation, Cin, Cardinal Rahip, the Collaborationists, the Loyalists, my sisters, my father, my Empire. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of conflict in my life. After eating, I decided against my better judgment, to pray as Kardes instructed. I had always found it easier to pray outside in the sun, and so I have found a peaceful, quiet spot. But I did not really know how to begin.

I had never been much for prayer. In fact, it was a well-known in aristocratic circles that prayer was largely for the common folk and that it was little more than superstition. But, apparently, Kardes prayed so maybe there was something to it. At the very least, it would help to let my worries fall by the wayside and focus on something other than the burdens of leadership.

Unfortunately, I didn't even know to whom I should pray, or even how to start. Eventually, I decided that I Tanri was the best bet to have my prayer's answered. He was the God most of the people in the world prayed to. He was the official God of my Empire. Hell, I had been betrothed to him just a few weeks earlier. I got up from the bench and then sat with my legs crossed in a small patch of grass in the middle of the garden. I could smell the sweet flowers and a gentle breeze rippled the air. I breathed deeply and felt some small amount of peace.

"Tanri, grant me the wisdom to lead my people," I said softly under my breath. I closed my eyes and focused on the idea of Tanri, the New God. I allowed my mind to go silent, hoping that Tanri would fill that silence with knowledge. I let the silence sit for as long as I could. But, while the tranquility of the garden was pleasant, I felt no inner peace. As I tried to stamp out all rational thought, fears began to creep in. The things I was trying to escape kept reaching for me. I worried about my Empire and my family. Tanri provided me with no insight. Instead, I felt more and more agitated, more and more certain that I was wasting my time.




The Sultanah Ch. 02



"This is stupid!" I said out loud, breaking whatever bit of concentration I'd managed to collect. I shook my head and looked around the garden. I felt silly, sitting in such a beautiful place, under the sun, essentially doing nothing while my enemies stood at my gates. If Tanri had ever existed he wanted nothing to do with me or my Empire. He wasn't going to help.

"I quit," I said and started to get from the ground. As I moved, the sun, which had been slightly behind thick white cloud, suddenly burst into view and I had to shield my eyes from the brightness.

"Gunes, that hurts," I said aloud, making a common oath that the people of Ülke had uttered for centuries. Gunes had once been the King of Gods and he was still the god of fire and light. People often spoke of Gunes when considering the sun. But as I spoke, I felt a strange sensation, like a rumbling deep within my stomach. The light that poured over me from the sun hung on me heavily, feeling like a warm winter blanket draped over my shoulders. My muscles tensed, but even as it happened, I felt my mind clear. My eyes stayed open, but they no longer hurt in the intense light. Only one thought remained in my brain, Cin had said I'd been marked by Gunes. 

"Gunes," I said without thinking, that word and the ones which followed pouring unbidden from my lips, "I ask your forgiveness on behalf of myself and my people for our neglect. I pray that you give me guidance in this hour of uncertainty. Allow me to overthrow my enemies, and I shall overthrow yours." I felt confused as soon as I finished speaking. I did not even know where there request came from. But I still felt the intense, inner peace I'd noticed before.

My eyes were still turned up toward the light. I felt no discomfort staring into the sun. The golden rays felt soft on my eyes and I could almost taste the light, like honey. But as I looked, I noticed that a single stream of light was emitted from that sun that seemed...different. I could make out this single ray somehow against the backdrop of light. It was a different color, almost red rather than gold. I followed the light as it descended from heaven. It moved down through the air in a concentrated beam. I saw that it shot directly over my shoulder. I turned quickly to see where it was alighting. 

I was surprised to find that the light was striking a birdhouse in the middle of the garden. I walked over towards the birdhouse. The sun was on my back now and it seemed to push me forward. When I reached the birdhouse I saw that it had been built with small windows with mirrors inset to give the appearance of glass. The red light had struck the mirror. It bounced off the reflective surface at an angle. Once again I followed the direction of the light. It was moving down toward the Central Market below. I ran to the side of the garden and leaned against the balcony. I saw the red light as it descended towards the cobblestone streets below.

Then I saw the light land directly on a man. I found that strange and watched to see if the light once again changed course. But it stayed on the man. What was stranger still was that as he walked diagonally across the market square, the light seemed to follow him, always striking the back of his head. I turned and looked at the birdhouse. It would have to somehow be turning to reflect the light in such a way. I could not tell if I was moving, but I was both excited and afraid that it was not. Gunes was telling me something.

Whatever the message was, the light had apparently given me all the information it could give. The light continued to follow the man as he worked slowly through the square. He was a short man, wearing a long black cloak. The hood was up and I could not see his face, especially from the distance. Nothing about him indicated anything of interest and I certainly did not recognize him.

Without stopping to think about what it meant, I started to act in the only way that seemed to make sense. I quickly rushed over to the bench I was sitting at earlier and found my head scarf. I tight it tightly around my face, obscuring my features. I then ran over to the stairs that lead down from the balcony to the street below. I moved quickly down the stairs, keeping my eyes towards the heavens and looking at the red light.

I don't know why I decided to follow the man. I just knew that the light was trying to tell me something and the man was moving farther and farther away from me with each passing second. Whatever I was supposed to learn from this man I would not learn it up in my palace. So I bounded down the stairs, past a half dozen guards, until I was in the Central Market. A few people turned briefly to look at me and then look away. Dozens of ladies left the palace each day, servants and slaves, with my face covered no one recognized me. Most would not have recognized me anyway.

So I quickly bounded off into the market, following the light in the sky. The market was packed with people. It was noisy and confusing. I heard men bellowing the prices of food (which had risen sharply with the start of the siege) and I heard women haggling over those prices. The people seemed tense, unnatural going about their daily routines and I knew that they were nervous about the army at our gates. But I did not have time to worry about them now. I took off across the market, following the red light. 

I dodged between people (occasionally bumping into them) as I tried to catch up with the man. He had a few minutes head start on me and I could no longer see him. But the light was shining out of the West (where the sun was setting) and pointing East toward the city walls. I ignored people as they complained about my rapid movement and soon found my way to the edge of the market. 

Dozens of streets moved out from the market like spokes on a wheel. At that end of the market, there were three different major routes to take, on top of several small alleyways. I looked up into the sky and again saw the red light, pointing down one of the alleyways leading towards the Duke's Gate. Without further thought I bounded into the alley.

It was a narrow route, little more than three feet wide in most places. It was extremely dark, as the buildings on either side had been built out over the alley, almost bridging the distance between them. The alley ran thick with waste and garbage, the smell was terrible. Evil looking men (my subjects) peered out from dark doorways, dogs rooted through the heaps of trash, and a chilly silence hung heavy over the air. Somehow, through gloom, I could still see the red light, faintly. In fact, it was the only light visible. I ignored the fear I felt walking through this place (my father would never let me walk in such a dangerous area) and pushed on. I ran as hard as I could, trying to catch the man and assuming he came this way.

After several minutes of rushing through the darkness I was surprised as the alley started to widen. The light started to become brighter, and the smell less pungent. In a few minutes more, I burst out from the alley and found myself standing just a few dozen yards from the Duke's Gate! I was standing to the far left of the gate such that I could not see the actual gate itself, but I recognized it instantly. It would normally take 20 minutes to reach that gate through the city streets. The alley had been a shortcut. I turned and looked at the main road that led from the central market out to the Duke's Gate. I was hardly surprised when I saw the cloaked figure, with the red light once again on the back of his head, shambling down the road.

The Duke's Gate had been cleaned of bodies after the battle, but there was still a strong smell of death in the area. I knew that my father and brother's had died very close by. Ever since the battle, the citizens had largely steered clear of the open directly behind the gate. Perhaps it was out of respect. Or perhaps fear. On that day, the area was abandoned almost entirely. I knew there must've been guards in the gatehouse, but out on the street there were only three people. There was the cloaked man and, standing near the gate itself, a man on horseback also draped in black. Then there was me.

For a moment, I was about to run out toward the man in the cloak, to confront him and determine his secrets. But something held me back, a slight foreboding. I did now know what would happen if I confronted the man, but I was afraid for some reason to find out. So, instead, of moving quickly and openly towards the men, I hunched low and walked slowly towards the men. The open area, the battlefield, behind the gate was still strewn with broken carts, shattered artillery, and other various used implements of war. I moved quickly, but silently among the items, shielding myself from view. As the cloaked man finally stopped, just a few feet from the rider on horseback, I settled in behind an old barrel, just a few yards away. I didn't not know what I expected to do or why I was doing it. But I hardly felt like I had a choice. I needed to know why the light had led me here. I was afraid to do more than listen. So that is what I did.

"You're late," the man on horseback said evenly. He made no attempt to keep down his voice, so I assumed whatever he said he was unconcerned if others heard.

"I cannot move with absolute freedom," the cloaked man said in response. He voice seemed strangely familiar, but I could not place it.

"I have almost completed my task," the horse rider said, "I got this horse as payment. Have you done yours?" 

"Of course you nitwit," the cloaked man replied, "Here it is." I watched as the cloaked man reached into a satchel that hung around his waist and pulled out a collection of papers. He quickly handed them to the man on horseback. Were those papers what I was supposed to see? The red light was gone, giving me no indication of the importance of this meeting. I had no idea what these men were talking about.

"I need to look through these," the man on horseback said.

"There is no time!" the cloaked man said, his voice getting shrill, "The next guard shift is supposed to start in twenty minutes. They will notice. You must get these out now and order the other men up." He said. I felt my pulse quicken. Getting out? Ordering men? I began to wonder who these men were and what they wanted.

"I am not bringing these to Sican's..."

"Quiet you fool!" the cloaked man said. I leaned forward. This was sinister, but what exactly was happening?

"I can't bring these to...his troops until I am certain they are what we need. Most of the men can't read. I need to understand what all of this says before I lead them to all the right places."

"It isn't even strictly necessary, just go. We already have the way open. The rest of this is just semantics,"

"King Sican is a thorough man..." the man on horseback continued. But I was no longer listening. I knew what was going on here. Some sort of move was being made by my enemies. For the first time since I crouched behind the barrel, I turned and looked towards the gate. It was yawning open! Instantly I knew what was happening. The man in the cloak was betraying us. The man on horseback was going to go out, collect some men, and rush in to take the gate. Once they had the gatehouse, they would be able to get their entire army back into the city. We were stretched too thin. If they got in, the Empire would fall!

For a horrifying minute, I was paralyzed with fear. What was I to do? I thought about running back to the palace and alerting my generals. But that would take several minutes. It would be too late. I thought of jumping out and confronting the men. But I was unarmed. I would be killed. I looked around, searching for anything. Then I noticed that the door to the gatehouse was slightly ajar. It was directly to the left of the main gate entrance and part of the overall gate structure. The guards! 

Without further deliberation, I turned towards the gatehouse. My two enemies were still talking in low voices as I carefully walked towards the gate. I kept myself shielded by debris and kept my footsteps light. It was clear my enemies had no idea I was present and, in a matter of moments, I had quietly reached the door. I opened it slowly and quietly, looking over shoulder and finding that the two men had still not seen me. Without a sound, I slipped inside the door.

The smell of blood. Bodies. I suddenly realized what the rider's "task" had been. The gate was raised from within this room. He'd killed the guards. There were three men dead in the guard house. One was sitting in his chair, a hole in his chest. The other two were face down on the ground in pools of blood. The rider must've snuck through the door I'd just entered and stabbed the sitting man. The other two guards, surprised, pulled their swords but were cut down quickly in the confusion. The man had quickly opened the gate, grabbed one of the horses outside, and prepared to leave.

"Shit! What the fuck is all of this!" A voice said loudly. I instantly dropped to my knees and grabbed a sword from a dead man's hand. It dangled limply in my hand, I had no training. I looked up quickly, holding the sort awkwardly in my hands. I was holding my breath and my heart did not feel like it was moving. I had acted entirely on instinct.

"Who the fuck are you are... What did you do?" I looked now at the source of the voice. A man had opened a door deeper inside the gatehouse and had stepped out. He was wearing a guard's uniform and was buckling up his pants. 

"Quiet you fool," I hissed.

"You killed them!" he said. I looked at my sword, red from lying in blood. "You cunting bitch!" he yelled and started to move toward me. I felt panic. I did not know even the first aspect of using a knife. I quickly dropped my blade, letting it skitter onto the floor. I did the only thing I could think to do. I reached up to my head and quickly tore off my face covering.

"I am your Sultanah. These dead are my guards!" I hissed, still trying to remain quiet. The man's sword was along a few feet from my body now, if he wanted to swing. I'd be dead. I struggled not to close my eyes. If I was going to die, I wanted to see it happen. But the man froze. He looked at me intently.

"Princess...Varis?" he said, now whispering. I finally let my air out of me. I had participated in parades and processionals throughout the city my entire life. Beyond that, most guards spent at least some time in the palace during their careers. The man must've actually recognized me.

"Sultanah-elect actually," I said, I couldn't help but smile with relief.

"What happened? Why are you here? What happened to my friends?" the man sputtered, "I mean my grace." He quickly added and then dropped to his knees in front of me.

"There is no time for explanations," I said, "We are betrayed. I need your help to prevent the fall of the city. If you love your Empire, this is your chance to save it." The man's eyes got wide as saucers but he nodded intently and hopped to his feet.

"What are your orders My...Lady?" he asked. I suddenly realized that I had no plan. I didn't even know if the rider was still in the city or who the cloaked man was. I quickly turned and looked out the door. The man on horseback was still present, but he was stuffing the papers in his cloak and starting to turn towards the gate.

"How long does it take to close the gates, answer fast," I asked.

"Thirty seconds?" he said uncertainty. Far too long. If we started closing it, the rider would notice and escape quickly. "But I can cut the line and the portcullis will fall immediately."

"Do it now!" I cried, "And then meet me outside!" I did not wait, I picked my bloody sword up from the floor and then rushed outside. I did not at think about what I was going to do, I just rushed out, ready to do something to prevent disaster. 

Even as I stepped outside I heard a loud cracking sound and then the noise of the portcullis falling. I heard a terrible squealing sound and turned towards the gate. The heavy, steel lattice of the portcullis had fallen in just the nick of time. It had fallen as the rider was just making his escape. It looked like the steel pikes at the bottom had pierced his horse through the top of its head, killing it and spilling the man forward. He was now sitting on the ground, looking slightly dazed. The man in the black cloak was just a few yards in front of me, he looked over toward me, then back at the gatehouse, and then turned to run.

I turned quickly and saw the guard coming out of the gatehouse as I had instructed, "There is a man right next to the gate, he is the one who killed your friends," I said. The guards eyes got wide, "I want him alive with all of his papers. He doesn't need to be healthy." I said. The guard instantly lifted his sword and started to move toward the gate.

I did not stop to see what he was doing. Instead, I took off as swiftly as I could after the man in the black cloak. He had a good lead on me and I could tell that he was heading back toward the Central Market. If he reached the crush of people located there, I had absolutely no chance of catching him. 

I dropped my sword, it was too heavy to carry, and started to pump my legs harder. The man in the cloak looked over his shoulder and could see me and picked up his pace as well. Despite that, I could tell I was gaining on him. Each step I took I seemed to get a few inches closer to him. My chest ached from running and my legs hurt (It had been far more running in the last few weeks than a princess was designed for). I noticed the man in the cloak running more with a more loping gate the farther we ran. I began to believe I could catch him. 

Then I began to notice something else. The closer we got to the Central Market, the more people were in the streets. Given the speed with which we ran and the noise we made in doing so, we quickly made ourselves the object of interest. People on the street turned to look at us, confused. Some people laughed at the spectacle of a woman chasing a man. We were only a few blocks from the Central Market when I realized that there were dozens of eyes on me and, further, that I might not catch the cloaked man in time.

"I believe it is Princess Varis!" I heard a voice in the crowd say. I realized that I was not wearing my facial covering. Everyone could see me. Suddenly, I realized that I was not just chasing this man for my own sake. He had betrayed these people as well. My people. They would be put to the sword if the city fell.

"I am the Sultanah Elect. The man in the black cloak has attempted to betray us!" I called out. For a second, not one acted. I kept running after the cloaked man. Then, people in the crowd seemed to understand what I was saying. In just a few seconds, a dozen men jumped out from the sides of the street and tackled the man in the black cloak. I heard him let out a pathetic groan as he was crushed. I let out a sigh of relief and slowed myself to a walk. I felt intense elation. Whatever Gunes had been trying to show me, I was about to find out.

I walked up to the crowd of men surrounding the cloaked man. The crowd that had been standing dumbfounded and confused in the street began to crowd around closely. I realized in that moment I had never been around so many common people without guard. I saw that some of them were looking at me, wondering what I was doing there and why I was chasing this man. I realized that despite my fatigue and nervousness, I needed to project the power of the Empire, to give these people reassurance. Kardes' words were echoing now, sounding more prescient than ever.

"I, Sultanah Elect Varis, witnessed this man," I said, pointing to a pair of feet underneath a pile of my subjects, "Aiding and abetting a man on horseback who had forced open the Duke's Gate and killed three guards. This man was attempting to provide documents to our enemies and betray this city to rape and plunder. A noble guard of this city was able to stop the man on horseback. Now you, brave citizens, have caught his accomplice." I could feel a nervous energy rush through the crowd. I could hear murmurs of fear and confusion amongst the people. They had no idea how close they'd come to calamity.




The Sultanah Ch. 02



"Let us see the traitor!" a voice cried out after a moment that could be hurt over the general murmur. The crowd instantly began to cheer. I nodded my head and indicated that the men should rise up from the prisoner. The men in the dogpile warily began to rise up off of the cloaked man. He was limp on the ground and two men grabbed his arms and pulled him up so that he was facing me. His head drooped down to his chest and I could only see the top of his hood.

"Take off his hood, let me see him," I ordered. One man roughly grabbed the hood from the man's head and threw it back. I heard the crowd gasp. I heard a gasp of air escape my own throat. I couldn't believe it. And yet I could. I knew now why I had recognized the man's voice. I looked at the crowd and they stared back at me expectantly. I knew what I was supposed to do.

"Cardinal Rahip," I said coolly, "You have committed treason. Your life is forfeit."

* * * * *

"I will uphold the sacred and ancient rights of the Peers and follow the customs as they were established in Sultan Itirafçi IV's time. And I solemnly swear on my life, my lands, and my honor that I will, with Gunes' aid and instruction, serve the needs of the Empire above myself," I said, repeating back the words I had just heard. I was standing in the throne room, surrounded by peers and their wives. They stood in rapt attention, silent and gazing at me. The entire hall was decked in red. Even the windows were covered in red, giving the light an eerie pink aspect that made me feel as if I was inside of a massive womb. But red was the symbolic color of Gunes and this was the first coronation overseen by Gunes in nearly a thousand years.

"Peers of the Realm," Cin said loudly, gazing about the room. She then placed her thumb in an urn full of sacred oil. She pulled it back out, dripping, and then placed it gently against my forehead, anointing me, "I present to you the 57th rightful occupant of the Imperial Throne. Sultanah Varis I, long may she live!

"Love live the Empire. Long Live the Sultanah!" the peers called back as one. 

"Love live the Empire!" I called back to them. I then took the Imperial Crown from a different priestess standing next to Cin, and carefully placed it on my head. At that signal, the throne room erupted into applause. Men whistled and stamped their feet and women clapped until their hands were red. I stood high above them on the coronation platform, brought to the throne room for the first time in decades. I smiled down at my most illustrious subjects, waving to them gently and displaying my imperial bearing. 

Despite the near unanimous acclaim that greeted my formal coronation, as I looked around the room, I could see a few faces whose expressions did not match the raucous show of approval. Collaborationists.

After I had caught Cardinal Rahip, along with the rider (who turned out to be a member of King Sican's personal guard), there had been great turmoil in their camp. They had quickly repudiated the Cardinal and claimed that they had no knowledge of his plans. And what plans they were. The documents secured from the horseman by the lone surviving guard (named Saygili, in case you were curious) indicated that the horseman had snuck into the city, slayed the guards, and opened the gate so that Cardinal Rahip could provide him with maps, blueprints of the palace, and the names of important Loyalist lords to kill instantly. My location, of course, was on the top of the list. It was a plan to destabilize the top of the Empire's hierarchy before the attack. It almost certainly would have worked.

The documents did not include the names of any traitorous Peers, but did obliquely refer to "our friends within the walls" on several occasions. No lord, of course, admitted to being such a friend, and Cardinal Rahip would not name any names, despite our best attempts at...persuasion. He would only explain that as King of Dusman, King Sican was the chief servant of Tanri on Earth and that, in resisting him, I was committing a grievous sin. He claimed to be saving my soul by turning my body over to my enemies. Sican's guard refused to provide any information, not even his name. Both were currently in the palace dungeon, awaiting trial (a mere formality) and execution.

The end result had been the collapse of the Collaborationist position as it related to the coronation. Many Collaborationist had quickly called for Cin to conduct the coronation in order to shore up their bona fides as loyal subjects of the Empire. While none of them actually wanted a coronation conducted by Gunes, they were left without room to operate. The leadership of the New Religion was instantly seen as traitorous because of Rahip's actions: Tanri was seen as Dusman's God more firmly than ever. Even down below the leadership, many people were looking at the New Religion through skeptical lenses. Gunes provided the only viable alternative and, as it was the ancient God of our people, a level of respectability that no other coronation could provide. Cin had refused their advances, but she held no grudge against me. When I went to her chambers and asked her personally, she instantly agreed. She pretended as though my earlier decision to spurn Gunes had never occurred. I wonder if she knew about the beam of red light. Regardless, that was how I found myself in a red dress standing in a sea of red being declared the Sultanah by the Priestess Cin.

"Come Sultanah," Cin said, leaning up and whispering into my ear, "You must be anointed before the people." I nodded quickly and looked around the room once more. Under the New Religion, a Sultan was crowned before his nobles in his throne room and then a declaration was made by the Cardinal to the people, attesting to the arrival of a new Sultan. Gunes was the God of all of the Empire's people. As such, Gunes would not stand for an intermediary. Therefore, under Gunes, two coronations occurred. I was crowned before the Peers, and then I would walk to a balcony overlooking the Central Market, where my people were gathered, and once again stand for coronation.

"Peers," I said, and the crowd got quiet. I was simply following a script I'd practiced hour after hour for several days, "I thank you for your reception. Gunes has certainly been bountiful in providing me with fine noblemen. But the Empire is more than Noblemen just as it is more than a Sultanah. I must go to my people, so that they might know me."

"Love live the Sultanah!" A voice called again and the crowd cheered. I smiled at them and then, with Cin and the other Priestesses, descended from the coronation platform. I was actually happy to be done with this part of the ceremony. While it was very gratifying to be crowned, I was nervous about the peers. I knew now that it was hard to know who to trust. Further, I'd learned that attempting to win over my enemies would be more difficult than I'd assumed. I was excited, however, to be going to my second coronation. 

After my adventure in the streets (chasing down spies and saving the city in just the nick of time) my star was on the rise amongst the commons. The story had grown greatly during retellings and I heard that the people now believed that I had killed the horseman by chasing him down on foot outside the city walls as he galloped away. Regardless, I was feted as a hero who had saved the city. The fact that I richly rewarded the dozen or so men who'd tackled Rahip did not harm my popularity either (ten gold pieces apiece, if I recall. A pittance or a fortune depending on your perspective). Further, I was not reputed to have mystical powers including the ability to heal the sick and make myself invisible to my enemies. I did nothing to disabuse the people of these fallacies. Whatever doubts the people once had, they were not at least willing to consider supporting me. As Kardes had explained, I could not take any allies for granted. 

And so it was with palpable excitement that I went to greet my people in the streets. But first I had to get out of the throne room. As we reached the floor the peers moved out of the way, providing a path toward the rear door, toward my chambers. The men smiled and stuck out their hands to be shaken as I made my way through the crowd. I smiled back and did my best to behave as I believed a Sultanah should. The crowd was still cheering loudly. Finally, I reached the door, opened it and slipped into the hallway that led to the family quarters. 

When the door shut behind me, the noise of the Peers softened. Only four people were with me now. There was Cin, two other Sun Priestesses who had aided Cin during the ceremony (they were her two chief subordinates in her order, Agiz and Got), and finally Saygili, whom I had promoted to my personal guard in recognition of his admirable service.

"Well," I said to Cin, "I believe that went well." I sighed and let my shoulders slouch slightly.

"Yes, Gunes provided a wonderful ceremony," she said, nodding sagely. 

"Did I do well?" I asked.

"Absolutely your grace," Saygili said. Cin gave him an indulgent smile. I think she respected his dogged loyalty to me. 

"You made no mistakes," Cin said, "You have given your enemies nothing to rejoice in." I closed my eyes and nodded. I knew now that I was walking a tightrope and I had been nervous about every aspect of my peerage coronation.

"Well then let us go to the next ceremony," I said. I turned and started to walk towards the stairs. 

"What is the problem?" I asked. Cin looked at her sister priestesses and then smiled at me. However, only Saygili followed me. After a few steps I stopped moving.

"Your grace the second ceremony is not in that direction," she said. 

"I think I know how to navigate the palace," I said, wondering if this was some sort of joke. I had been heading toward the garden where I had seen the red light. I had decided that was an auspicious location for my public coronation. This stairway led to that location. 

"No your grace. You are heading toward the third ceremony," she said.

"Third ceremony?" I was confused.

"Your grace, you must be anointed by the Lords, by your priestesses, and by your commons. You have not received your spiritual anointment. That ceremony will be conducted in your quarters," I had no idea what she was talking about.

"We only rehearsed two ceremonies..." I said.

"This could not be rehearsed. Fear not, it will be a simple ceremony," she said. Then she turned and began walking toward my father's old quarters. My new quarters. I looked at Saygili and he shrugged. I could not very well go to the commons by myself, so I quickly went after my priestesses, more confused than even I usually was around Cin. They were already at my father's door.

"Guard, wait here and admit no one," Cin said to Saygili. He nodded and stopped. I walked up to my three priestesses and we entered the room together. Cin closed the door behind us. 

My father's quarters, now mine, were exceptionally large and dramatic. There were five large windows that stretched from the floor two the ceiling, nearly 20 feet high. The floor was marble with thick fur rugs. A fountain was placed in the middle of the room that provided cool drinking water that was collected far from the sewage run-off of the city (most people drank where they pissed). There was a large round bed on the right wall heaped with blankets and pillows. It was large enough to sleep 12, but designed only for the Sultan. Or Sultanah. The room was lavishly decorated with tapestries, sculptures, and paintings. Sofas, bars, and furniture of various sorts were arranged throughout the room. It was gaudy, as all such places were, and had the feel of a strange museum. I had not yet slept there, but I supposed I would move in that night.

"Are you going to explain to me what this is about?" I asked.

"It is your ceremony," Agiz said, the first time she'd spoken to me rather than Cin.

"To mark your start as Sultanah," Got added, against a first.

"No, I understand that. It is what you said before, but why am I only learning about it now?" I asked.

"Go sit on the edge of the bed, and I will explain it to you," Cin said. I didn't see any reason to object so I walked over and sat down on the bed, facing toward the fountain in the center of the room. The three priestess arranged themselves in front of the fountain. They stood erect, side by side, with Cin in the middle. They all held hands and looked at me intently. I felt a strange, rumbling within my stomach that I could not explain. The room suddenly seemed lighter and it felt like the sun was shining more brightly through the window.

"Cin...?" I started.

"The Sultan of Ülke is not a mere political office," she boomed suddenly, her voice sounding clear and powerful, "The Sultanate and Gunes are one, tied together in bonds of matrimony. For many, many years the political office of Sultanate has tried to divorce itself from the spiritual bonds. The result has been the rending of the Empire. Discord in the spiritual marriage in the Empire has resulted in political calamity and religious collapse. 

"Today, Sultanah Varis I, you have chosen to turn the tides of history. You have decided to re-establish the bond between Gunes and Ülke. You have determined to end the discord and return the Empire to its former glory, with Gunes at its head," she said. I, of course, had no purpose beyond saving my own skin and avenging my family. But I did not let her know that. Besides, Gunes was also the God of Revenge.

"In ancient times, the Sultan of Ülke and the Sun Priestesses were united in fact to demonstrate the symbolic unity of Empire and God. Just as a Sultan might have an earthly, political wife to further the needs and interests of the profane world, he also would have divine wives to further his needs and interests in the spiritual world. Today, in honor of your coronation, we reestablish that tradition, to consummate the dawn of a new day!"

"Amen!" the other two priestesses said.

"Divine wife? What are you..." I began, but before I could speak any further, Cin snapped her fingers. There was suddenly a sound like thunder and an incredible flash of red light. I shielded my eyes briefly, wondering what it was that I had seen. But as my eyes once again focused, I found that my bafflement increased, rather than dissipated. The three priestess still stood before me in front of the fountain. But their bright red dresses lay in piles at their feet. All three women were naked before me! 

I felt like all of the air had been knocked out of my lungs. I knew my mouth was gaping open and my eyes were wide. I knew that my reaction was primarily that of surprise (it is not often that women's clothing, even mystical women's clothing, simply departs on its own accord), but I was also stunned by the objective beauty of the women's bodies.

Given the striking dimensions of Cin's body, it would be a lie to claim I'd never wondered what she looked like beneath her robes. Now, seeing it exposed completely, I saw that my imagination was no match for the Sun God's. Cin's long, red hair cascaded over her shoulders and lay heavy and silky across the tops of her breasts. Those breasts were not overly large, but sat up high on her chest. The breasts were perfectly shaped, dipping slightly down to the nipple on top and curving thick and heavy on the bottom. Her areolas were perfect round and a deep, red color. Her nipples were not over long not overly short and looked exquisite poking out just below her long red hair. While dressed, Cin looked slim to the point of hinting at a lack of feminine curves. However, naked I was able to see that her body tapered down from her high breasts to a very thin waist before rapidly curving outward to her round hips. Between her legs I could see a small patch of well-trimmed deep red hair and a hint of her sex below it. Her legs were incredibly long when freed from their dress and tapered down to her small feet. In short, Cin's body did honor to Gunes, who was also the God of Beauty.

Cin's appearance would have been grounds enough for veneration. But her beauty was compounded by that of her two assistants. I had noted while they were clothed that they bore striking resemblances to one another. I knew that the Temple of Gunes sent scouts far and wide to find young girls who bore the appearance of Gunes' legendary lover, Dostum. These girls were then rendered infertile in a secret ceremony and raised to become Sun Priestesses. However, I saw now that the appearance these women bore was not simply uncanny, it was nearly impossible. Both Agiz and Got were around two inches shorter than Cin, but they had the same hair, the same breasts, the same hips, the same legs. Their appearance was nearly identical. Only slight variations in their faces made their identities apparent. Agiz had a somewhat long (though not unattractive) nose and a gold capped tooth. Got had exceptionally large eyes and lips that were naturally almost a purple color. But, fully exposed, these differences seemed minor. I was overwhelmed by the sight.

"Sultanah..." Cin said, seeming to sense the freezing of my thoughts. 

"Cin..." I said, with every intention of asking her a question, but she smiled at me sweetly, her eyes bright and the next words passed unbidden from my lips, "You are so beautiful. You all are."

"Thank you. A wonderful thing to say to your divine wife," Cin said and the other two priestesses laughed subtly. I felt my cheeks get red. What did this "wife" business mean? While I was considering that, my three new "wives" started to move towards me. They closed the distance between the fountain and my bed quickly. They moved in unison but without signal, as though pulled by the same force at the same time.

I noticed as they move briskly that their breasts bounced gently against their bodies. I noticed the way that their hips moved and the gentle touch of their feet on the marble floor. I saw their hair sway softly and their faces burn with intensity. The sexual power of the three women moving together was undeniable. I felt my face grow still redder as I felt my cock, covered in my flowing red gown, begin to harden.

Since my experience with Arkadas, I had done my best to return to my previous state as it related to sex. Specifically, I had tried to pretend that I was a woman like any other. No, that was not correct. I attempted to pretend to myself that I was completely devoid of any sexual nature. However, as I noted earlier, I found it impossible to place as firm a lid on my sexuality as I had before. I could not help but notice, for example, the extreme sexual beauty of Arkadas body. I was unable, internally, to master my sexual thoughts. But I did my best to master those feeling externally. That meant that I did not look at those I found to be beautiful (I would try to turn away), I would not express any admiration for anyone's appearance, and (most importantly) I would not touch my sexual organs. I still did not believe it was a lady's place to pleasure herself and so, since that morning with Arkadas, I had been chaste even with myself. Now, on the bed surrounded by objectively beautiful women, I found that that the internal was made embarrassingly external.

"Do not be ashamed," Agiz said and my head shook involuntarily. The women kept moving towards me

"We are your divine wives," Got stated.

"You need not hide anything from us," Cin said. Once again there was an incredible crack of thunder and a blinding light. This time it felt like the sound was coming from inside of my head. I would have screamed in terror if I'd been able to, but my body felt frozen. Then, just as quickly as before, my room was back as it had been. But once again, a woman had lost her clothes. I looked down at my body and saw my dress in a pile on the floor. My breasts were exposed and I felt half tempted to cover them with my hand. But my hard cock was pressing up from between my legs and I realized that there was no way to cover my exposure. I was naked before my "divine wives."




The Sultanah Ch. 02



"She truly is the One!" I heard Agiz say and I looked up at her quickly. Cin gave Agiz a sharp look.

"Did you doubt me? Or the words of a thousand others in the last few weeks?" she asked, but did not sound as angry as the words would indicate.

"No... I believed you from the first you told me," Agiz said. As she spoke, Agiz eyes alighted on my hard cock. I looked over at Got and saw that she was staring at it as well. Was it just morbid curiosity? I was too over stimulated to reason through what was happening.

"And we've heard everyone proclaiming our Sultanah's...special attributes for the last few days," Got said.

"But seeing is believing," Agiz concluded and Cin nodded.

"I cannot believe that I have been given this honor," Agiz replied.

"Nor can I...I did not believe that I would live to see this day, let alone to partake in it," Got added. I felt like my head was underwater.

"You are making your Sultanah uncomfortable," Cin reproached.

"I'd never dream!" Agiz said, dropping her eyes from my cock. I was uncomfortable. But for a million reasons, not just because of Agiz's eye movements. I needed to know what was happening, but I felt too weak to do so. But I pushed forward

"Cin," I said, my voice quaking. All eyes turned toward me, "The One?" was all I could manage. Cin smiled at me indulgently.

"Agiz, Got, would you like to explain our cryptic conversation to your new Sultanah?" Cin asked. Agiz and Got, both on either side of Cin, bowed low toward their head priestess and then dropped to her knees before me. I almost pulled back, afraid of their rapid motions. They were so close that I could feel the heat of their bodies and gentle scent of rosewater emanating from them.

"In centuries long past, when Gunes still lived on the Earth,' Agiz said, speaking as one who has repeated her words many times in the past, "She wrote fifty prophecies about this future of the world. When she completed her prophecies she attained such perfect knowledge that she burst forth in utter brilliance blotted out the stars. She rose into heaven, and became the Sun. Her prophecies were protected by her earliest followers, the original Sun Priestesses." I had never heard Gunes referred to with a pronoun before. I had no idea that Gunes was a woman. But I did not have time to dwell.

"Through the years," Got added and my head swung to find her, "49 of the prophecies have come true, from the founding of Ülke, to the rise of the Liar, to the rise of Tanri. Only one final prophecy remains."

"Gunes prophesied that, in the depths of our doubt, when Empire she founded looked bleakest, that she would send some of her spirit to return."

"Gunes has the light of the Sun, the infinite store of brightness," Cin now added, looking directly into my eyes, "To show her bounty, she sends down the light of a single star each time a person is born. The light of that star is the animating force of the person, and can be seen in the light of their eyes. Gunes stated that, when the time came, she would send the light of two stars to a single person. That person would have twice the spirit of any person on Earth. Twice the power. And that person would lead the Empire, guided by the light of Gunes, to victory. More importantly, Gunes' Chosen One would eliminate all false religion, and make his Priestesses supreme over the spiritual lives of all people on Earth," As Cin spoke, I remembered what she'd said about the night of my birth. I was...the One?

"Gunes would mark this person with a sign," Agiz said.

"Gunes was a woman born with a man's cock," Got said and I felt my body start to shake. Gunes...like me?

"Gunes contained everything, man and woman," Cin said, "So she would make her presence known in that same way, so that we Priestesses could find her. And Gunes' Chosen One would be born with Imperial Blood, so that she would be a descendant of Gunes and have the right to sit on the throne."

"You are that Chosen One," Agiz said.

"We do you double honor, as the Sultanah (and therefore, rightfully our Divine husband) but more so, as the fulfillment of the final prophecy. The Age of a New History!" Got explained. I felt more confused than ever.

"That cock," Cin said, pointing between my legs, "Which you have despised your entire life, is a gift from Gunes. And symbol of her divine favor." As though Cin had made some sort of signal, both Agiz and Got leaned forward. They kneeling before me, both just inches from my knees. In unison, their heads came together between my legs. For a moment, I thought they were going to kiss. Instead, they turned their heads to the side, their lips moved quickly and pressed themselves firmly against the shaft of my hard cock! Their lips felt soft both first against my quivering flesh and I felt lightheaded. I looked down at the beautiful women, their lips pressed against my most secret place, and I felt like I was in some sort of beautiful and horrible dream. 

"Unlike the Sultans of the past, you are not a symbol of the unity between the physical and the divine. You are the physical and divine, combined as one," Cin said. But I could barely heard her. I felt Agiz and Got as their lips parted slightly (though still in unison) and their tongues pressed into my flesh. "This ceremony now too moves beyond the symbolic. We break down the barrier between the physical and the divine and recognize it as one. The Divine Priestess of Gunes will provide you with your every physical desire, to show you the face of Gunes!"

"I..." I started. I didn't even understand. And still, Agiz and Got suckled on the shaft of my cock, making rational thought impossible.

"Do not speak Sultanah," Cin said meaningfully, "Witness as the spiritual bond between your body and Gunes is channeled through your divine, virgin wives. We will sense your desires through that spiritual bond, and meet them, without your order." And, without saying a further word, Cin closed her eyes and then leaned forward at her waist. I froze entirely as Cin's beautiful face inches closer and closer to my body. She leaned out over top of her two fellow priestesses as they continued to kiss the base of my cock. Finally, Cin's head bent forward. I felt her soft, hot lips press against the tip of my cock. 

"Oh...Oh it's too much!" I moaned loudly. I looked at the three women between my legs. They looked so beautiful. I could no longer think. I let my mind go. My body took over. Suddenly, all three women broke away from my cock, pulling back.

"Gunes be praised!" Got said.

"I can't believe it!" Agiz added. I opened my eyes and looked at them. They were crowded around my knees, looking at me.

"We can sense your desires." Cin said, "We can hear them loud as day. Just as the prophecy foretold." I had no idea what they were talking about.

"It is fading!" Got said.

"Let your mind be free," Cin said, but she could apparently sense that my thoughts were crowding back in, the connection was becoming muddled, "We must give her what she desires. Can you still feel it?" she asked the other two.

"It is faint," Agiz said.

"I know," Got said, smiling mischievously. She hissed something quickly to Cin and Agiz in the liturgical tongue. I could not understand, but in a moment, all three women were moving. I could not have moved if I desired to do so. But I was trying to follow Cin's advice, trying to not to think about what was happening. That brief moment of release had been...divine. I wanted it back. Beyond that, these were beautiful women who wished to fulfil my desires. It ill-behooved me to stop them now! I just let the women go. 

Cin and Got quickly climbed up onto the bed with me. Agiz moved slightly to her right, settling in between my legs. She was still kneeling and she placed her hands on my knees. Her hands felt extremely hot, but lovely. Like sunlight on bare skin. I moaned and she smiled up at me. She then slowly began to spread my legs apart. I had no desire to resist and let my legs move. 

While she was acting, Cin and Got were not simply waiting around. Got climbed up onto the large bed on my right side. She crawled on her knees up toward me and then stopped when she was kneeling just a foot from my hips. Cin actually stood up on the bed and moved much more quickly. I watched as she walked around the left side of my body. Soon, she was standing directly behind me. She rustled the air as she moved past and rosewater again filled my nostrils.

Watching the women move about my body heightened the already intense reactions my body was having. I was reaching a level of arousal I'd never felt before. My skin felt like it was vibrating, almost like I was covered in something warm and plush. My nipples stood out tall on my large breasts. I was using my hands to hold my body in a seated position, but I desperately wanted to place my hands on my breasts, to squeeze my nipples and massage my flesh. My cock was actually shaking between my legs and my balls ached dully. I was overcome by sexual need.

My "divine wives" seemed to sense that and quickly moved into position. I had not really understood what Got had meant when she'd said 'I know.' They had been talking about seeing my desires, but I did not even have a sense for my own desires. These beautiful women saw me as an object of sexual desire (something I'd never expected anyone to feel) and the physical and emotional impact was beyond comprehension. I could not more conceive of my desires at that time than I could get my cock to soften.

But, as the women moved into their positions, I suddenly realized that, in my mind's eye, I had created a vision of what I'd desired. It had not been formed clearly enough to even register as a thought, but Got had seen it. I know it, because it all came together, at roughly the same instance. 

I felt Cin sit down behind me on the bed. She spread her legs and pressed her breasts against my back and her cunny against the base of my spine. Her long legs slid against the outside of my legs, so that my body was sort of cradled in hers. Cin's body felt impossibly warm and enveloping, like I was taking a hot bath. She gently pulled me back, my body yielding to her touch. I leaned back so that I was lying on my back. I felt Cin's warm breasts against my back.

At the same instance, I felt Agiz slip her hands underneath of my knees. Her fingers pressed gently into the soft flesh as she carefully lifted my legs and then pulled them still wider. My legs were now spread incredibly wide, my cunny open and dripping below my sagging, full balls. Agiz leaned in closely and I could hear her gently sniff the air, taking in the scent of my cunny and balls.

Cin and Agiz, by pulling me onto my back and lifting my legs respectively, had allowed my cock to flop back against my bare stomach. It felt hard and warm against my skin. But, as I looked down at it, I saw Got's hand. She quickly reach down to my belly. I felt her fingers and nail slide against my skin as she carefully slid her hand underneath of my cock! In a moment, she grasped her hand around it, pulling the dipping tip back up so that it was facing the ceiling.

Suddenly I realized that these positions, the exact location of each person on this particular bed, had formed the basic outlines of a sexual wish I'd made while my mind was at its most black. Cin, wrapped around my body with her tits on my back, Agiz with her head between my legs, and Got with her hand wrapped around my cock. The realization that some sort of bizarre, sexual connection was too much for my mind to accept. Once again, I allowed myself to slip into a state of utter release.

That must've been some sort of signal, something that the Priestesses were waiting for. I felt a tremor run through their bodies and, in the exact same instant, they all began to move. Cin's left arm slide underneath my left armpit and her palm quickly found my breast. I gasped as Cin's warm hands began to knead my skin and her delicate fingers teased my nipple. At the same time Cin's right hand snaked over my shoulder. Her delicate hand wrapped gently around my throat. She did not choke me, merely grasped my throat and pulled my head back against her shoulder. I grunted as I felt her lips pressed against the back of my neck. I felt her tongue touch it gently graze my skin. 

Even as Cin was grasped my breast, Agiz was moving. She moved her head forward quickly. I could no longer see her beautiful face (she was blocked by my breasts, Got's hands, and my cock) but I could feel her. I felt her soft hair as it brushed the inside of my leg. I felt her warm, long nose press into my balls, sinking into the soft flesh there. And I felt Agiz's tongue. Just faintly at first, but then spreading out thick and fat. I could feel her tongue sliding against my dripping cunny, just below my balls. My legs shook as Agiz's tongue splayed out wide and carefully slipped up and down my slit. Her nose pressed harder and deeper against my balls as she tried to press her tongue deeper and deeper inside of me.

Got was not slacking while the other two ladies began their movements. Instead, she quickly bent at her waist. She still hard her warm, soft hand wrapped around my throbbing cock and she now pulled it slightly in her direction. While my Cin was pulling my neck back, I kept my eyes forward, watching Got. She moved with a certainty and purpose that I found unbearably alluring. She closed her eyes and bent so far that her breasts pressed against my hips. In fact, I could feel her hard, hot nipples tickling against my hip bone. Then, I watched as Got's mouth opened and her head quickly sunk down around my cock. I could scarcely believe my eyes as my quivering shaft disappeared past Got's lips and down her throat. In just a few seconds I felt Got's nose press into my lower belly and her hair cascade over my abdomen. My cock was entirely within her mouth!

And oh, the sensation! Got's mouth was dripping wet around my cock and warm. No, not warm. It was hot. Hot almost to the point of being uncomfortable, but not quite yet. The heat of her tongue contrasted sharply with the mere warmth of Agiz's tongue as it fondled my cunny. Got's mouth was incredibly tight, but felt soft and in no way constricting. Her tongue moved rapidly around the side of my cock, occasionally wrapping to the right side and sliding down the thick vein that ran on the bottom. After a moment, Got began to slide my cock out of her throat and I gasped as the cold air struck my wet cock. When just the tip remained in her mouth, Got once again slipped my cock back into her throat.

Now, all at once, my un-stated desire had been consummated. And we stayed like that for a while, though I honestly cannot say for how long. My mind remained totally blank, devoid of rational thought. On my bed, my three divine wives moved in perfect unison and harmony. Cin stayed tightly wrapped around my body. Her left hand played with my breast while the right stroked my throat. Her tongue played on my neck as her hot cunny dripped her juices at the base of my spine. Agiz pressed her hard between my legs, pressing my balls against her nose and driving her wet tongue down into my cunny. She lapped at my cunny, sucking down my juices and teasing me with her rigid tongue. And Got, methodically bounced her head up and down on my cock. She drove my cock deep into her throat, working her tongue and saliva over every inch of its length. Her breasts continued to press warmly into my skin. The room resounding with the gentle gurgling sound of my lovers at their various endeavors and my nose filled with the scent of rosewater, cunny juices, and my own arousal. 

In my foggy state I could perceive that my senses were overwhelmed, there was too much happening to my body to completely feel any of them. But that sensory surplus felt wonderful and perfect. In fact, as Got's mouth continued to work up and down on my trembling cock, I found that that my physical state was leading me towards one thing. Suddenly, a single thought burst through my mind, "cum!" I did not consciously desire to cum, though I could feel a climax rising. I was not capable of such thoughts. But the actions of my divine wives had pushed me in that direction.

However, that thought apparently served as some sort of warning or signal to the priestesses. At once they stopped moving. Got carefully slipped my cock out of her mouth, letting it flop back hard against my belly. She sat up slightly, moving her breasts from my hip bone. At the same time, Agiz pulled her head back from between my legs. She slipped her hands out from under my knees and they dropped slowly. I looked at Agiz's face and saw it glistening with my juices and her saliva. Cin's hands dropped from my body. She deftly slid out from underneath of me, pulling her legs back from around my body. Soon, I was laying on my back on the bed.

As their actions ceased, my mind began to flood back to me. I realized how perilously close I'd come to a climax. I heard myself whimper slightly. I looked at my cock. It was twitching and already since it had been pulled from Got's mouth it was producing a thick stream of clear, early seed. I needed to climax. I'd been so close and they stopped.

"Hush now Sultanah," Cin said, "The ceremony is not complete."

"I have it," Agiz said and my eyes shifted once again to her face. She was smiling mischievously and she licked her lips. "I know what she desires now!"

"I desire to cum!" I moaned.

"Do not look at your surface desires. We look below the surface. Once again allow your mind to be free," Cin said quickly. I tried to comply, but it was so difficult. 

"Do you still have it?" Cin asked. Agiz nodded. I heard Agiz whisper something quickly in the liturgical language once again. I knew this time that they were coordinating their efforts. Apparently sensing that my mind was becoming clouded with thoughts, they moved very quickly.

The first thing I noticed was that I felt hands on my body. Cin had moved so that she was on my side, opposite of Got. They were both slowly cajoling me to roll over. I did so, loving the way that their warm hands felt against my cool skin. In a few moments, I was lying on my belly (my cock felt wonderful, pressed into the soft furs on the bed). But they did not stop, instead, Cin placed her hands on my hips and began to pull up. At the same time, Got placed her hands under my shoulders, also pulling me. I sensed what they wanted and quickly rose up onto my hands and knees. Cin grabbed my knee and pulled it, indicating that I should spread my legs somewhat widely. I follower her lead.

While Cin and Got were moving my body, Agiz was moving on her own. She rose up from her kneeling position between my legs and quickly moved so that she was on the bed. As Cin and got were lifting me up onto my hands and knees, I saw Agiz moving so that she was in front of my face.

But, as Agiz got onto the bed, the other priestesses began to get off. Both Cin and Got slipped off of the bed, down near where my feet hung off the edge of the bed, so that I could not see them, they were behind me. I wondered for a moment where they were going (despite my best efforts to clear my mind). But I did not have to wait long. After a moment, I heard a noise and felt something brush the inside of my legs. I dropped my head down, looking down my body. I saw my breasts hanging like pendulums from my body and my hard cock pointing slightly down, but generally towards my face. My large balls hung low. Despite these obstructions, I could see hands, palm up, between my legs. I saw these hands rushing forward (one grazed my cock and made my whole body shake). After a moment I saw arms then the red top of a head sliding between my legs. The Priestess continued to slide between my legs and her head, face, and body slid up against my cock. In a short while, I saw that Cin had slid so far up between my legs that was able to stick her arms out and wrap them around my knees. In fact, my kneecaps were now nestled in her arm pits. Her body was now under mine; her torso was between my knees, her breasts were directly under my balls (the space was so tight that my balls were resting gently between her breasts), and the tip of my cock was just inches from her mouth.




The Sultanah Ch. 03



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 3 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Part II: The Siege

Chapter 3: Sucking Out the Venom

"Sultanah Varis, the Steward estimates that, given your rationing decree, there is sufficient corn in the market to last another week and a half..." Danışman, my Secretary, stated nervously. He shifted from foot to foot and refused to look me in the eye. I stared at him intently, as if there was no one else in the throne room.

"How much corn is saved in the palace reserve," I interrupted him. I looked down from my throne as I spoke. Danışman was a portly man with a long, flowing mustache. I trusted him very little and I knew he had grown fat on my father's inattention. He could sense my displeasure. I enjoyed that everyone got to see me make him squirm. He looked around the room anxiously. The peers stared from their seats without movement. 

Almost all of the Peers of the realm were present, in their traditional seats. More seats had actually been added to accommodate the lower nobility, who were only now being included. It was our daily planning session. I had called them since the day after my coronation. I lacked the actual authority to do anything on my own at that point, I was very weak. I wanted the Peers to feel flattered and to feel that they were an important part of the decision making process, such as it was. Truth to Gunes, I was actually hoping that one of them might come up with some useful idea. That eventuality never actually occurred.

"If is rationed wisely, it may last two months..."

"That is impossible, there must be half a million people in the city right now, the reserve is..." I started.

"I apologize for the confusion my lady," the Secretary sputtered. I should've cut his tongue out for interrupting me, to give the Peers a sense of my justice, but I wanted to hear what he said, so I took no offense, "I estimated only for the members of the royal household, the Peers, and the soldiers."

"Everyone must eat," I said. It might have been a mundane opinion, but it was becoming more and more poignant as the siege stretched on, "What good will it do us to eat in a month if all my subjects are starved to death?" I asked.

"I apologize again your grace," the Secretary sputtered, I heard a Peer laugh at his discomfort, "I will have to recalculate to account for everyone. The food in the reserve will likely only last a day or two at that rate...we were not prepared for this siege."

The Secretary was right about that. It had been almost a month since my father's death, a few weeks since my coronation, and it appeared I would have the shortest reign of any member of my house since Açlıktan ölen V. Our enemies, King Sican of Dusman, his son Lider, and their allies from Temsilci and Surgun were still camped outside my walls. They had further squeezed trade and choked the rivers that even fish became impossible to procure. The city was starving. I had been forced to shut down the market and seize all the food to avoid profiteering. It was an action that had made me extremely unpopular with the merchants, but it had ensured small meals for every person trying to live in Şehir. Even so, we were rapidly running out of time. Something needed to be done to break the siege, to return the city to life.

"How many soldiers are fit for duty today?" I asked, turning to my right and finding my newest general, Sir Albay. Of late, Surgun's archers had been targeting my officers on the walls. I was rapidly running out of anyone with leadership experience. My most recent general had been killed the day before while taking a piss. I had already forgotten his name. He, like his predecessors, was little more than glorified security guards. Sir Albay had been in charge of keeping the powder room dry before the siege, now he was my Marshal. He had rheumy eyes, smelled of rot and the arm pits of his tunic were constantly damp. A far cry from the General Mareşal in the glory days of the empire.

"2,206 Infantry, negligible cavalry, 291 on the gun and trebuchet, and 1,528 archers of some ability. There are about as many again militia at the wall, but they serve primarily to deceive the enemy and inflate the numbers, they would not be useful in a fight," Albay responded.

"That implies the regular soldiers would be," I heard a Peer whisper loudly so that all could hear him. His comment met with some laughs I felt my lips pull back from my teeth but otherwise pretended that I didn't notice.

"The legions have dropped to 8,000 soldiers, only 4,000 of which can fight" I whispered to myself. I knew the value of our actual soldiers, brave and willing to fight. But nonetheless, I shook my head. 

"What are the Orders of the day my Sultanah," Albay asked after a long moment. Any thought that I may have had about taking decisive action with respect to the army at our gates had dried up upon hearing the numbers. Not that I would have hesitated to take action if it had been remotely possible.

After my coronation and the ceremony with my divine wives, I had found that I sat more comfortably on my throne. I cannot explain it, other than to say that a light had shown into my soul, finding deep reserves that I had not known existed. That is not to say that I had any more idea of what I was doing, I was simply better able to project a calmness and interest I had been unable to fain before. I understood the depths of my own ignorance now, and I suppose that was something. At least I could follow the conversations and preside over my own meetings. I sensed the Peers grudgingly respected that fact. The end result was that while I still had no idea of how I would drive the 75,000 soldiers from before my walls, I was not constantly gripped with panic and confusion. I suppose that was something.

"Same as yesterday, 8 hour shifts for each man, trained soldiers at weak points, tell everyone to keep their eyes open, prepare to swarm to trouble areas if necessary," I said to Albay. He nodded sagely as though we'd ever had another plan. This was the order the Peers had suggested at our first session and it was invariably followed now. There was no solution to our problem that could be found by the in the army. The best we could do was trick our enemies into thinking we could repulse an assault.

"Perhaps, your grace," Lord Örnek stated, "We should reconsider Prince Lider's offer of parley. It is possible that they do not realize how dire our straits have become. Perhaps we can sue for peace on advantageous terms now, they must be tired of their siege as well. I hear there is some sickness in their ranks." Örnek was a member of the Collaborationist party. I had been hearing some version of this advice paired with my military orders since my coronation, that it was time to surrender while we still had some leverage. I did not believe it then, I did not believe it now. Still, the Collaborationists were the strongest party at court. And every day, as the food dwindled, their case became stronger. Soon there would be no choice but to sue for peace or starve to death. My stomach rumbled at the thought. Or maybe it was because I was on half rations as well.

"Yes, Prince Lider's offer, I should consider that seriously," I said, trying to hide my true thoughts. Cin had been coaching me in kingship for weeks. I knew that it was essential to be all things to all people, and that meant keeping quiet and letting my Peers project their preferences onto me. 

Still, I did think for a moment about the peace offer. I had to admit, based on what Cin told me of statecraft, and my own instincts, it had been somewhat clever of King Sican to offer peace through the auspices of his son. First, Sican had a reputation for being brutal, his son was seen as softer, his offer of peace more probable (even if he had no real authority to offer peace on his own). Perhaps more importantly, it left the impression that the marriage pact between the Prince and my sister could be revived. The Collaborationist had grasped hold of it. That was what they had sought since the beginning, to pretend my father had never been killed and that I was not Sultanah. I was running out of ways to put it off.

"May I send up a flag of truce?" Örnek asked, and as he spoke his eyes darted nervously towards Duke Hain, the leader of the Collaborationists. I guess they had sensed weakness in my avowed interest in Lider's mission. They thought that maybe, I had finally seen the writing on the wall.

"No," I said quickly. I saw the heads of peers look up, I had spoken too quickly, my thoughts were apparent. I dared not look at Cin, for I knew she would be disappointed. All the same, Örnek's eyes dropped quickly, whatever illusion he had about my willingness to speak with our enemies was punctured. Hain looked away, not wanting to be associated with the premature request. But I could feel the hostility from the Collaborationists in the room. My Gunes given title of Sultanah was buying their acquiescence now, but not for long. 

Besides, I still felt uncomfortable challenging these men, they had been trained and prepared. I blushed at my harsh words and felt ashamed of myself. They were men. I felt embarrassed whenever I asserted myself in front of them, "I apologize if I sounded blunt my good Lord Örnek," I soothed, "I meant that I cannot make any decision without prayer. And I intend to do so now, to seek guidance from god," I did not say the name "Gunes" for fear of offending the numerous followers of Tanri, but after my ceremony with my spiritual wives, what I had seen, had made me a devout follower of the Sun god. I certainly would pray to her.

"A wise posture my lady," Lord Örnek responded and then sat back down in his seat. I looked around at the other Peers, trying to gauge their thoughts. Mostly I saw apprehension, mixed with boredom. I looked out the window and saw the sun hanging high in the sky. There was little more we could do, I stood only a chance of harming my position further by extending the meeting.

"I believe this meeting has gone long enough. I release you all and thank you for your attendance today. I will have a definitive answer for you at tomorrow's session," I said. Örnek nodded, placated by my avowed uncertainty and the fact that the meeting was breaking earlier than intended. Many of the other Collaborationists seemed to feel the same. But Hain, and the smarter members, could tell that I was just buying a little extra time. He and his closest associates stared daggers at me as they rose and left the chamber. I watched them all go, while I stayed motionless in my throne, projecting permanency but not feeling it.

Once the peers had left, I let out a long sigh and sank down deeply into the throne. I looked around the room, left now only with the people I trusted, the only non-Peers allowed in the meeting. Cin stood directly to my right, on the floor below me. Behind her were Got and Agiz, my other spiritual wives. To my left was my sister Kardes, sitting in her traditional seat. No other family members were present, as Nislani was still mourning her marriage and spitting angry over my rationing orders. My personal guard Saygili stood next to Kardes, the only guard (and man) allowed in the throne room. 

Once the door closed behind the last Peer left the room, I felt the formality slip out as well. These meetings were also a tradition, a meeting of my private Inner Council. Here is where I felt comfortable being myself, speaking my own mind, and where I earnestly sought a solution to my predicament.

"They grow restless," Got said, once we had sat in agreeable silence for several minutes. I nodded and no one seemed inclined to disagree.

"The affair with the traitor Rahip sapped the Collaborationist strength. But it grows again, day by day." Agiz said. It always sounded like the three priestesses were thinking from one brain. Perhaps it was just three copies of Cin, always wise, but always blunt. 

"In a few days, maybe as soon as tomorrow, Hain and his ilk will not sit quietly when you turn down the chance to sue for peace. In a week, they will be taking drastic action to force your hand, within 10 days, unless something else changes, you will either capitulate or there will be a coup," Cin said. I felt a chill run down my spine. I knew that she was right. I had been sensing something of that nature myself.

In the time since my coronation, I had done nothing but wait. I dared not surrender my throne but, I could not risk war. Unfortunately, our enemies were better suited to wait. If I sat for too long, I would lose just as certainly as if I surrendered now. When my power ebbed completely, the people (and the Peers) would know that I was not a true Sultan, they would kill me, and they would quit the fight. I had to act, but how?

"Then we, those still loyal to my empire, and the Collaborationists agree on one thing," I said to my Inner Council, "We cannot sit idly by forever. Time is running out, we must act." We were quickly sinking into the well-worn path of previous discussions. We had been over this and over this a million times.

"But how?" Kardes asked. That was the real question. I had been running that through my mind for weeks, trying to devise some plan. I had spoken with the Inner Council daily. No one had devised a workable plan. We just kept going in circles, never resolving anything. Cin claimed that Gunes gave her no hints of the future. I sighed deeply.

"Saygili," I said and my guard turned to me, "Have you rounded up the messengers I requested?" I was referring to the only practical plan I had devised.

"Yes your majesty," my guarded nodded, "Our fastest men, ready to move at a moment's notice."

"I cannot see all the future," Cin said, "But I can sense that this gambit will fail, it is a waste of time."

"We cannot break the siege ourselves," I said, "We need an army. The only way to obtain an army is an alliance with some other power. I am the Sultanah and therefore the most eligible bachelor in the world. Certainly some prince with some army will give me his daughter's hand in exchange for the use of his army." That was the best we had been able to do. Even then, there was little time to act. The Army would need to arrive in the next few days. That was why I would send my fastest men, and only to nearby countries with large standing armies.

"Even if, and it is by no means a small thing, that your messengers can get out of the city and reach the court of the princes of this world, you chances of success are miniscule," Cin said, repeating her earlier objections, "Any prince that would give you his daughter would be doing so for the sake of his ambition. Only a weak prince with nothing to lose would take on King Sican at this time, only a fool with a small army and no future. And even if such a prince were agree, he could not get his army here in time. But I don't think we have to worry about that, I think the world will reject you, no man will think you appropriate as a husband for his daughter," Cin said, her voice never changing in tone. This was as blunt as she had ever been.

"You cannot speak to her in that way!" Kardes shot back, protecting me. Cins words hurt, but I knew what she was trying to tell me. I raised my hand. I demanded absolute candor from my Inner Council.

"Cin meant no offense," I said to my sister, "She does not see anything...unnatural in my body. She is placing herself in the mindset of our possible benefactors. And she is probably right," I said. I could not imagine a father who would want me as a husband for his daughter, no matter how rich I might be (especially with my riches consisting of a single city that was doomed to fall). My nobles barely respected me, despite my absolute right to rule, the rest of the world likely saw me as an illegitimate circus freak. As a result, we focused exclusively on courts where my sisters lived, hoping that familial relations would lessen some of the stigma. 

"Thank you your majesty," Cin said and nodded to my sister. Kardes seemed to accept that explanation.

"But, while she is likely right, I find no harm in acting. Saygili, send the messengers," I added. As I said, I was attempting to be decisive.

"If a messenger is caught, they will know you're desperate," Got warned. That was certainly true.

"If they looked at our meager legions guarding our walls they will know I am desperate," I replied, speaking a deeper truth "Saygili, go," I ordered.

"Yes your grace," My guard said and he walked out from the throne room, to seek his hand-selected messengers and to hand them the scrolls I had drafted the previous evening. I was begging the crowned fathers of the old empire to let me fuck one of their daughters. To make her a whore for their blind ambition. So there was still some hope.

The plan was to coordinate with some other power, to have them arrive at some instant immediately after my legions sallied forth from the city. If we could catch our enemies unaware, then we could drive them back in confusion. We would attempt to hit them where they were weakest and find spots on the battlefield where we could briefly have superiority in numbers. It was desperate and weak on details, but it was all we had.

As such, once Saygili was gone, we sat in silence for some time. There was nothing left to talk about. I supposed I should release them, let them attend to their own matters while I thought. But I needed them now. The world seemed to be growing more hostile by the day. The peers were cooling, my enemies heating up. Even the people, who had embraced me earlier during my adventure with Rahip and during my coronation, were holding back. They were apprehensive about their future. I did not blame them. But it meant that outside of this room, I was friendless.




The Sultanah Ch. 03



I looked out the window as I considered my plight. The sun had already reached its apex and was now starting to slip back down towards the horizon. The light had taken on a slightly orange glow that gave my throne room an intimate air. I saw the light splashing through nearest window, and spilling out over the floor like a flaming sword through the darkness.

"My Sultanah," Cin said suddenly. I jolted, as though I had been asleep and looked at my priestess. She was looking up from the floor, her beautiful face looking serene, as it always did. I noticed that a streak of that beautiful light was across Cin's eyes, giving them a shimmering brightness.

"Yes Cin?" I said in response.

"As I said, this gambit will fail," She replied. Her eyes stayed on me, locked with an intensity they had not possessed of late.

"Yes, I heard you," I said, feeling a bit annoyed. I had made a decision about that. I was sticking to it. It was all I could do to avoid rolling my eyes. Cin shook her head, as though I did not understand her.

"I think, Sultanah, that you have been focused on the wrong problem," she explained, "I have had a new thought. You have been looking at this siege as a material, military, and political problem."

"Are you suggesting it is not those things?" I said. I stood now, this was a different tack that taken before. Cin was going to suggest something new. Anything new was better. I walked down the stairs of the throne slowly, to stand with the priestesses, my sister and Arkadas stood as well.

"Not primarily," Cin replied.

"Well what is it then?" Kardes asked. I appreciated that my sister always seemed able to ask the curt, blunt questions that I feared to ask, even when surrounded only by my female advisors.

"It is a spiritual battle," Cin stated, "Spiritual impurity haunts this city." I felt my heart sink. This was hardly what I needed now.

"Cin, I do not have time for ecclesiastical matters now. You see my heart, you know I love Gunes as I love the sun, for Gunes is the sun," I replied, "but have more pressing matters now," I said, now unable to hide my annoyance.

"You are not only an individual, you represent the empire, and the spirit of the Empire is ripped in two," Cin responded, nodding to herself slowly. I looked at Arkadas, who seemed not to be paying attention. Kardes' brow was furrowed. The other sun priestess stared at me impassively.

"Cin, what good would converting everyone to Gunes be if we are all dead in a week anyway?" Kardes asked, her words dripping with malice. A just question. I could not believe that Cin would worry about such distant matters when we balanced on the knife's edge of total destruction.

"Do not create artificial distinctions in your mind," Gunes responded, not returning Kardes' heat, "the solution to your material, military, and political problems can only be solved by curing the spiritual problem in our midst."

"I have eliminated Cardinal Rahip," I replied, "He is 500 feet below us in the darkest dungeon of the palace. He is in a place that light cannot reach, sitting in a pool of water filled with rats. He must relieve himself in the same water he drinks. He is not given a food ration. As a holy man, I cannot execute him. But he will not last much longer." For a moment I considered the fate of the old man, who I had known all my life, and shivered. But he had crossed me and threatened my dynasty. It was imperative that I not succumb to pity or mercy.

"So when you pull the snakes fangs from your flesh you simultaneously draw the venom?" Cin asked sharply. 

"Don't speak in riddles!" Kardes shot back. But I felt the hair pricking up on my head. I felt a chill, but suddenly the sun felt brighter in the room, growing yellow where it was once orange. I looked at Cin.

"What are you saying?" I asked. Cin took a breath and looked at her sister priestesses before speaking.

"All throughout this city, people are becoming more desperate. People who might not usually turn to prayer are finding they have nothing left but to ask for guidance. While many correctly pray to Gunes, many from ignorance and habit pray to the false god. That god is the god of our enemies. When they ask Tanri to deliver the city, to whom does Tanri look? Their prayers aid our enemy. And every day there are more prayers. Prayers for peace through our destruction. Tanri's strength grows greater in the city. You feel it yourself, you feel you cannot say Gunes' name at your meeting for fear of offending your enemies. You have eliminated Rahip, but there are thousands of other people in this city who are infected with his views. With knowledge or not, they bring the calamity to our city. When you clean this spiritual impurity, you will cure your political problems as well." 

"Oh, so religious babble disguised as political advice then?" Kardes said angrily. But Cin's words had washed over me in an almost physical way as they poured from her mouth. I could sense Gunes in her words, just as certainly as her red light had guided me to Rahip in the past. I did not know how, but I could sense that Cin was right. Perhaps not in the direct way that she implied, but the core of her point seemed nonetheless absolutely true.

There were still people in the city who wished it to fall to our enemies, that they took solace in Tanri, and that they led astray citizens who would otherwise be loyal. Other people, who only wanted peace, could be driven to accept the fall of the city if it meant an end to war. The will of the city to resist was falling and some of that drop in morale was caused by those who worshipped Tanri. I had to stem the tide and reverse this action. I had to convince the people that we could resist somehow, that Gunes (or something) was more powerful than our enemies' god and that we could be protected. If I could solve that problem, perhaps it would put my other problems in perspective, give my city unity, and show us a path to victory. I didn't know the mechanics of how the solution would work itself, but I could sense the truth in Cin's suggestion. I owed everything to Gunes, perhaps she would reward me again if I served her now.

And, to a certain extent, I was tired of sitting on my throne worrying. I wanted something I could actually do, something that could make me feel like I was actively seeking a solution to my city's doom. Cin's words had placed some action in my mind, a desire to stop hunkering down and waiting for a savior, a desire to make something happen. I had become the Sultanah and I was tired of waiting for something to happen that would allow me to lead. I had to just do it. I turned and started to walk towards the door of the throne room.

"Are we dismissed?" Arkadas asked sleepily. She had clearly not been paying attention. 

"Where are you going?" Kardes asked. I turned and looked over my shoulder at my advisors.

"To suck out the poison," I said and turned and left.

* * * * *

Half an hour later I was out in the middle of Şehir. There were thousands of people in the streets, so much so that even the wide boulevards felt like they were crammed from doorway to doorway on either side. This was not surprising; farmers and their families had been sneaking into the city at night with the aid of their families in town (a major security concern, but something I could not bear to end). On top of that, the constant shelling from our enemies' siege machines had destroyed many homes and businesses. People had few places to go other than out into the street. 

Despite the bulging crowds, the streets if Şehir lacked their usual vibrancy. There were more people in the public squares, but less life. The people of the city, and therefore most of the people of the empire, had an air of gloom about them that I had never felt before. I had always loved venturing into the city to see the street performers, hear the merchants yelling at customers, and breathe in the excitement of life. But that city no longer seemed to exist. Large crowds were mostly silent. Stooped shouldered men and glassy-eyed women stood with long faces in lines for their daily rations of food. Children, too tired from fear to play, lay on straw heaps looking at the sky while their mothers and fathers gazed around nervously. You could hear the shuffle of feet on the ground and the sound of an individual cough.

As I moved through the listless crowd, I wore dark, peasant clothing and covered my face against recognition, but I wondered if it was necessary. Everyone seemed so engrossed by their own fears and misery that it was unlikely they would have noticed me if I'd walked naked down the thoroughfares. Well...perhaps not naked. But the point remained, the people of Şehir appeared to have been beaten already.

This was the morale crises that I had feared. If the enemy had come crashing into the city now, I believed the people would simply drop to their knees and beg for mercy. They would turn me over quickly. Not because they hated me, but because they found no reason to resist. They could think only of their own worries. Those worries were all they had left, I could not blame them. But I had to change the tenor. I had to make the people believe that we could win.

As I left wended my way slowly through the streets, I did not so much have an idea of what I was doing or where I was going as I had an urge to move. I trekked through markets and alleys, always keeping my eyes open but not seeing anything. Despite the tension I felt in the streets, it was good to be out of the palace. Seeing my own worry reflected in the eyes of my subjects was oddly comforting. Ideas, half formed, percolated up from the sympathy I felt for their strife. Nothing solid yet, but I felt closer than I had in days to some sort of breakthrough.

About an hour into my journey I suddenly found myself standing in a large square near the center of the city. I had not been paying attention to where I was walking, so engrossed was I in thought. But I briefly looked up as I heard more noise in the street than that to which I had become accustomed. There was a slight murmur in the crowd and a little bit of electricity. After a moment, I looked up and instantly recognized where I was located. Kilise Square. Here was the Ibadethane Cathedral, the chief house of worship for Tanri in the city. It was one of the tallest and most beautiful buildings in the city, with sweeping pillars, beautiful stained glass windows, and a massive, ornate bell tower. It was Rahip's former seat and a symbol of the new God's power

As I looked up I heard a loud clanging sound. I heard the murmur in the crowd grow louder and all turned towards the bell tower. It was 5:00 o'clock, time for prayers. As the clock began to chime, the large oak doors to the Cathedral flew open. The crowd grew silent, and actually took a few collective steps back. As the second chime of the bell rang, people began to make their way out of the Cathedral. On the left were men wearing loose brown robes, their heads shaved in the monkish fashion. On the right were the nuns, wearing long, loose white dresses and elaborate headscarves. I thought for a moment that it was strange that in a different life, I would have been joining them. That didn't feel as though it was just a few weeks in the past.

But I quickly pushed those thoughts out of my mind. Instead, I was intrigued by what was happening. I pushed my way slowly through the crowd, trying to get closer. Of course, I had seen the hourly prayers of the followers of Tanri in the past. This was not a new tradition; they had been doing it since they first came to the city. But it had a new urgency now, and I wanted to gauge the reactions of the people. 

The monks and the nuns worked their way down the steps of the Cathedral as the bell continued to toll. Their heads were bowed reverently and they moved in perfect unison. They looked like a snake, slithering over the steps. As they made their way out of the doors they fanned out, the monks to the left and the nuns to the right, spreading out in front of the Cathedral. In a few moments, all twenty nuns and all twenty monks (there were hundreds of Tanri followers in the community, but only 40 participated in each hourly prayer ceremony on a rotating basis. Forty was a sacred number to Tanri). As they reached their final positions in a semi-circle in front of the church, they all turned in an instant. In unison, their heads shifted so their eyes were facing the church.

"Glory be to Tanri!" they all yelled at once. In the silence of the square, their voices carried impressively. While I was still a few ranks back in the crowd, I was almost overwhelmed by the sound. I had seen this ceremony before. But never in so quiet a square. Usually, most people just ignored the zealots and commenced their shopping. Today was different. I found that it made my stomach turn and my head ache just to hear their overwhelming noise. Others in the crowd had a different reaction. As the holy men and holy women spoke, many of my subjects reflexively fell to their knees in prayer. I would not say that it was half of the crowd, but it was not far short. Further, even those who did not dropped to pray looked reverently at the Cathedral.

And not just the Cathedral. They were looking at what the nuns and the monks were looking at, the object of their prayers. When Sultan Kâfir III had tried to move the seat of worship for the New Religion from Kasaba to Şehir, he had attempted to entice the leaders of the religion through the purchase of a holy relic. In fact, the Sultan had still been a wealthy man at that time, and he had purchased one of the most important artifacts of the religion. It was a gem of enormous size. I had never been close enough to the object to know what it was, but I could not deny its beauty. It was the size of two men's heads and it was cut into a perfect sphere. Its color was a pale, ephemeral blue that gave the gem the appearance of ice or of a grandfather's eyes. Legend had it that the gem had appeared in the exact spot Tanri had been standing when he ascended into the heavens. 

Kâfir III's attempt to woo the leaders of the New Religion to the city had failed, but the gem had stayed. The Cardinals of Şehir were still renowned figures in the New Religion and the gem stood as a symbol of their power. They had placed it in the center of their great clock tower and, as their religion required, they prayed towards it every hour on the hour from sun up until the sun finally set. 

Evidently, the people felt the same reverence for the gem that the nuns and the monks felt. It was a physical manifestation of the authority of Tanri. A physical link to the spiritual word. Despite the fact that I no longer felt any affinity towards Tanri, I could feel the power of that symbol. And if I could feel it, how could my subjects in their misery fail to feel.

"Lord Tanri," a voice called out, emanating from one of the monks, "We humbly pray that you deliver us from the scourge of war. We ask that you give our Sultan..ah, the wisdom to put aside her pride and to think first of her people who suffer greatly. We ask that your will be done so that peace may come without further bloodshed. Amen!" The crowd, even those who were not on their knees, largely repeated the "Amen" to close the prayer. I felt a chill run down my spine. It was exactly as Cin had explained and what I feared. The New Religion was truly undermining me in the guise of calling for peace. I had eliminated their Cardinal, but the roots of the New Religion were too deep. This was a cancer in my Empire, it made certain subjects more closely aligned with my enemies than with me. I had to rip it out. But how?

I was watching as the nuns and the monks slowly began to file back into the Cathedral, the prayer was over. People in the square remained largely still and reverent. I tried to overhear conversations, but everyone was whispering and I could not make anything out without leaning in too closely. But I could tell from the tone of the group that there was great reverence for the New Religion and its followers. And I now understood that each gram of respect the New Religion received was yet another nail in the coffin of the Empire.

As I was thinking these dreary thoughts, I found myself walking towards the Cathedral. I certainly had no intention of going inside, but I found myself drawn to the building. I gazed at its stone pillars and bright windows, searching for the key, for the way of undermining its authority. But the building yielded no secrets. It, and the stone that crowned it, were a symbol of authority, not the authority itself. That authority was granted from the hearts of my people, cleaved in two with divided loyalty.

I looked back over my shoulder and saw those people, still standing quietly and appearing humble. I wondered briefly if they would kill me for their God in that moment if they knew who I was. If they would answer their own prayers. But as I looked at them, I noticed something. While the vast majority of people were on their knees or standing with mouths agape, there was someone moving around. 

The person was wearing a long black robe and their head was covered such that only the eyes were exposed. In a dark alley this person would be invisible. My years moving through the city had sharpened my eyes to all of the various activities in the city. I had always prided myself on my ability to spot pickpockets and this one was particularly bold. I watched the thief walk up behind anxious mothers and reach into their backs quickly, or rifle imperceptibly through the pockets of a worshipping farmer. No doubt the thief was looking for food. I did not raise the alarm; instead I watched the pickpocket work.

After a few seconds in which the pickpocket had silently and without notice extracted goods from ten different people in the square, he quickly began to move towards the cathedral, towards me. I knew that the pickpocket was likely trying to get out before anyone noticed their items were missing. I briefly considered calling out "thief!" and summoning guards to arrest the pickpocket. People would once again be surprised and delighted by the adventures of their Sultanah, perhaps it would buy me a little more good will.

But, something more powerful was at work inside of me. Here was the only person in the square besides me who had been completely unaffected by the Tanril Hours Ceremony. If nothing else, that should have earned my silence. But beyond that, this person, so brazen and purposeful, intrigued me. For reasons I could not explained, I chose to simply watch the pickpocket move.

He was walking towards me at first, but before he reached the area directly in front of the cathedral he turned right. He started walking down the side of the cathedral, into a somewhat darkened alley off the square. After a moment to give him space, I turned and followed. I don't know why I followed; I just wanted to see where this type of person might be going. 

He moved slowly, likely so that he would not draw attention if people in the square began to notice their thefts. But as the alley got darker and darker along the length of the cathedral, he began to move faster. Soon, he was jogging and I was jogging behind him, as quiet as possible. About three quarters of the way down the length of the cathedral, the pickpocket suddenly stopped, turned and faced the building, and dove forward towards the base. He disappeared in an instant. 

I began to spring towards where the pickpocket had disappeared. I would have expected that his head would have been crushed against the base of the building by the speed with which he had dived toward it. But from the distance, there was no sign of him. I was confused and a little scared. What sort of sorcery was this?

After a few seconds, I made it to the place where the pickpocket had disappeared. I realized quickly that there was no sorcery at all. A large hole existed where the cobbles of the alley met the base of the cathedral. It was about two feet high and four feet wide. It was so dark that I would have believed it a mere pothole if I had not seen the pickpocket act. I realized that the pickpocket had entered the cathedral basement through the hole.




The Sultanah Ch. 03



For a second, I considered this the end of my pursuit, a nice diversion from the worries of the day ended. But I still felt an intense curiosity to see where the pickpocket was going. Besides, he had presented me with the opportunity to enter the seat of my enemy's power within the city unnoticed. I didn't know if there was anything in there that would help me, but it could. 

Without thinking more deeply about the possible dangers involved in my actions, I dove down toward the hole. The hole itself was quite smooth and I slid down it quickly, but comfortably. It was like a tube that extended from the street below the surface. It felt like polished stone. It had been there a long time. I tried to remain quiet as I slid down the chute. After just a few seconds the tube disappeared. I briefly saw a room with soft, orange light but then I crashed into the ground with a loud thump. I heard myself give a yelp before the air rushed from my lungs and then I felt pain all over.

I didn't even have time to gain my senses or determine if I was badly injured before I felt someone scoop my head off of the ground. In an instant a strong arm was wrapped tightly around my throat, nearly choking me. I felt a sharp point, likely a dagger against my side, and I felt hot breath in my ear.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you following me?" the voice hissed. The pickpocket. The voice sounded strange in some way, perhaps it was a bit high, but serious. I felt my limbs grow cold and bile back up in my throat. My head was still swimming from my fall and my ankle ached terribly. But I was more concerned about this person. I had dived into the darkness headfirst, away from the protective light of the sun. Now I was in someone's control. This person did not know who I was. I could be killed without a second thought, to be discovered by a Tanril nun.

If anyone. I realized. As my vision came back to me in the darkness I saw where I was located. It looked like a vast tunnel stretching the length of the cathedral. It was only a few feet wide and largely dark, except for a few torches against the outer walls. I looked briefly to my left and the corridor extended on into the darkness as far as I could see. I looked to my right and saw the same thing. I did not know if anyone besides my captor knew about this place. I was totally within the pickpocket's power.

"I am..." I started to speak.

"Quiet you fool!" the voice hissed again, pressing the knife harder into my side, "Your fall has already made too much noise, the fools in the cathedral will hear you." As the pickpocket spoke, he gestured quickly with his hand toward the wall in front of me. The arm quickly returned to my throat. Ahead of me was a long wall of misshapen bricks. Apparently that was the cathedral and I was in some sort of passage underground, just running along side of the basement. 

"I apologize for my noise," I whispered back quietly. The knife eased slightly.

"Why were you following me?" the voice said again, tightening the grasp.

"I was not..."

"Don't lie you fool, it will get you killed," the voice responded. I nodded my head slowly. I looked down at my ankle. It was hard to see in the darkness, but it appeared slightly red. Perhaps sprained, but not broken. I wondered if I moved quickly enough if I could escape at a run. But where would I go?

"I saw you picking pockets in the square..."

"You saw no such thing!"

"And I was curious about where you were going. And then you entered the side of the cathedral and I had to see where you went. It was curiosity that drew me here. I had no ill will towards you and would not turn you in. If I had desired that, I would have called to you in the square," I said. I had spoken the truth, and wondered what it would profit me. The knife eased back even further.

"Are you one of the Cardinal's guards?" the pickpocket asked, "I can tell when you are lying."

"The Cardinal has guards?" I asked.

"Exactly what the Cardinal's guards would say," the pickpocket responded.

"The Cardinal is imprisoned," I replied quickly, trying to change the subject. 

"Yeah, the smartest thing our dear Sultanah has ever done, Gunes bless her cock!" the pickpocket said wryly, "Would that she imprisoned the whole lot of these hypocrites and traitors!" I was more certain what was happening now (and I could not help at smile at the blessing for my cock). The cardinal hired guards to patrol for pickpockets. The thief thought I was trying to arrest him. But I liked his politics.

"Let me ask you, would a Cardinal of Tanri ever hire a woman to serve as his guard," I said. I swallowed hard, hoping that would be convincing. I felt the arm slip from my neck and the knife moved completely from my side.

"No, I suppose not," The thief said slowly, "They have never been smart about hiring their spies, always big muscular young monks who made a lot of noise. You really are just a curious, silly girl," the thief said. I scrambled away from the pickpockets knife quickly. My ankle screamed as I moved and I collapsed again quickly, sitting with my back against the far wall. I was panting. The pickpocket was giggling.

"I'm no murderer, I am not going to kill a silly girl for sport. If you aren't a guard we have no beef," the pickpocket said and slipped his knife back into its sheath.

"I am not used to knives at my side," I said harshly.

"Well you shouldn't be diving into strange passages where the light of Gunes does not shine," he responded truthfully. It gave me an idea

"Gunes seems to shine few places in this city," I said, testing out a theory.

"Aye, it is true," said the pickpocket, "and it is because of these fools here. These traitors and their Cardinal. I do the Sun God a favor by taking their ill-gotten goods." This confirmed a suspicion. The pickpocket had not mentioned Gunes as an idle blaspheme, he was a follower.

"Do you follow Gunes? Do you support the Sultanah, who worships the sun?" I asked somewhat aloofly. If this person was loyal to the Sultanah, perhaps I could convince him to help me (as a fellow loyal subject) get out of the Cathedral and avoid an embarrassing detection.

"I always follow Gunes. And I follow the Sultanah when she does the same," the pickpocket replied.

"Oh how wonderful!" I said loudly, smiling brightly. It was strange, it seemed that Gunes was always putting me onto some new path, now that I had opened myself to her. I wondered where she was leading me next.

"What was that?" I heard a voice say through the wall. It was a woman's voice.

"Oh fuck, now you've done it you stupid bitch!" the pickpocket hissed.

"Is someone out in the passage?" I heard the voice clearly. I suddenly realized what had happened. I had spoken too loudly. A nun in the basement of the cathedral (where the dorms were kept) had heard me. We were discovered! The pickpocket moved quickly across the distance between us, sat down next to me and clamped his hand over my mouth.

"Keep your fucking mouth shut, maybe she will go away," the pickpocket responded.

"Did anyone else hear that?" the voice said from behind the wall. The voice was very clear and I realized the wall was much thinner than I had supposed, the blocks were only an inch or so wide.

"Yes, I did," another woman's voice said.

"I heard nothing," a third, timid voice stated, "We are along the outside wall and underground. No one can be there."

"Shut up Acemi, you are a novice. What would you know about what happens within and beyond the walls?" the first voice stated.

"Rahibe, don't be rude to the novice, She just began her studies this week. She has much to learn. In fact, if I am right, she is about to learn a most important lesson," the second voice said. There was something knowing, almost sultry in her voice and I wondered what she meant. My heart was pounding like a hammer in my chest and the thief's hand was squeezing tighter on my mouth.

"Oh Ikiyüzlü, I hadn't thought of that. I hope you are right," Rahibe said, her voice now also taking on the knowing cadence, "I was wondering when someone would call on one of our new monkish novices," she replied.

"What are you two talking about?" Acemi, the novice, asked, "Is this some kind of prank? This is the edge of the building, are you just trying to scare me?" The novice sounded nervous, as though she was not enjoying her early stay as a Tanril virgin. For a moment, I thought about the fact that it could have been me.

"Who is out in the passage, we know you are there," Rahibe said, loudly. She was totally ignoring Acemi's question. I darted my eyes over to the pickpocket, who shook his head. There was a moment of silence. Suddenly, there was a sound like a panel sliding. Then another. I looked ahead of me and saw two circles of light on the far wall, where I had dropped in. The top circle was smaller than the bottom circle. I looked towards the pickpocket. I saw a beam of light pouring out from a round hole in the wall behind our backs. It was directly between our heads where we sat. The other beam of light was higher. The nuns had removed some sort of panel in their dormitory. They could see out into the passage. The pickpocket's eyes looked surprised, he had not known they existed.

"Can you see anything?" Ikiyüzlü's voice said.

"I think I see feet or...something, it is dark in the passage," Rahibe responded.

"May I look? What is going on?" added Acemi. The pickpocket and I sat deadly still, hoping that they would just ignore us.

"It is probably a novice priest." Rahibe said.

"Heard about this place from a more...seasoned student and is getting cold feet? Don't be shy. We don't discriminate," Ikiyüzlü said from the room beyond. I looked into the pickpockets eyes, but he just shrugged his shoulders. He did not know what was going on either.

"What are you all talking about? I don't like this prank. I will tell the Mother Superior that you are hazing me and she will be most..." Acemi began.

"Stop whining you twit," Ikiyüzlü cut her off. Then Rahibe began to speak, she spoke clearly and slowly and it seemed she was speaking to the imagined novice priest in the corridor as much as she spoke to Acemi.

"This room is a special room Acemi. As you see the walls are very thin and there are...holes cut into them. On the far side of this wall is a corridor. That corridor was built at the time the Cathedral was built, when it was far less certain that Tanri would be accepted in this city. It is part of an escape hatch. The years have proven that system unnecessary. But you see, the priests and nuns have always known about that passage. 

"As you know, Acemi, you were brought here by your father as an offering, to be a Tanril Virgin," Rahibe said, suddenly changing tack, "What does that mean?"

"What does what mean? To be a Tanril Virgin? It means to maintain my purity here in this cathedral for the rest of my life," Acemi responded. I wondered what was going on, this little test seemed completely unrelated to the existence of a passage.

"What does it mean to maintain your purity?" Rahibe asked. There was a long pause.

"To...to refrain from all...sexual...contact," Acemi said and I could practically hear her cheeks turning red as she spoke. I shuddered to think that she could have been me. A life of celibacy worshipping a false god with a bunch of mean spirited nuns.

"Close, but wrong," Ikiyüzlü responded. And I was surprised.

"In the second century after the Cathedral's construction, the great scholar Oğretmen was the prior of the monks and priests. He re-discovered an obscure passage in the Incil, the very word of God, that shined new light on the role of the Tanril Virgin. A Tanril Virgin must maintain her purity to the world. That means to refrain from engaging in sexual contact with any man, woman, or creature of this Earth," Rahibe explained.

"I do not see the distinction," Acemi said and I tended to agree.

"Tanri, our God, is not of this Earth. But he is a man, like any other. With a man's needs. He cannot soil himself by coupling with normal, fallen women. Instead, he requires a pure touch. The touch of a Tanril Virgin. Unsoiled by all but the God himself," Ikiyüzlü explained. My mind was spinning, I had studied religion for many years at my father's behest. I had never heard of this doctrine. Frankly, it sounded strange given the avowed prudishness of the New Religion.

"Where does it say that in the Incil? And what does it mean? How can one...lie with Tanri? He lives in heaven."

"Do not worry about the location of the passage," Rahibe said quickly, raising my suspicions further, "as for your other concern. Does not Tanri have vicars on this Earth? Do not some men, pure men, whose actions exist as though they are the actions of Tanri?" Again a pause.

"Priests?" Acemi responded uneasily.

"She is not as stupid as she looks," Ikiyüzlü.

"I don't understand..." Acemi stated. Rahibe went onto to explain, but I had figured out the hypocrites deception already.

"Do I need to draw you a diagram novice?" Rahibe began, "Our god Tanri comes to use this wall. He gazes upon us from this top hole so that we may please his eye and from this lower hole he slides his cock so that we might please his body." Acemi let out a squeal.

"No...That can't be right...It is not Tanri, it is a priest," She whined.

"You are wrong. As Oğretmen explained, when the Tanril virgin cannot see the face of the priest and therefore know his identity, the priest exists only as a vicar of Tanril. A special unity occurs and the Virgin moves completely past the priest, and communes solely with Tanri. It is not actually sexual contact, it just appears as though it is," Rahibe concluded.

"Why can the priest gaze upon us? Certainly he will know who we are..."

"It is not a priest you fool! It is the spirit of Tanri" Ikiyüzlü spat.

"The eye that gazes upon you experiences the same mystic communion. It is likely that the priest through which Tanri enters the Virgin will not even recall her appearance. He sees only for Tanri. Therefore the Virgin remains a virgin and experiences a deeply spiritual connection with God," Rahibe explained. 

I did not need to know the exact passage of the Incil used to justify the actions I had heard described. The pickpocket was right, the people within these walls were hypocrites, tying their scripture and their logic in knots to justify what, to them, amounted to a sin of the flesh. I burned in rage at the thought of all of my people, condemned as sinners by the priests and nuns of this order over the centuries, who had committed far less dire offenses. Still, despite myself, I felt my pulse quickening and my cheeks grow warm as I thought of what Rahibe had described. I pushed that thought aside.

"We heard once such vicar in the corridor, though perhaps he is scared to fulfil his role," Ikiyüzlü stated.

"This is wrong, we cannot do this. I will tell the Mother Suprior..."

"She was down here last night performing the ceremony, she insists all novices do so at the early possible opportunity, to feel the power of God," Rahibe explained in a voice that clearly spoke the truth and I confess I was shocked. This was not some silly young nuns trying to skirt the rules. This hypocrisy traveled all the way to the top.

"So young novice priest, please assume your position as God's chosen and we can begin the ceremony," Ikiyüzlü said, not directly at the wall. Clearly she was speaking to me and the pickpocket. We looked at each other in silence, not exactly sure what to do. I began to hope that if we waited long enough that they would just leave. A few minutes of waiting dashed my hopes.

"Novice, the other priests will not let you return until you complete the ceremony, so you may as well get started. I assure you it is a most inoffensive rite," Rahibe stated. I looked again at pickpocket again. He was still not moving. I leaned in towards him, carefully avoided the hole in the wall, and placed my lips near his ear.

"They will not leave. You must stand in for the priest," I said. I pulled back slightly and looked at the pickpocket and he shook his head vigorously, "They are not going to leave until they are satisfied!" I beseeched in a low hiss.

"I cannot do it," the pickpocket stated.

"You have said yourself that you believe they are hypocrites, what difference does it make to you? You say you follow Gunes. The Sun God makes no bizarre prohibitions against sexual contact. Obtain free pleasure and we may leave," I said more quickly than before.

"I cannot," the pickpocket repeated.

"You must!" I responded. The pickpocket sighed quietly and made frantic motion with his hands.

"You fool I am not being difficult with you. I..." he paused for a moment. Then he sighed again and reached up to facial covering her wore. Her worked his hands over the knots and carefully removed the black fabric. I felt a jolt. The face looking back at me was feminine with large almond shaped (and colored) eyes, a narrow nose, wide lips, and soft features. In fact, the pickpocket had a beautiful face. The pickpocket grabbed my hand and placed it against her chest. I could feel the soft flesh of her breast through her robe, "I cannot." She repeated finally her voice sounding even softer than before. I realized now why she had sounded so strange, a woman attempting to sound like a man.

I felt sunk. The pickpocket could certainly not perform the required task to give us freedom. The nuns did not seem likely to back down from their insistence. I thought, briefly about whether I could step into Tanri's shoes for this farce of a ritual. I felt my nipples rubs against the fabric of my robe and my cock twitched slightly at the thought. I was aroused by the word spoken by the nuns and the sound of their sultry voices. I had once again ignored my libido after my coronation. There was too much to do and too much worry to consider sex. 

Besides, I was still not wholly comfortable with the strength and nature of my sexual desires. I could not trust myself; I did not know if I sought a place against the wall because it was a wise way to avoid detection or because I desired the touch of the women inside. Beyond that, exposing my body would let the pickpocket know of my identity, and I was not certain I could trust her. She was a thief with a knife after all.

"Something strange is going on out there," Rahibe said uneasily, "Perhaps we should get the Bishop to investigate the cause of the delay." I felt my blood run cold. I did not know if this was simply a ploy to get to "novice priest" to act or if the nuns truly intended to call for assistance, but the threat felt legitimate. The pickpocket and I could get up and run, but I didn't know where I was going. The pickpocket owed me nothing. I could be captured down here, but the forces of Tanri. They might turn me in to my enemies! What a horrible situation, why had I dived into the Cathedral behind the thief? I had not realized the magnitude of the risk I was running until that moment.

Suddenly, my previous concerns seemed smaller. Being caught by the guards and the acting Cardinal (the Bishop) were a far greater danger than the pickpocket, a single woman. Besides, she spoke somewhat warmly of the Sultanah and claimed to be a follower of Gunes. It was better to place my faith in the Sun God than to take my chances with Tanri.

I stood quickly and turned to face the wall. The pickpocket looked alarmed and she reached up to grab my arm and pull me back down. She was unbalanced where she sat and I flicked my wrist, knocking her back. While she was still trying to get her bearings, I quickly grabbed at my garments. 

The nature of my robe was such that it was a long piece of fabric that was tied in a series of ingenious knots I had learned since childhood so that it covered my entire body. It was long and billowy and I enjoyed the freedom it provided so much that I wore nothing underneath. This was the robe I always wore on clandestine trips around the city, it was the only one I trusted to keep my secret even if my cock was unbound. Because I knew the robe so well, I also knew how to take it off quickly. I pulled in four or five different places and moved my arms in a gentle swinging motion. In an instant, the robe lay in a pile on the floor.




The Sultanah Ch. 03



The pickpocket had regained her seat now and for a moment, she reached up again to pull me down. But I saw in her eyes as she did so that she now saw my body. I felt her black pupils drop from my long braided hair, across my face, over my small firm breasts, my flat stomach, and stop at my limp, 5-inch cock and chicken-egg sized balls. My skin, as always, was smooth and there was no obstruction of the pickpocket's view. Her hand dropped instantly and her eyes grew wide. Her mouth opened slightly. I was afraid she would make noise; I lifted my finger to my lips begging silence. Then I turned back toward the holes in the wall.

My skin tingled all over and my mouth was dry. My stomach was roiling and I felt incredibly warm. This, despite the fact that the passage was quite cool and a slight breeze stroked my naked body. I didn't know if I was nervous because of my peril, aroused because of the situation, or both. I knew that my actions here were not a choice; this was the best solution to the problem I faced. I tried to ignore the signals of my body, and I leaned my eye into the top hole.

I was almost blinded by the brightness in the room. All of the walls were painted white and there were several torches, giving the room the appearance of daylight. It was a small square room, no bigger than a privy in the palace and only a single door led inside and it was closed. There were a few benches around the outside walls. It was clear this room was used for only this particular ceremony.

"Oh, someone has finally graced us with his presence," One of the nuns said. As my eyes began to focus I saw the three nuns clearly for the first time. They were all wearing their informal, dormitory clothing (I had seen them a few times before) that consisted of a tight white, sleeveless tunic and a long white robe. The one who spoke was pointing at my eye and I recognized her voice as Rahibe. She was the oldest of the three, though still quite young, maybe 25. She had long brown hair and a pretty (though not beautiful) face. She had very large breasts and thin hips, her breasts making her small body look deceptively slender. 

I recognized the two without hearing their voices. Ikiyüzlü was very tall with medium-length reddish brown hair. Her face was severe but beautiful and she had a very slender frame. Her breasts were small and her legs very long. I could tell by the look of her sensuous mouth the voice that belonged to her. She looked around 23 years old. Acemi looked younger, likely 18 (the minimum age for a nun). She was the picture of innocence with long black hair, a long neck, and a compact body. Her breasts were small and firm, her stomach flat, and her legs thin and youthful. Her most striking feature were her large, gray, round eyes that gave her an appearance of beautiful naiveté. There were three Tanril Virgins, my spiritual sisters in another life. And hypocrites who wanted my cock. At least they were all quite attractive.

"Do not be shy, Lord Tanri," Ikiyüzlü said to me, "We desire your body as well as your gaze." I realized that while my eye was pressed against the rough stone of the wall, my cock was still several inches away. I looked down between my legs and saw my limp cock there. I knew that the pickpocket could see me, but I felt less self-conscious about it than I had before. Hell, the whole world knew I had a cock now. Still, it was strange place it in a rough hole in the wall for these strange women. But I did not have a choice.

The eye and cock holes in the wall were almost perfectly placed for the size of my body. I guessed the old priests must've been short like me. I took a deep breath and pressed my hips against the cold material of the wall. I reached down with one of my hands to guide my cock into the hole. It was wide enough (and the wall itself thin enough) that I pushed my balls through the hole as well. The wall around the hole was smooth and I felt no discomfort, save for the cold feeling of the stone against my breasts and stomach. Luckily, my cunny rested directly on the edge of the wall, where it could not be seen below my balls. The room on the far side was warmer than the passage and I knew that the women could see it. 

For a brief moment, I looked over at the pickpocket. She was free to run now, if she was so inclined. But she was still looking at me in shock, unwilling or unable to move. A voice from the far side of the wall drew my attention back.

"I knew it was a novice," Ikiyüzlü said, "I do not recognize this visage of Tanri's cock. What big balls this one has!" My eyes widened. This "ritual" was performed often enough that this "virgin" could recognize the identity of the priest behind the wall.

"Ah, I see why Tanri is a bit nervous. His cock is not yet hard. But it is a cute one, so pink and smooth," Rahibe said, pointing to my limp cock. Despite the absurdity of the situation, I felt myself blush, "Do not be alarmed Tanri. It is our job to stimulate you, if you cannot achieve arousal, the failure is ours." Rahibe licked her lips as she spoke. I wondered briefly if I was supposed to say anything to these women. But Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü seemed quite able to handle the situation on their own. 

"Shall we make the novice start?" Ikiyüzlü asked. I saw Acemi's eyes grow wide and she shook her head. Clearly she was not enamored of this 

"Two novices together? I think that Tanri would be less than pleased," Rahibe said, "Let us show these new members our community how it is done, before they complete the communion." Ikiyüzlü smiled lewdly, bit her lip, and nodded. Without further word, the two older nuns began to grab at the fabric of their robes. The two nuns displayed the same ease in removing there robes as I had with mine. In a moment, their white clothes lay in heaps on the floor and the two nuns stood naked before me. Rahibe's breasts seemed even larger now than they had before and stood up high on her chest despite their size. Ikiyüzlü's robe had made her appear more angular than she was and her round breasts, the curve of her hips, and the swell of her thighs were far more pleasant exposed than they initially appeared. Both women were completely clean shaven and I could see the tight, pink slits of their cunnies. I felt my cock twitch slightly in the hole.

"You see, it does not take much to entice Tanri, he is quite virile," Rahibe said, turning towards Acemi. The young nun was looking at my cock and her two naked companions with a mixture of awe and disgust. She didn't move, she just stared at us all with her wide, innocent eyes. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü did not seem to take any notice. In fact, I noticed something lupine now in their eyes. They were looking at my cock with unconcealed lust. I could practically see their mouths watering. Clearly they enjoyed this rite.

Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü dropped down onto their knees in the room. I saw their breasts (especially Rahibe's) hang down towards the floor and their asses stick up in the air. Together they began to crawl towards me. My heart was pounding faster now and my knees felt weak. Only the fact that I would jerk my cock viciously if I fell kept me, precariously, on my feet. I kept my eye plastered to the hole, watching the women as the crawled ever closer.

In a moment, they were just inches away from the wall. Almost in unison they sat back so that they were sitting up on their knees. Their breasts were now level with my cock and I looked down at them, my body trembling. The two nuns stared at my cock for a few moments.

"I got bottom last time," Ikiyüzlü said, "I want top this time."

"I am better at top, and these balls are huge!" Rahibe said. I was not sure what they were talking about doing.

"There is no time for this nonsense," Ikiyüzlü said and acted quickly. I saw her hand dart forward and in a moment, I felt her soft, warm finger tips against the soft base of my cock. Rahibe let out some noise of protest but I could not really hear it. I bit my lip, wanting desperately to moan but afraid of the information my voice would provide. Ikiyüzlü formed her index finger and her thumb into a ring and slid it up near the tip of my cock. She pulled my limp (but aching) cock upwards toward her face. She gave a quick look up toward my eye and I saw a sensual spark in her gaze. Then her head dropped quickly and I was looking at her hair. 

A moment later I felt something that was now somewhat familiar, though no less amazing. I felt the hot, wet sensation of Ikiyüzlü's mouth wrapping around my cock. She created a vacuum in her mouth and I felt it pull blood into the tip of my cock. Every conceivable part of the tip of my cock was being caressed by the inside of her mouth. She released the vacuum, but kept my cock in her mouth. I felt her tongue begin to explore my shaft, working around it thick and soft. I felt the tip of her tongue exploring my foreskin, poking inside and tasting at my salty musk.

While Ikiyüzlü worked, Rahibe was not idle. When Ikiyüzlü lifted my cock to place it in her mouth, Rahibe had dropped her head and craned her neck. The back of her head was pressed into Ikiyüzlü's belly (I could just barely see it around Ikiyüzlü's head. I felt a small amount of wet pressure against my right ball. For a second, I didn't know what was happening. Then, as the wet warmth spread, I realized that Rahibe was bouncing my ball on her tongue. She swirled her tongue around briefly on the bottom of my sack, giving me a delightful chill.

I felt the tongue disappear from my balls. But, a second later, I felt something else. I felt Rahibe's lips as they kissed my right ball. Then, her lips began to spread out as her mouth opened. Like Ikiyüzlü had worked with my cock, Rahibe made a vacuum with her mouth. I felt a slight pinch but also felt intense warmth as my ball slipped into Rahibe's body. I felt the walls of the insides of her cheek tightly hugging my balls, warm and wet. I felt her tongue darting around on my scrotum, lapping at my flesh. Her lips pursed tight, holding me firmly but gently in place. I felt her nose pressing into the side of my shaft even as Ikiyüzlü tongue slipped around my foreskin.

On the far side of the wall, I was having a difficult time maintaining my composure. The nuns' tongues felt so incredible on my body. That is not to say I was still nervous. As the women played with my cock, the nerves that had prevented my cock from hardening seemed to dissipate. My breathing slowed slightly, though my heart continued to pound. My body still felt warm, but my stomach settled. I felt my cock stirring, growing hard against Ikiyüzlü's lips, stretching against her fingers. I just enjoyed the sensation and my mind ceased to dwell on the fear and the anxiety I had felt before. 

However, that relaxation was, in itself, a danger. I felt a moan erupting from my throat and wanted nothing more than to let it free. But I knew that was wrong. I bit so hard on my lips that I feared that it would bleed. My cock was nearly full erect now, my foreskin pulling back across my tip. Now Ikiyüzlü's tongue was better able to explore my cock. I tried to close my eyes, to avoid watching at the pretty young nuns massaged my cock with their mouths, but I found it impossible to look away.

And so I watched (and felt) as their ministrations became more intense. Now that my cock was fully erect, Ikiyüzlü's fingers slipped off of it. The tip of my cock was still firmly planted in her mouth. She looked up briefly, just flicking her eyes towards the top hole. Her lips spread in a sly smile, my cock planted directly in the middle of it. She reached up with her hands and pulled her hair out of her face. Then, slowly, she began to slide her lips forward. She kept her eyes open as she did, looking up along the wall. I watched as her pink lips slipped over my engorged shaft. Inch by inch, I watched as my cock disappeared into Ikiyüzlü's mouth. The sensation was divine, her tongue swirling around and tasting my shaft, her cheeks tight and hot against my skin. Occasionally, her tongue would dip out of her mouth and play along the underside of my cock, bathing it in her saliva and lubricating my journey into her throat.

Rahibe's actions were no less enticing. Despite the fact that my balls were, apparently, quite large, the nun was unwilling to lessen her ambitions. I felt her tongue slide out of her mouth, underneath my balls. Soon, I felt rubbing against the soft skin of my scrotum, bouncing my other ball. With the side of her tongue she tried to tuck my right ball into her cheek. Finally, she realized they were too large and I felt her hands on my balls. For a moment, she slid my right ball from her mouth and I felt the cool air against it. I felt my legs tremble and again resisted a moan. She squeezed my balls slightly (a little wince of pain), but I felt her lips against them. In a moment, I could feel both balls, together, entering her mouth. Her lips felt tight and there was a slight pain. But after a moment, she gave my scrotum a gentle nudge and my balls poured into her mouth. I felt her hot, tight cheeks wrap around them and her tongue exploring the space between them.

I could scarcely believe it when I realized what the two nuns had achieved. I felt, rather than saw, their lips meet near the hole in the wall. My cock was buried all the way into Ikiyüzlü's throat. I could feel the muscles pulsing around it and her tongue rubbing against the bottom. At the same time, Rahibe's mouth had completely engulfed my balls. She was pursing her lips, pushing them up towards my shaft. That is where their lips met partially; in an unholy (according to my understanding of Tanri) kiss. My cock and my balls were completely within the mouths of the two young nuns and their tongues moved around furiously. I could hear them both choking slightly on their respective tasks, but they kept at it. 

After a few moments, Ikiyüzlü slid her mouth backwards, exposing my wet cock to the air. But she kept the tip in her mouth, swirling once around it, before plunging my cock back into her throat. She moved very quickly, bobbing her head up and down on my shaft. The sensation was intense and disorienting. Rahibe's motions were less manic, but no less extreme. She moved my balls around in her mouth (extremely carefully around her teeth), letting her tongue caress every inch of me. I felt her nose press into the small amount of flesh above my cock that poked through hole. Occasionally still, her lips and Ikiyüzlü's lips would meet. 

On the far side of the wall, I was losing control of my mind. I had only placed my cock through the wall in order to prevent the calling of guards. I had tried, in the seconds during which I made the decision, to prepare myself for the awkward fumblings of a couple of nuns. I expected something that felt much like Arkadas touch of the day I exposed myself to the Peers. Nothing could prepare me with the overwhelming erotic skill with which Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü assailed my body.

I pressed my whole body against the cool rocks of the wall, trying to soothe the unbearable tension. But it was like all my anxiety and fear in the days since my coronation had suddenly found a release. I had been under such immense pressure, the pressure of centuries of Imperial Rule coming to a crushing end, and had ignored that pressure (and my more common sexual desires) in the interest of deep focus. Now, these nuns had broken something open. Rather than pacify me, the hard wall added to my dilemma. 

If felt the rough coolness of the wall against my thighs, my stomach, and my face. My breasts scratched softly against the rock and my nipples pressed against the wet coolness of the mortar. I reached my left hand up, covering my left breast with my palm and feeling my hard, cool nipple against the skin. My right breast continued to press into the wall, and I could feel reverberations from the sensation running down the small of my back. My cunny was dripping wet and I felt it rubbing against the smooth, cool surface of the hole and dripping back down into the passage.

It was now impossible to deny that I had been aroused by these saucy nuns and their dirty talk. My heart had been fluttering from nerves, both from the pickpocket and the possibility of discovery, but no one had twisted my arm either. I could have tried to flee. I could have done something different. I had been more than willing to jump up against the wall, to feel the touch of Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü. And I was enjoying it. Perhaps a little too much.

As the nuns continued to suck and lick at my cock, I found my body shaking wildly against the wall. My hand squeeze hard against my breast and my teeth bit into my lip. But despite all my efforts, I could feel the desire to moan overwhelming me, the desire to make some kind of noise to acknowledge the intensity of what I was experiencing. I knew that this would be dangerous, and fought against it will all of my might. I shook my head and tried to focus on something, anything else. I fought my urge as long as possible, but finally, I could not hold it any longer. I felt it welling up from my stomach, rising up through my throat. My mouth opened.

And was filled quickly with the taste of leather. I pulled my eye away from the hole in the wall, confused. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü were still sucking away at my cock, but the tension had lessened slightly. I looked to my side and saw the pickpocket, standing next to me. Her robe was billowing more than before and I realized quickly she had removed her belt and stuck it into my mouth. She was staring at me intently and leaned in towards my ear.

"Sultanah Varis," the pickpocket whispered quickly, apparently figuring out who I was, "I apologize for my forwardness. You are doing well and saving up both. Bite down hard," she said, looking directly into my eye. Her hand moved up and my body trembled as it lay against the small of my back. Her hand was warm and soft (supple, I supposed, as befits a thief) and she rubbed gently, soothing. In this way, I was able to keep myself from crying out. And I received further assurances in the favor of Gunes. I returned my eye to the hole in the wall, though part of my focus remained on the hand of the pickpocket.

I bit down hard on the belt, and further stifled any need for noise. But that did not change the fact that my cock was deep in Ikiyüzlü's mouth and her throat was squeezing tight around it. It did not lessen the slick, velvety feel of her wet tongue against the bottom of my shaft. Nor did it eliminate Rahibe's hot lips wrapped tightly around my balls. Their tongues moved more and more quickly all the time and Ikiyüzlü's head bobbed up and down on my cock with increasing speed.

The room was filled with the slurping sound of the nuns' mouths. I could hear dribbles and drabs as their saliva dripped from their mouths onto the cold stone floor. I could smell, over the dank mustiness of the corridor, the smell of the nun's cunnies, wet and excited. I likely picked up the scent of my own as well. I could see their heads bobbing and slipping around on my cock and I could make out other, smooth curves of their beautiful bodies. But while I gazed at them, moving like whores around my body, I noticed something behind them as well.

Acemi was watching the entire display without movement. Her hand was up over her mouth and her knees looked weak as she took in everything around her. But the most important thing I could see was her eyes. They were wide with astonishment and twinkled like stars. I could see confusion and disgust in them as befitted her obvious innocence, but something else as well. Back behind her eyes, I could see inside of her. I could see an excitement that she might not have recognized herself. After a moment, her hand moved down away from her lips, and I saw her mouth. It was open wide in shock, but the right corner was pulled back slightly, giving her the appearance almost of an astonished grin. She was shocked and appalled, but also enticed. I was sure she was in absolute turmoil, I had felt it as well. The wickedness of the other nuns, their hypocrisy had infected her, just like Tanri had infected my people. She was losing her innocence and replacing it with desire.




The Sultanah Ch. 03



Something about that thought seemed to push me deeper into the pleasures provided by the other nuns, like I was finally understanding the nature of my problem. And it also pushed me over the edge. My cock brushed the back of Ikiyüzlü's throat and I felt Rahibe's nose press into the base of my shaft. At the same instant, their mouths and throats tightened on me. I think my surprise and confusion with the entire situation had allowed me to hold on longer than I would have otherwise. But all of the sudden the intense pleasure of their mouths on my body because overwhelming.

I felt my balls seize up first, they pulled hard, slipping an inch out of Rahibe's tight lips. I bit down harder on the belt as the tension inside of me reach a new level. My whole body became rigid and my eyes involuntarily slammed shut. I felt my cock quivering in Ikiyüzlü's mouth. My nipple ached into cold stone wall while my fingernails dug into the flesh of my other breasts. I made a low noise in my throat, low enough that it could barely be heard, but in doing so, I felt the release.

In one beautiful instant my eyes open, my lips quivered uncontrollably, my throat closed around a scream, my breast pressed harder against the wall, involuntarily, my knees bent, my toes stiffened and the whole world around me went black. I forgot for a moment that I was in the bowels of my enemies' cathedral and being pleasured by their perfidious nuns. I focused only on the pleasure. It was a liquid warmth that swelled from my shaft down into my balls and then spread from there. It was a familiar pleasure now, something I could recall. But, it lost nothing in the familiarity, in fact it was better. It is easy to ignore a hunger when you've never tasted food, but I now had a taste for pleasure and it was overwhelming to have it back. My climax rolled lazily through my body, slow but with unbearable force. It found its way into all of the various crevices and secret places of my body, dousing every part of me, eventually, in a euphoric haze.

After a moment contained totally within myself, my vision came into focus. I leaned in more closely to the eye hole in the wall. I saw the result of my orgasm on the women in the room opposite me. Rahibe was still on her knees with my balls in her mouth. I could feel my balls seizing up over and over again in her mouth as my cock spurted my seed. I could still feel Rahibe's tongue against me, lapping at my emptying balls. 

More dramatically, Ikiyüzlü had fallen backward, away from the wall. She was sitting on her ass with her arms thrown back behind her and her legs spread and bent. Her cunny was lewdly exposed and I believe that even through the barrier of the wall I could smell her wet excitement. Ikiyüzlü's mouth was open and I could see thick globs of my seed resting on her tongue. A large mouthful, in fact and her tongue and lower teeth were barely visible under the translucent liquid. But that was not all; I had produced an almost unbelievable amount of seed. I could see it on Ikiyüzlü's face (especially her eyes), dribbling down her chin, in thin streams across her pert breasts and pink nipples, and even dripping down between her legs and puddling on the floor below her cunny. Her eyes were wide with astonishment and she looked completely incredulous.

For a moment, everything in the room stayed completely still. I could vaguely hear the burglar beside me stirring slightly, but I did not move. Even the slurping noise of Rahibe's efforts slowed as my balls ceased to seize and the last dribble of my seed fell onto Rahibe's knee. She stopped sucking and, in fact, I could feel the cool breeze on my scrotum as she dropped by balls from her mouth. Finally, a large globule of my seed dripped down from Ikiyüzlü's chin and landed with a splat on the white marble floor. At the noise, Ikiyüzlü's eyes seemed to come into focus. She closed her mouth and I watched as she swallowed my seed. Her tongue stuck out quickly, scooping up slightly more from her lips and then swallowed it as well.

"Tanri be praised!" she said after a moment, "I have never seen so much seed in my life! And it tastes divine!" I felt myself blush at the comment, though I could not say why. I noticed Rahibe stirring below me. I watched as she scooped some of my seed off Ikiyüzlü's leg with her finger and then popped it into her mouth.

"You are right on both counts Ikiyüzlü," She said, and then more frantically began to collect my seed from her friend's body. Soon Ikiyüzlü was searching for more was well, lifting her breast as well as she could to her lips and sucking my seed off of her nipples.

"It is a sin," Ikiyüzlü explained, "To let any of Tanri's seed go to waste. Sometimes it is a chore, but sometimes, like today it is a delight." Rahibe laughed in agreement. I watched, despite the fact that I knew I should leave, with intense curiosity. My spiritual wives, Cin and the others, had devoured my seed as well. But that had seemed less...hungry, more sensual. I watched as Ikiyüzlü's and Rahibe exhausted the supply of see on skin and ravenously dropped to the floor, actually licking the tile to taste Tanri's seed. It was arousing in its debauchery and degradation.

"What in the name of Tanri has just happened?" Acemi said suddenly. I had nearly forgotten that she was there. Apparently, the other nuns had as well. They looked up quickly at the young novice. Her eyes were wide and she was still stuck in place, looking beautiful and innocent. 

"Is that the sound of rebuke in your voice?" Ikiyüzlü said accusatorily. She licked up the last of my seed on the floor and then stood up. Rahibe did as well.

"Your edifice of lies and sharp tongues kept me in check before and...shock kept me silent during your sin. But I cannot ignore what I have seen here. My father prepared me for my induction as a nun since childhood. I have read all of the books of Tanri, I have read the scholars' commentaries. Sexual congress for anyone is a sin and it is banned in all forms for nuns. You have invented a 'ritual' to satisfy your base desires. Or maybe it was not you, perhaps this tradition is as old as you claim, but it still finds no basis in the laws of Tanri. It is in direct contradiction of everything our Lord stands for. You are liars and hypocrites!" Acemi said boldly, but her body shook as she spoke. For a moment, the other nuns were silent. I wondered if the young nun had shamed them into silence. Then, to my surprise, I heard laughter. Both Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü began to laugh uproariously at Acemi's impassioned moralizing.

"A true believer it seems? It think I hear Tanri laughing on the other side of the wall," Ikiyüzlü said between bouts of high-pitched giggling. She placed her hand on her soft breast as she did so. I did not laugh, I watched from the other side, not sure of the reason but unable to look away.

"You were once as well," Rahibe said casually, as her laughter faded. Acemi looked shocked by the fact that her outburst produced no great effect. The weight of her morals and her god's beliefs afforded her nothing. In fact, I could see her resolve crumbling. The things she had believed to be true collapsed around her and her shoulders went limp.

"I was never that bad," Ikiyüzlü said. Rahibe started to walk toward Acemi now, Ikiyüzlü noticed and followed her lead. While she walked, she spoke.

"Be that as it may, Acemi needs, like you once did, to understand the true nature of the world and to be bound more closely to her Tanril Sisters. Despite her more acute case of fanaticism, I think that which cured you will cure her as well." Now the two older nuns were standing on either side of Acemi, staring at her. Acemi was looking towards my wall, her eyes glassy and nervous. Ikiyüzlü smiled and turned towards my wall as well.

"It appears that Tanri is prepared for that rite as well," she said lasciviously. She was staring directly at my cock, which had never truly softened, even after my powerful orgasm. If ever I had wanted to pull out from the wall and run before (as I should have), that option was now foreclosed to me. I was once again called to remain at the wall for some reason.

"It is truly a miracle!" Rahibe said with heavy jest on her voice, "A cock that rises twice!" Without further word, Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü began to grab at Acemi's clothing. The younger nun made a few noises of protest, barely above squeaks and not substantial enough to constitute words. It was as though she had expected her anger at their hypocrisy to set them straight and, failing that, had nothing else to fall back on. Her eyes showed innocence, trapped behind chains of fear.

In a few moments, Acemi's robes lay in a pile at her feet. Her small, pert breasts and youthful, feminine body making her look more innocent, rather than less. Her long black hair tumbled down over her shoulders and framed around her breasts, her nipples sticking out hard in the cooler air of the basement. Or perhaps it was arousal, unbidden but present nonetheless. I knew that feeling, I had once believed my life was destined for celibacy, and I had known the passions that roiled just below the surface, unknown until confronted. Or perhaps, I just wanted to believe that it was there is Acemi as well, an animal need for contact that I now associated with Gunes. I knew since my ceremony with Cin that Gunes lived in that need and its satisfaction, it was the stuff of which she was made. My eye fell to the area between her curved hips. A small, short patch of black hair stood over her cunny. She was too far away, but I thought that perhaps she was wet with excitement. The view did not last long, Acemi threw one arm across her large pink nipples and her free hand over her cunny. I felt my cock growing harder and my cunny growing wet against the hole in the wall.

Whatever the political situation in the city might be, or even my peril in the passage under the Cathedral, was no longer even a shadow of a concern. I ignored it all. I focused on what I was looking at and feeling. Whatever would happen after this would happen, but I was savoring the moment. My body, so long denied, demanded it and my mind, so tired from troubles, was happy to give way. I focused so intently on the three nuns in the room next to me that I nearly forgot about my burglar or even the passage around me.

Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü closed ranks around Acemi. Rahibe was on her left and Ikiyüzlü on her right. Rahibe grabbed the arm across Acemi's tits and Ikiyüzlü grabbed the hand over her cunny. Acemi gave a slight struggle but she seemed almost dazed, like she was in some sort of trance now. The older nuns jerked her arms away from her body, exposing her again. They each took her now limp arms and threw it over their respective shoulders. They bent at the knee. Their arms closer to Acemi snaked behind her back well, their outside arms relative to the younger nun grasped her legs, scooping each one under the knee. The two nuns stood quickly now, easily lifting the petite Acemi. As they stood, Acemi's feet rose from the floor. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü pulled out slightly on her knee as they lifted, spreading her legs wide.

Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü started to walk towards me. They kept their feet in unison, though they did not seem to need much coordination. Acemi gave them no trouble, she was so delicate that it was as though they were carrying a bird, rather than a young woman. Acemi's eyes looked wild with fright and her mouth was pursed tightly. She shook her head to the side slightly, but did not actually resist in anyway. She could've easily twisted and kicked, made it difficult (likely impossible) for the other two nuns to move. But it seemed she was too broken by the circumstances around her to do anything.

In a moment, Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü were standing just a foot from the wall. I looked out of my small peephole at Acemi. She was staring down at my cock, her eyes slightly veiled. Her body was trembling all over and was covered in goosebumps. However, I could now see that her cheeks were flushed, her nipples were taut, and there was a slight glistening between her legs. She was torn between desire and the rejection of that desire and the result was paralysis. This suited Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü nicely.

"Tanri, we know from long experience that you prefer the purest brides for your ritual. Look at our delicate flower? Is she not beautiful? And pure as the driven snow?" Rahibe asked and bit her lip. I took a moment to savor the view of Acemi. I don't know if I was enticed simply by the fact that she was a naked woman, opened for my enjoyment or if there was something more. I don't know if I liked her degradation and the humiliation of her false beliefs. Perhaps a chance to stain Tanri's virgin would strike a blow for Gunes as well. Regardless, I felt my cock quiver and my breath catch in my throat. I found myself pressing against the cold wall eagerly, my cunny rubbing against the barrier. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to look into Acemi's big, innocent eyes while I poured my seed inside of her.

"Tanri appears to be quite ready," Ikiyüzlü said, looking at my shaking cock. Rahibe smiled.

"Is our virgin ready?" Rahibe asked. But it did not seem that they particularly cared about Acemi's opinion. Even before she had finished speaking, the two older nuns were lifting Acemi a little higher and pushed her forward so that her knees were against the wall. Acemi's pink cunny was suspended just an inch above my quivering cock and I could feel the heat of her body.

"Say a prayer to Tanri, and see it fulfilled," Ikiyüzlü said. It was hard to tell whether she was serious or mocking. Regardless, I could hear the barest whisper of Acemi's voice.

"Tanri give me strength," she whispered.

"Gunes give us victory," I whispered back even more quietly, around the belt that was still clamped tightly in my mouth. As though that unheard prayer was a signal, Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü started to lower Acemi down onto my cock. After a moment, I felt the warm, wet kiss of Acemi's cunny lips as they pressed against the tip of my cock. It groaned as quietly as possible. Her warmth was overwhelming and I felt the sensation spread down the base of my cock. I looked out of my eyehole and saw Acemi's breasts at eye level.

But soon she began to fall and I saw her throat, and then her chin. More importantly, I could feel the lips of her cunny spread and I could feel my cock piercing her body. Acemi let out a high groan as the bulbous tip of my cock passed her cunny lips and entered her. I sucked in breath quickly. Acemi's cunt was incredibly tight. As I entered her I felt a hot tightness squeezing around me. I felt her cherry give way.

"Not a virgin any longer!" Ikiyüzlü cried and Acemi let out a low whimper. As if that were a cue, I could see through my hole as Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü turned their heads quickly towards the younger nun. I watched as their heads tilted slightly inwards and their mouths opened. In a moment, Acemi's nipples slipped into their respective mouths. I heard a slight sucking sound and Acemi gasped. I knew that Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü's tongues, still coated in some of my seed, were lapping at Acemi's nipples and that their teeth were nibbling on her gently.

But even as they sucked on the younger nun's nipples, they did not cease to slip her body down onto me. Some of the pressure had given way with Acemi's cherry, but she was still incredibly tight. But she was wet as well, I felt her, a fraction of an inch at a time, allow me to enter her. She moaned and groaned (though I could not tell if she was enraptured or enraged) as I disappeared inside of her.

After a few moments, I felt the curve of Acemi's ass press against my balls and then stop. I had completely entered the young nun. He cunny was hotter, wetter, and tighter than I had imagined possible. Even the slightest motion in my body or hers seemed to tighten her around me. I could feel every speck of my cock and the way her virgin body felt around it. My body was aching on the far side of the barrier and I wanted nothing more than to reach through the wall and feel Acemi's soft skin wrap around me. Instead, I moved my remaining hand to my other breast so that I was grasping both of them now. I started to knead my breasts, feeling my nipples against my palms and trying to soothe my passion. 

I looked through the peephole and now saw Acemi's face. Her eyes were open wide and she was looking forward, almost directly at me. Her innocence and beauty was even more pronounced here. Her body was shaking, but the look on her face was far from clear. I saw a slightly pained and confused expression, but roiling beneath the surface was something more. I could sense Gunes inside of her, desperately trying to get out.

This thought took me out of my passive state. I had stood quietly while Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü sucked my cock and drank my seed, I had watched quietly while they lifted Acemi and placed her on my cock. But now, looking into the nun's eyes, I could sit still no longer. Without thought, I pulled my cock back through the hole in the wall. I felt the cool air on my wet cock and the release of pressure was divine. I felt my balls slip back into the passage. When simply the tip of my cock remained inside of Acemi, I paused for a moment and savored the concentrated pressure. I could hear Acemi panting, I wondered if she wanted my cock out of her entirely, or if she wanted me to put the whole thing back in.

Regardless of her desires, I chose the latter. In a swift motion, I thrust my hips forward. I heard Acemi moan loudly. My cock pushed through her tight cunny, slipping back inside of her body. I groaned as well, feeling it wrap around me once again.  

"Tanri has grown bold!" Ikiyüzlü exclaimed, pulling her head briefly away from Acemi's breast. I heard Rahibe groan and the vibrations from her voice seemed to made Acemi shake. Her trembling squeezed my cock tighter. But I was not content with mere vibrations. The feeling of slipping my cock in and out of Acemi's tight cunt was too delicious to do just a single time. 

I squeezed my breasts harder and pulled my cock out again. Just as I reached the point where only the tip remained, I slammed it back home into Acemi's cunny. Acemi had sucked in sharply when I'd pulled my cock out and moaned loudly when I returned it. But the moan she gave now was different than her earlier noises. This was not pain or anger. This was more primal. It was pleasure. Acemi moaned like a whore.

After that, I could not control my body if I desired it. My cock once again slipped out of Acemi's cunt and them pressed back into it. I began to pick up my momentum, slipping my cock in and out of the young nun's body as quickly as my hips would allow me. I moved faster and faster as Acemi's cunny grew wetter and wetter from her arousal. Though it became easier to get inside of her as her cunny began to drip, she was no less tight on the first thrust than the thirty-first. 

While I thrust into Acemi, I kept my eye tight to the peephole. I could see Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü's heads moving around on Acemi's breasts as they licked at her nipples, I could see Acemi's eyes staring with wanton abandon at the wall, her long hair thrown back. I could hear Acemi's loud moans which grew more and more impassioned with each thrust. Whatever she would feel about this encounter when it was finished, she was totally within the moment at that time. She screamed out Tanri's name and groaned out her most obscene desires. I could hear the slurping sound of the older nuns' tongues and their giggles as she did so. I could also hear my own panting in the echoing confines of the passage. I could smell the musky aroma of Acemi's cunt and my own arousal all around me.

After a few minutes, I noticed something change. It was, in many ways, imperceptible. Perhaps it built slowly. But after a while, while I grabbed at my own nipples and thrust my hips wildly, I felt Acemi asserting herself. I looked out the peephole and I saw her eyes. The innocence had been completely subsumed by something greater. The spirit of Gunes, the heat of the sun, lust. And I felt her cunny more forcefully. Acemi was thrusting her hips into me! She was forcing herself down from the grip of Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü. She was shoving my cock deeper into her body.




The Sultanah Ch. 03



"Tanri's bride has finally felt the hand of god!" Rahibe remarked, feeling Acemi's new interest. The older nuns began to help her. They pulled her back when my cock slipped out of her and thrust her back down hard as I sought to re-enter. The end result was faster, more powerful thrusts. The older nuns continued to suck on Acemi's nipples and her body twisted in their arms as she moaned lewdly. 

For several minutes, this motion continued unabated. I moved my hands off my breasts, letting my nipples fall against the cold stone. I placed my hands on my hips, panting with exertion as my hips continued to pound into the wall. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü continued to lift Acemi up and slam her down hard on my cock. Acemi's cunny squeezed my aching cock tightly. I felt my balls sagging as they filled with new seed. My head felt light and my body felt weak. I did not think that I could continue to move, but still the sweet release from tension I needed did not come.

In fact, that pleasure found Acemi first. I felt her motions grow more frantic and her eyes looked more unfocused with each passing second. Finally, Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü gave her a final hard thrust down onto my cock, their mouths slurping loudly on her nipples. I felt something different, even as my cock slipped deep inside of her. It was tighter than before, rippling. I heard her screaming now, not in short bursts as before but in one long, sustained screech. Her body was shaking wildly and I could feel it through the wall. Acemi was reaching a climax. I thrust my hips out hard, burying myself in Acemi finally. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü sensed what was happening, and kept Acemi hard against the wall.

Acemi's contracting cunny finally provided the relief my thrusts would not. I felt her cunt squeezing on me, trying to milk me of my seed. Finally, my body obliged. The relief I felt as the tension crested is indescribable. My breath was coming in ragged gasps. It wasn't so much that I felt the warm pleasures I had felt the first time, now I felt supreme relaxation, like a hard day's labor come to a satisfying end. This relaxation rolled from my cock all throughout my body.

While this occurred, I was acutely aware of my balls seizing up against my body. I could feel the vessels in my cock contracting. The seed poured from my cock so rapidly that I could feel the pressure as it sought to overwhelm my capacity. I felt my seed entering Acemi's tight cunny. It was already so constricted that I felt like her body would be unable to take it, but it just kept filling her. She groaned and twisted, but kept pushing her hips into me, willing more and more of my seed into her body. 

Finally, I felt my cock give one final twitch and the last of my seed spilled into Acemi. I became aware that I had started holding my breath over the last several seconds. I was already light headed from exertion and beyond the breadth of my stamina. I stumbled back slightly. I felt my cock finally slip out of Acemi's cunny. I could feel my seed spurt out as that happened and I heard Acemi gasp. But by then my struggle was merely to stay on my feet. But, in that, I failed. I fell back into the passage, onto the floor on my ass. I let out a low groan as I landed, sucking in air like a beached fish.

My mind was still focused on one thing: the actions of the room beyond. I could not have stood at that moment if I had needed to, my legs were made of jelly. But I was able to pull myself quickly up onto my knees. I fell, rather than leaned, forward against the wall once again. I placed my eye against the larger hole, where my cock had been. The scent of my cunny (and Acemi's) was overwhelming in that location. But I was focused on the sights, wondering what had happened after I filled the young nun. 

It had only been a few seconds since my eye had moved from the peephole, but already the women had moved. If I had been shocked and surprised by the nuns when I had first arrived at this place, I was absolutely dumbfounded by what I saw now. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü had set Acemi down on her back on the floor of the cathedral. Her legs were now spread very wide. The two older nuns were kneeling between her legs, their heads pressed against her cunny. I could see their bodies writhing and I could hear a significant slurping and sucking noise. Rahibe and Ikiyüzlü were fighting over my seed! They were licking it from the insides of Acemi's legs and sucking it out of her cunt. I could hear them moaning with pleasure as they sucked it down. The two older nuns jockeyed for prime position between the young novice's legs, contesting with one another for the choicest location. 

I looked up towards Acemi's face, wondering what the pious nun thought of her sister nuns' action. Acemi's eyes looked glazed, but a slight smile was formed on her face. She writhed slightly as their tongues moved about on her cunny. I could see her breasts rising and falling rapidly as she panted. After a few moments, I watched as her hands rose slowly from her side. Her palms landed down her own nipples, pressing against the spit-shimmering skin. She moaned loudly as her hands grasped around her own breasts and her palms rubbed gently on her nipples. Whatever resistance Acemi had was completely broken. She was just like the others now.

"Stop staring you fool...or grace. We don't have time, we should leave while we can," I felt a tugging on my arm and turned to look. The thief. I had nearly forgotten she was there. Her face was still exposed and her eyes looked tight and tense. I shook my head violently, coming out of what felt like a trance. I looked around the darkened chamber and remembered who I was and what I was doing. And I thought of something else as well. In an instant, a stroke of inspiration, the provenance of which I could not but guess.

"Do you know how to reach the clock?" I asked as I stood, grabbing quickly at my clothes.

* * * * *

I heard the bell calling once again, this time heralding the six o'clock hour. I was standing in the square, in the exact location I had been one hour earlier. The crowd in the square was larger this time. Those who still worked were now off and they had come to witness the hourly prayer to Tanri. All eyes turned to the door as nuns and monks began to walk out slowly and solemnly (some of them, perhaps, covered in my seed). Already, people were dropping to their knees to pray to the God of chastity and self-discipline.

My time in the passage below the cathedral with Soyguncu (for I had learned that this was the name of the pickpocket) had been, amongst other things, instructive. When I had stood in the same spot an hour previously and looked up at the beautiful, forbidding cathedral I had felt the power of the place as symbolized by the massive structure and the weighty symbols. I had sought the power behind those symbols, to find a way to undermine it.

When I pulled my eye away from the hole in the wall in the basement of the cathedral, I had realized that I had been looking for an illusion. Tanri was, and always had been, a false god foisted upon my people by foreigners. There could be no power in this place because any power had to come from Tanri. I had stood in for Tanri in a ritual and I had not felt him. All I felt was the hypocrisy of a religion that taught self-discipline and celibacy but found elaborate means to avoid practicing what it preached. The only God I could feel while spilling my seed on three of Tanri's "virgins" was my God Gunes, a true God. If Tanri had been a true god and believed the tenets of his own faith, he would have cast down the church that bore his name for betraying his legacy. He would have behaved as Gunes had when we turned our back on her, destroying to teach submission. Instead, Tanri's church had plodded along, sapping the strength and wealth of my people.

I could not deny that the Cathedral in the square, and the church it represented, had power. I could feel that power in its symbols, its icons. But I now recognized that these symbols were its power. Just as the nuns seemed pious on the surface but were hypocrites in their souls, the symbols of the cathedral shone forth on the outside, but were hollow within. The symbols and the chaste nuns hinted at a power that did not exist, and tricked my scared people into believing the lie. But I had seen past that now, I had seen what the church truly was. And in so learning, I devised a method to enlighten my people.

I glanced quickly up at the clock once again. The large, pacific blue gem stared down at me. I tried to strain to see any indication of change, but it was too far to tell. I thought, for a moment, I could see someone moving in the shadows, in the eaves to the left of the clock. The clock was still ringing and the nuns and priests had formed their semi-circle before the door. They were not yet looking up.

The third strike of the bell. Now I saw a black figure slip out from the eaves. The figure moved very slowly, keeping low against the ledge below the hands of the clock. I looked around nervously. The crowd was looking and the nuns or at the doors and seemed not to notice. The figure was very small from down below and I doubted I would have seen it, save for the fact that I expected it there.

The fourth strike of the bell. The black figure had crept all the way out so that it was laying below the gem in the center of the clock. In a half instant the figure rose, just to the left of the gem so that it did not obstruct the view. The figure held a vessel in its hand and it quickly upturned it on top of the gem. I could see some liquid pour from the vessel, but once it landed on the gem it became invisible. I ventured to look again at the crowd. I felt my heart pounding wildly in my chest, my mouth was dry, and my stomach was in knots. This was the riskiest moment, and discovery would be fatal. I heard the crowd mumbling slightly, but only as they had mumbled before, reverent for Tanri.

The fifth strike of the bell. The black figure dropped quickly down onto its stomach once again, clutching the vessel closely in its hand. It crawled quickly back toward the eaves from whence it had come, never rising or exposing anything but a dark tunic in the rapidly dying light of evening. I breathed easier now and my stomach eased. I was not completely at ease; the ultimate act was still to come. But I felt almost certain now in the red evening light of Gunes that the attempt would be a success.

The six and final strike of the bell. The dark figure had returned to the darkness of the eaves. But I could see a slight light in the darkness beyond. As the reverberations from the bell continued, I something fly from the darkness, tossed by the hand of the figured. A ball of oily rags, set alight flying across the sky. The ball was very small, no larger than a turkey's egg. The wind whipped at it as it flew through the air, almost extinguishing it (and, luckily, making it almost invisible from view below). I held my breath and said a silent prayer to Gunes. Just as the bell ceased to vibrate, the ball of rags struck the doused gem.

"Glory be to..." the voice of the nuns and priests began the ritual start of their prayer. I took a step forward into the crowd. I tossed back the hood on my cloak, exposing my face.

"Gunes be praised!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, "The gem!" The nuns and priests ceased their prayer in shock at my outburst. All eyes in the area quickly extended up towards the gem in the center of the clock. The crowd gasped in unison. The perfectly smooth blue ball seemed to have disappeared entirely. Replacing it was a jagged, red and yellow ball of fire in the center of the clock.

"The Sun of Gunes shines forth from the usurper's Cathedral!" I moaned in agony, "Gunes punishes us for our lack of faith, failing to remain steadfast and for following a false God. But Gunes has remained in this city despite our perfidy! In her infinite wisdom she offers another chance." I dropped to my knees and stared up at the glowing red ball. At that moment (though I could not have planned it if I tried), the sun sank down in the sky on its descent so that it seemed perched on the top of the spire. Two suns, one on earth and one in heaven, the sun God and her vicar.

"It is the Sultanah!" I heard some voices call in shock, "She brings a miracle!"

"Gunes save us!" others called in response. Soon, all around me my people were dropping to their knees and staring up at the fiery ball. There were no abstainers now, save the nuns and priests (who stood in mute, shocked silence, tears of rage in their eyes). All knelt before Gunes. I could hear their prayers all around me. 

I looked up again at the burning stone and then turned my eyes towards the darkness of the eaves. I could just make out the sly smile of Soyguncu in the shadows. I resisted the urge to smile back at her. She had known the way to reach the clock, she had known a place to find oil and rags, and she had known how to get me back in the square with a few moments to spare. She was loyal to her Sultanah, loyal to Gunes, and more than willing to do anything to undermine the hypocrites of Tanri. She would be richly rewarded.

"Gunes is the true God!" I heard voices clamoring. I drop my head as the others did and for a long while, simply breathed and felt relief that my gambit had seemed to pay off. I had taken his stone; I had defeated it with a more powerful symbol, infused with the reality of Gunes. Only time would tell the scope of my victory. But I felt a lightness in my heart that I took for a positive omen.

I felt no remorse for my deception, as I heard the people clamoring to abandon Tanri. It was true that Gunes had not directly caused the ball to light aflame. But was I not Gunes' representative on Earth? Had I not made it happen? Besides, if it turned my people from the false and harmful God to the true path, could it possibly be a deception? Tanri was an empty concept; his power came solely from symbolism. 

Even as I was justifying my actions, my eyes rose and I felt the breath catch in my throat and my eyes fill with tears. There had been little oil on the stone, only as much as Soyguncu had been able to carry quickly to the apex of the cathedral. It had quickly burned through its supply. But now, in the fading of my manufactured miracle, I saw something more substantial. An actual miracle.

The beautiful, blue ball that had stood for centuries as the symbol of Tanri had been changed. But not in the way I suspected. I had anticipated that it would be charred and black when the burning completed, a symbol of the fires eating up the false god. I was shocked to find something else entirely. The ball was just a clear as before; it sparkled just as brightly in the dying light of the day. No soot marred its beauty. But the blue color had been entirely eradicated. The ball was a deep, dark red. The color of blood. The color of Gunes!

I closed my eyes and bowed my head, now with real rather than affected reverence. I could not explain this miracle. Gunes had entered the Cathedral with fire and filled the empty symbol with her power. I could not think about what that meant in the moment. I could only cry and feel the warmth of euphoria as it filled my soul.

End Chapter 3

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 04



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 4 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 4: Lifting Siege and Spirit

"I am not saying that I don't understand the plan," Arkadas said, "I am saying I don't understand why you need to be involved. You are Sultanah, tell someone else to do it." With that, she flung herself down onto my chair. 

"Can you explain this to her? I feel like I have explained it a thousand times to everyone who should know about it," I said to Kardes. The three of us were standing on the balcony outside of my chambers. The mid-afternoon sun poured down on us at our perch high above the city. As I finished speaking, I walked over toward the handrail around the edge of the balcony. I felt butterflies in my stomach and tasted blood in the back of my throat, however dismissive I was of Arkadas concerns when I spoke, I shared them.

I looked down over the edge of my balcony and could see, hung on the side of the palace, something that calmed me and slowed my pulse. The large red orb I now called the "Stone of Gunes" but which the people of the city were calling "the Sultanah's Stone." After my adventure with Soyguncu, Tanri's Bishop in Şehir had declared that evil forces, led by the Sultanah, had infected the stone with our malevolent powers. They had cast the stone from their cathedral, hoping (I presumed) that it would shatter on the ground. 

Instead the people, fascinated by the remarkable change in color, had carried the stone to my home. I had wasted no time in lifting the great stone to one of the highest points on the Palace, so that it could be seen anywhere in Şehir. As I gazed that the stone again, I realized it truly was a remarkable transformation. The stone had not been scorched red. It had lost of none of its sparkling luster or luminescence. It was simply a deep, beautiful red where it had once been blue. 

In the week since it had changed, my city had gone through a similar transformation. The story of the change in the stone and my role (my mythical rather than actual role, that is) in that change spread through the city quickly. In fact, thinking that I had made some sort of strategic mistake, Tanri's representatives poured through the city explaining the way in which I had maliciously deformed their stone. Unfortunately for them, hearing confirmation from Tanri's priests that Gunes had performed a miracle, and that I had been involved, backfired spectacularly against the agents of Tanri. Only one of the two gods had made presence known. Long dormant affection for the Empire's true god was ignited like the stone itself. And even as the excitement of the miracle cooled, the hearts of the Empire's people remained red and passionate for Gunes.

Just four days after the miracle, Cin held her weekly prayer services outside of her shrine. To her (and my) surprise, it seemed the entire city had turned out to pay their respects to a God who had shown herself when her people were at the breaking point. Cin had used the opportunity well. She had preached of the covenant between my house and Gunes, and the historical connection between the Sun God and Bütün Dünya. She made it clear that Gunes and the Empire were one and the same. The God provided protection to the people of the Empire so long as that Empire existed. She urged everyone to resist our enemies and promised that loyalty to God would deliver us victory. It should go without saying that she stressed that failure to hold our city would result in death.

The people, so deep into the terrible siege, and for so long without hope, became forged again in steel. Having seen or heard of a true miracle and then being reminded of their former glory seemed to change them. Almost everyone in the city ceased to attend services at Tanri's churches. People actively rejected the prayers calling for capitulation to our enemies. I had robbed the churches of their symbols and, as a result, exposed their lack of substance. All they had was empty idols and now the people knew it. Tanril priests and virgins no longer felt safe outside of their cathedral. I did not mourn for them, I was certain they would find other activities to occupy their time within their walls.

In a single symbolic gesture, without any appreciable violence, I had managed to sap the will of my internal enemies. The people of Şehir were as united as I could ever remember them. However, my triumph had done nothing to loosen the grip around my city's neck. The people were more defiant than they had been before, but there each day there was less food in the city. I steeled my people so that only starvation could cause them to yield, but starvation was not far off.

But the experience at the Tanril Cathedral had opened my eyes just as it had opened the eyes of my people. I had been thinking about lifting the siege in all of the wrong ways. Just as I could not forcibly remove all of the followers of Tanri from my city, I could not forcibly remove the enemy at my gates. But there was more than one way to defeat an enemy. And so I had devised a plan. I had told no one except for my Inner Council. I knew I could not trust all, if any, of the Lords. Cin and the priestesses had very much been in favor of the plan. Kardes had agreed, though with less enthusiasm. Arkadas, my trusted friend, was the only one opposed. In fact, she opposed it so vehemently that we were still arguing about it on my balcony an hour after the meeting had adjourned. I had already resolved to act, and sought only to advise the Inner Council of my plan. Which was why I saw no further benefit in reasoning with Arkadas and gave that task to Kardes.

"And you! You are her sister, I cannot believe you are not standing here next to me making the same arguments I am making!" Arkadas shot before Kardes even had a chance to speak, "If you loved her, like I love her, you would never let her do something so foolish." Kardes recoiled as if slapped.

"Do not speak to me in such a way! I love my sister. Her plan is not foolish, it is desperate. Because we are desperate," Kardes shot back quickly, ratcheting up her approval of my plan to match Arkadas vehemence. 

"I am more of a sister to her than you have ever been," Arkadas said, tears welling in her eyes now, "She is going merrily to her death and you cheer her on!" I felt my heart seize as Arkadas spoke. She was like a sister to me and I certainly knew her better than I knew my older sister. But I was afraid her words would hurt Kardes, who had been standing by my side steadfastly since I had first been declared Sultanah. Kardes responded to Arkadas coolly, but without malice.

"I will ignore that previous comment and, once again, explain the situation to you. We are in a perilous position. We are extremely low on food and every day we are besieged increases the chances that we are overrun by our enemies. There is no time to waste, something must be done immediately..."

"And I agree, I just don't understand why Varis...the Sultanah must place herself in danger," Kardes interrupted.

"She must place herself in danger because she sits perilously on her throne! She must risk her life to save her life. If she sends others in her place she may lift the siege. But she will receive no credit. Lords will fall all over themselves to take credit for the action. The Sultanah will be one shrill voice amongst many clamoring for approval. When the immediate annihilation of the Empire is no longer a threat, the seat my sister sits upon becomes more attractive. Suddenly she is not a place holder in the last moments before the Empire dies, but instead the occupant of a potentially lucrative position. How long does Duke Hain or one of the other powerful lords who does not love my sister wait before deposing her in order to 'protect the Empire and provide a strong hand?' She is only a woman, after all, in the eyes of many. 

"But so long as Varis brings miracles and Varis leads the efforts of the Empire she maintains the support of the people, she shores up the backing of her loyal barons, and she solidifies her position on the throne. As a woman out of her depth on her father's throne my sister is already dead, as the champion of Gunes leading the people of Bütün Dünya against all enemies, she cannot be cast aside. 

"She plans her action to defeat our external enemies and she leads it herself to outflank her internal ones. You don't have to understand all of the politics at play to understand the truth of what I am telling you," Kardes concluded. She had far more succinctly explained the situation that I had before. Not for the first time I wondered at the scope of my sister's former role at her former father's court. Regardless, I nodded as she spoke. 

I had been coming to the realization that lifting the siege could be perilous for me for some time. I saw in the way some lords, most Collaborationists, staunchly refused to abandon Tanri even as the people flocked to my side. I could not think in simply two dimensions, I had to consider all risks at all times and weigh them against one another. And I knew that I must always be out front of my people, so that those who would hold me back could never catch me.

"What good is any of that if she is dead?" Arkadas asked, and it seemed that all of the sophisticated arguments that my sister had offered were in vain. Arkadas did not understand.

"Its..." Kardes began again, sighing heavily. I pushed myself away from the balcony and turned towards my sister and my slave. I shook my head at my sister.

"Kardes, I thank you for your assistance, but I believe I need to speak separately with Arkadas," I said. Kardes opened her mouth as if she were going to speak. She looked over at Arkadas, who was staring blankly at her feet, smiled and me and nodded.

"Your grace," she said and turned to walk away.

"Sister," I said to indicate that I did not share Arkadas view of her treachery, "Please find me tonight when the deed is done."

"Of course," Kardes said and turned and walked away. Then it was only Arkadas and me on the balcony. We stood silently for a while as the breeze cooled us slightly. Finally, I walked across the balcony and sat on the chair next to my friend. 

"To think I ever doubted your loyalty," I said and smiled. Arkadas did not return the smile. She turned and looked at me. Her pale white skin looked even lighter than usual and her eyes looked wide and nervous. I knew what she was afraid of. Arkadas was afraid that I was going to die. I was afraid too. But I understood that I could die if I acted and I could die if I did not. But Arkadas did not want to recognize that reality. I loved her for it, but I had to do what was necessary. I just didn't want to leave things like this before I left, I wanted her to understand. Just in case...

"It was an awful thing I said," Arkadas whispered, "To your sister. I will apologize the next time I see her." Arkadas did not meet my eyes as she spoke and her words came in a mumbled sigh. I did not think she actually believed what she said, it was what she thought I wanted to hear. I shook my head.

"Do not be anxious, I might not know Kardes as well as I know you, but she does not strike me as one who takes offense easily in situations such as this. She respects your concern for me. Besides, she is very wise in the ways of politics and would not make an enemy needlessly."

"She does understand politics, I will give her that. Very sophisticated," Arkadas said slowly, then finally, she raised her head and looked directly into my eyes, "But since when have you understood politics? Since when are sophisticated?" she asked accusatorily. I furrowed my brow, I had not expected that.

"What do you..." I began, but Arkadas cut me off.

"All of the sudden you are full of plans and intrigue. You are running all over the city getting into trouble. But do you really know what you are doing? Or are you just taking crazy risks and getting lucky? Because if you are just lucky, that will run out eventually. Sometime, you will take a stupid risk and..." The tears returned to Arkadas eyes and she shook her head bitterly. "You were not trained for this as your brothers were and you have no natural inclination towards politics or war, as your sister seems to possess. You had no interest in these matters before. I just... I worry for you." With that, Arkadas gave a shuddering sigh.

"I was thrown into this and am doing my best to protect my people..." I said, confused by her words. What did she mean about politics? What choice did I have?

"Your people?" she asked, "Where did this concern come from? You have always been just a silly girl worried about marriage and hating your little sister. Now you are concerned about the fate of an Empire..."

"Are you saying that in my position I should still be worried about petty fights with Nislani? That I can afford to be a silly girl?" I thought of my conversation several weeks earlier with Kardes outside my quarters, when I snapped at Nislani. I felt embarrassment again at my childishness. How did Arkadas not understand what I had learned weeks earlier?

"No...I am saying you still are that silly girl! You are pretending otherwise because you are too young to know the difference. You are doing what Cin wants or what your sister wants but you don't seem to realize that you can be killed. And it has always been my job to protect you and if no one else will, then I must!" I took a deep breath, trying to slow the conversation. Arkadas was leaning in toward me earnestly. Her eyes were aflame with passion and I was touched by her concern. But I did not think she understood the enormity of the situation. She could not protect me, even for a moment.

"Tell me, as you have in the past, about when I learned to swim," I said slowly after a moment. Arkadas' eyes narrowed. She seemed thrown by my request.

"To what end?"

"Indulge me," I replied. Arkadas sighed deeply and shook her head.

"We do not have time..."

"I am the Sultanah, I decide what we have time for," I said gently. I did not actually push my authority; I just let her know it existed. She bit her tongue and then proceeded.

"I had been trying to get you go down to the spot on the Kuzey River where the rocks form a natural pool," she said hurriedly, as though she wanted to finish the story as quickly as possible, "That is where I, and your all of your brothers and sisters, learned to swim. You were not afraid of swimming, so much as totally disinterested. I would take you down and you would sit on the bank and throw rocks at the birds. I threw you in more than once and you flailed around until I rescued you. You refused to even put your feet down when the water was shallow in for standing. I tried for two weeks and then gave up. 

"About a month later, we were crossing the bridge over the Güney River, to see the traveling market. You were holding your new kitten in your arms and looked over the side. Your cat slipped out of your arms. Without a word you hurdled over the side of the bridge. I was terrified, it happened so fast. You plunged the ten feet into the water, much rougher than the pool on the Kuzey, and grabbed your kitten (who could swim just fine). Then, as if you'd been born knowing how to swim, you paddled over to the shore where the market was being held and lay down on the grass to dry while you waited for me." She said. Despite her anger, a smile spread across her face when she told the story. It was one of her favorites. She used it to describe my impetuousness, my willfulness, and my luck. I sat for a moment while she savored the memory.

"What does that tell you?" I asked finally. She looked at me and her smile faded.

"That you are stupid and childish and only luck has kept you alive this long," she said.

"I could not swim at all, I flailed in shallow water. Then, all of the sudden, I could swim. Does that mean nothing else to you?" I asked.

"I don't understand what you are getting at Varis... This is..."

"It says that I am only capable of doing something when I have to. I might be disinterested or completely oblivious, but when necessity arises, I am capable. You know that is the case, you can probably think of a dozen other examples," I said. I saw recognition in Arkadas' eyes. And a refusal to accept that recognition.

"I remember as many failures as successes," she said, her voice catching in her throat. As she spoke, I stood up from my chair and walked so that I was standing directly in front of Arkadas. She looked up from her from her chair. I dropped to my knees in front of her. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap and I set my hands on top of them, gently. 

"I cannot explain the changes that have come over me in recent weeks. All I can say is that I was thrown into the water. Swimming is risky and I may die, but if I fail to swim there is no doubt that I will die. And, for what it is worth, I do not praise Gunes simply because Cin is a powerful ally. Something strange has happened to me. I feel...something inside of me that was not there before. I do not know, but I feel that it heightens my intuitions...It tells me which risks to take and which to avoid." 

"You are comparing things that are not alike. This is...different. This isn't childhood games. I was there to make sure you clothes got dry and your hair straightened so your parents did not realize you had jumped in the river. If you mess up now...I cannot clean up after you. You will die." 




The Sultanah Ch. 04



"It isn't different," I said. I began to explain further what I meant when I saw something in Arkadas eyes. I heard something in the way she protested that I had not noticed before. I stopped speaking for a moment, and looked at my friend closely. She was staring at me, concern emanating from her body like a warm glow. I felt my nerves for the evening's planned events soften slightly. I felt a warmth wash over me.

"I still need you Arkadas," I said slowly. Her body stiffened and she looked at me with a new look, embarrassed or ashamed. I could not tell. But I knew I was on the right track.

"I..." she began, but I cut her off.

"You are not concerned that I am still a silly girl, running headlong into danger. You see the changes that responsibility has wrought. I do not mean to imply that your concern for my safety is not genuine. But...you are concerned about something...more important. You are afraid I have lost myself in this role. In becoming the Sultanah. You are afraid I have outgrown you," I said. As I spoke each word I could see it burrow into Arkadas flesh. I had hit upon her anxiety.

"It has all happened so fast..." was all she could manage.

"I am Sultanah now, and I take risks and must consider what is right for all of my people. And they are my people. This role has been thrust upon me, but I have embraced it. I want to lift this siege and I want to secure my place on the throne. But I have not changed the person that I have always been. I must appear one way in front of the world. I must be bold and I must be certain. I must be the Sultanah. But I am still your friend Varis. I still desire to mock Lord Yanlış Telaffuz's lisp when he speaks at meetings and I still daydream about putting Nislani's head in the privy," I said. Arkadas smiled around her tears.

"I do not mean to be petty. It is not just that I am afraid you have outgrown me...It is that if you have outgrown me than I can no longer protect you," she said. And I knew from the way she spoke that she was telling the truth. This was the root of her concern.

"You protect me still," I responded, "You protect that part of me that is not Sultanah. I cannot be that person with the Lords, or the Commons, or Cin, or even Kardes. You are the only person who knows who I really am. Who can know that...while I have no choice and must act boldly...that I am scared for what I must do tonight," I said. I felt my voice crack as I spoke. I had not intended to be so honest. But Arkadas had always been the person to whom I confessed my hopes and fears. I could no more hold back my words than I could renounce my throne.

I felt Arkadas hands soften in her lap. She slipped them out from under my fingers. In a moment, I felt her soft palms slide against my cheeks. She lifted my head up slowly. I could feel tears in my eyes now. Both from fear, and for the love I bore my closest friend. She was looking at me now, her tears no longer streaming. Her eyes looked soft and she nodded slowly.

"Do not fear for tonight. I have always worried more than you, as it was my job. But you have always been extremely lucky. And wise," Arkadas said. I felt some of my anxiety melting away. As had always been the case, Arkadas' words always found a way to sooth me. And if she believed I would succeed, there was no doubt that she was right.

"I love you, Arkadas," I said, as I had told her many times. 

"I love you too. I love you because you are my Sultanah and I am bound by honor to do so," Arkadas said, "But I love you more because you are my friend. It will be my honor to remain your friend, at your side." With that, she lifted my head slightly and bent at her back in the chair. I closed my eyes and leaned toward her. For a moment, I felt nothing. Then, I felt Arkadas soft lips press, slightly wet, against my own. I could smell the familiar scent of her skin as she pulled closely. Every so slightly, I could taste the sweetness of her lips. We had kissed many times as friends. A casual greeting or as a goodbye. This kiss needed not be anything more. 

But as I pulled away from Arkadas I realized I was thinking about the one way in which our relationship had changed since the night my father died. That morning, down in the cellar with Arkadas and Cin. The act we had committed out of necessity. As my eyes opened after our chaste, friendly kiss, I noticed a sparkle in Arkadas eye as well. Something had felt different to her as well. I could see her lips curling slightly into a smile. I could feel the vibrations of her energy pulsing from her body.

As is the way with friends, we both knew what the other felt, what the other needed. Arkadas needed to feel my affection for her, to know my need for her. I needed comfort in the face of my coming danger (comfort only Arkadas, of all the people on earth could provide) and to express my love for my friend. And, I suppose, we both still needed to know what had happened between us that morning several weeks earlier with Cin. Now, alone, we needed to explore what it meant as two friends. That morning, I had been thrown into the deep waters of my sexuality, and once again I was embracing the opportunity to swim.

Rather than pulling away, I leaned forward once again. I felt a cautious breath split Arkadas lips, but her eyes were aflame. In a moment, I felt my lips press once again into hers. I moved quickly and I kissed her with a fierceness I had not expected in myself. I felt the soft flesh of her lips melt into mine and I felt my tongue slip from my mouth and quickly slide across her teeth. The passion was not mine alone. As my mouth opened wider, I could feel Arkadas body moving as well, like a taut spring finally released. Her hands reached up quickly and I felt her right hand caress my cheek while her left slinked around to the back of my head and pulled me in closer to her. Her body was trembling with excitement. I felt my tongue slip more deeply into Arkadas mouth. Her teeth gave way and I felt my tongue press into hers. Her tongue felt rough and tasted of the wine she had drunk at your meeting. I lapped at it, tasting her primal flavor. 

It should have felt strange, to fall into this so quickly. Minutes earlier we had been fighting. We had not discussed our earlier experience in any way. But it felt natural now; it felt like it had to happen. Moreover, as my tongue probed Arkadas mouth, and as her tongue pushed hard into my teeth and lapped at the roof of my mouth, I felt the tension and nerves I had been feeling for the evening's adventure fading. I could feel Arkadas relaxing as well. And I could feel the distance that had grown between us shrinking.

In fact, the physical distance, as well as the emotional distance, soon disappeared entirely. I was on my knees on the balcony floor and Arkadas was sitting in the slightly reclined chair. I was leaning against her and I could feel her knees trembling. Finally, they simply gave way and Arkadas legs spread. I fell forward. For a moment, I managed to hold our kiss, but I was off balance. Soon I pitched forward between Arkadas' legs. Her dress rode up her hips as her legs grew wider apart. My head landed on Arkadas breasts, my breasts against her belly, and my stomach between her legs. I let out a little yip as I fell. I giggled as I came to rest against Arkadas body. I looked up at her and she was smiling down at me and laughing.

"I apologize for the slip," she said, her voice sounding husky, sexy. I felt my cheek pressing against Arkadas' breast. Through the thin, dark fabric of her form-fitting dress I could almost feel the smoothness of her pale skin. I could feel her hardened nipple as it pressed against my cheek. Her body felt warm and I could feel her chest riding and falling sensuously as she breathed.

"No need to apologize," I cooed back. I could feel her body tremble as the breath from my words skittered across her skin. She moaned slightly. I didn't want to keep her waiting any longer.

My face was pressed against the soft, inviting flesh of Arkadas' left breast. I was facing towards the middle of her body and I could see her other large breasts in front of me. Her right nipple was standing out hard through the sheer fabric of her dress. Her skin looked taut and youthful through the curves in the fabric. I quickly lifted my left hand up towards Arkadas chest. I glanced up again at her face and she was staring at my hand intently.

I brought my hand down slowly, pointing my fingers towards Arkadas chest. After a moment, I felt the tip of my index finger as it pressed gently against Arkadas nipple. I heard Arkadas take in a breath quickly. Her nipple felt hard but smooth through her dress against my finger. For a moment I rotating my finger around on Arkadas nipple gently, just feeling it press against me and feeling the denseness of it with my finger. Arkadas moaned quietly and writhed slightly in her chair. 

I pushed down a little harder with my finger and felt my nail sinking into Arkadas flesh. She moaned slightly louder now. I turned and watched my hand as it worked. I slowly lowered my hand. Eventually, it fell flat against the flesh of Arkadas' breast. My hand squeezed around it. If felt dense and hot against my palm. I could still feel her hard nipple against my finger. I squeezed her breast now, savoring the gravity of her flesh.

"Oh Varis!" Arkadas said softly now. Her right hand rose up from her side and landed on the back of my left hand. The skin of her palm felt hot and smooth against my skin. I felt her squeezing my hand, encouraging me to knead more forcefully on her breast. I quickly obliged, pulling tighter on her. I felt my breath coming from me raggedly, my head felt lightly, and my limbs felt like they were tingling. Despite the fact that everyone knew of my true nature by that point, I still strapped my cock down (it was unbecoming of a Sultanah for her cock to be visible through her gowns), but I could feel it throbbing against my leg. I no longer worried or cared about what it meant to believe that Arkadas was a beautiful woman. I knew she was and that I wanted to see her body.

In fact, I wanted to see more of it. Arkadas' hand had slipped off of my own and I could see she was holding on tightly to the arm rests of the chair. I moved my fingers up slightly (and felt Arkadas nipple graze the palm of my hand). I felt my fingertips rub against the taut skin on the top of Arkadas breast. The dress was very low cut and her skin was exposed just a few inches from her nipple. My fingers felt the warmth of her body. For a moment I savored the sensation, but then I hooked my fingers and pulled the pink fabric of Arkadas dress down.

The dress was, like mine, tight as a second skin (the only difference in our dresses was that her dress was pink as my lady in waiting and mine was red, as the earthly partner of Gunes). The instant I pulled down on the fabric Arkadas' right breast essentially jumped out of the fabric. I felt my air catch in my throat as I gazed at her body. Arkadas skin was so incredibly, ethereally white that it appeared to belong to an angel. The white skin was completely unblemished. Her nipple, the size of a small coin, was pink as a ripe strawberry. I looked up at her briefly and saw her icy blue eyes framed by her wild blonde hair and felt overwhelmed. Never had Arkadas' exotic foreignness seemed so present. Or beautiful. But she looked frantic, like she needed me to do something more.

I turned my face back to Arkadas breast. I pulled the fabric down under the bottom curve of Arkadas' breast and it stayed there, pushing her breast up slightly. Her legs shook around my body as I rolled over slightly. I closed my eyes and opened my mouth as I rolled. I don't know how, but I could sense that I would fall directly where I planned. And I was correct, after a moment, I felt my lips press against the milky white skin of Arkadas' breast. I held my tongue back, but I could feel the air of my breath swirling around Arkadas' nipple. I let my kiss it on her breast for a long moment.

"Oh suck on it Varis, please!" Arkadas begged. I let my tongue fall down onto Arkadas' nipple. She groaned loudly and I felt her entire body go tense. Her nipple felt hard and velvety against my rough tongue. She was somehow smoother than the silky fabric of her gown. Her skin tasted slightly salty with an undercurrent of sweetness. I swirled my tongue around her breast, breathing in the delicate scents of her body while I bathed her nipple in my mouth. Arkadas rocked in the chair and I felt her hands rise up to my sides. She was searching frantically for my breasts and occasionally I would feel her fingers as they touched my hip or my back.

I sucked harder on Arkadas' nipple, pulling it hard into my mouth and feeling the smooth skin stretch. Arkadas' moaned and her body shook. I wanted to feel more of her pale skin against my body. With my right hand I reached up towards Arkadas' left breast. While I sucked on her right nipple, I pulled her other breast free. The V-neck of her dress pressed her bare breasts together. I slipped my hand back up over Arkadas' left breast, finding her nipple with my fingers. I rolled it between my fingertips, giving it the same pressure I gave the other with my tongue. I heard Arkadas moaning and could feel her writhing.

I stayed like this for several minutes. I licked and suck and pulled and rubbed at my friend's breasts, feeling the tension rising inside of her. Rising inside of me as well. I knew that I needed something else. The look and feel of her breasts were incredible, but I needed more. 

My eyes, which had been closed while I sucked on my friend's nipple, opened. The evening sun was setting in the west and it cast a bright, red light across the city. It seemed to splash especially against the balcony where Arkadas and I embraced. Arkadas' pale skin looked positively red in the light, like she had transformed with the Stone of Gunes into a symbol for the Goddess. Arkadas femininity seemed heightened by the red color, she seemed to embody the virtues of Gunes with her wide hips and heaving breasts and the lights seemed to make them more pronounced as it faded all of the other colors around her. I felt the sudden urge, the need to worship at the altar of the Goddess' feminine aspects. I knew what I needed to do. 

I detached my lips from Arkadas nipple and let my fingers from her breast. I looked up at her briefly. Her eyes were closed and there was a ravenous smile on her face. I felt her body writhing under me, asking for more, for something. I kissed the soft reddened flesh of her breast. I dropped my head slightly and kissed directly below her sweet nipple. Then still lower, kissing the underside of her breast. While I did this, I moved my hands around on Arkadas body, brushing my fingers against her thighs, hips, and ribs.

I continued to kiss down Arkadas body and listened to her gentle moans. I had soon kiss down below her breasts and my lips were now feeling her taut stomach through the sheer fabric of her dress. She seemed to anticipate my kisses and her body pulled away slightly, coyly before my lips pressed against her. I could feel the heat of her body and smell her perfume in the fabric of her dress. Her hands moved up from her side now and I felt them reach up onto my head. I felt Arkadas hands find my braided hair and her fingers pick at the loose knots until my hair hung loose across her breast and stomach.

I felt the hollow of Arkadas bellybutton as I continued to kiss my way down my friend's body. As I reached this point, I let my hands slide down the side of Arkadas body. Her dress was still hiked up slightly toward her thighs from where she had spread her legs. I moved my hands down toward the hemline of her dress. I slipped my fingers up against the smooth skin of Arkadas creamy white thighs and caught the fabric of her dress. I stopped kissing momentarily and pushed up carefully against her stomach. Arkadas knew what I was doing and lifted her hips slightly. I felt my fingers slip around the curve of Arkadas' ass as the dress pushed up over her hips.

It had been a particularly hot day in the palace and, like her Sultanah, Arkadas had apparently decided against wearing undergarments. I found my face just a few short inches from Arkadas cunny. I gasped at the beauty of her body. When I had been exposed to the Peers after my father's death, rumors had begun to circulate that I was clean shaven (despite the fact that I simply did not grow hair below my eyebrows). I had heard that many women at court had decided that this must be a fashionable look if the Sultanah had chosen it. I saw now that Arkadas had decided to follow this trend. Below her bellybutton was a triangle of smooth, clean shaven skin that reached its apex between her legs. Her skin here was somehow even whiter than that which was exposed, occasionally, to the sun. It was also completely without blemish. Her cunny lips were a light pinkish color and were very small and tight. I could see her clitoris sticking out hard from the top of her cunny. Her inner thighs were slick with her juices and so close, I was overwhelmed by her feminine smell. 

I could feel heat emanating from her cunny, like the surface of the sun. I felt my nipples grow hard against the sheer fabric of my dress and goosebumps break out against my skin. In all the years I had known Arkadas, I had known her to be beautiful. But I had never actually dared to imagine what her body looked like, stripped of clothing. Just as she had never seen me naked, I had never seen her. Now I was overwhelmed by her beauty. My mouth watered, I needed to taste her beauty. I started to lean forward, into Arkadas' heat. 

As I closed in I felt a sudden hard tug on the back of my head. A pain from my scalp. I could now tell that Arkadas' fingers were wrapped deeply in my hair. She was pulling me back. I looked up from between her legs. I could see hear breasts heaving, her arms shaking, and her eyes looked pained. I could sense some sort of conflict.

"Sultanah, please," she said, "Do not!"

"You do not desire..." I began. I looked down and saw that her cunny had grown even slicker and her body was shaking, her hips thrusting up. She clearly desired my touch. Why had she stopped me?

"You cannot," she pleaded. I suddenly realized the cause of her concern. While in the ancient days of Bütün Dünya any sort of sexual relationship was a tribute to Gunes, in recent centuries the more conservative mores of Tanri had taken hold. Sexual relations between those of the same sex were, of course, permitted, though they were never to be spoken of. However, it was absolutely essential that, in the event a master had sex with a slave, the master maintain the dominant position. That meant the master should receive pleasure and give penetration. For a slave to be pleasured by a master would be a scandal. In fact, for a Sultanah to purposefully pleasure anyone in such a manner would be impossible. If anyone were to know what was occurring on the balcony, I would be disgraced. Or I would, had I been a follower of Tanri. But even I had felt the power of those beliefs slipping in recent weeks. I no longer cared about the disgrace of sex. Sex was a sacrament of Gunes, something to be savored whenever it was desired. 

I began to speak to Arkadas about these new beliefs. But I looked down once again between Arkadas legs, I felt my mouth grown moister. I desired nothing more than to taste her body and to give pleasure to my friend, and I decided on a different, no less honest, response to her concerns, "Arkadas, I told you that you know the actual Varis, beyond the Sultanah. On this balcony I am not the Sultanah and you are not a slave. We are friends and equals. I love you Arkadas, and nothing we do in that love can be disgraceful."

I did not wait for her to respond. Instead, I quickly dropped my head down between my friend's legs. Any resistance that Arkadas may have tried to give evaporated as my long, free hair cascaded over her legs. I felt my cheeks slide against the soft skin of Arkadas thighs as I moved into position. The wet heat from her cunny very intense and her smell, so musky and feminine, made my head swim.




The Sultanah Ch. 04



I stopped just an inch away from Arkadas dripping slit. Both of our bodies were shaking. I looked at the pinkish red gash of her cunny and I could sense the Goddess there. I did not really know what I was doing, but my body seemed to know exactly what was necessary. I closed my eyes and leaned forward slightly. I felt my lips press gently against Arkadas cunny, her lips wetting mine.

"Oh Gunes!" Arkadas moaned as she felt me and I smiled. I pressed my lips against her cunny again and felt her trembling all over. My touch seemed to increase Arkadas arousal by an order of magnitude and I felt her juices dripping out of her and coating my chin. Arkadas hands were still in my hair, but her fingers had relaxed now. As I began to gently kiss Arkadas cunny, I felt her fingers rolling gently through my hair.

"I love you Varis," she whispered, "don't stop." I felt a chill run through my body as I heard her words, and I decided to increase the intensity of my actions. I opened my mouth slightly and let my tongue slip out, wet and fat. I pressed it flat against Arkadas cunny, giving a little pressure and letting it sink slightly into her folds. Arkadas taste was like nothing I'd ever experienced before; slightly salty and earthy but with a magical undertone, the flavor of femininity. The taste of Gunes. Arkadas groaned and she put some slight pressure on the back of my head with her palm. 

I slowed moved my tongue up through Arkadas soft slit, savoring the flavor as I moved. Arkadas was shaking all over and her legs closed slightly around my head, covering my ears. My tongue reached the apex of Arkadas' cunny and I felt the tip rub against the hard, dense nub of Arkadas' clitoris. Even with sound muffled by Arkadas thighs, I could hear her groan loudly. I smiled and swirled my tongue around on Arkadas' clitoris. Her body rolled and shook as I focused my attention on that spot. My chin pressed against Arkadas wet slit and her smell and flavor overwhelmed my other senses.

For a long while we continued in that manner. I was on my knees on the floor of the balcony, leaning forward between Arkadas' legs. Arkadas was leaned back on the chair with her hands on my head, her breasts still exposed and her nipples hard. I kept my face between Arkadas legs. I would occasionally kiss Arkadas cunny, her lower lips, and creamy skin that surrounded it, but generally I kept my tongue out of my mouth. I would lap up and down on Arkadas slit, tasting her juices and taking them into my mouth. I would spend a great deal of time with my lips wrapped around her clitoris, sucking gently while my tongue swirled around it. Through it all, Arkadas moaned and shook on the chair, calling out my name and begging me not to stop.

After some length of time, the exact extent I could not say, I felt the pressure on my ears lessen and sensed that Arkadas legs had spread wide once again. I could hear her moans more clearly now and could sense her body shaking almost beyond control. It was all I could do to snake my arms around Arkadas thighs and keep my tongue buried inside of her body.

"Oh fuck Varis, I am going to cum! Don't stop, oh please don't stop!" she was moaning. I pressed my face even more deeply into Varis' cunny and worked my tongue with greater speed. I heard Arkadas suck in air quickly and then her entire body went rigid. For a moment I almost stopped, but I could feel even greater pressure on the back of my head as Arkadas pushed me inside of her. I worked my tongue quickly and finally I heard Arkadas let out a loud sigh. Her body moved in jerky fashion and I felt hot liquid drip from her cunny against my lips. It was salty and thick and I sucked it into my mouth, swallowing it down quickly.

"Oh Varis, Oh Varis, Oh Varis," Arkadas was essentially chanting now. I flicked my eyes up between Arkadas' ample white breasts and I could see her own eyes were shut and her body was slowly relaxing. I kept my tongue on Arkadas' clit for a few more seconds, but she finally pushed me off as her body had become too sensitive. I smiled at her as her eyes open. She gave me a satisfied grin in response.

"I have never felt anything like that Sultanah," she said after a long pause. I smiled.

"I should think not, it is unlikely you have been pleasured by many rulers, even if you are more...adventurous than you previously let on," I said. Arkadas laughed and she leaned forward in her chair. She kept her legs spread by she leaned deeply over her body so that her breasts were between her knees. Her face was only a few inches from mine. Her hand slipped around the back of my hand under underneath of my chin. 

She clutched my jaw gently and pulled me forward. I closed my eyes as I moved toward my friend and lover. After a moment, I felt my lips press against Arkadas'. Unlike our previous kiss, there was no question about intent. As soon as my lips sunk into the soft flesh of her, Arkadas' mouth sprung open and her tongue pressed against my mouth. I felt the rough flesh of her tongue as it lapped against my lips, tasting her juices. In a moment, my mouth was open as well. I felt the soft, warm, slippery sensation of her tongue in my mouth and my tongue rose to meet hers. I felt her exploring my mouth, tasting the juices that she had deposited there. Our mouths moved together for a long while, until Arkadas had tasted every inch of me and I had explored her tongue in great detail. Finally, she broke our kiss and leaned back full in her chair. 

"There is yet another thing that I had never felt before, but I would like to rectify it now, if we might," Arkadas cooed in a sultry voice.

"As your friend and lover, make a command and I will oblige," I said, matching her tone as best I could. My stomach felt light and my legs felt weak. I was overcome with desire and would have complied with any request that allowed me to touch Arkadas further. As I looked at my friend, she spread her legs, much wider than before. Her cunny, slick with saliva and her juices, was exposed to the rapidly cooling evening air.

"I have never felt a cock between my legs. I would like it now," she responded. I felt my head swim and I bit my lip, the slight pain keeping me grounded.

"The best way to learn how to do something," I replied, "is to jump right in." Without further word, I stood up in front of the chair where Arkadas sat. I grabbed my dress near my hips and quickly hiked it up above my waist. I quickly lifted it up over my head and threw it onto the balcony floor. My breasts and stomach were now exposed to the air and only the bindings I used for my cock remained. I quickly attacked these as well, pulling the fabric away quickly and tossing it to the side. No longer confined, my cock began to rapidly swell. The excitement I had been tamping down was no longer caged. 

I looked up at Arkadas, her eyes were wide as she stared at my body. Her hands moved up her body and found her breasts. I watched for a moment while my friend stroked her nipples gently and stared at my body. Soon, my body had become fully aroused and I could no longer wait. 

I moved quickly back towards the chair and fell forward. I placed my hands on the backrest of the chair, on either side of Arkadas' head. My breasts and my cock now dangled a few inches above Arkadas' body. In fact, our nipples were nearly touching. Our faces were only a few inches apart and without further thought or word, I pressed my lips once again into Arkadas' mouth. She kissed me back, just as passionate as before, and perhaps with more skill.

However, even as Arkadas kissed me, she was not otherwise idle. I did not noticed as her right hand slid off of her breast or when she moved it down between our bodies. But I felt as her fingers grazed my dangling balls, her fingertips slipping against the juices that pour from my own willing cunny. My body froze, my tongue still in Arkadas' mouth. But she continued to move, first playing with my balls and then moving down my shaft, and wrapping her palm around it. Arkadas continued to kiss me as she pulled me down slightly by my cock. I felt my breasts collapse down onto Arkadas' breasts, our nipples pressing together and her firm flesh buoying mine. This seemed to wake me up, and I began to kiss my friend once again. But her fingers still felt magical on my cock as she began to stroke me slowly. 

Eventually, she broke the kiss, "Varis, you must know something," she whispered. I opened my eyes and looked at her. Our breasts were still pressed together and she continued to stroke my cock as she spoke to me. I groaned at the sensation but managed to nod my head.

"Then tell me quick, I will not be able to understand words much longer," I responded. Arkadas laughed slightly. And she kissed me again once, quickly.

"I don't know how we...ended up here. Though I can barely stop my heart from fluttering with excitement for it. But, even if we never had gotten to this point...You should know that you always could have told me about..." and as she spoke she squeezed my hard cock, "I would not have turned from you, just as I will never turn on you now." I felt a prickle in my eye and felt a tear fall. In this sudden onslaught of court intrigue and danger, a statement of unquestioning loyalty and devotion was desperately needed.

"How did I ever doubt you?" I asked again. But my last word came out garbled. Arkadas was pulling more forcefully now on my cock, taking me down. My breasts fell ever more deeply against Arkadas. I felt my cock closing the distance between our bodies. It was twitching in Arkadas' hand and I could feel the heat of Arkadas cunny against the tip.

"Do not speak anymore. I am yours, take me," Arkadas said. As she spoke, I felt the tip of my cock press against Arkadas' waiting slit. She was still sopping wet from her juices and from my saliva. I felt Arkadas' hand slip from my cock and felt body of her hands soon find their way to my hips. I looked into Arkadas' eyes now and she was smiling, nodding gently. My whole body was trembling and my mouth suddenly felt dry. But I had never wanted anything more in my life than to be in Arkadas' body.

I pressed my hips down gently. I heard Arkadas gasp and felt her body tense slightly. But Arkadas' body was so wet and so ready, the tip of my cock slipped easily inside of her body. Now Arkadas began to place pressure on my hips, pulling me in toward her. She wrapped her legs around my back, pushing into my backside with her heels. In just a few moments, my cock slipped completely inside of Arkadas' body, my balls slapping against her ass. Arkadas groaned loudly.

I was overawed by the sensation of Arkadas' body. My cock was wrapped tightly in my friend's warm wetness. Arkadas' cunny held me tight, but she was so went that my cock could move easily even in her tight confines. I felt intense pressure on the underside of my cock and I fear for a moment that I would spill my seed instantly. 

Once again, my eyes moved up to look at Arkadas. I could see tears in the corner of her eye, though I doubted it was from pain. Her legs here now tightly locked around me and her arms moved from my hips and wrapped around the back of my neck. She pulled me in closer with all of her limbs, my cock pressing harder into her body, my lips finding hers. Our breasts were still pressed together and I could feel Arkadas' hard nipples pressing against mine, the sensation growing more pleasant the more our bodies shook. There was no daylight between us now, we were pressed completely together. I could hear soft moaning noises from a throat, but I could not tell if they were mine or Arkadas'. The smell of our juices hung heavy over the balcony and heightened the intensity of the feeling.

For a brief moment, Arkadas relaxed the pressure from her heels against my back. She pushed me back slightly and my cock slipped a couple of inches from Arkadas' cunny. I felt the cool evening air on my wet cock and gasped. But even as I did so, Arkadas heels returned and thrust my cock hard back into her cunny. Now it was Arkadas' turn to gasp and she pressed her tongue hard into my mouth as she did. She repeated her motions, pushing me out and then pulling me back in hard, several times. Finally, I began to feel the necessity to act. I pushed my hips back on my own and then thrust my cock back into the comforting warmth of Arkadas' body. Each time I did so, I felt the pressure grow more intense on my cock. I also felt Arkadas grow more desperate underneath of me.

We continued to move in that way for quite a while. Our bodies were pressed tightly together and Arkadas wrapped her limbs ever tighter against me. Our stomachs were pressed together, separated only by the thin fabric of Arkadas' bunched dress. Our breasts were still pressed together and each motion heightened the tension. We kissed passionately now, actually beyond the point of passion. In desperation now we kissed. The sounds of our moans and the wet sounds of our bodies colliding filled the air. Sex was all I could smell.

Finally, I could feel my seed coming. I pressed my hips harder into Arkadas, thrusting my cock deeper and deeper into her body. I bit at her tongue and felt her legs shaking around my body. I knew that I was just a few seconds away and...

"Varis, oh Gunes Varis, please stop!" Arkadas yelled at the top of her voice. I was so shocked by why she had said, and the level of her volume, that I instantly complied. My cock stopped half inside of her body, I was cold all over from sweat, and I could barely breath. I needed to feel release, my entire body was taut as a drum.

"What...?" I began to ask, but Arkadas spoke quickly.

"I do not mean to cause you pain Sultanah. But I am ripe to be with child but we do not want that. Further, I cannot help but thinking back to our first time together, all those weeks ago. The taste of your seed... I loved it. I have craved to taste it again every day since. Please, share your seed on my tongue," Arkadas said. Once again, my friend was looking out for me. If Arkadas became pregnant, well, I would have to accept it as my own bastard (an expensive proposition) or hear rumors about her virtue. Besides, I looked into Arkadas soft lips and pink mouth and considered the joy of spilling my seed there. 

Perhaps more importantly I looked down briefly, pulling my chest up slightly off of Arkadas' breasts. The dying embers of the evening, the red light had become darker. I could see part of the shaft of my cock, now stained red with the light. The light of Gunes shining on the male aspects of the Goddess. Now it was Arkadas turn to worship at Gunes' altar. It felt so right. 

I quickly slipped my cock from Arkadas body (an underrated sensation) and heard her gasp. But I was still very close to spilling my seed and wanted to move quickly. I unhooked myself from Arkadas' legs and crawled up the chair. I felt my breasts briefly press into Arkadas face and felt her tongue seek my nipple. My body slipped across Arkadas' body, though I was careful to place my limbs on open spots on the large chair. I quickly found the armrests on the chair and lifted my body, almost jumping up. My knees quickly found their way onto the armrests and I sat up quickly. Now I was kneeling, with one knee on either armrest, straddling Arkadas' body. My cock was sticking up, wet and hot, a few inches from her face. My balls dangled above her breasts and my cunny dripped on of her nipples.

Arkadas did not pause long, she knew I was in desperate need. I was so excellently placed that my lover did not need to move anything besides her neck. She bent over quickly and I felt an instant wet, warmth as her lips slipped over the tip of my cock. I looked down and saw the top of Arkadas' head, the exotic blonde hair beginning to bob up and down on my cock.

Arkadas' seemed even more skilled in her efforts than our first time together. I felt my cock slip deeper and deeper into her mouth, pushing against the back of her throat while her head bobbed. Her mouth and throat were tight and wet, and I felt weak. Her tongue swirled against the bottom of my cock and her balls pressed against her chin. I could feel my seed coming quickly, but I also felt weak in the knees. 

I lifted my hands up towards my chest, somehow hoping to gain some balance. I pressed my hands against my breasts and felt my nipples cutting into my palms. I felt no more certain on my knees, but my nipples tingled deliciously. I began to squeeze and knead at my breasts while I watched Arkadas' suck furiously and skillfully at my cock. I moaned loudly, not even caring if my screams echoed down to the streets below.

It did not take long, I had already been so close. After a minute or slightly more of stroking my breasts while Arkadas sucked my cock, I felt the tension rising inside of me. This sensation no longer confused me; I knew that it meant that the anxiety would reach a crescendo and then crash into pleasure. I needed that break from the tension, I needed the pleasure. I thrust my hips hard into Arkadas' mouth and I could heard her choking of my cock. 

Then it happened. The tension rose, just as I anticipated, but it was more intense than it had ever been before. I kept thrusting my cock harder and harder into Arkadas throat and my fingers were white from squeezing my breasts. I felt my entire world condense into a single point of tension until finally I felt that I could not move any longer. Thankfully, Arkadas mouth and tongue continued to move over my cock and then...release. I let out a high pitched scream as I felt the tension instantly drain out of me. A wave of luminous red pleasure poured from my cock out of my body. I was vaguely aware of my balls seizing, my cock jumping, and thick streams of seed pouring into my friend's mouth. But this was overwhelmed by what felt like an eternity of pure pleasure as my body reacted.

My eyes shot opened and the whole world seemed red. I looked down at Arkadas, her eyes closed, smiling around my cock while my seed spurted inside of her. I felt supreme relaxation and an absolute pleasure. I suddenly felt dizzy and realized I hadn't been breathing. I took a deep breath but it was too late, and I tumbled backward toward Arkadas' legs. 

My cock popped from Arkadas' mouth and the last of my seed spurted against her face. Despite that, she reached forward and grabbed me as I fell, pulling me in around the waist. Nonetheless my knees had slipped off the armrest and I had landed with my thighs on her stomach. Arkadas' eyes looked concerned and I heard her start to speak. She was so concerned that she had forgotten she had a mouthful of my seed. As she tried to speak I looked into her mouth and saw that I had filled her cheeks with seed. Some of it dripped out of her mouth and landed on her breast as she started to speak. She realized what was happening, closed her mouth, and quickly swallowed it down.

"Varis, are you alright?" she asked, leaning it toward me, she sounded concerned and her breath smelled of my seed. I nodded my head slowly, and then shook it. I was breathing heavily and my balance was coming back. My climax was fading but the relaxation it had brought remained strong.

"I feel..." I started, "Wonderful." And with that I pitched forward and wrapped my arms around Arkadas. We collapsed together onto the chair, and Arkadas wrapped me up tightly in her arms. I could feel her kissing my cheeks and eyes as I quickly grew comfortable in her arms.

Eventually, Arkadas seemed to understand that I was in no danger and I began to catch my breath. We lay together for a long while, tangled up in the chair on the balcony. Our bodies were sticky with sweat, seed, and juices and the smell still hung thickly in the air. Arkadas' finger gently circled my nipple and I savored the feeling of my now-soft cock pressed freely against my friend's bare thigh. 




The Sultanah Ch. 04



"That was lovely Varis," Arkadas said at last, leaning over and kissing my cheek.

"Thank you for catching me there, I nearly fell back onto my neck on the balcony," I said, kissing Arkadas' breast, where my cheek now laid.

"It is my job," she said laughingly, "And my pleasure to catch you." And we lay together for a long while now in silence, enjoying the cooling night air and the closeness. In fact, I could not ever remember feeling this close to Arkadas, despite the fact that she had always been my best friend. Whatever formality existed in our relationship because of the fact that she was, technically, my slave had completely faded. I knew that I no longer held anything back from her and she no longer held anything back from me. We had shared our bodies and shared our souls. I felt my body, exposed, against hers and I wondered what other miracles that Gunes could work.

"It is getting late, you must be going," Arkadas said. Now I knew! I had nearly forgotten about my mission until that moment. I had been so caught up in my time with Arkadas that I nearly forgot.

"You are pushing me off toward my task?" I asked incredulously. Arkadas signed and shrugged her shoulders. She ran her hand through my hair.

"I do not want you to go but I know I can stop you," she explained. I rolled over slightly so that we were facing one another. Arkadas took my hands in hers and we pushed our foreheads together.

"I am doing what I must do," I explained again. This time, Arkadas just nodded.

"I do not understand. But now at least I understand that I do not understand. Besides, you now know the contents of my heart. I will never forgive myself if anything happens, but you will always know how I feel," she said. I smiled at my friend and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"And you will know how I feel, if anything were to happen," I responded. Arkadas furrowed her brow and stared at me for several seconds.

"I should hate to hear you even suggest that," she said finally, "but ...I feel something..." she said slowly. For the first time since we had finished making love, I consciously considered what I was planning to do that evening. I realized that I felt something strange as well. Something I did not expect. The anxiety and nerves I felt earlier were gone. Like they had all been burned up on my climax. Like Gunes had taken them away in honor of my devotion. 

But it was more than that. It was not simply that I no longer feared. It was that my fear had been replaced. I felt safe, in fact confident. I could feel light of Gunes shining inside of me and knew that I would survive. The final binding of friendship in the like of the evening sun was a religious rite and it had brought me to a different level of understanding. Gunes accepted the tribute of my sexual desire and rewarded me with certainty. I wondered if that was what Arkadas was feeling as well. 

"I know," I said and Arkadas smiled. I looked up at her again and she leaned over and kissed me deeply. Less passionate now, but more than a friend's kiss. A lover's kiss.

"Thank you Varis. I did not know what I needed from you tonight in my pain and anxiety. I never would have expected that it was...that. But you know me better than I know myself I guess...I love you and know you will always love me," she said finally. Now I kissed her back, giving her what she had given me.

"I love you too Arkadas. You are the only one that Varis, the girl not the Sultanah, can ever love. But do not thank me, thank Gunes. And pray to her that she will give me what I need tonight," I said. And I rose from the chair and began to dress.

* * * * *

Not long after I was standing on the City Wall, directly next to the North Gate. I was wearing a pair of black leather pants and a tight, black shirt. My face was covered with a black scarve and I was nearly invisible in the darkness of night. Saygili, my loyal guardsman was standing next to me, looking nervously over the wall. The besieging camp was stretched out before us in the darkness. Their campfires burned in all directions between the two rivers on the plain outside of the city. Even from the distance (their first tents were nearly 300 yards from the city wall) I could smell the scent of shit that engulfs an army encamped. I could hear music and even occasionally a loud word emanating from the camp. It was a night like any other night during the siege.

"Sultanah, I do not believe they are coming," Saygili said, not for the first time. I smiled and looked at my loyal guard.

"Be patient, we have nowhere else to be tonight. It is better out here on the breezy wall that stuffed in the top levels of that palace," I explained.

"I just fear for your safety," Saygili responded.

"And that is why you are paid. I appreciate your concern, now simply be quiet," I said, my tone more gentle than my words. Saygili nodded and peered back out into the darkness.

"This is not a task for the Sultanah. It is too dangerous," Saygili said quietly.

"That is not, to my memory, the sound of quiet, though I admit it has been a long time since I heard it," I snapped back. Saygili nodded again and did not speak. I did appreciate his concern, but I was ready now. I still felt the confidence that Gunes had granted me and I was ready to begin my task for the night. 

We stood in silence for a while longer and I began to wonder if Saygili was correct. Perhaps something terrible had happened. Perhaps my efforts were for nothing and I had sent many loyal subjects to their death. While I no longer feared for my safety, I feared for...

"Soyguncu," Saygili said in a hushed voice. I looked at him and he jutted his chin out into the darkness beyond the wall. I looked down at the wall and saw a figure also dressed in black. My eyes were keen, but apparently my guards were better. But as the figure drew closer, I came to recognize the outline of my newest staff member: my thief. In a few moments she was standing at the far end side of the moat, looking up at us.

"Soyguncu, is that you?" I asked nervously. I hardly allowed myself to believe she had really survived.

"Sultanah, you are the one who insisted on passwords and code talking. How am I to respond to that question?" Soyguncu spoke back, slightly louder than I had. I laughed. She was right. 

"I mean, how fares the lunar eclipse?" I asked in code.

"The owl has left the barn," she responded in turn. I smiled and nodded. That meant everything was in place. I looked over at Saygili and nodded. He sighed deeply.

"I ask you one last time to let me go in your place," Saygili said.

"You have grown too bold at court," I said to him, but in a good-natured way, "Who led and who followed when we held the gate against Rayhip? There is no time for you to question my orders. Just follow them." Saygili did not speak farther. Instead he lifted his crossbow and shot a single bolt. I watched Soyguncu jump as the bolt sunk into the dirty and rock of the side of the moat in front of her. A long rope was attached to the back of the bolt and it lead back up towards the top of the gate.

"Careful!" she yelled back. Saygili was not paying attention. He was already tying the end of the rope around a metal ring on the wall.

"I will be back as soon as possible," I said to Saygili, "It anyone comes, cut the rope loose. We can always shoot another one down." I explained. He nodded solemnly. 

I then took a leather belt that I had brought with me and threw it over the rope. I wrapped the ends of the rope tightly around each of my hands and then climbed up onto the edge of the wall. I looked down over the side and it suddenly seemed much higher than it had before. Suddenly, my certainty that I would not come to harm seemed laughably absurd. I felt dizzy and turned to look at Saygili. He was looking down at the bottom of the rope, where my journey would end. He had no doubt now that I would go. How could I back out now?

I kicked my feet over the edge of the wall and slid my ass off of the side. I felt a powerful drop like I was going to plummet to the bottom of the wall. My arms stretched up and locked above my head. Just at that moment there was a powerful jolts and I bounced up slowly. The belt hand caught me. It jerked so hard that it nearly flew from my grasp. I squeezed hard on the leather belt, my fingers barely managing to maintain a grip. My heart was fluttering in my chest and I could not bear to keep my eyes open. But I felt myself hurtling toward the ground. I felt like I was sliding across the rope faster than a stallion could carry me. I prayed that the bolt from the crossbow would remain plugged into the ground.

When it felt like I had been falling forever and I feared that I was going to slam at full speed into the earth and break every bone in my body, I decided to open my eyes and get one last glimpse of the word before I died. I managed to open them just in time to see a hand inches from my face. I crashed into it with an audible slap and I saw stars in front of my eyes. But I felt another arm swing around behind me and grab my back. I dropped my belt and stumbled forward. Soyguncu and I tumbled into the grass on the far side of the moat. I heard a loud groan as I knocked the wind out of my thief.

We lay for a moment on the ground, catching our breath. Soyguncu was breathing deeply, trying to dispel the pain from our collision. I was shaking my head trying to get my bearings. My face felt numb where I had slammed into the thief's hand. Nonetheless I turned back to the wall and saw Saygili looking down at me. I waved to him confidently to indicate that I had made it. I think he nodded and then I saw him lift something up from behind the wall and he hooked it onto the rope and sent it screaming down towards us. When that object reached the backs of the moat and hit with a thud, he hooked another one onto the rope. Before that one even found its way to the moat, Saygili was already hunkering down behind the wall to wait.

"Shit!" Soyguncu yelled when she finally managed to catch her breath. I put my hand over her mouth and she nodded slowly, "I apologize Sultanah...that hurt like Tanri's asshole after a night at the pub," she said. I smiled at her casual blasphemy against the false god.

"I apologize for striking you. Are you alright?" I scrambled to my feet now and held my hand down towards the thief. She nodded her head and reached for it. I helped to lift her to her feet and we both turned and looked toward the camp. The tents looked less imposing from here, perhaps because I could not see the end of them. 

"I am alright Sultanah," Soyguncu said after a moment. Then she turned back toward the city and toward the objects that Saygili had sent whirling down the rope. I followed her over.

"Will these be enough?" I asked. I pointed to the two ten gallon barrels Saygili had sent down. The barrel had two ropes apiece attached to them; one at the top with an iron hook that Saygili had used to slide them down and then another rope that was attached in two places. I lifted one of the large, heavy barrels by this second rope and slung it over my shoulder. A moment later Soyguncu did the same with the remaining barrel.

"It should be, there are other factors at play, you will see," she said. And with that she turned back and started heading toward the enemy's lines. She walked briskly.

"Wait up, wait up. Do not rush!" I called towards her.

"Sultanah, we do not have much time!" Soyguncu responded, pointing towards the placement of the moon in the sky.

"That is because you are late," I responded and she stopped walking, "Where is everyone else? Where are we going?" Soyguncu had exited the city several hours earlier along with several...compatriots. They had been in and among the enemy soldiers for some time, but now only the leader had returned.

"It took us a greater time to find what you were looking for than intended," she explained, and started walking again, only slower.

"Why? Was it tightly guarded?" I asked. Soyguncu snorted and shook her head.

"Your enemies do not fear you, it was hardly guarded at all. It was just a much larger camp than we anticipated. Your enemies vastly outnumber us. It took us time to find it." She explained. We were stomping through the field that separated the city from the enemy's camp at this point. Each step we took, we instinctively spoke more and more quietly. But it was very dark night and the grass was very high and at no time did I feel in danger of detection.

"Well will you remember where it was located?"

"Of course. It is actually not that far from here, an hour's cautious movement at most," she said.

"Where are the rest?" I asked. Now Soyguncu had stopped walking. She turned back towards me and her eyes looked sheepish through her shawl.

"After we left they decided to stay awhile and...make a little money," she explained.

"Make a little money?" I asked. How could they behave in such a way. Yes they were prostitutes but this was...treason!

"You can't expect to take fifteen whores into a camp with thousands of men who haven't smelled a cunt in weeks and expect their eyes not to turn gold," Soyguncu said in her colorful way. I sighed. My empire relied on the reliability of prostitutes. 

"Well, will they be there at the appointed time?" I asked.

"Whores generally have only one rule, they are loyal to the one who has the most money. I think they will realize the Sultanah's purse is bigger than a soldier's. Besides, I have seen where we are going, we won't need as many as we thought."

"And what if they give us away?" I asked, realizing there were worse fates than simply having the plan not work. Soyguncu stopped once again. We were only about a hundred feet from enemy lines now and she whispered back to me quickly.

"Then we are already dead. We cannot speak long now, let us move," Soyguncu responded, and then she turned to walk. I took a deep breath and followed after her. 

We moved much slower over the last one hundred feet of the enemy lines, and crouched low as we moved. Soyguncu was correct, our enemies did not respect us. There were no pickets on the edge of camp. The enemy did not expect us to attempt to sneak up on them at night and raise the siege. They were right, of course. If we caught them completely by surprise with an assault by all of my soldiers, we would only kill a small fraction of their number. The rest of their army could mobilize in leisure and then finish us off when we were tired. Still, I was thankful for their laxity as Soyguncu and I crawled out of the grass and between two tents into the camp.

The camp was laid out in a grid stretching off into the distance with four-tent blocks the central organizational unit. In the middle of each four tent-unit there was a small campfire burning. It was very late at the time we arrived in the camp and most of the soldiers were sleeping. Regardless, it was very bright in the camp and as soon as I moved within the halo of the camp, I felt very visible.

Whatever my nerves were, Soyguncu seemed fearless. As soon as she entered the confines of the camp she straightened up and walked into the light of the first campfire. I followed behind her closely, I looked left and right as I moved, but I saw no one stirring in that location. Soyguncu grabbed my arm and pulled me in close to her.

"I have carefully scouted. I had a route to our rendezvous to the whores through the quietest portions of the camp. But we will need to careful nonetheless. Follow my lead exactly and watch your feet, no loud noises," she said. With that she turned and walked deeper into the camp. 

We moved for what seemed like an eternity. Soyguncu could move in absolute silence and I did my best to mimic the thief's actions. We moved in a sort of zig-zag pattern throughout the area. Occasionally, Soyguncu would drop to her knees on the outside of a tent and sit quietly for several seconds while someone passed. I would follow suit, and I could hear the soldiers inside the tents, snoring. Sometimes, Soyguncu was essentially sprint between an intersection in the tents and as I ran after her, I could hear the sound of voices nearby, campfires that had not yet died down. The camp was quieter up close somehow but the smell was more intense. I had no desire to allow these people on my land for a moment longer. The more we walked the more certain I became that Soyguncu and I were acting properly.

Over the course of an hour we slowly made our way deeper and deeper into the camp until we had worked our way clean out of it. We had stayed relative close to the Kuzey River as we made our way through the camp, but I was surprised when we finally pulled up and stopped just a few yards from the water. I could hear it rushing by in the dark. It was only when we stopped that I realized we had passed through the last of the tents in that area. The ground was wet, sloped, and marshy, not appropriate for tents. But in the distance to our right I saw a large, flat expanse. I could smell the tingling scent of shit and could hear noises. I could see several farms as well, abandoned by their owners now in the city and being used by our enemies. There were no people in this area. I was gasping by this time, the heavy barrel on my back and the long run had sapped my strength

"We have made it Sultanah," Soyguncu whispered and jutted her chin in the direction of the nearest farm. I looked around and did not see anyone moving. It was darker now where we were located and very quiet. My bladder felt tight and my heart was thrumming in my chest.

"Where are the whores?" I asked finally. The whole plan depended on them.

"We just need three or four I think," Soyguncu stated. She looked over her shoulder into a copse of trees near the river. She squinted and strained her eyes in that direction and then, slowly, her mouth spread into a broad smile. I turned and looked, but saw nothing. Soyguncu lifted her hand over her head and waved quickly. After a moment, I saw a silent stirring in the trees. I squinted harder and then I saw women walking slowly out the shadows.

There were only eleven of them left, presumably the rest were still turning tricks. The whores were dressed for the job in short dresses, long boots, their faces painted garishly, and wearing high, curly wigs. They were immediately recognizable for what they were. Some had smeared lipstick and disheveled hair and it seemed they had weighted their purses generously before arrival. But I did not care; they had followed through on their promise (most of them). They arrived next to us silently; they were all smiling broadly when they saw us, though I doubt they knew who I was.

"Where are the others?" Soyguncu hissed.

"Working," One of the prostitutes whispered back and shrugged her shoulders.

"I should skin you all for this! Our lives depend on this, it is no time for sucking cock!" Soyguncu added.

"That's exactly why we are here!" One of the other prostitutes shot back.

"Silence," I whispered, "We will deal with those who reneged on their promises later. Now is the time to act. It will be light in a little over an hour." The prostitutes were nodding. Soyguncu made a show of continuing to look angry but nodded her head as well.

"They are over there," she said, pointing towards the abandoned farm, "We will be right behind you. Remember, get them all! If we die, you probably die too. And you definitely don't get paid. Your cunts would have to take a lot of traitorous soldier cock to get what the Sultanah will pay for a couple of minutes work." The prostitutes' eyes lit up and they began to walk in the direction Soyguncu had pointed. They moved slightly more loudly now and they talk to one another. Soyguncu and I followed behind several yards in silence. We crouched low and kept our heads down.




The Sultanah Ch. 04



"Halt, who goes there?" A voice suddenly called out with a thick accent. The prostitutes instantly stopped. I looked up finally, and stopped moving. We had moved up and out of the marshy land by the water and were now standing a few dozen yards from the first farm. The barn was directly in front of us, but it was surrounded by a low wooden fence. The voice had come from that fence. I peered around the whores as best I could and could see three sentries sitting on the top fence post, looking at them. I dropped down lower, praying I had not been seen. I looked over at Soyguncu and she had also dropped onto her belly, facing towards the soldiers and watching. I continued to follow her lead.

"We are angels of mercy," one of the prostitutes said, "here to cure your wounds and heal your souls."

"Ain't that funny," one of the soldiers responded, "I didn't know you could reach the soul through the cock!" he said and the other sentries laughed.

"I imagine there is a lot you don't know about your cock, pretty young man like yourself. Why don't we go over to the woods and I will teach you a thing or two," the lead prostitute said. One of the sentries whistled and the others laughed. 

"Well..."the sentry began again, and it sounded for the world like he was going to accept the offer, when another voice pierced the night.

"Nöbetçi, what in Tanri's balls is going on?" the voice called out. Instantly the sentries on the fence posts jumped up and stood with more dignity. I looked over in the direction of the voice. A tall, commanding man in a somewhat elaborate uniform had arrived. Flanking him were six soldiers. 

"Sarge..." the one sentry stammered. I felt panic welling inside of me, there were too many things about the situation that were out of my control. I looked at Soyguncu. She raised her hand slightly and then lowered it in a calming manner. Settle down, she indicated. I took a deep breath and nodded

"We are just a couple of working girls, looking to make a few coins in the midst of a terrible war," one of the prostitutes responded. The sergeant looked over at the prostitutes now. For a long moment he just stared at them with a gaze that could freeze water. I wondered if any of my soldiers could fell this man. However, just when it seemed the sergeant would snap and sick his soldiers on my prostitutes, a broad smile spread across his face.

"Well Nöbetçi, I presume you and the boys have not fallen on these whores yet because you were waiting for me," he responded. I let out a low breath. Maybe this was still going to work.

"I was going to report to you Sarge," Nöbetçi responded. The sergeant laughed and shook his head.

"You're a piece of shit Nöbetçi, but I tell you what. I am going to give you a reward," he explained and started walking towards the prostitutes. He was looking over them carefully. Finally he found one in particular and grabbed her arm. He was gentle with her and pulled her out of line.

"I am going to go into the woods and fuck this prostitute. In exchange for you finding her, I am not going to court-martial you. Instead you will get to wait here while the rest of us get a much needed morale boost and watch the area. Since you let these hookers sneak up on you, I expect you to be extra focused," The sergeant explained. As he spoke Nöbetçi's eyes seemed to droop. He did not say anything and it was clear his conflict with his superior had been going on for some time. He knew he was beat.

"Yes, Sarge," he said dejectedly. The sergeant slapped him on the back and then turned to the other men.

"Men, pick a whore you can afford and meet back here when you're done," he said magnanimously, "Now madam, after you." He said and started to lead the prostitute he had selected back into the forest. In a short period of time all of the other sentries, except Nöbetçi had selected their prostitutes and had headed off away from the open field around the farm. Only Nöbetçi and the two ugliest prostitutes remained.

"What do you say handsome? You ready to go?" one of the prostitutes asked.

"Do you have a cock in your ear whore? I am not permitted to leave this spot. I am the only sentry remaining for the whole damned area. Besides, I wouldn't fuck you with a pig's cock," Nöbetçi complained. I looked over at Soyguncu and saw she was already looking at me. I looked toward the remaining sentry and gestured. Soyguncu shrugged her shoulders and the drug her thumb across her throat like she was slitting it and raised her eyebrows. I looked back at the young sentry. I didn't care if we killed him. He would kill everyone I loved and destroy everything I knew. But I didn't want him to make a noise. I looked at Soyguncu and lifted my finger. One minute, we would give the prostitutes some time.

"A pig's cock? Are they curly like the tails?" the other prostitute said and Nöbetçi smiled despite himself, "listen sweetie. All our friends are already gone. If we don't get some they are going to give us a real hard time. Like that cock sucking sergeant gave you," the prostitute said. The sentry's eyes rose and he smiled. It seemed this whore knew exactly what the sentry wanted to hear.

"Well one of you is out of luck no matter what, besides it ain't worth the risk," he said, but it sounded like he just wanted to be convinced. The bolder, smarter prostitute started to walk toward him. The other prostitute followed.

"Tell you what sweetheart, I know we ain't as pretty as those other girls. But I think we can make it worth the risk. Two, for the price of one. That solves our problem baby. And with two pairs of lips, two pairs of tits, and two wet cunnies, I bet we can get you satisfied and back out here before your sergeant finishes fishing his little cock out of his chain mail," the prostitute said. I felt my heart hammering in my chest, I was already looking over at Soyguncu. If he balked, she would have to kill him. She was pulling her small knife out of her pocket already.

"Well..." the sentry said, he was smiling and running his eyes over the two prostitutes.

"Tick-tock boy, times running short. Do you know any other boys who've fucked two at once?" she asked.

"Okay, let's go. Quick," Nöbetçi said. The prostitutes giggled and followed at him as they ran towards the woods. Once they were out of sight, Soyguncu quickly jumped to her feel and slung the barrel off of her back.

"Let's go quickly, there isn't much time," she said breathless. I stood quickly, removed my own barrel and followed after her. We quickly made it over the fence and into the farm. I looked around quickly and smiled as I finally saw that Soyguncu was correct, we were exactly where we needed to be.

I thought back briefly to the hours and days after Soyguncu and I had completed our previous caper at Tanri's Cathedral. That was when this plan had come into focus. I had watched after we had transformed the symbol of Tanri into the symbol of Gunes how the will of the Tanril followers had been sapped. Their beliefs were absolutely hollow and so, the destruction of their symbols had robbed them of any content. I had never needed to act directly against them and, in fact, did not have the power to do so. They outnumbered me. Instead, I had simply inflicted a small wound on their greatest strengths, their symbols, and exposed their larger weakness. And in exposing that weakness, I had defeated them. That insight had percolated in my mind. It had developed into something of a readily applicable maxim and then turned into a full-fledged plan. You don't need to comprehensively defeat any enemy when you are on the defensive; you just need to sap their willingness to fight. That was why I was standing at a make-shift supply depot in my enemy's rear with twenty gallons of pitch. 

"You see, the grass here is dead from the heat, we won't need much pitch to get it started. I will take the barns, you take the field," Soyguncu said. My enemies had a massive army, that was their greatest strength. We could not move directly against them. But an army marches on its stomach. A massive army has a massive stomach. King Sican knew that his army could only maintain its siege if the soldiers were healthy and well fed. As a result, he had spent the weeks of his siege plundering the countryside. He had collect up all of the grains and all of the livestock from miles around Şehir. He had taken over the barns and the pens in this area to house them. In fact he had built more fences to hold cattle and more buildings to store corn. But still, he always needed more. Each day he was bringing in shipments of corn and sheep from his own country, his rents for the year in advance to feed his army. And it was all right here. A small wound with a little burned corn and dead cattle would expose the weakness of a massive army.

Soyguncu was already running towards the first barn. I had selected her to aid me in this task because she seemed brave, loyal, and stealthy. Besides, the reward I had offered her for the task would be more than enough to thank her for all her services for the crown. Saygili had found her easily, picking pockets in the market. She had accepted before the whole scope of the mission had even been explained. Now she ran inside a barn and I knew she was opening up her cask of pitch and pouring it out over the floor. Then she would move on to the next building and the next, leaving a trail of pitch behind her.

I did not wait to watch her efforts. I bounded off towards the fields. There were dozens of pens in the farmland on the edge of King Sican's camp that contained thousands of animals. But Soyguncu was right; the grass was high and dry in most of the pens. It would burn easily. I walked to one of the pens and looked at the cows inside.

"You are beasts of Bütün Dünya," I responded, "Better wasted than in the bellies of your enemies. Gunes praises your for your sacrifice. It will not be forgotten," I said. I popped over my barrel and then opened a smaller hole on the other side. The black bitch began to pour out of the bottom of my barrel. I took off at a run. I ran along the outside of the pens (they were arranged in a massive rectangle, with small pathways between the various small pens). I zigzagged around the various pens, surrounding some entirely with a thin line of pitch. After a few minutes, I felt my barrel become lighter. Shortly, it was completely empty and I dropped it in the grass. I had only spread pitch around a small fraction of the total area around the pens. I had to hope and pray that the wet grass and dry fencepost would be enough.

I made a beeline back to the place where we had encountered the sentries. Soyguncu was already there, looking nervous. She was holding a lantern in her hand, she had stolen it from one of the barns. It was lit. When she saw me she sighed with relief.

"Have you spread it?" she asked. She handed me the lantern.

"As far as I could. Let us hope it is enough," I replied.

"I was able to get to more than half of the granaries. We will do some damage at least," she said.

"Ah well that was not bad!" A voice said loudly. Out from the trees strolled Nöbetçi, a whore under each of his arm, "My father was right, ugly girls try harder...hey who the fuck are you?" he asked. He looked up at saw Soyguncu and I standing. I felt my blood run cold. We were out of time.

"Don't worry about them, tell me more about home," the clever prostitute said, trying her best. Nöbetçi shoved her to the side along with the other prostitute. They tumbled to the ground, got to their feet, and then took off in the direction of the river. The sentry seemed to gather that this meant something was not right.

"Alert! Intruder!" he called as loud as he could. I didn't hear or even see Soyguncu move. The next thing I noticed was a knife protruding from the sentry's throat. She had pulled quickly and thrown it with deadly accuracy.

"We should have killed him earlier," she said. But even as she spoke, the other sentries were pouring from the woods. Some still had their pants around their ankles, their cocks flapping ludicrously as they moved.

"Halt, and identify yourself!" The sergeant was yelling. He was in the lead and he was only a few dozen yards away. I watched as him feet pounded on the grass coming closer. I could hear stirring in the camp a few dozen yards distant. There was no time to be nervous now, I had to act quickly. I noticed where the sergeant was heading.

"I am Sultanah Varis I, the angel of death," I called out to him loudly. His face looked slightly perplexed but he kept running. And his foot feet directly in the line of pitch leading from the barn. I took the lantern in my hand, spun it once round my hand, and tossed it as hard as I could. I looked up in the sky to watch it arc across the darkness. I could see Soyguncu watching as well. The lantern reached its highest peak and then fell down onto the earth, crashing at the sergeant's feet. 

The ceramic reservoir of the lamp burst and flames shot up all around the sergeant. He screamed in a primal rage as the flames began to licked up his leg. The flames reached the pitch and soon the grass all around the man was on fire. He no longer had any thought of pursuing us. Instead, he was running in panicked strides all around the area. Everywhere he touched spread the flames. Soon, the dry grass for two square yards around him was on first and spreading. More importantly, the pitched was igniting as well, racing out toward the granaries and light the grass around it. The other sentries saw what was happening and forgot all about us, they rush toward the fires even as the sergeant dropped onto the ground, and no longer moved.

"Fire! Fire!" they yelled and I could hear more rumbling from the camp behind us.

"This will not be safe much longer, we must go!" Soyguncu said now. I could feel the heat from the fires starting to lick at my face. I turned and looked out towards the pens where the animals were held. Already the pitch there was beginning to burn as the fire spread quickly in the grass.

"To the river!" I yelled to Soyguncu and we both ran towards the marshy land we had traveled through before. When we reached the low backs of the river we dove into it, sure that we were pursued by the fire. We swam out a couple of feet to where the water was around our waists before turning back and looking at the shore. Once we reached that point we realized the prostitutes were huddled on the banks of the river, looking nervous. They had obviously fled when their clients had rushed toward the fire, knowing that retribution would be swift if they were caught. We beckoned them out to stand with us. Once they reached the water we all focused on the shore and watched the fire burn. 

If any of the sentries had noticed us sprinting into the water, they had forgotten it entirely. Already, one of the barns filled with grain was a massive inferno and others were beginning to catch. The sentries were running around frantically, searching for dirt to toss onto the flames. They had no buckets so they did not even attempt to run down to the river. They were screaming loudly for help as they worked futilely against the flames.

Finally, soldiers from the camp had reached the area. Most stopped at stared dumbfounded as the grass, fences, and buildings burst into red flames. By the time a few dozen soldiers had made it out toward the field, it was too late. Even the arrival of officers and lords was ineffectual. From my vantage point in the river, I could not see everything. But I could see several barns and temporary buildings that were so heavily engulfed in flames that there was no way to put it out, everything inside was ruined. And it was spreading. 

Soyguncu had apparently done an excellent job of spreading pitch and also spotting buildings. I did not know fire could move that fast. Soon it was zipping along the dry grass towards the livestock fields. These were farther away but I could see the light in the distance growing brighter and brighter as the pitch I had spread, the fences, and the grass went up in flames. And I began to hear the animals. I felt more than a twinge of guilt and to this day cannot describe the sounds that I heard as the animals began to roast alive. The most horrifying sound was the clomping of hooves as animals tried to escape the flames. I feel no such concern for the soldiers who relied on them.

We had been watching in silence for several minutes when something slightly unexpected happen. There was already pandemonium in the enemies' camp. Most of the men had no idea what was going on and were terrified that a sally from the city had caught them unawares. Others knew there was a fire but seemed helpless to stop it. I imagined that the lords had already reported the fire and that King Sican and his command structure already knew that their food was in danger. I had expected and prayed for all of these results. What I hadn't expected was for the fire to so severely weaken the fences surrounded the livestock.

I heard a loud cracking sound and I assumed it was a barn collapsing (there had already been several of those). Instead, I heard a growing rumbling sound. I strained my eyes in the dark to see what was happening. There was a burst of bright, red light tearing through the nearest fence. The light shot swiftly into King Sican's camp, pushing through a campfire and lighting tents on fire. Soon, the light was followed by dozens, maybe hundreds of others. I could hear more moving in the distance. I thought for a single, fevered moment that Gunes had appeared herself, to throw fire balls at our enemies. Then I heard a loud, panic lolling come from one of the fire balls as it ran directly thought a tent and trampled a solider inside. A cow. The cows had been lit aflame by the fire and had burst from their pens. They were panicked, tearing through the enemy's camp and lighting everything they touched on fire. They had inadvertently been turned into weapons. I looked at Soyguncu, she turned to me, smiled and shrugged.

"Sometimes a plan works out better than expected," she said. Her face was lit was red light in that moment, flickering as it reflected off the river. She looked like a vision of Gunes herself.

"Sometimes you don't know what you can do until you jump right in," I said, and turned my eyes back to shore.

* * * * *

The rest of the night passed in a blur. We watched the fire burn and the panic increase for a while with increasing amazement. But eventually, the fire became so great that soldiers began to run into the river downstream from us to escape the heat and the flames. We realized that it would no longer be safe to wade there. Soyguncu lead us a mile or two upstream. We walked in the direction of the rapidly rising sun, splashing our tired eyes with reddish yellow light. Many of the prostitutes, too tired to go on, climbed back onto the shore and found places in the trees to hide. It was far too dangerous for the Sultanah, so I kept walking. Eventually, we reached a place in the river that Soyguncu knew to be a shallow ford used by farmers and traders in the region. We crossed on tiptoes in the cool water. It felt divine of my slightly toasted skin and the gentle flow of the river soothed my aching muscles. 

We reached the far side. We knew that patrols from King Sican operated on this side of the river, but we moved in the trees directly near the shore and avoided seeing anyone. Now we started moving back the direction we had come, back towards the city. The sun was growing higher in the sky now and we could see the terror we had wrought. The fires were still burning in many places and the entire camp was engulfed in column of smoke. We could hear the cries of the wounded and smell burnt flesh, animal and man.

But we didn't have time to dwell on our handiwork. Only a handful of people in Şehir knew about my mission. I needed to get home quickly, climb back up the rope, and arrive back in the city before anyone decided to steal my laurels or take advantage of the chaos outside our gates.




The Sultanah Ch. 04



It took us around an hour to make our way to the bridge over the river just a few hundred yards from the city. There had been guards on the bridge the day before, enemy soldiers. They were no longer present. Soyguncu and I scrambled up the banks of the river and climbed onto the surface of the bridge. I reflected briefly on the memory I had shared with Arkadas just a few hours before, the time I had jumped fully into the river and swam to the other side. I smiled; it must have had some significance to be here again. But there wasn't time to think about it.

From the bridge I could see the field before my city's gates spread out before me. To my left and far off into the distance I could see my enemy's camp, smoking in the early summer sun. I could make out places where fires still burned. I strained and I could see the King Sican's food depot, a charred black mass. In fact, I could see in the far distance several ornate wagons moving towards the sun rising in the east. Some of the more wealthy lords had already seen the writing on the wall. Not wishing to hunger before our gates, they were already heading home to Dusman, Temsilci and Surgun where they belonged. I was not surprised to find that Sican and Lider were among them. I felt my heart rise in my chest and turned toward the rising sun, offering a silent prayer to Gunes for her deliverance.

My eyes then fell directly in front of my city, to the no man's land that had existed between our gates and the enemy camp. I noticed that there were several bodies of enemy soldiers there. Apparently in fear of the fire that consumed their camps, they had lost their minds. They had rushed to the gates, seeking refuge and been shot down by my guards.

Finally, I turned and looked at the city walls. Never before had so many sentries been in place! It seemed my city had learned of the fire and everyone who could turned out to watch. They looked baffled and confused. They did not know what had caused the fire and they did not know what it would mean.

"How can we sneak back to your guard's location? Surely he cut the line when the enemy troops arrived. And even if he hadn't the city is teeming with people," Soyguncu said, "Not to mention that we have to be careful that we are not shot ourselves." We were nearly halfway across the bridge and I knew that everything she said was correct. No one was looking at us now, but eventually, someone would. 

Rather than feeling nervous, I felt elated. All of the plans and schemes that had been put into place over the evening were through. All of the nerves I had felt before my meeting with Arkadas were gone. I would see Arkadas again! My empire would live to see another. The magnitude of the situation had finally sunk in. I had been, of necessity, so narrowly focused on each task the previous night that I had been unable to even conceive of what would happen if I won. And now I had and I more alive than I had at any time since my father died. Perhaps even before that. Any fatigue that I had previously felt instantly fled from my limbs. My eyes no longer burned from fatigue and smoke. I felt euphoric, and was ready for more.

"You are right, we must change the plan," I said. I quickly unwrapped my black head scarf and threw it on the bridge. Then, without another word to Soyguncu, I began to run across the bridge. I kept my eyes plastered onto the city walls, waiting for the right moment. I ran so fast that in a few moments, my lungs were already robbed of air and my legs began to ache. While I moved I reached into the belt of my pants and found the knife I had brought with me. It was short, only 5-inches long, and I didn't know how to use it. It was more ornamental than functional and had a round, clear glass bead on the bottom that made it look more beautiful than fearsome. I had brought it to take my own life in the event of imminent capture. Now I thrust it high in the air over my head to give myself a slightly martial appearance. My eyes were wide and I felt like I was breathing fire.

Finally, someone on the bridge noticed me. I saw a head turn in my direction, I could see the eyes of one of my subjects. That was my cue. I stopped running, but kept the knife above my head. I looked directly up at the wall, so that my features could be seen by the people. Some of them would surely recognize me. 

"Citizens of Şehir, Countrymen of Ülke, Imperial Subjects of Bütün Dünya!" I called at the top of my voice. I was surprised by how loud and commanding it sounded, the particular acoustics of the location bouncing it off of the city walls, "Open the North Gate for your Sultanah! For I am Gunes Representative and I have called down the fire of the one true god and smote our enemies in the night! Fire balls have destroyed their camp and burned up their food and our enemies are defeated this day!" I called. My voice echoed across the valley and it seemed that everything was silent, save for the crackle of fires to my left. I knew I was exposing myself to some danger. If someone in the enemy camp was able to shake off their dismay and come for me, I had only my little blade for protection. 

For a moment after my voice stilled, all was silent. Then I noticed people were turning to one another and whispering. The whispering grew into a murmur. I saw people looking down over the wall, staring down at me. I shook my head slightly, releasing my long hair I trying to make my face as clear as possible. I moved closer and closer to the gate. 

"It is her!" I heard a voice call out.

"The enemy is retreating!" Another cried. I looked in the direction of my enemies. None were moving this direction. By I took my little knife and heaved it as hard as I could in that direction. It flew several dozen yards through the air. It landed, plugged directly into the grass. The rising sun was at the perfect angle to strike the bead on the handle. The light refracted within the glass and cast a massive rainbow across the fields and walls of the city. The crowd gasped at the beauty and I heard a woman begin to cry.

I heard the sound of cheering beginning, on the side of the wall closest to me. Slow and somewhat sporadic at first it began to grow. I could see heads moving down along the wall, people passing on the rumor to others farther down the line. The sound of cheering began to grow. I felt the euphoria rising in me. I strolled closer to the gates of the castle, looking up at my people as their voices began to rise. Soon the cheering seemed to rise up from all over the city. The words "Gunes" and "Sultanah" were on every pair of lips.

I happened to notice a bit of a tumult directly over the North gate. There seemed to be a slight argument before people quickly moved out of the way. I kept my eyes on that location as the cheering got louder. Finally, I saw a person pushing through the crowd. In a moment, the person became recognizable. Cin had climbed on to the top of the gates. Kardes and Saygili were next to her, both looking extremely relieved. Relief was not present on Cin's face, instead I saw something else. Pride. She smiled at me slightly and then raised her arms high above her head.

"Gunes be praised, the Sultanah has delivered us!" she called loudly, "Open the North Gate!" The crowd, still whooping in their release from their agonizing despair and fear quickly followed orders. People were still straining to catch a glimpse of me and others were yelling epithets at our vanquished foes.

The North Gate, or, as it has forever after been known, the Sultanah's Gate, was opened. Soyguncu had caught up to me now, but stayed several steps behind me as the gate was lowered. I felt absolute joy in my heart and a feeling of power I had never know before. I had my back to the enemy and I suppose they could have organized and come flooding in. But I felt a confidence from Gunes that told me they were defeated. I no longer feared them as I once had.

When the gate opened I saw the city crowds were not limited to the walls. The courtyard within the gate was packed with people, cheering loudly and chanting my name. I saw tears in their eyes and many had fallen to their knees. Standing in the front of the crowd, bawling like a child, was my friend Arkadas. I smiled at her and I stepped once more into the city, free for the first time since I had ascended the throne. Somehow as I entered the rea, the cheering grew louder. And the fearsome sound of our victory echoed through the valley, scaring our charred enemies and pushing them away from our rivers. 

End Chapter 4

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

*****

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 05



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 5 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Part III: Consolidation

Chapter 5: The Privileges of a Sultanah

"Humph?" A voice next to me asked as I carefully rolled over on the bed. I winced and placed my hand on Arkadas' shoulder.

"Don't get up, it is not yet sunrise," I said and I listened as she sunk back down into sleep. She had been sleeping in my bed with me for the last two months, ever since I had lifted King Sican's siege of Şehir and I had found her to be a very light sleeper. Other than that, I had found her to be an excellent partner. I had been in great need of...comfort of late and Arkadas had been very willing to provide. I smiled as I got up out of bed and thought of her and the experiences we had shared together in that room.

It was the very darkest part of the night, but a lantern was hung on the far wall. I no longer considered this portion of the palace to be my father's quarters and I felt extremely comfortable as I crossed the room in the low light. It was slightly chilly in the cool night air. Probably more so because I had recently taken to sleeping naked. With Arkadas, there was no longer any need to hide my true self and as I walked across my massive room, a gentle breeze from the open window hardened my nipples and caressed my limp cock. I shivered and headed to my privy. My cock bounced gently as I moved and I felt strange with the freedom of that motion. 

I paused briefly and gazed out the window. The moon was low in the sky and the sun would soon be rising over Şehir. And over Ülke and Bütün Dünya. They all still existed, for what they were worth. From the window I could not make out the vast plain that sat before the city gates, but I knew it was there. I also knew that no enemy troops were encamped there. None had been present for nearly two months.

My plan had worked even better than anticipated. All of the enemies grain stores had been destroyed and most of their cattle. Beyond that, hundreds of soldiers had been maimed and killed by fire and thundering animals. This was only a small fraction of the enemy force, but the symbolic effect was greater. King Sican and the soldiers of Dusman had been unable to harm the city of Şehir after my ascension and now I had inflicted a wound on them.

King Sican had known that he could not maintain his position in front of my walls. His soldiers, low of morale after the fiasco of the fire, would not be willing to wait for weeks while more food was procured. Besides, he had to know that the victory would strengthen the resolve of the imperial citizenry and solidify my place on the throne. By the afternoon following my triumphant arrival in the city, King Sican's standard was no longer hanging over enemy headquarters. He had returned to Dusman with many of the lords. Prince Lider's flag flew in his stead. The young prince was tasked with maintaining order while the troops were re-organized, fed with what little meat remained, and marched away from the gates of the city. My people had staged three days of celebrations in my honor to celebrate the lifting of the siege and the deliverance of the city.

Of course, while the siege was won, the war was hardly over. King Sican had declared total war on the Empire and I was not in any position to simply forgive that action. Besides, Dusman had not given up dream of adding Şehir to the nation's holdings. King Sican could not push forward now, but he was already plotting and planning for a new way to take the city. He no longer had surprise and he had exhausted much of his yearly income in that loss, but he was far from helpless. He was still massively wealthy and cunning. I knew he would be back soon and all of my gains could be for naught.

In fact, he hadn't even really left. The massive army made up of mostly conscripts from Dusman no longer stood on the plain before my city. But the professional soldiers from King Sican's army had not dissolved. They were a tiny fraction of the total force, but they were paid and had access to food. They needed less of it. They could not hope to maintain a siege or even face my small army in a pitched battle. But they were largely mounted and they could strike quickly and disappear before my soldiers could retaliate. Farmers who had left Şehir after the siege and returned to their hamlets, traders traveling in caravans, and even fishermen on boats found themselves harassed by hostile knights. In short, Dusman continued to bring the war to my people and I was largely powerless to stop them.

The most obvious result of the raids was a continued shortage of food in the city. While starvation was no longer likely and caravans periodically arrived in the city, it was not enough. One in five traders who attempted to reach the city was captured. This led to shortages and also higher pay for traders, who had to brave Dusman's swords. As a result, food was extremely expensive. Most people ate catfish and bread just twice a day. Even in the palace, food was scarcer than it had been in my father's day.

Despite this hardship, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the people bore me no ill will. They were hungrier and a bit poorer than they would have liked, but they adored me. As I had hoped, I had received all of the credit for the raising of the siege. The people of the city spoke about me in hushed tones, as if describing an avenging Goddess who had come down from the heavens to defeat the Empire's enemies. No one dared openly speak against me. There was no longer any doubt, at least among the people, that I was the legitimate ruler of Ülke and Bütün Dünya. If I asked anything of the people, they would give it to me. A half empty stomach was a fair price to pay for such a leader. This was real power.

While the people suffered greatly and with impressive fortitude, the same could not be said of the Peers. They suffered marginally and many complained gravely. They had slightly less food than they might otherwise have, they had slightly less money. Many had holdings outside of the city that were targeted by raiders from Dusman. They blamed me and looked back fondly on my father's time. They seemed not to recognize that their prosperity had grown in times of peace and that the later years of my father's reign did not include a war for the survival of the Empire.

But I suppose I should be clearer. It was not that all of my Peers were against me. The Loyalists celebrated with the people and saw my victory as vindication of my placement on the throne. Some may have even subscribed to the notion of divine intervention that was favored by the people. The number of Loyalists had actually grown, as respect for my rule grew. Those who had once been undecided by leaned towards acceptance now came fully within my sphere of influence.

No, it was the Collaborationist party that complained most loudly. They had been shocked and appalled when I had driven the enemy from our doorstep without so much as a single soldier by my side. They had sat in silent, impotent rage as the people, and many fellow Peers, flocked to my side. Those who had hoped ultimately for my defeat were bitterly disappointed. Somewhat strangely, the ranks of the Collaborationists were growing as well. With the threat of conquest seemingly shrinking, many Peers who had once been on the fence began to side with my adversaries. They had no love for Dusman, but they did not like following a "mere girl." What was more; many who hoped that I would be weak and easily pliable were disappointed to find that I had some capacity for the position. These men found themselves easily slipping into the waiting arms of Duke Hain and the others who meant to clip my wings. The end result was that the Peers were more divided than ever and those who followed me were still outnumbered by my enemies. Only my popularity with the people kept the Collaborationists in check.

All of these various challenges required my attention. I had found that without the singular trial provided by the siege, my focus was not nearly as sharp in the weeks that followed. I felt the need to solve all of the problems at once. As I padded slowly to the privy in the dark, my tasks for the upcoming day popped up in my mind and filled me with a nervous energy I knew would sap any remaining will to sleep.

First, I had a meeting with my Peers early in the morning. These meetings had grown much less frequent after the lifting of siege, but I still tried to make time once every two weeks. That day we were to discuss efforts to increase the size and professionalism of the military. I wanted a standing army of at least 20,000 crack troops. Loyalists were willing to back new tax increases, particularly for the Peers, to bolster this effort. The Collaborationists planned to block this method in the name of economic distress, though I suspected they liked keeping me weak. When I relied primarily on the retinues of the Peers for the Empire's soldiers, I was more easily controlled. I anticipated the meeting would end in a stalemate.

After that, I had an engagement to meet Cin, Agiz, and Got to discuss recent changes on the religious front. Thousands of people had seen the end of the siege as a sign from heaven. Tanri had been almost completely abandoned within the city and people were flocking to Gunes, my protector. Cin and her priestesses were overwhelmed, though delighted, by the turn of events. We were to discuss the induction of new priestesses to serve the people and the refurbishment of the ancient Temple of Gunes to accommodate the new converts.

Following that I had a meeting with my entire Inner Council to discuss food in the city. Several merchants would be in the palace to describe locations where ambushes usually occurred. Soyguncu, who had been scouting outside the city for more easily defended trade routes, would also be present. It was absolutely essential that I get some manner of control over food prices. 

I wondered for a moment if Arkadas would attend. She was still considered a member of the Inner Council and her seat was still available, but it seemed that she rarely participated in meetings. That was not a negative. She had rarely felt comfortable at the meetings and consciously chose not to add any comments. Now that we had a new...understanding about one another it seemed like she no longer felt the need to be near me at all times. She knew that I was not going to leave her. Still, on an issue like food scarcity her compassion and insight might be useful. As I thought this, I turned back and looked over my shoulder at the bed where my friend and lover still slept.

I felt icy fingers clutch at my insides and my I took in a sharp breath, even before I could fully understand what was happening before me. Arkadas lay in the bed where I had left her. Her face looked serene and relaxed while he arms and legs were splayed out under the covered, taking up most of the bed. But on either side of the bed were black figures. For a moment in the dark I could barely make them out. But I could see they were men, short but powerfully built. They were wearing tight black clothing and even their faces were covered. They were standing on either side of the bed, leaning over Arkadas. They must've arrived in the moments after I left the bed. 

I felt my heart rise into my chest. My hair was standing up on end and my palms felt sweaty. I sensed my breath coming more quickly and I was careful to control the volume. Instinctively, I rose up onto my toes so that when I moved, I was nearly silent. I wanted to turn and run, but I wanted more to get next to Arkadas. I was terrified of what was about to befall here. Who were these men? Why were they in my room?

The men leaned over carefully and looked at Arkadas. They then looked up at one another and one of the men shrugged. I moved closer to the men. I had no real idea of what I was going to do. I was completely naked and had no way to force these men from my room. 

I was only about fifteen feet away from the men, their backs to me, when suddenly they struck. They did not speak; they simply both knew they were going to act. One man jumped up onto Arkadas chest. He straddled her breasts and his hands instantly found their way to her mouth. The other man jumped on Arkadas legs, sitting on her knees and placing his hands on her hips, forcing her down.

Arkadas woke instantly and there was the barest hint of a yelp before the man on her chest was able to render her completely silent. Arkadas thrashed wildly on the bed, shuffling the covers and arching her back. But then men seemed to know what they were doing and they held her down firmly. I had to resist the urge to run toward her and throw myself on her attackers. I was outnumbered and would easily be subdued by the powerful men. I wanted to call to Saygili and the other guards out in the hall, but was afraid of what would happen in the instant after I acted. My nerves grew more unbearable and I found it hard to stand.

"She don't look like no person from Ülke that I ever seen," one man hissed at the other, once there was no need to worry about waking Arkadas. The one speaking was the man on Arkadas knees.

"What the fuck are you talking about, just do it!" the other man said.

"Look at her skin and her hair?" the first man responded, "She looks like girls I seen in Soğuk, up North. She don't look like no Sultanah." I felt my air catch in my throat. Of course these men were here for me. I had no idea what I had been thinking. I was so concerned about Arkadas that the absurdity of attacking a slave had never occurred to me. These men were here to do something to me. They had not expected a female lover in the Sultanah's bed and now they figured that Arkadas was me. I felt adrenaline coursing through my body; I would not let anything happen to Arkadas for my sake.

The man on Arkadas chest seemed annoyed by "Royal families intermarry; maybe this one takes after her great grandma from Suck Cock..."

"Soğuk," the other corrected.

"Whatever, just do it!"

"Can't you do your half first?" the man on Arkadas knees asked, "Put her out of her misery..."

"We got paid to cut her cock off and shove it down her throat, that is how she is supposed to die. I am only slitting her throat to make sure the work is complete. Now fucking move before a guard comes in," the man said. I felt my head grow light. I looked down briefly between my breasts and looked at my cock. Cut it off...

I watched as the first man reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. It was a long hunting utensil and it shone in the pale moonlight. The man started to shuffle through the sheets, trying to pull them away from Arkadas body. Arkadas continued to thrash on the bed, her task made easier now by the fact that the man had to ease up on her knees. The man on Arkadas chest slapped her hard one time across the face and she briefly became still. The man on her knees was now able to pull away the sheets. The lower half of Arkadas body now lay exposed on the bed, her legs spread slightly.

"Katil," he said, giving a common name of Surgun, "this isn't right..."

"Just do it!" the man on Arkadas chest said.

"I can't!"

"Just fucking do it!"

"She don't have a cock. She just got a pretty pink cunny," the man said incredulously, "It was all just a lie!" He slumped back slightly. The man on Arkadas chest tried to lean back slightly to get a look. In order to do so, he moved some pressure off of her face. Arkadas chose that exact moment to flail one last time, with all her might. Her chest rocked and her arms slapped. Most importantly, her knee rose slightly. It pounded into the man on her knee's hand. Her kneecap collided with the handle of the of the man's knife. Unprepared for the impact, the man's grip was broken and the knife went sailing through the air and clattered onto the floor.

"Bitch!" both men said at once and quickly wrestled Arkadas back down onto the bed.

"Fine, I'll just slit her fucking throat," Katil said. But I was barely listening. I was already sprinting across the floor on my tiptoes, racing towards the knife. I held my breath as I ran and I tried to remain as quiet as possible. The blade of the knife was shining in the low moonlight as the man wrestled to once again subdue Arkadas. 

In a matter of moments I had crossed the distance to the knife. I reached down and grabbed the handle of the blade as quickly as I could. For a moment, the knife skittered onto the ground as I tried to get control. The man on Arkadas legs must've heard, at that moment I saw his head raise and turn slightly toward me. I wrapped my fingers around the knife.

"Saygili!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. At the same moment I swung the knife. The man on Arkadas legs opened his mouth to speak, his eyes wide with disbelief at my sudden appearance. Before the slightest sound was able to escape his lips, the knife slammed hard into the side of his head. It pierced his temple and instantly entered his brain. His mouth dropped open and his eyes remained wide. He remained silent.

I did not have time to think about him. While he was still sitting upright on Arkadas legs, I felt a sudden weight crash into my side. I could smell the thick stench of body odor and alcohol on the force knocking me over. I knew it was the other assassin. The knife slipped form my hand and remained buried in the first assassin's head.




The Sultanah Ch. 05



I crashed hard onto my back on the marble floor. I felt all of the wind go out of me and my head swim. Every inch of my body screamed out with pain and I coughed uncontrollable. I lay flat on my back. The remaining assassin now straddled my hips and I felt his dirty black pants scratching at my stomach and my cock. He had one hand flat on the ground next to my head and the other was rising in an arc above my head.

"So there you are you bitch, cock and all!" the man roared as his arm began to swing down. I realized what he was doing. My right hand was pinned against my side by but I lift my left hand. I tried to grab the man's wrist, to stop the fall of his blade, which was aimed at my chest. I miscalculated the distance. His blade continued to fall and my palm was in no position to catch his wrist. 

But I was successful in defending myself. I felt a sudden sharp pain followed by a powerful punch. The pain was incomprehensible; it was so intense that I was almost unable to feel it. Instead, I saw it. The assassin's blade had pushed through the center of my palm. I could see the thin blade poking out of the back of my hand, the blade just a few short inches from my breast. Blood was pouring from my hand.

"Gunes help me!" I moaned, "fuck!" The shock was wearing off quickly and I could feel pain rising in my palm. All of my fingers felt completely powerless and my entire left arm felt like it was on fire.

"Fucking bitch, give it up! No time for ritual, just the deed!" the assassin screamed at my face, spit flecking off his moldering teeth. He wrenched the knife quickly out my hand. The pain tripled and I closed my eyes and bit my lip. My hand flopped back worthlessly onto my chest. I could feel the blood dripping down my breasts and ribs. 

I opened my eyes again and looked up at the assassin. He was once again lifting the knife. I had no hands to defend myself now. The adrenaline rush I had been moving on faded from me now. The room seemed to grow darker. I was no longer reacting without thought. I looked at the man sitting on top of me. My bowels became watery and my heart felt like it stopped. I was about to die. This man would plunge his knife into my heart or my brain and I would cease to exist. I didn't have time to think of all of the political, familial, and social ramifications of my death. I just knew I, the person, Varis, was going to die. I felt tears rise in the corner of my eyes.

"Who sent you? Why are you doing this to me?" I choked out quickly. The man's hand froze for a moment.

"I don't owe you answers bitch!" he said.

"You take my life, you owe me an answer," I said, my voice sounding more pleading than defiant. Perhaps it was because I was young and beautiful, or because I was naked and pitiful. But the man paused a moment longer.

"The rightful ruler of the Empire, the strongest male descended of the Hanedan Dynasty sends me. Lo..." the man began to say a name. But at that instant he voice was stopped. I felt a spray of liquid against my face, hot and oily. The man was looking down at me, confused. The knife dropped harmlessly from his hand. It was only then that I noticed the spearpoint sticking through the man's throat. He let out a strange croaking sound and fell to the side. Saygili stood behind him, looking down at me with terror and confusion in his eyes.

"Sultanah!?" he said nervously, "are you alright?" I was too confused to answer and my eyes went out of focus.

* * * * *

A short time later I stormed into the throne room. The room was packed with the various lords. More had arrived in recent weeks with the lifting of the siege. Men who had managed to flee had come back to take their rightful place in the planning of the war. There were almost too many lords; we would soon have to more to the Kongre - the parliament building, to accommodate everyone.

Of course, logistical issues for future meetings with the Peers were hardly on my mind. My entire body felt like it was on fire. That fire seemed to emanate from my aching left hand. When I had awakened a few minutes earlier, I had found Cin sitting next to me on the floor in my chambers, carefully cleaning and wrapping my wound. She had used all the powers of her craft and explained that the knife had slid between, rather than through, bones. The dressing was skillfully done and the prayers to Gunes seemed quite effective, but the pain remained as I approached my throne. 

"All rise for..." a herald began.

"Enough!" I said loudly, cutting him off. I saw heads of several Peers look up in surprise. I slight murmur went through the crowd. I didn't care. I was in no mood for ceremony. As I climbed the stairs to the top of the throne, I thought briefly about how I had made it there.

When I had awakened from my faint, my assassins had already been drug from the room. Blood had already been cleaned and my body was slightly damp with water and wrapped in a blanket. Cin had already ordered the assassins heads to be cleaved from their bodies and displayed on the palace. I did not countermand the order. In fact, I ordered that their cocks be severed and stuffed in each other's mouths for good measure. Let anyone and everyone know that I knew what had happened.

I spoke briefly with Saygili. He felt intensely guilty that men had managed to enter my room. He had offered his resignation and even his life. I had been too dazed to even consider it. Before I regained my composure, Cin had determined that the men had climbed through the window on the balcony side of my room. That meant that the guards below, and not Saygili in the hallway, were at fault. Further, he had rushed in at the slightest hint of danger and saved my life. He seemed relieved when I declined to take his job or his life. In fact, I thanked him and told him to conduct an investigation. 

It was then I noticed Arkadas was not present, Cin quickly explained that she was being taken to her own quarters to recuperate, but that she was unharmed. From the moment I had awakened on the floor, I had been in a sort of confused daze. For some reason, the news regarding Arkadas drew me back out of it. I felt my cheeks growing hot and my heart begin to thump irregularly. A white, hot flash of anger had burst into my skull. Arkadas was alive. But that had been no sure thing just a few minute earlier. I did not even want to consider how close I had come to leaving the world. Someone had broken into my home, presumably the safest place in the castle. They had questioned my authority, gazed upon my naked form, threatened my life and the life of one that I loved, and I had no idea who had done it. Or why such a heinous act had been considered.

"You must rest now Sultanah," Cin said. She looked visibly shaken as she put on the last of the bandage around my hand. I felt more than a little angry at Cin. Apparently, Gunes had not bothered to tell her about the attempt on my life. "I will inform the lords that you will not be available for the meeting..."

"No!" I said forcefully. My voice did not quaver and I felt none of the human weakness I had experienced when the assassins dagger had been lifted above my head. I was not just Varis, I was the Sultanah. This disrespect demanded retribution, "I will not cower because my enemies desire that I cower. I allowed myself to believe that the end of the siege meant that I was out of danger. But I sleep on top of a wasps nest. I must remain ever vigilant."

With those words I stood quickly, letting the blanker fall from my body. Only Cin and I remained in the room, guards and others having been shuffled out quickly. I dressed quickly while Cin tried to convince me to rest. She did not plead, but she came as close as I imagined was possible for one with her level of poise. I had barely listened to what the priestess had to say. Instead, I quickly prepared myself and walked quickly to the throne room.

Now I had reached the top of my throne and was looking out over my Peers. The anger that had welled inside of me had not subsided. In fact, it had risen to new heights during the walk. Cin had walked behind me as I traveled and attempted to calm me. I had ignored her. As I sat now, I saw that she had quietly slipped into the throne room behind me and was standing in the corner, looking at me nervously. I knew she wanted to remonstrate with me further, but it would no longer be proper. She needed to protect my dignity here.

"Peers," I began calmly and I watched as the various lords looked at me intently, "as I lay in my bed this night an attempt was made on my life," I said calmly, my lips pinching as I spat out each word. Murmurs of surprise filled the room and I saw Peers turning and speaking to one another. Some of them looked absolutely terrified, others shocked, and a disturbing number appeared disappointed. I raised my hand and the men became silent.

"I killed one of my would-be assassins with my own hands. The other was slain by my faithful guard, Saygili. I will be nominating him for the position of Constable of Şehir in recognition of his service." There was some tentative applause for Saygili and a lot of confusion in the room. No one knew what to think. This was not the way I normally conducting business and the situation was exceedingly strange. The Peers were uncertain. My heart was hammering and my mouth was dry, but I knew what I wanted to say. To Hell with their expectations.

"His first task in that role will be to hunt down the men who attempted to take my life and ensure that they face the same justice that befell their incompetent assassins!" I called out. "Whether that person is King Sican" Then I dropped my voice lower and leaned forward slightly, "or someone in this room." I let my voice hang in the air. I stared out at my Peers. Many squirmed uneasily. They had been prepared for a mundane, perhaps even pleasant meeting. They were unprepared to feel my wrath. And they did not like the accusation of treachery. But I felt it warranted.

I suspected that the assassin's pay master was in the room. I did not fault Saygili for killing the assassin when he did. But I regretted I could not hear the full name of the assassins paymaster before he fell. The assassin had only uttered "Lo..." I assumed that he was beginning to refer to a "Lord." He would not have referred to King Sican or any of my other rivals as a Lord. All of the men in this room could claim some Hanedan blood, so there was no telling who believed he had the greatest claim to my throne. But I suspected them all. This suspicion had stoked my anger and led me, hot, into the throne room.

"I offer no reward for information regarding the assassins. I do not want you sharpening knives and settling old scores with wild speculation. Just know that if I determine the identity of my attacker and learn that any man, though innocent of that crime, was aware of the killer, that I will offer equal punishment. Death to all traitors," I said. Several men cheered this sentiment, but far more looked uncomfortable. They glanced at their mates with suspicion. I wondered if I was unintentionally (and unnecessarily) dividing my nobles against themselves in a time of war. I began to wonder if rushing into the room angry had been a strong strategic move. My anger cooled slightly and I had a strange feeling of wondering what I was doing.

"Do you have any leads on the identity of this person?" One lord, Katılmak, asked. I knew this lord to be a Loyalist. I suspected he was merely trying to help in the apprehension of the attempted murderer. But his words triggered a realization. I recognized the possible trap in answering. Casting suspicion in any way could be dangerous. It could implicate an innocent man. Or it could drive a guilty man to even more desperate action. If the assassin felt he had nothing left to lose, could I ever sleep soundly again? I felt my anger flagging further. I began to wonder what I was doing in this seat and addressing these men in such circumstances. An assassination attempt showed me to be weak. My reaction to it was showing me to be weaker. I had not shown my wrath, I was showing my fear.

"The Sultanah," Cin suddenly spoke, before I had a chance to respond, "cannot answer specifics. The guards may wish to withhold information for future interrogations. I can say that the Sultanah has already seen herself several clues that point outside these walls. She suspects firmly that someone connected with King Sican is, in some way, involved. She brings this matter to your attention only to gain your valuable aid." She said and looked up at me. Clearly, Cin had sensed the same dangers I had discovered. I had come into the room angry and allowed possibly damaging information loose. I had also caused discord amongst the nobles.

"Yes, Cin is correct," I said quickly, "I apologize if my words indicated something different. It has been a stressful time. I thank you all sincerely for attending the meeting and appreciate your many fervent prayers for my safety, which were surely answered last night." I felt the last of my anger draining from me now. It was replaced by worry. If my attacker was in the room, he knew that he had nearly succeeded, that I suspected the nobles, and that I was shaken. Even if my assassin was not present, it was possible his spies were. In venting my anger, I had allowed too much to slip. I needed to control myself. Perhaps Cin had foretold this eventuality, perhaps that was why she had tried to stop me. Whatever ill will I felt towards her dissipated now.

"This meeting will be rescheduled for another day. The Sultanah must attend to other, pressing matters. She apologizes for any inconvenience in your unnecessary attendance," Cin said. The Peers rose at this announcement, saluted me, and then made there was from the chamber. I heard them whispering strangely to one another as they left, but could not discern the content of their speech.

After several minutes, the throne room doors closed and the room was empty saved for Cin and me. I hung my head in my hands and let out a low groan. I had committed a grievous error. And had nearly made a graver one. I looked down at Cin and shook my head.

"How goes the search for a wife?" I asked after a few moments. If Cin was surprised by this question, she hid it well. I suppose the logic followed clearly. Now that my anger had subsided, I was able to rationally consider the events of the day. I had nearly been murdered. If I had died, the dynasty would have collapsed. My Empire's situation was exceptionally perilous.

"The second group of messengers are returning sporadically," she explained. After the siege was lifted, I had sent out more messengers, seeking a dynastic match. Rather than limit ourselves, as we had been forced to do during the siege, we had send messengers everywhere. Well, everywhere where we were not at war. That included sending additional messengers to states we had already appealed. This was because Cin's prediction had come true and many of our initial messengers had been captured and killed. 

"And?" I asked hopefully, but not really feeling it.

"As of yet, no luck," she said, "Most, though not all, of the responses are respectful. But no King or even Duke has yet offered his daughter as your wife."

"Have we heard back from Venedik?" I asked hopefully, "They are ruled by a Doge, not a King. He is elected rather than ordained to his throne. Perhaps he will be flattered that a Sultanah desires his daughter."

"We have not heard yet," Cin said, but she did not sound optimistic. It was looking increasingly unlikely that I would ever find a wife. Therefore, I needed to live a long life. My actions that day had made a long life slightly less likely. I needed to be more cautious in the future.

"I apologize Cin," I said, "You provided wise counsel and I ignored it."

"My Lady, you were pushed to the edge. Anyone could make that mistake. We mitigated as well as can be expected. So long as we do no follow it with additional mistakes, the memory should fade quickly in the minds of your Peers. A minor oversight." She said, but I could tell she was simply trying to limit my anxiety.

"I must go back to my chambers and consider how to correct this. I must make a plan and put it in motion..." I began.

"Sultanah," Cin said, interrupting me gently, "Might I make a suggestion?" I sat up straight in my chair. After foolishly ignoring Cin earlier, I was even more determined now to take her sage advice.

"Many men want the seat upon which you sit," she stated flatly. I snorted and nodded.

"I am quite aware," I said, looking at the throne and shaking my head.

"Why?" Cin asked. I knitted my brow.

"I..." I began, but Cin cut me off again.

"Is it to make plans? To face danger? To weigh each word against the other? To be constantly on edge? Is this what men desire?" she asked. I was confused by where she was going I shrugged my shoulders.

"They want my power," I asked more than stated.

"Yes power. But not only power. Power gives birth to two unequal children. One is responsibility. You know this well. But the other is privilege," She explained.

"Cin, I do not follow your meaning..." I responded.

"I believe that you focused too intently on the responsibilities of your power. This is partially because of the exigencies of your ascension, partially because of your temperament, and partially because of my prodding," she explained. She walked closer to me, placing her foot on the first step of the throne and looked up at me, "You were quick to anger today, not that you weren't provoked. But you have been notably in control of yourself since you took the throne. I believe you have been pushed too hard, grappled too firmly with responsibility. You are dealing with wars and sieges. Diplomacy and marriage. Food and water. Enemies within and without. You sleep little and worry often. It drove you to make a mistake. Perhaps an opportunity to...indulge in the privileges of power will calm you and set you on a more even keel."

"Cin, I do not understand what you are saying. We must get to work," I stated. This was no time for riddles. I had to protect myself.

"If you trust me...follow me," Cin said and she headed for the door.

* * * * *

Half an hour minutes later we were standing in a corridor deep in the bowels of the palace that I had never been to before. There were no windows so deep and the gray stones in the narrow passage looked orange in the flickering torchlight. Cin had silently rebuffed all of my questions as we had wended our way downstairs and through narrow passages for a long period of time. She would only sporadically state that I should continue to follow her. Eventually, I had grown quiet, focusing only on ensuring that my feet fell safely as well climbed down narrow, spiraling staircases and crouched over in low passages.

Finally, Cin came to a stop in a spot directly in the middle of the narrow, dark corridor in which we had been walking for several minutes. She looked around with a satisfied gaze. I stopped as well and tried to follow the direction of her eyes. After a few moments, I grew confused.

"Why have we stopped?" I asked.

"We have arrived," she responded. I took the opportunity to look around again and saw nothing of interest.

"This is just a spot in the middle of a dank corridor. It has nothing to do with privilege that I can see. Other than the Sultanah's privilege to explore all parts of her palace, including the most boring and unpleasant areas." Cin laughed and smiled at me indulgently.

"Fine, no more games then," she said, "You will soon be eating your words," she said. With that, Cin reached forward and grabbed the base of one of the torches lighting the corridor. She gave it a gentle tug, pulling down gently. It seemed to move as if on a hinge. I heard a low rumbling sound and braced myself against the wall, wondering what Cin's magic had accessed. I noticed that the wall in front of me was shaking. Suddenly, a spot in the wall seemed to fall apart at the seams. The wall...moved backwards! And I saw brightly light pouring out from the sudden hole in the wall. I shielded my eyes from the bright light.




The Sultanah Ch. 05



"Go inside Sultanah, it belongs to you," Cin said enigmatically. I felt nervous and wondered what possible necromancy could have produced this collapsing wall and this sudden burst of light. But Cin looked at me pacifically and nodded. I had followed her because I trusted her, and I would continue to do so. I stepped through the now-opened wall.

Once I passed inside my eyes rapidly began to adjust. I found that it was not nearly as bright as I had believed it be, it was simply much brighter than the dank corridor that I had exited. Once on the far side of the wall, my eyes were instantly drawn to the ceiling, the source of the light. And I stood, agape. The ceiling was very high, over sixty feet above the spot where I stood. But more impressive was that somehow...the ceiling was water. The light that passed through the water ceiling seemed to move gently, casting waving lines around the entire room that I had entered. The room had a strange, bluish tinge from the light.

After a few moments of absolute wonder, I realized that I recognized the ceiling. Well, not as a ceiling. I realized that it was the massive Fountain of Ceşme which sat in one of the more beautiful courtyards in the castle. It had a distinctive ovular shape that was identical to the roof above me. I was under the fountain. I then gathered that the ceiling itself was not water, but instead some strong, transparent glass. The water sat above the glass and no one looking from above could see through it. But the light filtered through and illuminated the massive cavern below.

After recognizing that feature, I found my eyes falling down from the ceiling. The room was supported in dozens of places by massive columns of polished red stone. The walls were made of a similar red stone. There were many ornate tapestries hanging from the walls and the entire room smelled of rosewater and herbs. Finally, my eyes had adjusted completely to the strange, underwater light and the shock of the room and I found myself looking forward. It was then that I instantly recognized my location, even if I had never been there before.

"Welcome to your harem," Cin said to my left. The room before me was a massive feast for the eyes. There was a large, shallow pool in the middle of the chamber with several ornate fountains. All of the fixtures and stones were plated in gold and polished silver. Around the pool were sumptuous chairs and couches. These were covered with fine blankets and thick, comfortable pillows. Fresh flowers, herbs, and other pleasant flora were set in urns and pots in tasteful areas throughout the room. Several more fountains were interspersed throughout the area but these ran red with wine. The floors were a stunning white marble color that seemed too pure to be real.

But these delights paled in comparison to the true feature of the harem. Dozens of women were in the room. I knew the total harem contained far more, but that most would be in their quarters at any given time. Only a fraction were kept in this area in case the Sultan (or, I suppose, the Sultanah) decided on a whim to take his pleasure. But if these women were but a fraction of my bounty, I doubted my senses could handle the whole.

These women looked relaxed and comfortable in the large, open space. There were women moving languidly in the pool, women curled up on chairs, woman lounging across couches, and other women stood by fountains sipping wine slowly from elegant glasses. The women varied wildly in appearance. Some looked as though they were born in Şehir, with dark hair, voluptuous builds, and dark features. Others looked like they were from the lands where Arkadas' people lived, with light blonde curls or long, straight red tresses. Still other women were even more exotic. Some of the women were tall, nearly as tall and lithe as Cin. Others were shorter and had large breasts and round bottoms. The women were in various stages of undress. Some, those in the fountain mainly, were completely naked and the water beaded on their skin. Others wore skirts with no tops, or loose fitting robes that largely exposed their bodies. The only constant was that the women were uniformly beautiful, though each in a completely different way.

I spent a few moments just gazing at the harem quietly, watching the women speak with one another, smile, and play in the water. They moved indolently, comfortably, and seductively. I was dumbfounded by the scene. The beautiful women, the decadent smells, the gentle sound of water tinkling and women laughing...It felt like I was transported to a different world. Finally, when I recognized that this place was real, I turned to Cin. She was smiling happily at my surprise.

"I never imagined this was here," I said, not sure what else to say. It was true that I knew a harem existed. But I never really thought about it or where it would be located. To think I had walked above it hundreds of times during my life, with no knowledge whatsoever. Cin reached over and took my hand.

"Only the leader of the Empire may know of the location of the harem, as it is the personal property of the crown. The Priestesses of Gunes also guard the secret so that the location of the harem may be passed down from father to son...or daughter, when a new Sultan is crowned. I should have brought you sooner, but the opportunity had no yet arisen," Cin explained carefully. I once again glanced back at the women.

I watched as a tall blonde woman with milky white skin and a gentle smattering of freckles across her nose carefully pulled her loose dress up over her head and let it fall in a pile on the floor. Her breasts stood up tall on her chest and her pink nipples appeared hard in the cool air of the chamber. Her stomach was flat and her legs looked slim and taut. Her body was clean of hair and the small, pink slit of her cunny was now exposed to the room. She seemed not to notice. Instead, she smiled at another woman in the fountain and dove into the water, coming up shortly thereafter, her hair glistening with water, her breasts floating slightly.

"How many of them are there?"

"There are always exactly 111 women in this room at all times. They are here for a few hours and then return to their chambers and are replaced by their sisters. At last census count there were over 3,000 women in total. Some were born into the harem, raised in the chambers, and added to the active members when they reached 18. Most were taken as prisoners during wars, purchased from slavers, or sold by their own hand to pay off their families' debts." I could not imagine another couple thousand women, just as beautiful as these sleeping or eating just a few yards away underground. I was amazed that I had ever seen my father, that he did not spend all his time here. Suddenly, that thought gave me an unpleasant thought.

"Had my father ever..." I asked, not sure how to complete my thought. I waved my arm out at the women and shrugged. Cin laughed.

"Your mother was a...somewhat jealous woman. She forbade your father from visiting the harem (though he did it anyway). When she died he stopped attending in her honor. It has been more than 16 years since your father last entered the harem. Most of the women present during his day have retired (though not all). The vast majority have been added to the harem during those years, in anticipation of a future visit. To that end, most of the women are, strictly speaking, virgins. Though they have used many apparatuses and tools and therefore are well-trained..."

"Well-trained?" I asked.

"Oh yes, trained in the sensual arts from their 18th birthdays or when they are added to the harem if older. They must be going absolutely mad, waiting for an opportunity to finally display their well-honed arts. The training, after all, is very rigorous and these women take pride in their abilities. Several hours of training each day, under the tutelage of the Pezevenk..."

"Who?" I interrupted again.

"The most senior active member of the harem, the woman who has been in the harem longest and the one who is to retire next. She instructs the younger women on the mysteries of sexuality. Though, she is assisted in that task by several of the other veteran members."

"What do they learned?" I asked, spellbound. Cin smiled at me coyly and squeezed my hand.

"Many of the women who enter this room ask the same question. I am told that the Pezevenk tells them what I tell you now: Would it not be better to learn from experience?" she asked. And with that she started to walk into the room. The women, who had clearly noticed our presence but had dutifully ignored us, now turned all at once and faced us.

"Welcome, Sultanah Varis I, to your harem," A silky voice called out. As she spoke, the heads of all of the women dropped in a respectful bow. My eyes instantly flew to the source of the noise. 

A single women kept her head up and she was smiling at me. When my eyes met hers, she bowed quickly. She was a slightly older woman, though by no means old. She appeared to be in her mid-forties. But a lifetime of training and care for her body gave her a more youthful appearance. Only a few strands of gray in her long black hair and shallow crow's feet near her eyes gave her away. She was completely naked but stood before me without shame. The woman had large, nearly black eyes, a small nose, and generous lips. Her skin was an olive color, similar to my own. She was around 5'8 and had a thin, slender frame. Her breasts were small, but stood up high on her chest. Her nipples were small and erect. She had a flat stomach but some lines that indicated she had borne a child. Her pubic hair was removed, and she had a tight pink slit between her thighs. Her legs were slender and long, her feet very small. She was a spectacularly beautiful woman.

"Sultanah, please meet your Pezevenk, Tutuklu of Şehir," Cin said, indicating towards the gorgeous woman, "I leave you in her charge. I will be in the passage waiting. Please take your time; I will wait as long as necessary. It is time for my prayers." Before I had a chance to say anything, Cin turned and rapidly left the room. I watched her walk away, my only connection to the outside world. When she returned to the passageway and closed the wall up behind her, I turned back to Tutuklu, who was still standing and waiting for me. She had a serene smile on her face appeared to have an infinite well of patience.

"Welcome," she repeated, "May I make a suggestion?" she added quickly. 

"Of... course. Speak freely," I said. It was hard to maintain my imperial dignity in this place.

"Your harem will remain respectfully silent, as they have long been trained, for whatever time you desire. But, it may be more comfortable for you...and for the ladies, if you order them to be at their ease," she said. It was only then that I looked around the room. The light still danced beautifully on the walls, but all other movement was still ceased. The women still had their heads bowed in obedience to me. I felt an incredible wave of power: any man on Earth would envy me this room, this level of control. I felt a chill run down my spine. But I shook it off, this feeling was unseemly.

"Oh yes, I hadn't noticed. I am sorry," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed but then regretted my apology. It was not proper before these women, "At ease," I said. The women raised their heads and it was like they had become unfrozen in time. They instantly went back to the tasks they had been performing before. They took no actual notice of me, respecting my prerogative to choose when and with whom I would interact.

"You need never apologize to us. If you willed us to stand without moving until our stomachs were empty and our knees collapsed it would be our honor," Tutuklu said solemnly. Such was her skill that I believed she was telling the truth. I looked back at her and nodded as the feeling of power returned to me, in a slightly more controlled manner. 

As I considered Tutuklu's words, I recognized that my isolated spot next to Tutuklu was rapidly being invaded. Not that I was swarmed, but the women moved freely around me, their bodies elegantly glided around the chamber. As they brushed near me I could sense their eyes surreptitiously slipping over me. I figured that they were well-trained because while I was sure they were looking at their new Sultanah primarily out of curiosity, most of them managed to place a hint of repressed desire in their gazes. I did my best not to stare at any of the women, to maintain my power with an aloof attitude. But this was the only thing that I could manage. Now, so close, I could smell the scent of their skin and feel the ripples of their movement. I stood in the midst of the overwhelming femininity and soaked it in.

"We are very glad you have chosen to join us this day," Tutuklu continued, "It has been far too long since we have been visited by the Sultan. We had heard rumors from the priestesses who bring us our food that the new Sultan, or Sultanah, was a beautiful woman and that it would be a pleasure to serve her. I see that the reports were incorrect only in that they failed to capture the depth of your beauty." I felt myself blushing at the compliment. It should have felt transparent and forced, but Tutuklu's smoky voice sold it as authentic.

"Thank you..." I said. Not sure if I should return the compliment. But Tutuklu kept speaking in a manner that felt fluid rather than impertinent. It was clear why she was in charge.

"How may we serve you this day?" she asked with a sultry smile. I knew enough about this place to know that, as the Sultanah, I could ask for anything I wanted. Food, wine, pleasures of the flesh. These things belonged to me. But I was still shocked by the beauty of this place. Just a few hours earlier I had literally been under attack. Now I was in a place designed for relaxation and it felt somewhat unnatural. I thought of Arkadas and wondered how she was doing. I felt a slight pain in my hand despite Cin's competent, perhaps mystical, efforts. Tutuklu, having been trained for decades in the art of pleasure and ease, evidently sensed my discomfort. 

She tossed her head to the side seductively and her long hair tumbled over her shoulder. She smiled at me sweetly. "Would you like for me to make a suggestion? The girls are very excited you are here, I am sure I know how best to...use their talents. Of course, if you ever disagree with any of my choices, all that is required is the slightest hint of a word and your wish shall be granted," She suggested. She spoke in such a soothing, relaxing manner that it felt wrong to deny her. Further, despite my various concerns, I was extremely curious. These women were beautiful and they belonged to me. Tutuklu was so gorgeous; I wanted desperately to do anything she suggested.

"Yes, that would be lovely," I said, trying to act as though I maintained composure. Tutuklu winked at me as though we were sharing a secret. Then she turned slightly (her surprisingly pert breasts bouncing as she moved), clapped her hands twice, and whistled. Seamlessly, two naked young women seemed to drip fully formed out of the mass of the crowd and stood on either side of me. I had never noticed either of them before, but that was not because of any lack of appeal on their parts. One of the women was short and voluptuous with brown hair, gray eyes, a long nose, and large, full, soft breasts. The other was slightly taller with pale skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and small breasts. I assumed I had not seen them because Tutuklu had not willed me to see them. They bowed slowly, their eyes lowered deferentially, and took my arms.

"Good morning Sultanah," they said in unison, both had youthful, girlish voices but they spoke with great dignity. I nodded to them. Each took me by an arm and began to walk, pulling me forward without seeming to pull me. Their skin felt incredibly smooth against my arms and they smelled lovely, like roses with something more...animal just below the surface. They did not speak further, but walked in long, delicate strides. I did not even really pay attention to where I was going, I felt like I was floating with them. Eventually, we came to a stop. We were standing just a few feet away from the central fountain. A large, luxurious couch was directly next to us. It was a very long sofa, the back rising high, the arms extending only about half of its length, and the foot stretching out for several feet.

"May we disrobe you?" The blonde girl asked sweetly. I looked down at my long red robe. I knew what was underneath. An exposed secret, the source of my worldly power and shame. But, for the first time, I did not worry about it. The harem was highly trained, they knew better than to be shocked by my appearance. In fact, they had likely been specifically briefed on the...unique aspects of my anatomy. Or I suppose I should just say cock. I could be as free with my body as the other women here. Freer, in fact, because I could take it wherever I desired. It felt oddly liberating and I felt myself breathing a little easier.

"Yes," I said and then made it an order, "Disrobe me now." The women did not waste a moment. I quickly felt their hands about me, pulling at fabric and loosening the various knots that held my robe in place. Their hands moved so carefully and quickly that the various pieces of fabric seemed to disintegrate. Before I knew it, my robes had been removed and had been discreetly taken away. I did not even see where they were taken, they would be returned to me when I needed them. Only the bandage on my injured hand remained, but I found I barely noticed. It no longer hurt. I forgot about my clothing entirely, I was completely naked in the midst of the harem. My clothing had been loose and the morning had been...eventful, so I had not bothered to secure my cock. Now it was hanging limply between my legs. I saw that both of my attendants were looking at it briefly. They did not stare, but they did not bother to hide their gaze.

"The rumors are true," one said. For a moment I felt disappointed. It was not that they sounded disgusted, but that they had failed to ignore my cock entirely. 

"Your body is beautiful as we had been told. So perfectly proportioned, voluptuous. And perfectly designed so that we might give you pleasure," the other said, as she spoke she ran her tongue along her upper lip and the other girl moved her hand slowly across her breasts, moaning slightly. I did not speak, but instead nodded. I felt the tension leaving my body. Better than ignoring my body, the harem seemed to want (or were capable of persuasively pretending they wanted) my body. 

The two women turned me now towards the couch. Tutuklu had apparently shadowed our movements, though I had not heard or noticed her. She must've moved quickly because she had slipped into the couch while I had been getting undressed. She lay luxuriantly on the cushions, her hair fanned out across the pillows and her breasts. Her nipples sticking up between the strands of her black locks. My breath caught in my throat as I saw her legs were spread wide with once hooked up over one arm of the couch. This position had managed to pull her lips apart, exposing the soft, pink flesh of her cunny. I saw her cunny glistening in the wavy light of the room and felt aroused by her desire (or amazing ability to feign desire). My heart was hammering and I felt the blood rushing to my face. I had never seen any woman of any age look more alluring. She was a vision of sensuality 

"Come place the back of your head here, I will give you a massage," Tutuklu said softly and gestured languidly toward her cunny. I no longer thought about what I was doing or why. I had felt the immense erotic authority of this place and I was willing to allow myself to slip under its spell. I walked over to the couch, led by my attendants, and climbed up on top of it. My knees sank into the plush fabric and my hands rubbed against soft pillows. 




The Sultanah Ch. 05



I moved closer to Tutuklu's body, crawling on my hands and knees. I felt my cock and my breasts swinging as I moved. In a matter of moments I was kneeling over Tutuklu's cunny and looking up at her. She smiled entirely with her eyes and nodded slowly. I looked down at her cunny, I saw the flesh of her lips and the warm flesh inside of her. I could smell her perfume with the slight scent of her sex underneath of it. My lips pursed and knew that I had to pull my gaze or I would be drawn in immediately. 

I turned around quickly, planting my bottom on the soft fabric of the couch. I stretched my legs out on the silky material, letting the couch hug me closer. I had never felt anything so comfortably, my palace bed feeling like stones and glass shards by comparison. I felt a gentle sigh escape unbidden. Then I gently lowered my head down between Tutuklu's legs. Eventually I felt the soft press of her cunny lips as they pressed into the back of my head. She felt warm and soft and I felt her body tremble slightly as I touched her. Her legs quivered slightly on either side of my head. I felt her sit up slightly, pushing my head up a bit so that my eyes were facing forward, toward the pool. In another moment, Tutuklu's fingers reached my temple and she began to gently rub.

"Oh Gunes!" I moaned almost immediately and I closed my eyes. Tutuklu hands were soft but incredibly firm. Her fingers seemed preternaturally intelligent. It was as if they knew the exact spot to touch on the side of my head to reach the tense spots inside of my body, and to dissolve that tension into pleasure. For several minutes, I just let her rub my head expertly as I sank deeper into the couch and into her lap. The heat of her body and the scent of her cunny grew more intense, seeming to draw me deeper into my relaxing state. I moaned occasionally, unable to control myself.

"I am glad this pleases you Sultanah. Above all, we seek to heighten the pleasure of touch. But I encourage you to open your eyes to treat your other senses," she said. It took some effort, but I managed finally to allow my eyelids to pull apart. Tutuklu continued to rub my temples with easy skill. Once again it took me a second to adjust to the new light. But then the room once again came into focus. 

I found that as my vision came into focus, there was a dark blur directly in front of me on the edge of the pool, just a foot or so from my outstretched feet. The blur began to return to focus, surrounded by a halo of light. In the water, just beyond the edge, I found that two women were standing. After a moment I realized that these two women were my previous travel companions, the tall blonde and the short brunette. 

But these were not merely standing in the water. Their sides were facing toward me and the two women were facing toward one another. Actually, that would say far too little. They were not facing toward one another, they were pressed against one another. Their hip bones were locked tightly together and the breasts of the taller woman sat gently on top of the breasts of the shorter woman. The shorter woman's larger breasts were squeezed tightly against the stomach of her companion. Both women had their arms wrapped around one another and moved caressingly against their partner's back in gently, brushing movements. Their faces were turned toward one another, the taller blonde woman looking slightly down and the shorter brunette looking slightly up. Not exactly looking, their eyes were closed. Their lips were pressed together and they were kissing each other passionately. Their mouths opened often and they licked at each other's lips and deeply explored each other's mouths. As they kissed the blonde woman's hand moved down along her lover's back and squeezed gently on her round bottom.

"I did not think you would want to miss the show. These women are giving each other pleasure in order to give you pleasure. If you are displeased, you need only speak and they will stop without complaint," Tutuklu said calmly behind me. I settled more comfortably in her lap and she continued to rub my head as I watched.

"They are lovely," I responded, it sounded as though they were in a dream. My eyes seemed unable to blink, I could not resist the urge to look at them.

"I am glad they please you," she said. I heard her snap her fingers twice, but I was not paying attention. My eyes returned to the lovers. The snap was apparently not for these two women, as they continued their actions without abating. If anything, they grew more passionate, either to entice me or because they felt real pleasure in their shared touch. 

Whatever the cause of their desire, I was mesmerized by the scene. Both women were stunning and I found that a kind of voyeuristic pleasure in their stunning display. I had seen people make love in the past in the great rooms of the castle, but this was different. But this was not furtive, clandestine, or tinged with shame as those actions had been. These women were perfectly formed and seemed to take pride in their exhibition. Their command of their sensuality was empowering. The brunette moaned loudly into her lover's mouth and then licked deeply into it, tasting her lover's tongue. The blonde's other hand slid up the side of the brunette's body slowly and then gently rubbed the side of her lover's massive breast, eliciting a sigh from the brunette. The Brunette then lifted her left leg and snaked it around her lover's thigh, thereby pressing her cunny against the blonde's knee. Her body was trembling.

As I watched this hypnotic, erotic play I suddenly became aware of a new sensation. I felt a gentle pressure against each of my nipples. A soft warmth and playful rubbing. Clearly someone's palms were pressed against my nipples, circling slowly and just barely grazing my skin. I squirmed slightly on the couch, but not from discomfort. The teasing feeling was pleasurable. For a moment, I figured that Tutuklu had reached over my shoulders to rub my breasts. But I had not noticed her moving. In fact, I could still feel her fingers on my temples, rubbing gently. 

I managed to pull my gaze from the lovers in the fountain and looked on either side of me. Two more woman had crawled onto the massive sofa. They looked quite young, possibly only 18 years old. Both were wearing long skirts but no tops, their breasts exposed. The one on my left was very small, around 5'1 and with very small breasts. Her long brown hair was pulled up in pig tails. Her skin was lighter than my own, but not pale. Her body was somewhat plump and youthful but her eyes seemed mature. Her dainty hands were on my large left breast, rubbing it gently. On the right was an equally beautiful girl. She was around 5'7 and very slender. Despite her thin frame she had very large breasts with large, brownish nipples. Like her counterpart she had long brown hair in pig tails and mature gray eyes. Her hips were narrow and she seemed wispy and delicate. Her hands moved in unison with her partner. They rubbed my breasts expertly, and their motions seemed to shadow those of Tutuklu's on my temples. 

The girl on my right look down briefly at my cock, before her eyes once again returned to gazing at my breast. I followed the motion of her eyes. I looked down between the canyons of my breasts and across flat, olive stomach, over my bellybutton, to the area between my legs. My cock was still soft, lying limp against my left thigh. I was surprised at first that it was not erect, but I supposed that the shock to my senses had been too great. But even as I stared at it, I saw it twitch slightly and I felt my blood coursing in my veins. I moaned slightly at the sensation.

"Ooh, the Sultanah is pleased!" One of the pigtailed girls at my sides said in a sing-song fashion. I saw that both girls were smiling and felt like blushing. Instead I looked up. The Blonde and Brunette in the pool were still kissing passionately. The Brunette was grinding her cunny on the Blonde's knee, while the Blonde played in the Brunette's hair.

"Not pleased enough," Tutuklu said with an authoritarian air, clearly taking on the role of Pezevenk. For a moment I felt her fingers moved from my temple and I could feel her body shifting slightly underneath of me (incidentally, I heard the Brunette moan loudly at the same moment and felt my cock twitch again). I saw the heads of the two pigtailed girls move in a jerking fashion toward one another, over my body. For a moment I thought they had both slipped forward, but then I felt Tutuklu's hands return to my temples, I realized that she had shoved them down.

If they minded her aggressive action, they paid no mind. In fact, the girl on my right smiled devilishly. Their faces were now just a few inches above my body and their hands were pressed more firmly into my breasts as they kept their balance. But as they readjusted, I felt their fingers slip easily off my breasts, tickling my nipples gently as they moved. I could see both pigtailed girls had their heads bowed but their eyes were up, looking directly at one another. I watched as they slowly began to move their heads down slowly, in unison with their eyes remaining locked. They both titled their heads down slightly, and opened their mouths. I gasped quietly as their mouths moved the last few inches separating their bodies from mine. I shivered as I watched my erect, reddish brown nipples disappear into their mouths at exactly the same instant. 

Their mouths were wide enough to engulf both of my areolas as their lips felt hot against the skin of my breast. I could feel my nipples growing harder in their mouths and I squirmed slightly on the couch. Tutuklu rubbed my temples more forcefully, soothing me. But the pigtailed girls seemed not to notice my agony at their teasing. They kept their mouths locked over my nipples, applying only the slightest pressure by sucking. I stared longingly at the smooth skin of their cheeks and smelled their sweet, elusive fragrance. I needed more, the teasing was so awful!

Without word, they both dropped their tongue down toward my body. They moved in unison, though I could not imagine how they had coordinated their actions. But I didn't really care about that. I felt the soft, slippery wetness of their tongues as they pressed down against my hard nipples. The wet, rough feeling of the taste buds felt magical against the sensitive skin of my breasts. I could hear them moaning slightly as they tasted the sale of my skin. Their chins sank into the soft, heavy flesh of my breasts and their licking became more intense.

Their tongues moved around my nipple, as their mouths continued suck gently. I could hear the slurping sound of their saliva in their mouths as they tasted me. I noticed then that their hands hand returned to my body. While their lips remained locked around my nipples, their heads found my breasts, my ribs, and even my stomach. They caressed me gently, their four hands moving together as if controlled by one mind. Everywhere their hands touched, I felt goosebumps rise on my flesh.

I groaned then and lolled my head back into Tutuklu's lap. She continued to rub my temples slowly as I looked behind me, up through her pert breasts. She smiled at me gently, but did not speak. She looked more beautiful than ever and I was shocked to find that her simple massage seemed to be adding to the sensations I felt. But those sensations could not be ignored for long and I turned my head forward once again. 

Briefly, the two pigtailed girls moved their heads apart slowly and I could see my cock between them. My cock was much harder than it had been just a few seconds before, having lifted up off of my thighs. My balls felt heavy and the hung down low over my cunny. As I was thinking about this, both of the pigtailed girls, in unison, nibbled my nipples. There was no pain but the sensation but it surprised me and I felt my body jerk. My cock jerked as well, and I could feel that it was now erect. I saw the pigtailed girls smile around my nipples, but they continued to suck on me. 

As their tongues returned to my nipples, I tried to take in the sensations I was experiencing. I could hear the slurp of the girl's tongues (and the slight splash of water in the pool from the Blonde and the Brunette). I could feel the hot, slippery pressure of tongues against my nipples and the sensation of six hands massaging my body. It gave every inch of me a tingling, magical sensation. My cock was straining hard against my arousal and my legs felt weak. The air was now heavily suffused with smell of arousal. I could tell that some of it was my own, but that was not the only source. The musky, sensual scent of cunny filled the air, overpowering the sage and clean smells that the room was designed to emanate. I breathed it in deeply, savoring the way it felt as it slipped over the back of my tongue.

"Ahhh, Gunes!" I heard a voice say, interrupting my reverie. For a moment, I thought that the comment had slipped, unbidden, from my lips. But my eyes flashed up, following the sound better than my ears. I looked over the heads of the pigtailed girls and saw the Blonde and The Brunette. I had nearly forgotten them, I had been so focused on the sensations I was experiencing. 

But I was exceedingly glad I turned back now. While my attention had been turned, the Blonde and the Brunette had apparently moved. The blonde was now on her hands and knees in the shallow water on the edge of the pool. She was, apparently, the one who had called out to the Sun God in her ecstasy. She was facing away from me. The Brunette was kneeling in the water to the left of the Blonde, facing towards me. She had her right arm draped across the Blonde's lower back. 

The Brunette's hands were sunk deep into the flesh of the Blonde's ass and she was pulling the cheeks apart. The tiny, pink kiss of the Blonde's anus was partially exposed to the room, facing directly toward me. I say partially, because the Brunette was blocking some of the view. In fact, she was leaning over towards the blonde. The Brunette's right breast was pressed against her own hand and the flesh of the Blonde's thigh. Her head was slightly higher than the Blonde's hips and her hair cascaded around her lover's waist. The Brunette's head was bent down and her tongue was out. I watched as it licked languidly across the Blonde's exposed anus, pressing gently into the crinkled folds of her flesh. The Brunette had a hungry, near ravenous look in her eye as her rigid tongue probed at the Blonde's anus, and then became soft and supple to lap at it. The Blonde was trembling at the touch and seemed to lose balance each time the Brunette's tongue returned to her body. 

"The Head Priestess intimated that this show might please you," Tutuklu whispered into my ear. I jumped slightly. I had been so enthralled by what I was watching that I had nearly forgot she was there. For a moment, I did not know how to respond, I was too jumbled. Finally, I managed to nod slightly. I thought of Cin and wondered what other notions she knew I would enjoy, that I did not even really know myself. Because I could not deny I enjoyed the view. The women's bodies, fused together but somehow draped on top of one another, seemed to be the embodiment of sensuality. I felt that even from the distance I could feel the heat of their bodies and taste the salt of their skin. And the act they were performing, so repulsive in the abstract, seem so delectable when actually viewed. These women were breaking a taboo, doing something that any of my subjects would think was a wrong and disgusting, but they were doing it to provide me with pleasure. The more restricted the act, the lovelier it became in my eyes. I could barely stand the joy I felt in watching them.

And I continued to watch them. The Brunette seemed to be warming to her task. She shook her hair out of her face and seemed to press more deeply into the Blonde's body. I watched as her pink tongue slipped from her mouth and caressed the Blonde's anus more rapidly than before. I heard her sucking, pulling her own saliva off of the Blonde's body and drinking it down. I watched as she tried to plunge her rigid tongue into the Blonde's ass. She was nearly crazed, as though she wanted to taste all of her lover's body at all times. 

But it wasn't just her tongue, the Brunette had slipped her left had between the Blonde's legs. As the Brunette's tongue popped inside of the Blonde's anus, her fingers slipped up stealthily to the Blonde's now-dripping cunny. At first, the Brunette just barely mad contact, her fingers just grazing the Blonde's clean-shaven cunny lips. The Blonde trembled and moaned at the Brunette's rough tongue and gentle fingers. But as the Brunette grew more and more excited by her task, her fingers grew more insistent. I watched as The Brunette's hand slipped higher and higher between the blonde's legs. I saw the Brunette's fingers press more directly on the Blonde's cunny lips. Finally, I could just barely tell as the Brunette's fingers found the blonde clitoris. The Blonde moaned loudly and arched her back. This forced her ass backwards, shoving it into the Brunette's face, driving the tongue even deeper in the Blonde's anus. This seemed to be more than the blonde could handle. Her left had shot up out of the water and found her own breast. I watched as her fingers sunk into her flesh and her body began to shake.

The vision was so mesmerizing, the women so beautiful, and the sights and smells so authentic, that I could focus on nothing else. Clearly these women were enjoying their tryst, even if it was ostensibly for my entertainment. I felt my body reacting to their actions. I felt like I could not sit still, like I was about to explode with anticipation. I didn't know what I needed, but I knew I needed something. The thought crossed my mind to get up, and to join the women in the water. Maybe...

But just as this thought was entering my mind I felt like warm, soothing water had been poured all over my body. I felt my eyes roll back in my head and I moaned loudly, not even sure what had caused the reaction. I threw my head back and felt the sensation rushing over me. For a moment, I felt completely blank, unable to tell where my senses were being activated. Finally, I looked forward once again. Then I saw the source of my new, overwhelming experience.

Without gaining my attention, the two pigtailed girls had, apparently, stopped suckling on my breasts and rubbing my body. I had not even felt them leave, I was so enthralled by what I was watching in the pool. They had moved noiselessly down my body on the couch. They were body leaning over me now, their breasts just barely grazing my thighs (I could feel that tickling sensation now). 

But more shockingly, and the source of my sudden rush of pleasure, was that both of the girls were now leaning in towards my erect, throbbing cock. They had tilted their heads gently to the side. Both had their pressed their lips against my shaft in a delicious kiss. Their mouths were wrapped around my cock such that their lips met around my shaft. I could feel their tongues rotating and rolling against my hard, hot flesh. They moved their mouths in unison, up and down the length of my cock, slathering it in their saliva. I could hear them moaning in their throats and I could feel the vibrations this imparted on my cock. Their pigtails draped down over my stomach and thighs, tickling me as their mouths moved up and down, sucking and licking on my cock. They never actually reached the tip of my cock, stopping when they reached the sleeved ridge around the mushroom-like dome.

"Gunes be merciful," I managed to moan. The tension I had been feeling grew even more intense. The delicious pressure and warmth of the girls' tongues on my cock seemed to be rising something inside of me. I felt my legs tighten and my hands felt powerless. As I watched the girls' mouths slip over my cock, I noticed that my nipples were still hard and glistening with saliva. My breasts were shaking from my trembling body. Without conscious thought, my two hands rose quickly from my sides and dropped down on top of my breasts. I felt a palm on top of each of my nipples and I squeezed the flesh around them. My fingers sunk into my generous body and I felt tension rising higher inside of me. My palms (including my bandages) massaged my nipples gently and I moved my hands in the steady rhythm set by the pigtailed girls. We moved together for a long while, my moaning growing more insistent as their tongue became more rigid and more expert in their touch.




The Sultanah Ch. 05



Finally, I needed something more. Without warning (even to me), my hips started to rise of their own accord. I felt an antsy, squirming feeling all over my body as the tension continued to grow. I needed to move, to do something to lessen it. As I thrust my hips up, I felt my cock slip more rapidly between the lips of the pigtailed women. I let out a gasp, the feeling being so strange. My hips dropped, and my cock slipped back down between their lips. 

The pigtailed girls seemed to grasp what I had done before I understood myself. They kept their lips wrapped around my shaft but did not move at all. For a moment, I grew frustrated, wanting to feel their tongues on me again. Then, once again, my hips answered the call, pushing up between their lips, and the dropping back down. As my cock slipped between their lips, the pigtailed girls licked and sucked on my shaft, encouraging me forward. I did not hesitate further. I could not have controlled my hips if I had tried. As soon as my ass reached the couch it bounced back up, thrusting between the hungry mouths of the pigtailed girls. I could see the tip of my cock glistening with arousal as it jerked between them. I started pumping my cock faster and faster between them, thrusting harder and harder. I could feel my large, full balls slapping against their chins as I pistoned between them.

I could feel the tension rises inside of me. My chest felt tight and my breaths were coming in ragged gasps. My breasts were shaking wildly against my palms as I bounced and I could hear Tutuklu moaning gently as I writhed against her cunny. My thrusts were becoming more and more forceful. I felt like my cock was trying to jump out of my skin. I pulled my hips down very far, sinking into the couch. The tip of my cock slipped down between the pigtailed girls' lips (and I felt their tongues slipping across it). I groaned loudly, teasing myself for just half a moment. Then, I started to thrust my hips up with more force than ever before, I felt my cock pressing up between the girls' lips.

But then something strange happened. As my shaft was moving up between their lips, the pigtailed girls leaned back. Their lips slipped off of my shaft and they sat back down on either side of me. I was confused and somewhat angered by their movement, I had been expecting to feel my body sliding between theirs. Regardless, my hips had been thrust so hard that I couldn't simply stop. My ass was completely off the couch, my feet planted in the fabric, thrusting up.

Then, to my considerable astonishment, I felt a silky wetness on the tip of my cock. It was a heavenly feeling and I groaned loudly. I felt a swirling hotness against the tip of my cock as my hips thrust to their apex. My eyes, which had been looking at the pigtailed girl to my left in anger and bewilderment, shifted immediately to determine what was happening. As my gaze found its place between my legs, I was shocked to see a woman, kneeling on the bottom of the couch between my spread legs. 

She was absolutely gorgeous; a slim build with small breasts and a round ass. Her skin was a deep, beautiful bronze-black and her hair was cropped very closely to her head. Her eyes were very large, brown, and shaped like almonds. They looked particularly bright and alluring when contrasted with her complexion. But the most remarkable thing about her was that the tip of my cock was buried in her mouth. I had not noticed her arrival in the excitement. Apparently, when the pigtailed girls had slipped back away from my cock, this short-haired woman had slipped onto the sofa and caught my cock in her mouth.

My hips were already lifted to their apex at this point and my legs were shaking. The short-haired woman winked at me devilishly and swirled her tongue around, prodding at my foreskin. I could not bear my own weight any longer. My hips rapidly collapsed underneath of me and my ass fell towards the couch. With incredible deftness, the short-haired woman kept pace with my fall, maintaining my cock's position in her mouth. I felt my body settle on the couch and I let out a groan. But the short-haired woman, amazingly, continued to drop. Her ass stuck up high in the air and her head dropped. Without the slightly problem, her head made its way toward my lap. I watched as my cock disappeared into her mouth and throat, I felt her nose in my bell and her chin pressing into my testicles. I nearly screamed in ecstasy.

The inside of the short-haired woman's mouth felt divine. Her eyes were closed and she was sort of moaning around my cock, sending delicious vibrations throughout my entire body. Her tongue was pressed firmly against the bottom of my shaft, feeling wet and hot. She moved it around slightly, massaging my skin and covering me in her saliva. Her whole mouth felt like dripping fire and her lips squeezed tightly around my shaft. I groaned loudly and shook on the bed.

The two girls with pigtails were no longer licking my cock, but they were not simply watching me. I did not see them move, or even really notice. I had my eyes focused intently on the thick, warm lips of the short-haired woman in front of me, my cock engulfed entirely within her mouth. But the pig-tailed girls were moving. After a few moments I felt a simultaneous cool wetness against each of my nipples. I didn't need to look, I knew the pigtailed girls were once again on their knees at my side, gently suckling my nipples. I arched my back and moaned as the sensation sunk in. Now the pigtailed girls were humming also, sending vibrations down my nipples and soothing my entire body.

I don't know how long we stayed that way, though it must not have been too long. But the intensity of the sensation was so great that it felt like it existed outside time. It felt like it last both forever and for an instant. My nipples were erect and sensitive in the soft, pink mouths of the pigtailed girls. They were sucking gently, pulling my flesh into their mouths and flicking my nipples gently with their tongues. My cock was still buried in the short-haired woman's mouth, her eyes were closed. It seemed she could breathe through her nose or simply didn't need to breathe, she kept me entirely inside of her the whole time. Her throat contracted around me and her tongue swirled against my skin so that while her head never seemed to move, there were constant waves of pleasurable touch up and down the length of my shaft. I felt completely frozen with desire, sprawled on the sofa and just accepting the pleasure.

Regardless of the amount of time, it quickly became apparent that my body could not resist much longer. I had been teased and aroused for so long that there would be no stopping me. Each lap of the short-haired woman's tongue sent me closer and closer to the ultimate pleasure. I felt my breath growing more rapid, I felt my heart hammering more fiercely in my chest, and I felt my toes curling as my muscles contracted. I felt myself gasping, I could feel the pressure building and then...

I felt the trailing tip of the short-haired woman's tongue as it began to slip slowly up the shaft of my cock. I looked down at her, my eyes opening. Slowly, I saw the length of my hard shaft slipping inch by inch out of her mouth. My olive skin looked slightly red and enflamed as it slipped between the woman's soft, brown lips. Her eyes were open now and she looked at me seductively out of the tops of her eyes as she slipped my cock form her mouth. I groaned pitifully as the impending climax faded slightly. As my cock slipped out of her mouth, my skin felt cool from the wetness in the exposed air. 

The short-haired woman stopped just as the tip of my cock remained in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around on the tip, probing my foreskin with her tongue briefly. I shook on the bed and she smiled beautifully. Finally, she pulled the last of my cock from her mouth, leaving her lips pressed against the tip in a gentle kiss. My cock glistened with her saliva and was twitching slightly. I still felt intensely aroused as the pigtailed girls had continued to suck on my nipples. 

The short-haired woman continued to kiss my cock, by I noticed she was allowing her lips to slide down. I felt her kiss slowly move off of the tip of my cock. Her lips slipped down the shaft of my cock, peppering kisses against the throbbing vein on the underside. She moved slowly, savoring her kisses and moaning slightly. Down each side of my cock she moved, giving attention to every section. After a few moments, I felt her lips press softly against my balls. 

I groaned. My balls ached from excitement and the slightest touch had given me a wonderful kind of pain. My balls felt heavy, throbbing against the opening of my cunny. I heard the short-haired woman giggle slightly. I could only see the top of her head now as she had slipped down low, her knees apparently on the floor at the foot of the sofa. I felt her fingers reach up and delicately clasp one of my balls. I felt my hips thrust, but there was no longer anything present to give it resistance, so my frustration just increased. The short hair woman lead forward and I could feel her hot breath against my balls. I knew she opened her mouth and after a moment I nearly screamed as I felt her warm tongue sink into the soft flesh of my scrotum. I felt her tongue grow soft and flat as she began to lap at my balls gently. She placed enough pressure against them to give me that beautiful, painful feeling, but no more. She pushed her nose into my scrotum while her tongue continued to work. Every place her tongue traveled felt wet and hot, even as she left.

I was more than content now to just watch the short-haired girl gently licking and sucking on my testicles. But after a moment, I felt a slight pressure on my shoulders and neck. After a moment, I realized that Tutuklu was pushing me up slightly. I didn't know what she was doing, but following her lead had been divine so far, so I kept going. I sat forward slightly and then Tutuklu reach over my shoulders and pull me back. When she pulled me back I felt my head rest on a soft pillow. Tutuklu must have placed it in her lap when she had pushed me up. Regardless, I was now sitting at a slightly more forward-facing manner and I could see more clearly out over the head of the short-hair woman playing with my balls.

And what did I see! I had nearly forgotten about the Blonde and the Brunette in the pool before me. I had been so focused on my short-haired companion. But my new position, drew my attention back to the girls in the pool. The Blonde was now standing a few feet farther out in the pool with her legs spread wide. The Brunette was sitting in the water between the Blonde's legs. The Brunette's head was turned up and she had her lips pressed against the Blonde's cunny. I could see her tongue working in and out of the Blonde's lower lips. At the same time, the Brunette's hand was reaching up, also between the Blonde's legs. Her thumb had found the Blonde's clitoris and was stroking it in slow, even motions in time with the movement of her tongue. Occasionally, the Brunette's tongue would snake up slightly, finding the Blonde's clitoris and licking it to keep it wet. The Blonde's eyes were closed as the Brunette played with her cunny. Both of the Blonde's hands were up at her own breasts, squeezing them gently playing with her nipples. She moaned loudly while the Blonde manipulated her body.

The vision they presented was undoubtedly alluring. But I would be lying if I said that I managed to keep my eyes on them for long. While looking up, I had caught movement out of the corner of my eye. As a result, I found myself gazing about the large chamber for the first time since I had sat down on the sofa. I was more than a little surprised by what I saw.

All over the chamber, the harem had thrown off the affected aloofness that had characterized their movements since I first entered the chamber. My eyes widened as I saw women, all over the room, consumed by fiery passions. Some of the women were sitting on the floor by themselves, facing me. Their fingers were flying over their cunnies playing with their clitorises or slipping their fingers deep inside their bodies. Their free hands grabbed at their own nude breasts and were pressed into their own mouths, sucking gently.

Still more women had paired up together. I saw many pair lying on the marble floors of the chamber, their bodies looped together in a perfect wheel of pleasure; each woman with her her head between the legs of the other, lapping gently. Other women sat on their asses on the cold marble, their legs spread, while their partner lay on their stomachs between their legs, licking them gently. Other pairs sat side by side, their legs overlapping, their arms crossed, and their clitorises and cunny's manipulated by mutual touch. Some of these pairs pushed deeper, their fingers pressing deeply into each other's bodies.

A few women had grouped together in even larger groups. In one spot in the middle of the pool I saw no fewer than six women together. They were a barely differentiated, pulsing mass of legs, arms, breasts, faces, asses, and cunnies. I saw fingers and even fists entering bodies, I saw tongues lapping at skin, and I saw lips pressed firmly to lips. These masses seemed to writhe as one. I wondered how long this had been going on, how long they had been engaged but I had failed to notice because of my own encounters. I lacked the mental capacity at that time to think about it deeply.

It was more than just these sights also. The room was filled with the sounds of women engaged in pleasure. I could hear deep moaning, wistful sighs, and high-pitched screams cascading through the air. Their sounds of bodies moving together created a deep undercurrent to these irregular screams. More than the sound, the air seemed suffused with smells. The gentle, floral smell I had first encountered upon arrival was completely masked now. The room felt hotter and wetter and the primal scent hung heavy in the air. I felt my body reacting to this sudden feast for the senses. Watching the beautiful women pleasure themselves and others while the beautiful women sucked on my nipples and my balls seemed to infuse my every atom with energy.

But then, after just a few minutes of watching my harem, something seemed to block my view. It just sort of glided in front of my eyes. Before I even had a chance to figure out what it was, I felt a slight pressure on the tip of my cock. My eyes still adjusting, I felt the pressure build on my cock. I felt a warm tightness wrap around the tip of my cock and then slip easily (but tightly) down over the rest of it. Finally, I realized what had blocked my vision, someone had come from out of my eye line and straddled my waist. My cock had just slipped inside of a tight, inviting cunny. I felt my backbone turn to butter and I lolled my head to the side, feeling the realization ripple through body. 

But I kept my eyes forward, trying to figure out who it was. I saw large, pert breasts covered slightly by long, beautiful dark hair. I saw a well formed chin and a sensual mouth. I saw bright eyes and a knowingly look. I saw Tutuklu! She smiled down at me, arching her back and forcing more of my hard cock into her tight cunny. She let out a sigh.

"Oh Sultanah, it feels so wonderful," she moaned. She leaned forward slightly now and I felt her hands land on my breasts, her palms against my nipples (I hadn't even realized the pigtailed girls had gone). Tutuklu's own breasts shook alluringly in my face. 

But it was now that I felt her skin against my breast that I realized what I was feeling and seeing was impossible. I turned back and looked over my shoulder, where Tutuklu was supposed to be. But instead, I saw pillows, nothing more. I looked to my sides where I could still feel Tutuklu's legs against my sides. But now I found the pigtailed girls, their arms pressed against my sides, keeping me from noticing that Tutuklu was gone. Somehow, she had slipped out from behind me when I was distracted. Now she had slipped on top of me. I felt my mind whirring.

I turned back towards her and I noticed once again the intensity of her touch. Her back was arched, pressing her breasts almost into my face and slipping my cock deep inside of her body. She felt so tight and she rocked her hips in a perfect, unknowable rhythm. The inside of her body was slick, but firm, holding me tightly and squeezing my cock. Tutuklu's hands were squeezing gently on my breasts as she rocked. I could still fill the short-haired woman's tongue on my balls as Tutuklu rocked on top of me. 

Tutuklu now leaned forward, putting more pressure on my chest. Her long hair cascaded over top over my face, encircling us both in tickling embrace. Tutuklu was smiling. Her body continued to rock on top of me as she leaned and I felt the familiar tension rising inside of me again.

"Oh Sultanah," she moaned, running her tongue along her lips, "It is my right and pleasure as the Pezevenk to accept the first of a new Sultanah's seed on behalf of the harem. Please let me have it!" she moaned. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to lean forward and kiss Tutuklu's plump limps. But it would not be appropriate. Tutuklu seemed, again, to sense my desire. She leaned forward still further, and pressed her lips against my cheek.

In leaning over to kiss me, Tutuklu's ass had pressed down more firmly into my laps. She seemed to squeeze me with her cunny; her body seemed to ripple around mine. She had only been on top of me for a few moments, but I had been teased for so long and her body was so expert that as her lips lifted off of me, I felt the tension rising to a fever pitch. Tutuklu leaned over towards my ear.

"Give me your seed Sultanah, do not hold it a further second," she whispered in a sultry voice. I felt the vibrations of her voice shaking in my ear. That little vibration seemed to click perfectly into place. Into the feeling of Tutuklu's cunny wrapped around my cock, into the feel of her hands on my breasts, the feel of someone's tongue on my balls, the smell of arousal in the room, the sound of flesh and desire lying heavy in the air. 

I felt all of the muscles in my body tighten. My hands shot up and grasped at Tutuklu's thin waist, my fingers sinking into her skin. I felt my mouth open as if to scream, but no words came out, only a soft croaking noise. My eyes slammed shut and my toes curled. I felt the sound of her whisper pull all of these sensations together and they worked as one to push me right over the edge, past the point of tension. Release, sweet release from the teasing, delicious agony of the harem. And briefly, release from the pressures of my position and the tension I had felt all morning as a result of my attack. Release from that pressure and a swelling of pleasure, as the joy and sensuality that filled the chamber seemed to fill me up, to replace my anxiety. I felt my cock bulging inside of Tutuklu's warm cunny, stretching her tightness slightly and filling her with my seed. My balls seizes against the short-haired woman's face. I let out a low, whimpering breath as the intense, soothing pleasure of my climax began to subside.

I collapsed back onto the sofa, feeling all of my joints and muscles completely relax. Tutuklu moaned and seemed to whisper a near-silent appreciation for my seed. But she moved quickly. She lifted herself up quickly off of my body. I groaned as I felt my cock slipping from her body and out into the cool air. As Tutuklu lifted from my cock, I felt warmth pouring out of her and onto my cock and stomach. I looked down and saw that my seed had overwhelmed her tight cunny and she was dripping it out of her and onto my body. She did not seem to notice or at least she did not allow it to stop her. She threw her leg up over my hips and stood slightly to the side of me.




The Sultanah Ch. 05



As soon as she moved away, I felt sudden burst of new sensations. Like a pack of ravenous wolves, the pig-tailed girls and the short-haired woman had waited until the right moment to strike. Now that my body was clear, they moved at once. My balls fell from the short-haired woman's mouth and her hand shot up quickly, wrapping around the sensitive shaft of my cock. At the same time, the two pigtailed girls sat up quickly and leaned down towards my belly. At the same instant, all three women began to lick. The short-haired woman sucked at the tip of cock (making me squirm in lovely agony) while the other two placed their tongue on my stomach. They were all finding my seed, I could hear them slurping at it and I could feel their tongues against the parts of my skin that contained it. It had dripped out of Tutuklu and they wanted it badly. I could hear them moaning with joy and see their bodies shivering as they tasted at my juices.

But I also heard a slight splash. While I enjoyed the feeling of the women cleaning my body with my tongue, I followed the sound of the splash with my eyes. Tutuklu had waded out into the pool directly in front of the sofa. The Blonde and the Brunette were both on their knees now before her. They looked up at her expectantly. I watched her ass shake as she walked languidly through the water. Finally, she turned and faced me. I saw her smiling at me and she spread her legs slightly, placing her hands on her hips. Her cunny was still full of my juices and as she spread her legs, I watched as it began to drip out of her body, running in a small torrent down her leg. The Blonde and the Brunette noticed as well. They immediately dove for her legs. I watched as their tongues found her flesh and I could hear them moaning with pleasure as they tasted my seed. The Blonde and the Brunette ran their tongues desperately over Tutuklu's body and fought playfully with one another for a slight taste. 

For a few moments, Tutuklu and I remained frozen in our spots, staring at each other across the distance. I could feel tongue probing at me and sucking on me (slower now, as they had swallowed down most of my cum and I could see the Blonde and the Brunette fighting for the taste of me. As the seed became rarer, I watched the girls move off in other directions, finding other girls in the room. Rippling like a stone thrown into a pond. I watched as they kissed these girls deeply and I saw my seed spilling into their mouths. I saw the eyes around the room grow wide with excitement at the taste of my seed mixed with the saliva of the other women. Some women seemed to like it so much that they spread my seed back and forth for several seconds, fighting to savor the flavor as long as possible, playing with their breasts as they did so. In fact, some women kissed and swapped my seed for so long that they were essentially forced to share by others, pulled to the ground and kissed passionately. Women of the harem were fighting gain just the slightest hint of the flavor of my seed.

Tutuklu looked absolutely content, like she had never wanted anything more than to feel my seed in her cunny, like she had achieved a life-long goal. I can't describe the feeling I had as I watched and felt these women, falling all over themselves to make me feel like they desired me. But it felt a lot like power. And for the first time, that did not feel like a burden.

* * * * * *

"Have you finished your devotions?" I asked quietly as the door to the chamber opened and I saw Cin, crouched in the darkened hallway praying. She did not squint as she turned to face me, as though her eyes were already adjusted to the blind of light. She was smiling slightly, and looked totally at ease waiting.

"Have you?" she responded, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes," replied, "the harem finished...cleaning me a few moments ago," I said and looked over my shoulder. It looked as though nothing had changed since the door to the harem had first been opened. Once again the harem was going about their business as though nothing had happened. Walking, drinking, and swimming without noticing anything around them. Those who had needed to be cleaning were swimming languidly in the water. Only Tutuklu was not engaged in the farce. She was standing to my side, slightly behind me, looking at Cin.

"Are you sure we cannot interest you in further enjoyments?" Tutuklu asked and I turned to look at her. Her cheeks were somewhat flushed and she looked more beautiful than she had when I first arrived. It seemed she enjoyed my visit. In fact, when the harem had first completed the ritual of sharing my seed, she had offered many additional experiences. For a moment, I had nearly agreed. I wanted to try everything and anything any member of the harem might even being to suggest. But after a moment, I had made the difficult decision to resist. Tutuklu and the harem appeared slightly disappointed but never dared to question my prerogatives. Instead, she had immediately set girls to work collecting my clothes and dressing me again quickly.

"No, thank you," I said, "I would love to stay. But I must get back to business, Tutuklu. But I assure you this time has helped. My mind feels much clearer than it did just a short time ago." I said, telling the truth. I let out a deep breath and it felt like I was using new lungs. Everything felt considerably calmer.

"It was our pleasure to serve," Tutuklu said and she bowed her head. She then turned and walked back into the room and I made my way out into the dark corridor. The door closed behind me. Once it was completely closed, Cin smiled at me conspiratorially.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" she asked and winked. I smiled but did not directly reply. It was a superfluous question, I was sure she could tell simply by my bearing that I had enjoyed myself immensely. In fact, I was already plotting how I would manage to get back to this place, to do this again. Cin nodded knowingly and then she gestured toward the darkened hallway. We turned and started walking through the corridor. 

I moved in front while Cin walked just behind me. I could remember the route we took and moved briskly. At first, I found my mind floating back to the harem, wondering what they were doing. Wondering what they would do the next time I came. It felt a smile on my face and let it rest there.

The path in front of me started to wind its way back up toward the ground floor. I had been so enchanted by my memories of the harem that I had hardly paid attention to the gentle rise of the floor. I stubbed my toe hard against the incline and began to pitch forward. I let out a little yell and threw my hand out to the side to balance myself against the wall. I caught myself, but as I did so I felt white hot pain.

I regained my feet and immediately pulled my hand away from the wall. I held up my hand, only then remembering. I looked at the bandage on my hand, I could see a red spot in the middle of it. I had re-opened the wound that Cin had so meticulously cleaned and dressed. The throbbing pain had returned, perhaps worse now because I had aggravated it. All thoughts of the harem quickly slipped from my mind. I thought back to the morning. Just a few minutes ago, that had seemed like a different lifetime. Now it felt like it had just happened. I clutched my hand to my chest and shook my head.

"How is Arkadas?" I asked. I was ashamed of myself. I had so easily forgotten all of the troubles I had left on the surface. I had not thought of Arkadas at all while I was with the harem. Perhaps worse, I had not been thinking about the assassination attempt or my Empire. I had left it all behind. But that was a luxury I didn't have. A heavy feel returned to the pit of my stomach. I didn't know it had been there before, just realizing it now after my brief respite.

"We shall see," she said and I began to speak again. But if Tutuklu could anticipate my sexual anxieties, then Cin could anticipate my political anxieties. She quickly addressed me as though she had been reading my mind. "And we shall see about all of your concerns in due time. But that is not the issue now. All will wait on you, as you are the Sultanah. Bask in this pleasure a moment longer," she said. I was surprised by this, it was Cin who often kept me focused. Was this some kind of test?

"No. I am powerful, but I don't control everything. The world will not wait on me," I said and started walking again, more carefully, up the path. Cin reached forward and grabbed my wrist. Her palm felt hot on my flesh. I turned and looked at her and her eyes were like fire.

"What you say is, generally, wise. It is good that you recognize the limits of your power. Your father had to lose a war to learn his bounds. But you fail to recognize all of your limitations, and not merely the political. You cannot lead with righteousness if you are losing your head," Cin said. I thought back to my meeting with the Peers earlier in the morning, allowing the 

"I know that," I said.

"It is deeper than you think," Cin said, releasing my wrist now, "The position of Sultanah is a lonely one. It entails stresses and concerns that most people cannot imagine. It is a role that many desire, but few can truly master. And one cannot master the office of Sultanah without constant attention and focus. And, Sultanah Varis, you cannot maintain constant attention and focus on your tasks if you do not love them."

"Love dealing with the Peers?" I snorted and Cin quickly nodded her head.

"Yes. Not for their sake, but for the sake of your people you must love the interplay of the politics. And you must love every other aspect of being Sultanah, so that you can devote your everything to it. Your people deserve it. And Gunes deserves it. And that is why it is important to realize that not all aspects of being Sultanah are a chore. You need not work to love everything. A wise Sultanah know that a trip to the harem on occasion is not an indulgence. It is a necessary to relax the mind and body and to give you pleasure so that you can then love the more difficult aspects of your reign. It provides you with joy that you will then you to lead your people."

I saw the light in Cin's eyes grow dimmer in the dark as she finished speaking. I felt the impact of her words. I could feel the wisdom in her explanation and I felt some of the guilt that accompanied my trip to the harem subside. I did not forget Arkadas, or the Peers, or the marauders, or the food, or my lack of allies, but I allowed myself to think of the harem as well. I thought back to what Tutuklu and the others had done, masking movements to make the whole appear more perfect.

"I had never thought of it that way," I said finally and Cin shrugged nonchalantly as though I would have figured it out on my own at some point. The throbbing in my hand become less intense and I started to work my way back up the path again. "I do feel more in control now. I was ready to leave when we went to the harem, to get away. But it feels right to return now, to get to work. I guess that is what you meant."

"Do not forget this lesson Sultanah," Cin said seriously behind me, "if there is anything else that I might do to protect your strength and manage your sanity you must not hesitate. Good management of the realm demands it." I had never thought of that either. All I need to is ask, as something could be mine. Just as it had once been for my father. I smiled a little, not really sure that I needed anything now. But suddenly, a small burst of inspiration hit.

"Well, actually," I said, and I made a brief suggestion.

"Consider it done," Cin said. And we made our way back to the world and to the sea of troubles with lighter hearts.

End Chapter 5

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 06



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 6 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 6: The Tiebreaker

"That would add an additional day to the trip and would offer what? A marginal decrease in the chance of being murdered by horsemen? Why not..." the merchant said, pointing to the map that was spread on the table that I had asked to be brought into the throne room. He spoke loudly and gestured emphatically, but Soyguncu spoke loudly over him.

"Don't be a fool, that is just one part of a larger strategy..."

"Don't call me a fool you stupid bitch, I have been traveling around this part of the world selling salt-pork since before you slipped out of your mother's arse...:" the merchant retorted

"Call me a bitch again and I will cut out your eye balls and shove them up your arse..." Soyguncu responded, reaching towards her belt. Cin was sitting next to her and she placed her hand on Syoguncu's knife, preventing the meeting from turning into a brawl.

"Shut up the both of you, I need to hear about the river crossing..." Another merchant said over the din. I was sitting on my throne looking down at the meeting below. I was slumped in the chair, my head resting on my right hand. My left was still bandaged and slightly pained from the attack two weeks earlier, but my fingers we moving easily now and it appeared to be on the mend. That, essentially, was the only good news. Certainly this meeting could not have gone much worse

My entire Inner Council was present around the table, along with my scout, Soyguncu. There were about two dozen merchants either at the table or standing around it. They were discussing, if you could call it that, attempts we had made to increase the flow of goods into the city. Soyguncu had spent weeks attempting to find circuitous routes, easily defended passes, and clever camouflaging techniques to increase safety. We had invited many of the successful merchants who traveled regularly in the city to come and discuss these plans. Soyguncu had barely begun outlining the general impact of her plan when the objections had started. Her plans took too long, they would be less safe, if successful they would limit profits, and a half a dozen other objections of varying degrees of merit.

"Let's just stay focused on this..." Cin stated, trying to maintain order.

"What about soldiers? I thought there had been talk of escorts..." Everyone was talking at once now. I looked out the window at the city and sighed. Food shortages had grown slightly more acute in the last two weeks as Dusman's cavalry had increased their predations. The people in the city were growing hungrier by the day. Whatever hope I held for this meeting had quickly dissipated and now I was just waiting for it to end so I could formulate a new plan. Maybe bringing in seeds and earth to grow vegetables on rooftops...I supposed there were stupider ideas.

"Varis...Varis...I mean, Sultanah Varis," A voice called below. The crowd was still yelling loudly at one another at their tables and the various members of my Inner Council were trying desperately to maintain order. But as I looked down I saw, at the base of my throne, Arkadas. She was holding a piece of parchment in her hand.

"Yes, what is it?" I asked. At the sound of my voice, all discussion around the table instantly ceased. The people standing or sitting around the table all turned and looked at me. I had underestimated the weight of my authority. I could have controlled the discussion with a good deal more closely if I had exerted myself. But it seemed like a useless endeavor anyway. I needed to remove the threat posed by the horsemen, not hide from it.

"A parchment has arrived from the Kongre, the Peers have made some sort of proclamation," Arkadas said, looking down at the notice in her hand with a knitted brow. I felt an intense sense of unease.

"I didn't call parliament into session. How have the Peers met without me? Under what authority? Why haven't I heard about this?" I asked quickly. Arkadas looked up at me helplessly and shrugged. I looked over towards Cin. She was looking at me gravely and nodded her head.

"Gentlemen, the Sultanah would like to thank you for coming in today to discuss these matters. She has heard your various concerns and will likely re-evaluate this plan..."

"We have not even begin to express our objections," One merchant said.

"We were told we would have an hour and a half of the Sultanah's time..." another one began.

"My friends," I began, laying on the charm, "I have heard what you have said here today. What is more, I have heard beyond that, to the core problems with my plan. I assure you that I am not satisfied unless you are satisfied. I do not want this meeting to drag on when we all know this will not work. It is a waste of your time. Let me get you back in here in a few days or weeks and we will discuss a new plan, something you will like more..."

"It isn't going to get any better than this," Soyguncu shot back, crossing her arms in front of her breasts. Cin shot her an angry look but I ignored her.

"Please, tell my guard that I asked that you be taken to the reception hall for refreshment. It is the least I can do for all of the help you provided," I spoke calmly, soothingly in order to get the men to leave my throne room. But inside I was nervous. I had been resisting efforts to call a parliament for two weeks. I did not like the composition of the Peers and was nervous about who they would select as a Prime Minister. The fact that they met and had apparently produced some sort of document was disconcerting. It was not legal, in a strict sense, because I had not called a parliament. But it spoke to conflicts rippling below the surface.

"Well, I suppose we cannot argue with that," said one of the older merchants, one who was ostensibly elected as their spokesman, "We know you are busy. We thank you for your time." Many of the other merchants tried to argue with him, but he waved them off. Apparently, he understood how to take a hint, even if they did not. He rose from the table and started to walk from the room. Reluctantly, the others began to follow him.

In a few moments, all of the merchants had left the throne room and were in the hallway beyond, arguing with the guard about the location of their meal. I barely waited for the door to close before I was bounding down the stairs of my throne, reaching for the parchment. Cin rose also, and was walking over towards me.

"What a bunch of fucking pansies," Soyguncu said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the door, "They want complete safety with hazard pay. I mean this is a war, isn't it?" she asked.

"Not now," I said, completely forgetting about the merchants. I took the parchment from Arkadas hands. In a few moments, Cin, Arkadas, Kardes, Soyguncu, Agiz and Got were crowded around me as I tore open the seal on the parchment. Some of them may not have understood the significance of this missive, but they could tell that I was concerned. Once I had it open, I felt the papers trembling in my hands as I tried to read. I was almost certain that it was a notice that I had been deposed and that some faction of the Peers had seized power. I could feel the blood rushing in my ears and the words seemed to make no sense. I read the parchment aloud, so that others would hear it and be able to explain it to me if I could not control myself.

"To our most honored and rightful sovereign, Sultanah Varis I," the parchment began. That was a pleasant start, I had not been branded a traitor or criminal. I felt some relief, "on this, the 12th day of Eylül in the year 1298, the Community of the Realm convened at the Kongre to discuss matters of Imperial import."

"That is good," Cin said, sounding somewhat relieved. Many other eyes, including mine, turned to her curiously. She smiled, "The Community of the Realm is the technical term to describe the members of parliament when not in session. They are not defying you. They simply called a meeting of their own accord. It is somewhat improper, but it is not treasonous." I felt my panic subsiding slightly and turned my eyes back to the back. Once again, I read aloud.

"We herein proffer the following resolutions: wherefore, we Peers constitute the Community of the Realm and consequently have a direct stake in matters of governance and; wherefore that Realm, Bütün Dünya, is currently at war on many fronts, with many enemies and; wherefore, that war and those enemies would tax the endurance of even the most skilled and experience war leader, and wherefore the Peers care deeply for the health and happiness of our beloved Sultanah and; wherefore the Peers wish to relieve some of the burden from the shoulders of the Sultanah, and wherefore the participation of the Peers in the prosecution of the war would enhance, rather than hinder, the prerogatives of the Sultanah, and wherefore the large number of Peers makes participation in unofficial congresses or official Parliament burdensome and inefficient, be it hereinafter resolved that the Community of the Realm shall establish and create an Executive Assembly consisting of five lords elected by the Community of the Realm and led by a Chancellor selected from among there number." 

"Those worms!" Kardes spat angrily as my voice faded. I dropped the parchment onto the table.

"What?" Arkadas asked, "They made some sort of committee or something? Who cares? That is what Parliament always does, right?" Arkadas peered around the room. She was the only one who appeared sanguine (though, in fairness, Soyguncu was still just upset because her meeting with the merchants had collapsed).

"They aren't parliament now," I said flatly. Even if Arkadas didn't understand, I had learned a lot in the previous months. I could smell what was happening.

"They are usurping the Sultanah's authority. They called a meeting that she did not sanction and granted themselves a chunk of her power."

"It specifically says they aren't doing that!" Arkadas shot back naively.

"Of course they did! Wouldn't you say that?" Kardes responded.

"This is because of meeting, the meeting after the assassination attempt," I said, looking over at Cin. She nodded quickly and then spat on the floor. 

"Who signed it? Have they already elected their Assembly and its Chancellor?" she asked. I reached down and picked up the parchment again.

"Yes, it is signed by the Assembly, though no Chancellor has yet been elected from among their ranks. Though I should note that Duke Hain's name is first in order," I said, reading over the bottom of the document. The presence of Hain's name suggested to me everything that had occurred. After my outburst at the meeting, the Collaborationist party had poisoned the moderate nobles into thinking I was unfit for the task. I was overburdened and inexperienced. They had couched their intent in language of concern. They suggested forming a council to provide me with guidance and support. For fear of upsetting the Loyalists (and those on the fence) they could not come out and say what they were doing. They were usurping my power. Their goal was to make me a figurehead. Over a very gradual timeline, my importance would be downplayed to the point where I could simply be eliminated. 

I felt a white hot rage the likes of which I had not felt since the assassination attempt a few weeks earlier. Those men had been trying to take my life, but this was not much better. They were trying to eliminate me as a political entity, to strip everything about the Sultanah that made me greater than the young woman, Varis. It was a political assassination, if not a bodily murder. I clenched my fist, but felt impotent. How could I counteract this?

"Who else has signed?" Cin said, keeping calm now even as my rage spiraled.

"Duke Hain, Lord Örnek, Sir Sakşakçı, Lord Sadik, Duke Göstermelik," I said, growing more enraged as I went, "Sadik and Göstermelik! I thought they were Loyalists? Were they just waiting for the right time to throw in with Hain and his ilk? Trying to get a better deal? Am I totally isolated. And who is this Sir Sakşakçı? I have never once in my life heard of him." I was essentially frothing with anger now and many of the people around the table had taken a step back. Only Cin stayed nearby. She walked closer to me and placed her hand against mine. I felt her calming warmth and my heart rate slowed slightly.

"I think you may misreading the significance of those five names and the fact they have not voted for a Chancellor as yet," Cin said calmly. I looked at the names again, but I was still too angry to think. How could Sadik do this to me?

"I see an attempt by the Peers to steal my throne but let me still pretend to sit on it," I said sharply.

"Yes and I see a shrewd maneuver to counteract that attempt," Cin said. I furrowed my brown, trying to discern what Cin had gleaned from the parchment. I sat down at the table and the other approached closer.

"Explain it to me," I said. Cin nodded.

"I agree that this is related to your accusations against the Peers after the attack. The Collaborationists are scared of being treated as traitors. And many other Peers are likely afraid as well. But if that happened all those weeks ago, then why is this parchment just coming here now?" she asked.

"Because the Loyalists were blocking it!" Kardes said, leaning now more closely towards the parchment. Cin smiled at her and nodded.

"Exactly."

"Well what happened? Why did they give in?" I asked.

"Numbers," Cin said, "My guess is that you are outnumbered now, more Collaborationists than Loyalists. Hain and his party eventually threatened to set up Community of the Realm meeting and vote unanimously to form the Executive Assembly. They only need a majority of the Peers to make a claim to speaking for them. So the Loyalists agreed to the meeting."

"So what, the Loyalist then just threw in with them?" Arkadas asked, more confused than angry. But I was starting to understand what happened and the significance of the lowly Sir Sakşakçı. I shook my head.

"No. They realized that if they didn't show up, that the Executive Assembly would be 100% Collaborationist, but if they joined, they could get a few seats," I explained, my anger subsiding now. I was still facing a challenge to my authority, but I was not alone.

"Why did the Collaborationists let them? If they could just set it up anyway and have 100% of the seats?" Arkadas asked.

"It would look like a naked power grab. Now they have the illusion of consensus," I explained.

"They both got something out of it," Cin added, "So it happened. It is not ideal for either of the parties. And that is where we have to seize the reins here." I was feeling better now, the wheels were turning.

"Well then who is who?" Arkadas asked, confused. She was looking at the names on the parchment, obviously trying to remember who they were.

"Duke Hain and Lord Örnek are Collaborationists. Hain is in charge and Örnek does whatever he is told. Basically the same can be said with Lord Sadik and Duke Göstermelik; Sadik will have two votes on the Assembly," Cin explained.

"And Sir...whatever?" Arkadas asked.

Sir Sakşakçı," I finished for her, "I don't know anything about him. But I imagine he is a moderate. And probably a pliable one." 

"How do you know he is not a Collaborationist or a Loyalist?" Got asked. I did not have a chance to answer, Cin jumped in.

"If he fit in a faction, they would have already voted for a Chancellor. And if the factions were able to install their leaders they would have chosen Dukes or someone with a name. His obscurity speaks to the fact that he is in play. He has little money or position. He appealed to moderates because he didn't choose sides. But more importantly, he appeals to the Loyalists and the Collaborationists because they think he can be bought," Cin said, nodding in agreement, "I know him slightly. I think the Sultanah's assessment is correct."

"Well how do we buy him?" I asked and there was some nervous laughter around the room. Now that it was clear what was happening in the Community of the Realm, the course of action was clear. Rather than a threat, this could be turned into an opportunity. An Executive Assembly run by Collaborationists would steal my power and rule in my stead. An Executive Assembly run by Loyalists would give the impression that I was sharing power and flatter the pretensions of the moderate Peers, but actually continue to grant me a wide range of motion. If I could get three votes on the Assembly, then I was in a better position than before. The Collaborationists would suffer a self-inflicted wound. If nothing else, it would make my adversaries look incompetent. They had already allowed the matter to be thrown into the air by allowing a moderate on the Assembly, now I had to make them pay.

For a long moment after my question, there was silence. Everyone was trying to think of a way to ensure that 

"Why get overly cute?" Soyguncu suggested (having now slipped seamlessly into a discussion with the Inner Council), "Collect a lot of money and hand it to him." I winced and shook my head




The Sultanah Ch. 06



"First of all, that is what Hain and Sadik are going to do it," Cin replied, "The Sultanah is the richest person in the Empire, but her wealth is mostly tied up in non-liquid assets. Further, the resources of the various lords together far outstrip her power."

"Well then we need to find out what he likes that money can't buy. What sort of office does he want? I am sure Duke Göstermelik would relinquish the Privy Seal if we ask," Agiz suggested.

"Maybe," I said, feeling that the offer was weak. I wanted something that the man could not resist. An office that came with real responsibilities didn't seem to fit the bill. I needed to know more about him personally.

"Sir Sakşakçı..." Kardes said, as though she was thinking out loud, "You don't suppose his wife is the Lady Kukla Sakşakçı, do you?" Everyone turned and looked at my sister. Her brow was knitted and it was clear she was thinking deeply.

"It is not a common name," Cin replied, "It is likely. Why? Do you know the Lady? Would she have insight into how the gentleman might be bought?"

"I knew her somewhat what I left here years ago when she was a trouble-making child in the city. Just one of those little girls whose father worked in the palace. I have re-acquainted myself with her in recent months, just in passing. She is often at receptions and manages to get invitations generally above her station. I was a bit surprised to find her there at first. She is of low birth obviously, but perfectly charming and, in fact, quite beautiful. However, there are rumors at court amongst the married women and widows," she hinted. Now she was starting to smile slyly, it was clear she had something of substance.

"What about the rumors?" I asked, sounding only slightly less impatient than I felt.

"If what I have heard is true (and some of what I have heard has come directly from the lady's mouth), it isn't Sir Sakşakçı that you need to buy," Kardes explained. As she spoke, so confidently, I thanked Gunes for my older sister. Who would have known someone who, so recently, had been essentially a stranger, would eventually become such a necessary ally? Who else could infiltrate the ladies of the court? I was certainly no longer welcome there.

"What do you mean," Arkadas asked.

"I mean that in Sir Sakşakçı, the Lady holds the sword. Whatever she wants, she gets," Kardes explained devilishly. There was no way that Hain or even Sadik would dare to approach the man's wife. It would not be seemly. But the Sultanah? Well, a visit would be an honor and totally appropriate.

"I know a little something about the woman carrying the sword," I said, arching my eyebrows, "I better find out what she wants so she can get it."

* * * * *

"Gunes be praised, the Sultanah!" a voice said through the small crack in the door. I ducked my head slightly.

"Please my Lady, keep your voice down. I am out alone," I hissed at her and looked around me. I was in a part of Şehir I traveled to only very infrequently. I was in a small neighborhood where impoverished nobleman rented small apartments for their stays in the city. Most of the people staying here spent most of their time, under normal circumstances, outside of the city on their farms. But circumstances had driven them here, to a dead end street near the Eastern wall. The apartment buildings here were four or five stories tall and made of dully, gray stone. The street itself was only four feet wide and the apartments essentially kissed one another across the short distance. It was night now, but it would have been dark in the daylight. Garbage choked the narrow streets and I could hear rats splashing through puddles and gnawing on scraps.

I had arrived at one of these small apartment buildings just a few minutes earlier. I had received a report from Soyguncu that Sir Sakşakçı had left with several other rural noblemen in the direction of a tavern they often frequented. I was assured that Lady Kukla Sakşakçı was home and that her husband would not return for some time. I had been waiting, in disguise, in a different tavern nearby. I had been waiting most of the day for my opportunity and I had grabbed it immediately. I had rushed to the building (the location of which I already knew), in the alley I removed my disguise (exposing my normal, elegant robe in its place), and climbed the rickety ladder from the ground floor to the landing on the third story. This was the location of Sir Sakşakçı's front door. As I knocked, Soyguncu was standing in the alley below and Saygili, nervous and disapproving, was somewhere nearby with a cadre of loyal guards. Just in case. But I thought it necessary to humble myself before Lady Kukla Sakşakçı and to come without a formal retinue. Also, it was better to surprise someone with the Imperial presence.

It is hard to say what I was feeling then. The situation was a major threat to my Empire and to my personal power. This was the strongest move yet that my internal enemies had made against me. But I felt somehow surprisingly calm. I was feeling more confident in my abilities than I had ever had before. I had faced dozens of challenges at that point. Even though I didn't know how I would solve this problem, I was beginning to expect that I would solve them. That confidence was essential. And besides, the afterglow of my trip to the harem had not worn off completely; I still felt more relaxed. In fact, I felt like I was simply taking more pleasure in my duties as Sultanah. There was no reason for my tasks to be a chore, so long as I did them well.

"Oh dearest me, I ain't no lady!" the woman behind the door mumbled slightly. Her face was red with embarrassment and she seemed unwilling to meet my eyes. But she had recognized me simply by my face and the sound of my voice. My reach with the people was growing, "I am Sir Sakşakçı's maid and such. Well, a good deal more than that of course. I watch the little ones and I clean and I..."

"Hizmetçi, who on Earth are you talking to?" a more youthful voice called from behind the slit in the door. The maid looked even more flustered.

"Well it is..."she said loudly, then remembering my injunction, "May she just come in my Lady? I am sure you will want her to..."

"What are you talking about?" Lady Kukla Sakşakçı asked, sounding annoyed but as though she were used to her maid's odd behavior. The maid did not respond to the Lady's question. Her mouth just opened and closed like a beached fish. I looked around the dank alleyway and smelled the putrid smell of the garbage. I did not want to be exposed to the environment long because of the danger, but more so because of its filth.

"Oh fine, if it is a woman, then let her in," Lady Kukla Sakşakçı said in an exasperated tone. I hoped I was not causing her grief before I begged for her help. The Maid unlatched the door and opened it wider, stepping back to let me in. Light poured out from the apartment, blinding me slightly. I stepped in quickly and the door closed behind me.

"I present to you the Sultanah of Ülke and first of her name since the founding of the Hanedan..." The maid began. I felt like blushing and looked to make sure the door was sealed against her noise.

"That is not necessary," I said quickly and the maid quieted herself. Now that I was in the apartment, my eyes began to adjust to the lantern light that illuminated it. It was a very small apartment. It appeared to be just two rooms. One room, to my left, looked like the place where the maid and perhaps a few children slept. In fact I could see at least two children lying in the bed at that time. There was a slightly larger room directly ahead of me where the Lord and his Lady slept. The apartment was much cleaner on the inside than the outside would imply, with freshly painted yellow walls and fresh straw on the floor. But it was very sparsely furnished. Each room had a bed and there was a small table in the master bedroom, with two squat chairs. A woman was sitting at one of those chairs now facing me.

She was, as my sister had stated, quite beautiful. She was, I was a bit embarrassed to note, apparently getting undressed for bed, as she was wearing only a pair of white knickers, her red corset, and a loose, opened robe over top of it. She was around 5'5 and somewhat slim (though the corset must have accounted for some of it). She had very long, brown hair that was now out of its long braid and hanging messily over her shoulders. She had large, intelligent brown eyes, a small nose, and in inquisitive mouth. Her somewhat pointed ears gave her a slightly mousy, though not unappealing appearance. Her breasts were quite large and pushed up high on her chest by her corset. Her stomach appeared flat and she had a very dramatic flair from her narrow waist to her wide hips (narrow even for the corset to account for). She appeared to have a round, full bottom and slender, elegant limbs. In short, she was the kind of beauty that was far from common, but her rise from low birth to a Lord's wife could not be accounted for solely by looks. She was not quite as beautiful as say, a member of the harem. She must've had some intelligence, some craftiness. That intelligence was apparent and enhanced her sensual appeal.

Her shrewdness was apparent not only from her appearance, but also from her bearing. The Sultanah had just walked into her room, essentially unannounced. Yet, she did not look flustered like her maid. She seemed to consciously choose not to be embarrassed by the exposure of her body. In fact, she displayed no untoward emotions. She did not appear nervous or confused. She simply bowed her head slightly.

"Sultanah Varis. I cannot describe to you the honor you bring to my humble home. I wish only I had known that you were to arrive, so that I could prepare refreshments for your visit," she spoke slowly and with careful measure of her words. She acted as though I dropped by often and was only surprised by the hour and nature of my arrival. I admired her composure. It might be fun to see what kind of woman she was.

"You cannot be blamed. I chose to arrive unannounced," I said and nodded back to her.

"Regardless, I must apologize for the oversight," she said. For a woman of low birth, she certainly knew the manner in which a lady was expect to speak, "And I further apologize for my husband's absence. He just left for the Two Bells Tavern. I am sure you could catch him if you go quickly." 

"No. That won't be necessary," I said, leaving it at that. I decided to test the woman's intelligence, see if she knew why I was here. She smiled slightly but did not immediately speak.

"I just can't believe it!" the Maid said, reminding me again that she was present. I turned to her and smiled awkwardly. Lady Kukla Sakşakçı looked annoyed.

"Hizmetçi, the Sultanah and I have a matter to discuss. Could you please go into the children's room and ensure they stay asleep?" she asked, clearly understanding that this was to be a meeting of some importance. I wondered if she had some inkling of what I was going to speak with her about. But I was still growing used to the idea that any visit from me was necessarily important and that people naturally expected something monumental when I arrived.

"Of course my Lady," the maid said after a moment. Her mouth was hanging open with a slightly as she stared at me with awe. Her voice sounded disappointed, as though she had wanted to sit with me, to hear whatever it was I had to say, even if she did not understand.

"Now," Lady Kukla Sakşakçı said forcefully but without malice. The maid jumped slightly and then nodded again. She then turned and walked briskly into the adjoining room, "And close the door behind you," the Lady added quietly. The mad did not speak again, but she kept her eyes on me with a rapt expression as she slowly closed the door. Once we were alone, I turned back to Lady Kukla Sakşakçı.

"Lady Kukla Sakşakçı..." I began. The lady lifted her delicate arm.

"Kukla, please. You are a guest in my home, I insist on informality," she said, her voice sounding calm, almost soothing. I appreciated the delicacy with which she had interrupted me and for a moment I was nearly compelled to reciprocate her informality. But I remembered why I was here. It was necessary that I gain this woman's trust and informality would go some way toward that. But more importantly, I was here to impress upon her the regality of my bearing and the physical presence of my power. "Call me Varis," hardly had the correct amount of gravitas.

"Kukla, then," I began and she bowed her head slightly to show that she was honored that I would speak to her in a familiar name.

"Thank you Sultanah Varis, you honor me," she said and now it was my turn to be impressed. She had taken the cue completely. Further, despite the fact that she likely had no idea why I was standing in her squalid apartment, she did not ask. She recognized my prerogative to choose when to speak. I stood in a silence for a moment and simply eyed her. I wanted her to feel the weight of my choices, to know I did what I wanted when I wanted. She stood patiently, motionless. She did not seem haughty or annoyed but also did not appear to tremble before my office. She suddenly looked even more attractive to me than she had before. I decided it was a good time to use charm rather than raw power.

"I am sure you are wondering why I have come," I began slowly.

"The question had crossed my mind, Grace," Kukla said with a sly smile. I laughed a little.

"I came to congratulate you," I said simply and raised my hands in a slightly before me in a benedictory fashion. For the first time, Kukla seemed a bit off-put. She crossed her arms in front of her breasts, recognized the defensive nature of her posture, and dropped her arms again.

"Congratulations Sultanah?" she asked.

"Oh I know it has not been made official yet, but I have heard about it," I said. I wondered if she was playing at ignorance or if she 

"I apologize Sultanah," she said, sounding sincere, "I wish to accept your congratulations, as they are an honor I would never have expected. And yet, I must confess, that I know not of what you speak." Her eyes had fallen from mine and she looked a bit uncomfortable now. I could tell she was sincere. I laughed slightly and she raised her head.

"Oh I am not laughing at you my Lady," I said after a moment, "it is just...men are so predictable are they not?"

"I am finding little predictable of late, Sultanah," Kukla said, at a loss. I laughed again, this time a bit genuinely amused by her confusion.

"It appears that your husband has failed to tell you about the honor he received from the Peers this day. It is much like a man to forget something that could be of great important to his wife. He did not mention the Executive Assembly at all?" I asked. 

"Oh," Kukla said, realization dawning on her face. I wondered if I, and my sister, had overestimated her intelligence, "he mentioned something about a committee to which he had been selected. He said only that it was something chosen by the Peers and..." she stopped suddenly, realizing she had said too much. It was strange how clearly I could see this now, this little dance.

"And?" I asked.

"And..." she hesitated, then spoke with a sigh, "that it did not pay any additional money." It was quite clear now that Sir Sakşakçı had either concealed the nature of his elevation from his wife...or was completely ignorant to it.

"Your husband is too modest it would seem. A mere committee!" I said jovially, "He has been selected as one of only five assemblymen in the entire realm to act as my executive counselors. Your husband will rank with Duke Hain, Lord Örnek, Lord Sadik, and Duke Göstermelik. He will be making decisions that affect the entire Empire." Kukla's eyes began to swim. Her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Hain and Sadik?" she asked, pinpointing the factional leaders in the Peerage.

"And Örnek and Göstermelik," I finished.

"My husband?" she asked incredulously. She seemed completely dazed now but I could tell she was trying to keep her composure, to not give anything away while she figured out the nature of the 

"I admit, I have had little contact with your husband. But it seems he has the respect of the Lords," I said, "Think of all the other men of greater means that could have been selected. It must be your husband's wisdom that attracted the votes of the Peers."

"Yes, I am sure that is it," Kukla said wryly. Apparently she well understood the limitations of her husband and could not, despite some effort, hide her disdain for him. I could almost hear her swearing him for his stupidity under her breath. He did not understand the import of his office. But apparently his wife did. This was a coup if I could play my cards right.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise as well, not only to be able to offer you congratulations, but also to bring you the very news!" I said with enthusiasm. Kukla nodded dreamily. But I could see the gears of her mind working; she was trying to figure things out.

"My Sultanah," she said after a brief pause, "forgive me, but I must ask you something."

"Of course," I said, and now it was clear she was grasping the situation.

"I am humbled and honored that you have chosen to congratulate me on my husband's recent...elevation. But, why me? I told you where my husband had gone, you could have congratulated him," Kukla said. She seemed to have controlled her swoon now and she was looking at me with clearer eyes. Penetrating eyes. I felt a slight flutter and wondered what it meant.

"You would not believe that I simply prefer to bring pleasant tidings to women, would you?" I said coyly and Kukla smiled. I wondered now the best tact. I could continue to hint at things, to play the game I had been playing. But I had already thrown her off balance. There were limits to my time and what I could achieve with winks and nudges. Now, I decided, was the time to be blunt and honest. If this wife was shrewd and intelligent, as I suspected she was, then she would appreciate some straightforward talk, just between us girls.

"Your husband is a man of little material wealth and even lesser reputation," I said coldly, Kukla reared back as though smacked, but did not dare contradict me, "Duke Hain, Lord Örnek, Lord Sadik, and Duke Göstermelik are amongst the most powerful men in the land. It just so happens that two of those men, the two you named, lead the two largest factions at court. Your husband was selected, I suspect, for his pliability. The men of the Assembly do not respect, perhaps should not respect him, and so they engineered his elevation so that he could be bribed, cheaply, and used as a tool." Kukla's eyes grew wide and her mouth opened once, then closed again.

"I..." she began after a long pause.

"Do not feel the need to defend him; I do not begrudge your decision to marry him. It was shrewd, a quality I appreciate," I said quickly, not knowing whether she actually intended to defend him or not. Her eyes flashed in recognition of the compliment. 

"Hain and Sadik are going to pull out all the stops to buy your husband's vote. Hain is richer and so, if he were buying your husband, he would win," I finished. Kukla made a non-committal gesture with her hands.

"But those men, and all the Peers, have underestimated your husband. They did not realize that he is a mere puppet, a cipher. They did not realize that they will be trying to bribe an inanimate object. I came to congratulate you because, without your knowledge, you have earned a spot by proxy on the Executive Assembly. And to ask that you support my choice for Chancellor of the Council." I said finally. I crossed my arms in front of my breasts and peered forward. I watched Kukla's movements, trying to read their significance. For a moment I saw her think about denying my charge, to claim she was nothing more than a devoted wife and mother. I had stripped away her mask and she felt uncomfortable in the glare. But I saw her recognition that I had found the truth, and her respect that I had done so. After a few moments, she gestured to the chair opposite her.




The Sultanah Ch. 06



"Please, have a seat. It is a humble table, but it is what we have," she said, with significance placed on each word that tumbled from her mouth. I started to cross the room and made my way to the chair. My body moved in a slinky way that I hadn't necessarily intended. But I could not help, it felt right.

"Well then, let's talk about what you have. And what you want," I said as I sat down. I settled into my chair and sat facing Kukla. I did not speak; I decided to let her speak first. And first, she seemed content to wait, but eventually, she chose to speak first, obviously a little flattered by the recognition and excited by her sudden boon.

"Well," she said, "You claim that Hain and Sadik would bribe my husband with money and that Hain has more money. So you want someone other than Hain or Lord Örnek to be chancellor and you offer, what?" she asked.

"So you are familiar with the factions then?" I said. I had not mentioned that Lord Örnek was in Hain's camp. She was evidentially was. She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment.

"I don't think I have to pretend to be something I am not with you, is that right?" Kukla asked, her voice sounding a bit bold, a bit fresh. But I liked it.

"No, it is welcome," I said, "As for my offer...If it is just more money you wanted we wouldn't be talking right?"

"If you thought more money would do it, you would have just given it to Sadik. You don't think you can outbid Hain and you think you can do more. Further, and I say this will due respect to your position as Sultanah and with gratitude that you have come to offer me your congratulations, flattery will not be enough. You see how we live. Money can change that," she said. Now I felt like I was talking to the real Kukla. She had just gotten word of what was happening and she was already seeing the angles. She was sharper than even my sister realized. I smiled.

"Well I am Sultanah, I control levers that Hain might wish he could control," I said archly, "But most assuredly does not. Now." 

"Like what?" Kukla said, leaning forward on the table, her breasts heaving inside of her tight corset as she did so. I ignored her looks.

"Well, the position on the Executive Assembly should come with additional awards, perhaps Keeper of the Privy Seal?" I said, using a suggestion I had received earlier. I didn't really know what I was going to offer Kukla, I had hoped she would give some inkling of what she wanted. This was just to test the waters. I knew there had to be something I could give her.

"That is a real position, with real power," she said.

"It is," I agreed.

"You think that lump of cow shit I am married to can handle that? If that is the kind of man you want in your administration, I am beginning to doubt your intelligence," she said boldly. No one had talked to me in that way since my elevation to the throne and I felt myself get hot. But I controlled myself, I had begun the frank exchange of ideas and I had to abide by it now.

"How about something more, ceremonial?" I said. She looked nonplussed and shrugged her shoulders disinterestedly.

"Sure, make him Admiral of the Desert, he won't know what it means anyway," she said. Clearly I was on the wrong track. My instincts had been right before, I needed to drop this and get back to more fruitful ground.

"Well, what about you?" I asked, "After all, that is why I am here. Those others will try to bribe your husband. I want to reason with you. It is clear that your husband has been...inadequate in providing for your needs. Perhaps a little independence would be helpful for you," I said.

"Anything you give me that man will find," she hissed, "He has only ever been good at two things: having noble blood and finding my money so he can piss it away." There was real bitterness in her voice and I felt my heart go to her slightly. It could not have been easy living in a place like this, with a man such as her husband, especially when he own mind was so clearly sharp. I reached forward slightly and grasped Kukla's hand. She almost pulled it back, but I held tight and she looked at me closely. 

"Do not think that because I was born a Princess that I do not understand you," I said evenly, "It must be difficult, to have pulled yourself up with intelligence and beauty and to have married into a noble family with an ancient name, only to find that his blue blood had worn so thin that it was lower than yours." I could tell as I was speaking that she was growing riled. Her cheeks grew darker and her fists clenched. I was touching a nerve.

"I have never been ashamed of who I am," she said fiercely.

"And I do not expect you to be ashamed. I do not blame people for the accidents of birth. How could I?" I said and then looked down briefly, between my legs. Kukla caught the glance and I saw her sense my meaning, "Nor do I blame a woman for doing what is necessary to survive; it is what I do every day. And it is what the men in our lives are not burdened with understanding." I did not know if I was striking on the right vein. She was a tough woman to read and possibly too intelligent to allow me to gain her trust so quickly. But, then again, I was being sincere. Everything I said was true, even if I ultimately hoped it would get me what I wanted. Kukla gave me a hard look for several seconds, as though she were thinking about whether or not to tell me something. Finally, she let out a low sigh and spoke.

"I know what it is to be scorned, to be on the bottom, for something you cannot help Sultanah. I don't regret that I hear what they say about you, the wives especially, at court. But you should hear what they say about me. About my idiot husband. But the thing is, what they say is true. I am of common birth. I was poor. I did fuck an idiot to get a seat at the table. But I became the woman I am from eating garbage and sleeping in streets. Those women could not live for a minute in my shadow."

"I don't regret...what it took to make me the Sultanah, even if they hate and resent me for it," I said. She nodded slowly. I watched as her eyes slowly turned toward the door, leading into her children's room. I had an idea, and I pounced, "I just expected...I expected it to buy me some security. I exposed myself to the world, my real nature. Now you and all those ladies at court know my most private details. And I thought, once it was proven I deserved to be on the throne, that people would let me sit securely on it. But the lords don't respect me; they are trying to usurp the power that far worse Sultan's than I have accepted as their birthright. Because I am a woman. They are taking away my security." Kukla was listening, but her eyes were staring off as though she was thinking deeply.

"If I were a man as clever as I am, I would be in far different circumstances. I thought it meant something to be the wife of a nobleman. I thought it was a guarantee that I couldn't ever live like this again. That my children would never have to live like this. But my husband is so foolish that I cannot keep him in line. And whatever benefits he should be entitled to are denied him, because he married common street trash. He is already talking of mortgaging his property. If he dies without paying it off...my children will inherit nothing. It will all be for naught. They won't even really be considered noble." she said, sounding more angry than sad now. But I knew I was on the right track. I thought back to something I had heard earlier in the day. 

"Are you familiar with Lady Dul?" I asked. Kukla seemed jarred by the sudden change in my line of questioning. For a moment she seemed off balance, but then she answered me.

"Lord Dul's widow? The 18 year old girl?"

"The heiress to the Castle of Arazi," I corrected, "Lord Dul died without children. His brothers are all dead and had no children. He had no sisters. His young wife is the only possible heir. Further, her parents and brothers are dead too, though everyone involved left an impeccable name," I said.

"Yes, I am familiar with her situation," she said, become more guarded in her speech now. She could tell I was using her words, searching for a way to secure her vote. She was smart enough to remain aloof as I did so. I pressed on, back on the pursuit. I felt my heart pumping with excitement, I felt slightly light-headed.

"And you must know she is the most eligible lady in the Empire," I said, brushing the hair out of my face and giving her a slightly devious look. For a moment I reflected on how closely this experience seemed to mirror seduction. But she spoke again quickly before I could fully explore the idea.

"I do," she replied. I could tell she was starting to gain an inkling of where I was going, her eyes were growing bright.

"Since her father is dead, it is my role as Sultanah, it is my duty, and my right, to ensure a suitable marital match for the young widow. As you know, a woman, generally, cannot hold property. I, as Sultanah, must hold the castle and the lands on the Lady Dul behalf until a husband is procured. That husband, of course, would then take custody of her property."

"It is an ancient and honored position that you hold, father of the Empire. It is like the Lady Dul is your daughter," Kukla said. I saw her cheeks flushing slightly and her chest was rising and falling more rapidly as she grew excited. 

"Of course, it is also customary and appropriate that the Sultan receive some consideration for his role, of in this case, her role in ensuring a prosperous match. My High Priestess, Cin, is currently negotiating with several suitors who all deeply love the lady Dul. And her land," I said. I had been discussing that issue, in fact, with Cin that morning well before the issue of the Executive Assembly had been raised. I had not even considered the implications of that conversation until I spoke with Kukla. It seemed my plan was bearing fruit.

"Who wouldn't love 4'7 woman weighing 400 pounds? Her mustache is most appealing," Kukla replied, offering me a wicked grin. She licked her lips slightly in anticipation.

"Do you believe your son would love her?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. It seemed as though a tremor ran up Kukla's spine.

"He is a good boy. He love what his mother tells him to love. Though...it would be some time before he is ready to love a woman. He is but 10 years old. A lot can change in 8 years," she explained.

"Nonsense!" I said, "There is no reason why they cannot be wed now. By proxy of course. The boy would remain with you until his 18th birthday. Then he would go to his wife of 8 years and consummate the marriage. She will be 26 and in the prime of her life for the production of heirs. It would be morally sound and completely legal," I said, "More importantly, the instant the legal wedding went through, Lady Dul's new husband would be the legal possessor of all her estates. If the new husband's father, for example, pissed away all of his own property, the boy's property would remain. It would be under my control until he turned 18." I could feel that I was getting close, the excitement was electric. Kukla looked the same, her eyes had an intensity that I would not have expected, even from her.

"I look forward to welcoming the young woman into my family," she said, her breath coming out as a whisper.

"I hear she is very pliable. I am sure she will make a fine daughter," I said. "Do we have a deal?" I extended my hand now and looked over at Kukla. Her breasts were rising and falling in her corset and her delicate hands were twisting around one another rapidly. Her hair was slightly in her eyes but she seemed to be looking past it, past me even. After a moment, she turned her head and looked toward the door where the maid had retired. She seemed to almost speak, and then she sighed.

"There are two children in that room," She said, and slowly turned back to face me. Kukla would never sell herself cheap; she was going to make me work for it. I nodded; I respected her for her nerve in turning down a very lucrative offer. I could walk away now and she would be ruined. But I might be also. And I had the means, so I decided to blink first. My mind flashed to another conversation I had had the previous night, this one with my sister Kardes.

"Have you heard for Sir Toprak Sahibi?" I asked now.

"The old man, I know him well. I know of him at least. My husband used to drink with him," she said.

"All the better," I said, "But you are not entirely right." I bit my lip in a manner that suggested there was more information. And, from Kardes, I knew that there was.

"How so?" Kukla asked thickly.

"He was an old man. He is no longer among us," I responded.

"They are dropping like flies," she said, but her voice did not sound sorry. In fact, it sounded like she was practically vibrating with excitement, getting more out of me.

"He has no children or siblings. His wife is dead and she had only an old spinster sister," I explained. Kukla nodded slowly.

"A shame, though I suppose that is good for you," she said, knowing that by law his property reverted to the crown, "he owned whole blocks of the city of Şehir and collected considerable rents."

"He told me a charming story once, about your daughter. About how when he used to come to visit your husband she would call him 'uncle' and fetch him whatever he asked. It sounds like he truly loved her and she loved him as a second father," I said. I saw Kukla's eyes narrow slightly and she tilted her head to the side.

"I must admit Sultanah, I do not recall..."

"You should recall," I interrupted. I spoke with grave significance in my voice and raised my eyebrows as I spoke. I had, of course, heard no such story about Kukla's daughter. I was spinning a web, "Because it was that affection that caused Sir Toprak Sahibi to will all of his property to your daughter. A document can be produced to that effect" I said. And I truly meant "produced." I would have to have Cin work on a forgery.

"My Gunes!" Kukla said, legitimately startled this time. I saw her eyes grow wide and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Her cheeks were red and her eyes looked almost feverish. 

"Now, as Sultanah that property belongs to me. A lord cannot will away that kind of property," I said hastily. I saw Kukla's fall somewhat, wondering where I was going. I paused a moment longer before continuing, "But, I am a woman and therefore easily swayed by emotional appeal. I might give into this feminine impulse and grant the old man's wish, nonetheless. I could grant property to your young daughter, as was the owner's wishes. It would be held for her until she turned 18. Then, with the value in the land increasing over time coupled with her noble name, she could essentially pick whatever husband she wanted. She wouldn't be stuck with a...lesser man." As I spoke these words I looked at Kukla out of the corner of my eye. I saw her twitch slightly. 

I was proud of myself for coming up with this plan, essentially, on the spur of the moment. I had come a long way since I had first ascended to the throne. I was no longer a child. I knew what I had as leverage and knew how to use it to get what I wanted. It was just a matter of how long it would take Kukla to agree. After a long pause, she spoke.

"You said that the land would be held until she turned 18. By whom? You as well?" she asked. I could see what she wanted in her eyes. Greed had made her less circumspect in her words and actions. I smiled because it indicated I was very close. I suspected there was only one thing left to do and I would finish the deal. And it would not cost me a cent.

"Officially, yes. It would have to be me. Anything else would not be respected," I said and Kukla nodded, she could tell I was going to say more, "But, I already have far too many properties to manage at this point. I will have to appoint someone to administer the lands, to make sure they are not spoiled before she reaches maturity."

"A wise and prudent decision," Kukla said, her voice choked with excitement.

"It could not be her father. His duties on the Executive Assembly are too important. Besides, if he were to administer the land directly, it could be counted against his property for the purposes of taxes. But perhaps...yes a legal fiction would help us here. Everyone will know that your husband administers the land, but I will put your daughter's property in your name until she reaches the age of 18. That way it will not affect the family for taxation purposes, but I will not be burdened by management. And of course, as an administrator, you are entitled to the yearly profits on the land," I explained slowly. The more and more I spoke, the overwhelmed Kukla seemed to be. Her entire body was trembling and she licked her lips nervously.

"Deal," she said quickly, almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth. It was like she was afraid I would take it all back in an instant.

"What kind of deal?" I asked, making sure that I her completely on the hook and I wanted to hear her say it back to me.

"My son will be betrothed to Lady Dul and married to her by proxy. His land will be held for him until he can consummate the marriage on his 18th birthday. My daughter will receive Sir Sir Toprak Sahibi's land and I will administer it until she reached the age of 18th," She was almost salivating over the last point.

"Halfway there," I said. I wasn't doing this out of the kindness of my heart.

"And you will have my husband's vote on the Executive Assembly. For whatever you want, as many times as you want," she said, her body almost going limp as she said it.

"I will draw up the letters guaranteeing your children their inheritance," I said, but I looked over the table sharply now and pointed my finger at Kukla, "But you don't get them until Lord Sadik is sitting in the Chancellor's seat. You work, and I will pay."

"It is already done," Kukla said easily, "My husband doesn't have the balls to go against anything that I say. Hain can bribe him with every penny he has, but he can't top me." She spoke with so much confidence and composure that I could not help but believe here. I leaned back in the chair, catching my breath. It was over. I had won. I had outmaneuvered my enemies before they even knew we were maneuvering. I felt a sudden warmth wash over me, a feeling of triumph and also joy and the humiliation of my enemies. It was nearly orgasmic. I sat for a few moments and just enjoyed the feeling of victory. But, after a few minutes, Kukla suddenly spoke.

"You know I always liked you from the beginning," she said finally, and I was a bit taken aback. Part of me had forgotten she was even there. Another part of me had no expected such a candid statement, "I always thought that smaller lords should side with the Royalty most of the time. Especially when the major magnates are resistant to the crown. Important lords hate minor lords, but a Sultanah in distress...she needs all of the support from the Peerage she can get." Kukla raised her eyebrows and I was impressed by how easily she had diagnosed my problem. If only more of the small noblemen agreed with her. 

"But your husband disagreed?" I said, judging from the way she was speaking, I had surmised as much. She shrugged.

"I could never figure out his distaste for you," she paused for a moment and lifted her hand, "But he never liked you, ever since that meeting of the Peers at the Kule Tower the day after your father died. He sometimes mumbles some half-cracked political notions to explain his position, but they really don't add up to anything. In all honesty, do you want to know what it is?" Kukla asked conspiratorially. She leaned forward further on the table, her breasts pressed into the rough wood of its surface. Now that the negotiations were over, I didn't need to pretend I was ignoring the beauty of her body.




The Sultanah Ch. 06



"What is it?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I leaned in too, my face now just a few inches from hers.

"Your cock," she said and my eyebrows raised. I assumed she was next going to tell me he didn't like a genetic freak on the throne. I would not have liked it, but it would not have been surprising to me. That was the impression I got from most of the Peers. Instead, she said something entirely different, "My husband said that the Priestess of Gunes proved that your cock worked. I think he resented it. My husband claims he had a riding accident right after our youngest was conceived. I think he just can't get it up anymore because he drinks himself into oblivion most nights. Regardless, his cock no longer works. He is jealous of you," she explained, her voice growing thicker and sultrier with each syllable. Her breasts were essentially heaving on the table and I could see her pink tongue looking fat against her teeth as she spoke.

"How long has it been?" I asked, then a moment later, "Since he was injured?"

"Years and years," she said, letting each word drip with meaning.

"That is a very difficult thing for a faithful wife..." I said, raising my eyebrows.

"For all his faults...always faithful," she said. We looked at each other across the shabby table for several minutes. I could feel the blood coursing through my body. It seemed like Kukla was growing more and more attractive by the moment. The air was filled with the scent of her body, delicate and sweet. Finally, without really thinking what I was going to say, I spoke.

"We have talked a lot tonight about what I could do for your children and I am very happy with our agreement," I said, "But lady, as a boon, is there anything that I can do for you?"

It was like my words had provoked something, something that I had hoped to trigger without even knowing it. As soon as the last sound slipped from my lips, I heard Kukla let out a low groan. She stood quickly, knocking her chair back on the floor. She walked quickly and elegantly around the table. As she did so, she let her loose robe slip from her shoulders and fall onto the into a pile, she stood before me now wearing only her tight corset and her white bloomers. Though, "stood" would be an incorrect characterization. She moved quickly around the table until she was in front of me. 

Without pausing she dropped down so that she was sitting in my lap. It was a bit of a surprise and I let out a little yelp. She was slightly taller than me and not so small that she could easily fit in my lap and I instinctively wrapped my arms around her to keep her from falling. I could feel her tightly packed flesh and the heat it gave off through the silky fabric of her corset. Her ass fell warm against my lap and her silky leg felt smooth against my own. Her large breasts were essentially pushed into my face and she was looking down at me, her eyes fluttering.

She continued to move decisively before I could even react. She bent her head down and, at the same time, reached her right hand down and grasped my chin. She turned my head upward, facing toward her. I looked into her shimmering eyes and could see her white teeth smiling between her thick lips. Her eyes closed and she leaned forward. Instinctively, my eyes closed as well. A few moments later I felt the long, loose strands of her hair as they cascaded over my face. Shortly thereafter I felt a warm pressure against my lips. I felt Kukla's lips part slightly and sensed the shivering warmth of her thick tongue as it played across my mouth. I opened up to receive her and I felt Kukla's tongue plunge into my mouth. I pushed my own tongue out as well, rising to meet hers. I could taste the sweet, rough sensation of her tongue and I could hear her moan slightly as she tasted me.

The sound seemed to wake me slightly. What was I doing? How had this even occurred? I suppose we had both felt it in the negotiation. It had been building towards something. But, I had assumed, it was the excitement of meeting an intellectual equal and attempting to come to a mutually agreeable contract. But there had clearly been some kind of undercurrent that we had both been riding. In fact, it had almost felt natural when she had come across the table and kissed me.

But this wasn't right. The name Sultan Zina II flashed into my mind briefly. I could not remember the entire story that I had learned from my tutors as a child. But I remember that he had been deposed and executed by a mob of peers led by his younger brother. He was accused of, among other things, seducing the wives and daughters of the nobles and turning them against the throne. In fact, he had allegedly seduced his sister, the act that ultimately pushed his brother into the arms of the conspirators and ended his reign. This was a dangerous act I was engaged in, tampering with the marital vows of my Peers.

But even as I thought this, I felt Kukla's left hand snake down into the neckline of my robe. I felt her warm fingers press against the taut flesh around my clavicle. The tips of her fingers felt soft, but firm. I felt her hand slipping inside of my robe, pressing against the flesh of my chest and then rising up as it slipped across the swell of the top of my breast. A moment later, Kukla's finger's gently pressed against my already hardened nipple. I groaned and squeezed her tighter. Any ideas I had about the impropriety of my actions or the danger they posed were quickly whisked away. Her husband was an impotent fool. She was a strong, desirable woman. They had no love match. She deserved this for her years of neglect and I deserved it for giving her everything she wanted. I kissed her more deeply now.

I kept my left hand wrapped around her back. She was sitting in my lap somewhat sideways, her legs facing perpendicular to my own. Her body was twisted to face me. Her hand was still slipped, somewhat awkwardly, into my robe. Her hand had moved down entirely now so that it wrapped lovingly around my breast. I could feel my nipple pressing into the flesh of her palm and she was rotating her hand slightly. She was still looking down at me. I opened my eyes now slightly and I could see her face just above me, gazing at me with a fiery, sensual glare. I lifted my right hand up and slipped in around the back of her neck. I pulled her down closer towards me.

Our lips pressed more firmly together and I could feel her body tremble at my touch. Our lips opened together now and I could feel Kukla's tongue eagerly exploring my mouth. I felt its hot thickness slipping around my teeth and pressing against my own tongue. I felt my mouth fill with saliva and I could feel her pulling it into her mouth, tasting me. Her tongue moved in and out of my mouth languidly, touching me all over. 

She moved her tongue at the same time she rubbed at my breast. Her fingers now became more responsive. Instead of just running her fingers across my nipple, I felt her take my little node of flesh and rub it gently between her thumb and forefinger. It felt like there was a string attached from my nipple to my cunny and my cock. Every little movement seemed to pull on them, making me more and more excited. My body felt warm all over and I found it hard to keep from fidgeting on the chair. I heard myself moaning loudly now into Kukla's mouth. I pushed my tongue into her mouth, trying to grab some more of the sensation. In response, it seemed, Kukla broke our kiss. She was still looking down at me, her hair (now shaken totally loose) draped around us. 

"Ohh," she said, her voice taking on a naughty air, "I had almost forgotten what that was like." As she said these last words, her eyes darted down slightly. For a moment I was not sure what she was talking about. But I could feel pressure in my lap and I realized that she felt it as well. I smiled up at her, keeping my hand on the back of her neck and rubbing it gently. She was still rubbing my breast as we spoke.

"Do you remember what a real cock looks like?" I asked in a heavy voice. Kukla smiled mischievously.

"I think you'll have to show me," she responded slowly. Then she carefully slipped her body off of my lap so that she was standing. She immediately dropped down to her knees on her floor. Now I stood quickly. My robe was not so loose that I could completely conceal my hardened cock. Not that I wanted to. But Kukla could see it poking through the fabric. She reached up quickly, and placed her palm against it. I felt the blood rushing in my ears and my heart seemed to seize. I moaned loudly. Then I quickly reached my hand down and pushed her away.

"Not yet," I said and she giggled in a way that I would not have expected from such a serious woman. Once she settled back down onto the floor, I quickly began to slip from my robe. I had taken to wearing nothing underneath of my robes of late (it did not seem necessary) and after just a few twists and pulls on my clothes, I was standing naked before Kukla. My skin felt cool in the drafty apartment and as I looked down I saw my nipples were hardened, my breasts looked high on my chest, and there were goosebumps on my smooth belly. But if Kukla too any notice of that, she hid it well. Instead, her eyes were glued to my erect cock. My balls were hanging heavy between my legs and my cock seemed to be sticking out directly forward, like it was pointing at Kukla. I could practically hear her mouth watering and she didn't seem to be blinking. It really had been a long time.

"People have told me all my life that I walk around like I have a big set of balls," she said in a dreamy voice, "I always joked that I was too pretty to have balls. I was, obviously, mistaken. Sultanah, you are beautiful." Kukla spoke in a hushed tone, one that seemed to indicate real reverence for my body. I felt my cheeks grow red as I could feel her sincerity.

"Thank you," was all I could manage to stutter. I spoke as I was sitting back down in my chair. The rough material felt slightly uncomfortable, in a good way, on my bare ass. My cock was now pointing up, between my breasts and no longer directly facing Kukla. She looked a little disappointed, inching a little closer toward me on her knees.

"May I..." she said after a short pause, "May I accept my boon?" I looked down at Kukla on her knees, her face looking placid and beautiful, her cleavage heaving in her tight corset. I could barely speak, but I knew that I had to.

"You may take what is yours," I said finally. Kukla smiled and inched slightly closer to me. I felt her knees press against my toes on the floor. She reached up slowly and her hands eventually rested on my knees. Her skin so welcome against my own that just her touch was enough to make me groan. I felt a gentle pressure as Kukla spread my legs open slightly. I felt her body push between my knees. In a moment, she was completely between my legs, my thighs touching her arms. Her breasts were only an inch or two from touching my balls and I felt my cock twitching in anticipation.

"I hope I have not forgotten how this is done," she said slyly. As she spoke, she lifted her left hand from her side. She draped it over my leg so that my thigh was resting in her armpit. Then her hand snaked up over my leg and I felt her fingers slip around the base of my cock. Her grip was delicate but firm and I shivered at her touch. After a moment, she pushed down slightly with her hand. I felt her fingers press deeply into my scrotum, touching my aching balls. The skin of my cock, already taut from my erection, stretched hard against my flesh. I shifted somewhat uncomfortably on the chair.

"It is a pretty cock Sultanah," Kukla said. My eyes traveled up from my own cock and stared into her face. Her lips were glistening with saliva and her hair was pushed seductively over her eyes. She bit her lip slightly and her unobscured eye winked at me slightly. I heard her take a slight breath and her head dropped quickly into my lap.

"Oh Gunes!" I screamed an instant later. I could hardly believe what I was feeling. In an instant, Kukla had taken my entire cock into her mouth! She had essentially slammed into her mouth without a second thought. I could feel the warm pressure as it pressed against the back of her throat. I felt her gag instantly and her throat seemed to close tightly around the shaft of my cock, holding me tight in a particularly wonderful way. 

Kukla's eyes were opened and she was staring at my stomach and I could see tears developing. I expected her to pull my cock out of her mouth and let it slip along her tongue, as other women had done in the past. In fact, I was looking forward to the sensation. I was surprised, instead, when I felt Kukla's fingers start to dig deeply into the flesh around my knee. Her body stayed still. Only her head moved. But rather that pulled back, Kukla pushed farther. She drove my cock deeper and deeper into her throat. I felt the tip of my cock bouncing hard against the back of her throat over and over again as she tried to push it farther and farther. 

Her throat was making a loud clicking noise in Kukla's throat as she continued to bounce the back of her throat up and down on my cock. Her eyes were streaming with tears now. What's more, all the while she was gagging continuously. Her throat seemed to get tighter and hotter around my hard cock. But rather than stopping this seemed to make her push harder and faster. 

The entire time she was moving, I could hear and feel her humming slightly. Even about the clicking sound of her throat, I could hear was sounded like one long moan. This moan seemed to send vibrations throughout my entire body. I could feel the tingling sensation all the way up at my nipples. They grew harder and more sensitive. So sensitive that just the mild breeze from the drafty room seemed to tickle and excite them. I wanted to reach up and play with my nipples, but I was too mesmerized by Kukla's actions and the intense sensations that followed them.

I soon became aware of another sensation. Kukla's constant gagging had apparently been filling her mouth with a thick, viscous saliva. I could feel it dripping out of her mouth and dribbling down her chin. It was pooling in a warmish puddle on the chair, just below my balls. If this bothered Kukla, she didn't show. But the added lubrication seemed to help push my cock harder and more rapidly into her throat. And it made the intense feeling her touch against my cock more smooth, almost velvety.

After several minutes of fucking Kukla's throat, she finally pulled back slightly. The clicking sound stopped. Her lips slipped slowly up my shaft, her tongue running up the length of it as she did so. The pounding pressure on the tip of my cock slowed and I enjoyed the slippery sensation of tongue against my flesh. I heard her take a deep, gasping breath, catching up with what had been lost while she'd repeatedly taken my cock in her throat. Kukla's thick saliva slipped out of the corner of her mouth and dripped down the length of my shaft. I was surprised by how much spit there was, and how thick and warm it felt. 

Kukla seemed to notice it as well. A little more than just the tip of my cock was still in Kukla's mouth. Her eyes were still watering and she looked up at me from my lap. They looked so big and glassy as she stared up at me. Then I noticed a suddenly sharp, but not unpleasant, pressure on the tip of my cock. I heard a strange slurping noise. I looked down and I could see the thick saliva that Kukla had pulled from her throat was quickly slipped up my shaft! The slurping noise and the pressure grew more intense and I realized that Kukla was sucking her saliva back into her mouth. Her spit felt cool and deliciously dirty as it pulled in big ropes up the length of my cock. I moaned loudly and felt my body slump in my chair. After a few moments, Kukla had successfully pulled a large amount of her spit back into her mouth, though some of it still pooled in the hairless area at the base of my cock and dripped down my balls.

Despite my expectation that she would stop and rest for a moment, Kukla was instantly acting again. Her mouth was now full of thick, soupy saliva and her lips were wrapped around the base of my cock. I felt my head swim and had a strange, crawling feeling in my lower back as Kukla began to swirl her tongue around the tip of my cock. Her tongue was very knowing, probing my most sensitive areas and slipping around on my foreskin. The saliva seemed to lubricate and quicken her actions as well as add waves of touch and sensation that wouldn't have been there otherwise. The whole while, Kukla was continuing to hum slowly, sending vibrations through her tongue and even through the saliva. My hands quickly gripped the armrests on my chair and I sucked in breath quickly. My nipples felt harder than ever but I was too afraid to grab them, too nervous that I couldn't handle the additional pleasure. For a few minutes, I just let Kukla lick and suckle on my cock, the tension growing greater and greater each second. I was suddenly overcome by the need to make noise.

"Oh Gunes," I moaned instead, "I see how you managed to marry a nobleman!" I was not sure where the observation came from and I wasn't positive that it was an inoffensive remark. But the thought had suddenly occurred that her undeniable skill in the bedroom could have explained her rapid social rise.

Kukla stopped moving for a moment. I whimpered as my eyes shot opened. Kukla still had the tip of my cock in her mouth but she was not long sucking, no longer humming. Her eyes looked sharper now and it looked like there was the barest hint of a smile on her face. Her mouth opened and the thick saliva dropped in a large, slippery blob onto the tip of my cock. It poured down over the tip and ran, warm and slippery, down the length of my shaft. I felt a shiver run down my back as the saliva dripped down around my balls and pulled with the other spit and cunny liquids pooling on my chair.

"I did what aristocratic girls wouldn't," she said simply, more saliva drooling from her mouth and landing on my cock as she spoke. As though that were a signal, Kukla once again drove her head down between my legs. In a fraction of an instant, I felt my cock pressing into the back of Kukla's throat, my balls pressing against her chin, and her warm mouth wrapped around my shaft. I breathed in quickly, having forgotten how intense her actions could be.

Kukla continued in this manner for some time. She would bounce my cock against the back of her throat, gagging and choking but not stopping. The room was filled with the clicking sounds of her throat and the humming she continued to provide. Saliva poured from her mouth and dripped onto my body and her hair had become somewhat wild. Every once in a while, Kukla would stop to catch her breath and pull my cock from her throat. She would suck up all the loose saliva and bath the tip of my cock with her tongue. The room smelled heavily of our arousal. All I could do to control myself was hold on tightly to my chair. I could barely think, I could only moan and feebly attempt to keep my balance.

I don't recall how long this occurred or how many times my cock re-entered the noblewoman's throat. But however long it last, the ending was spectacular. I could feel the tension building inside of me and it seemed to grow exponentially each time my cock slammed into the back of Kukla's throat. The entire length of my shaft felt buffeted by thick, warm saliva. I was groaning loudly and I felt my muscles tightening. Each thrust of my cock seemed to tick up the tension, like a watch being wound. Finally, Kukla pushed my cock all the way into the back of her throat and then sort of shook her head back and forth, rubbing her tongue roughly against my shaft and causing herself to gag harder than before. The pressure this placed on my cock was all I could handle.




The Sultanah Ch. 06



"Oh fuck Kukla, Gunes!" I moaned loudly. My hands shot up from my sides, grabbing onto Kukla's head and pushing, keeping my cock buried just where it was. I felt my body grow extremely tight and all thoughts outside of my immediate discomfort completely disappeared. My eyes slammed shut and my anus tightened. I felt a sudden, jet-like burst between my legs and I felt a tingling, numb, warmth spread down from the tip of my cock. Is moved rapidly down my shaft and then seemed to spread out all over my body in every direction. Wherever this sensation spread the muscles seemed to relax instantly. I felt the air go out of my lungs as my body grew limper and limper. The only other physical sensation I was aware of was the feeling of hot, pent-up seed pouring from the tip of my cock and spraying into Kukla's mouth.

After a few minute or so, the warming relaxation from my orgasm spread to my arms as well. The muscles grew limp and my fingers fell from the top of Kukla's head. Instantly, her mouth pulled back from my cock and I could hear her breathing deeply from her nose. I looked down at Kukla. Her eyes were slightly red and running, her face was flushed, and there was a slight smile on her face. As her lips slide up the now-sensitive shaft of my cock I saw big globs of saliva and seed pouring out of her mouth and dripping onto my body. Even then, the last few tremors of my orgasm were working through my body, putting a last bit of seed in Kukla's mouth. Finally, her mouth completely slipped from my cock and more of the seed and saliva mixture poured from her mouth in a large glob. It landed wet and slippery on my cock. I looked down at it and saw that it was literally dripping with the juices that Kukla and I had deposited on it.

"Oh Gunes," she gargled around the remaining liquid in her mouth, I forgot how much I love the taste of fresh seed!" Kukla's eyes were enflamed now though less watery. We were both gasping for breath and smiling at one another. The room smelled heavily of my seed, but I could sense something else well. The smell of Kukla's arousal was distinct, a savory aroma. Her breasts were heaving in her corset and she looked wild with excitement. She had leaned back slightly and spread her legs. I could see a patch on her bloomers where they covered her cunny and they were sopping wet, nearly see-through.

"Oh my lady," I said coyly, "It has been years for you. However much you like my seed, I am sure you need more than that." Kukla bit her lower lip, fluttered her eyelashes, and nodded.

"Yes Sultanah, I need it bad," she said. I patted the table in front of me and gestured with my chin.

"Have a seat," I said. I turned now so that I was facing the table. My cock was softening slightly now and it fell onto the hard wooden chair between my legs. There was a thick pool of saliva and seed there and my cock rested in the cooling liquid. I was ready to give rather than receive.

Kukla did not require any additional orders. She quickly rose from her place on her knees and moved over toward the table. She hoisted herself up onto the solid furniture, turned while she did so and placing her ass down on the table top. She adjusted herself slightly and, in a matter of moments, she was sitting on the table, facing me directly in my chair. Her knees were nearly touching my shoulder and from that close spot, the scent of her cunny was even more acute. I felt my mouth watering.

"Let's get these off," I said, my voice sounding thick. I reached forward slowly and slipped my fingers into the waistband of Kukla's bloomers. Her skin felt incredibly smooth and deliciously warm and I felt her shake a little at my touch. She lifted her ass up off of the table and allowed me to easily slip her bloomers down and drop them on the floor. 

Kukla spread her legs wide now and inched closer to the edge of the table. I could actually feel the warmth coming off of her cunny now and it was dripping fragrant juices onto the table. I looked down at her cunny and saw that it was tight, red slit with a tiny, hard clitoris. Her cunny was shaven clean in the growing fashion of the day. Her skin seemed to glow with sexual energy. I licked my lips and wanted nothing more than to drop my head between Kukla's legs and taste her sweet body. In fact, I started to lean forward. 

"Oh Sultanah, please give me what I need," Kukla whimpered. It felt good to hear her begging for me, but it suddenly reminded me of who I was and what I was doing. I was the Sultanah. No matter how much fun I was having with this skilled woman, she was still beneath me socially. There was no shame in sleeping with a woman below my station, but I could not bow my head between her legs. I sighed deeply, realizing that the interplay between my responsibilities and my pleasures never seemed to become less complex.

Nonetheless, I had promised the lady pleasure and I still desperately wanted to provide it. I leaned forward now but kept my head up. Kukla raised her arms and drew them about my body. I lifted my hands as well. My left hand snaked around Kukla's back, pulling her close. The other, dropped between Kukla's legs. My hand felt the humidity of Kukla's cunny and I could feel her body trembling around me. I looked up and saw Kukla's eyes looking down at me, agitated and desperate. They darted back forth from my eyes and down, trying to see between her legs.

"Yes..." was all she managed to whisper. I moved my fingers forward and felt the tips press into the warm, wet flesh of Kukla's cunny. The noblewoman groaned loudly and I felt her shiver. Involuntarily it seemed, her hips rocked slightly. I drew my fingers up and down Kukla's slit, letting my fingers slip slightly inside of her body. Kukla groaned loudly now and her hips grew more insistent. I moved my fingers up to the top of Kukla's cunny, finding her aching clit with the tip of my finger.

"Gunes fuck me!" Kukla groaned in the back of her throat and her body instantly grew tense in my arms. I smiled, after all I was Gunes' representative. I circled my index finger slowly around on Kukla's clit. I teased her slightly, never moving as fast or as hard as her hips seemed to indicate she wanted. I heard her sighing and felt her body growing more and more agitated with each movement.

"Patience Kukla," I said, adding to the tease.

"Fuck patience, it's been years," she said, her voice sounding more like the street girl she had once been than the noblewoman she now was. I liked it, "I can't..." she started, but didn't go further. Instead I felt her push away from me slightly, sitting back a little on the table. I was confused at first, but I kept my fingers circling Kukla's dripping clit. Kukla's hands flew to her chest. Her tight corset linked in the front and her expert fingers rapidly unhooked the clasps. While I continued to play with her cunny, Kukla tore her corset from her body and threw it to the side her room. 

Kukla's skin was slightly was slightly red from the corset's pull, but I was shocked to see how little she seemed to need it. She likely wore the corset because it was fashionable, but even without it her body remained tight. Her breasts stayed high on her chest, perky and alluring. Her stomach was flat. And her hips flared out dramatically from a narrow waist. As soon as her body was free, Kukla took a deep breath, smiled and leaned back towards me.

As she moved, Kukla's breasts were now only a few inches from my face. Her skin smelled of flowers and sweat and it made my head swim. Her nipples were long and a dark reddish color, similar to the color of her tight slit. They were incredibly erect from her arousal and moved towards my lips as Kukla's breasts bounced slightly from her motion. My mouth watered. 

It would be improper for me to lick Kukla's cunny, but I didn't see any problem with tasting her breasts. I closed my eyes and opened my mouth. Kukla knew exactly what I wanted and she carefully maneuvered one of her beautiful nipples towards my hungry mouth. I felt the silky, hard skin press against my lower lip and then pop easily into my mouth. My lips closed around Kukla's nipples and I tasted her salty flavor. I rolled her nipple around on my tongue, feeling its pleasant density. The smells of Kukla's body filled my nose and enhanced the experience. I began to suck on Kukla's nipple, pulling her in to me closer.

While I was beginning to provide attention to Kukla's beautiful breasts, I decided to stop teasing her as well. I turned my palm up slowly and carefully inserted my index finger in Kukla's tight cunny. She let out a gasp and pulled her legs farther apart, willing me to enter her further. She was so wet that my finger rapidly entered her. Her body was incredibly tight, squeezing my finger to the point it felt like the blood had been cut off. Once I reached the point where my finger knuckle was entering Kukla's body, I pushed my thumb hard against her hard clit. Kukla's body went rigid and her nipple shook in my mouth. Kukla groaned loudly.

"Oh Sultanah, that is so good!" she moaned, her hips pressing into me and begging for more. Kukla leaned forward against me, pressing her nipple more firmly in my mouth. She wrapped one of her arms around my shoulder, pulling me in closer. I felt my chin and nose sink into the soft, velvety flesh of Kukla's breast. I sucked on her nipple harder. 

We stayed in that position for a long while. I kept my index finger quickly but gently massaging up against the inside of Kukla's cunny. At the same time, my thumb circled her clitoris, staying wet from the overwhelming deluge of juices form Kukla's cunny. My free arm was wrapped around Kukla's body, holding her close while I sucked on her nipple. Occasionally, Kukla would release my head and I would switch between her nipples, giving equal attention to both. Kukla's arms and even her legs were wrapped around me and her body was shaking like a leaf. The room was filled with the sounds of my slurping tongue and Kukla's restless moans. I could smell nothing but the overwhelming power of Kukla's cunny as it grew warmer and wetter. I could feel myself growing more and more aroused as we rocked together, my cock becoming hard once again. 

The longer we stayed in this manner, the faster we moved together. I could feel we were building to something, I knew that Kukla was in desperate need of release. Her breathing was growing more ragged and her motions were become even more erratic. I could hear her almost chanting something under her breath and every time her eyes opened they looked nearly crazy with desire. Finally, I was almost certain she was about to cum. She threw her head back, her body went still.

"Oh Gunes, I need more!" she moaned, "Sultanah, fuck me!" I had not expected her to say that. What's more, I had not realized how badly I had wanted to hear her say that. In an instant I had slipped my arm from around Kukla's waist. 

I desperately wanted to get my cock inside of her and I pushed back slightly from the table. Kukla pushed back as well and her nipple popped from my mouth. Finally, my finger slipped, white and squeezed, from Kukla's cunny. I stood up rapidly and my hands flew to Kukla's waist. I felt my fingers sink slightly into her warm flesh and I pulled her ass quickly to the edge of the table. Kukla leaned back slightly on the table, her lips curled in a devilish smile and her breast splaying out delectably across her chest. I looked down at my cock. It was still absolutely coated in Kukla's saliva and my seed. In fact, large globs of the thick liquid were dripping off of the tip and splattering onto the flood. I looked down at Kukla's wet cunny and bit my lower lip. I moved forward slightly

"No don't!" Kukla said suddenly. I stopped, very confused. I looked up at her and her eyes were wide, almost as if she were afraid.

"But..." I started to speak, backing away slightly.

"I know what I said and what...we want," she said her face now red, "But I am still fertile. My husband no longer comes to me...If I am with child...her would know." She said. Like me, she never allowed herself to be completely carried away. I respected that, even if I was very disappointed now.

"I understand my lady," I said disappointedly. My hands moved from Kukla's waist and I backed away slightly. Kukla shook her head and gave me a sensual, mischievous look.

"Don't go away Sultanah. I didn't mean stop entirely," she said coyly. She slid off of the edge of the table, her breasts jiggling slightly, "I discovered a method of maintaining my virginity, back before my husband. When I was trying to snag a nobleman but still trying to have a little fun." She responded. As she said that, she turned around and leaned forward. She pressed her breasts down against the tabletop and leaned up on her elbows. Her ass rose high in the air.

"Put it in my ass Sultanah," she said, her voice nearly breaking with desire, "I always came better that way anyhow." I looked down, somewhat surprised at the suggestion, at Kukla's round ass. Her ass was a heart-shaped expanse of tight, olive colored skin. Both cheeks were perfectly rounded and it seemed she had no blemishes. Her legs were in such a position that her ass cheeks had pulled apart. Her little asshole was a small, red bud in the center. I saw that it was glistening in the low candle light of the room. Juices from Kukla's cunny had dripped down over it while she was sitting on the table and filled in the little folds in her anus. My mouth was watering and any disappointment I had felt Kukla's earlier refusal was replaced with a ravenous hunger for her body.

"That's almost better," I said and I lifted my hands and squeezed my breasts slightly, to heighten my excitement.

"I am ready for you," Kukla whispered huskily. As she spoke, she reached back with one of her hands. She pulled her cheeks farther apart with three of her fingers and pressed her index finger against the glistening red bud. She pushed lightly and her asshole gave way easily, the tip of her finger slipping inside. She moaned slightly and moved her hand back to the table. Her demonstration had been clear, she was already warmed up.

I stepped forward and placed my hands on Kukla's hips. I allowed my fingers to briefly dance across the soft expanse of her ass before holding firmly with my right hand. With my left, I reached down and grabbed my cock. It was still slippery with spit and seed and my fingers squished around the hard flesh of my cock. I stepped forward slightly. I groaned loudly as I felt the sensitive tip of my cock press firmly against the bud of Kukla's anus. She groaned as well and pushed her hips back.

I felt a slight pressure for a long moment and my cock bent slightly at the pressure. I could see Kukla's legs shaking and she was moaning loudly. I wondered for a half second if perhaps she was too tight or if the tip of my cock was no wet enough. All of the sudden, I felt Kukla's asshole unclench (I hadn't even realized she'd been holding it). The pressure instantly released and I felt the warm tightness of Kukla's asshole wrap around the tip of my cock.

"Oh fuck, its been too long!" Kukla moaned.

'"Gunes you're tight," I said at the same time. She laughed as she heard me. But I had not been lying. Just as Kukla's cunny had squeezed my finger, I now felt her anus squeezing tightly around my cock. But Kukla's asshole and my cock were so wet with our juices that the tightness didn't seem to matter. It was as though I didn't even have to move, Kukla's asshole just started sucking me into her. I felt my cock slipping inch by inch deeper and deeper into Kukla's asshole. If she felt any pain or resistance, she gave no indication to me. In fact, she writhed on the table and moaned lovingly as my cock disappeared inside of her tight ass. After just a few seconds, I felt my balls pressing against Kukla's cunny. I saw a small amount of seed and saliva squeeze out of Kukla's asshole, it being too tight inside for all of our juices.

"My god Sultanah, that is so good!" she groaned. As she spoke she rotated her hips slightly, letting my cock roll around inside of her body. There was a slight pinch as she did so; it was so tight inside of her. It felt like soft, warm hands were squeezing around the length of my shaft. Kukla's insides seemed to roil, like they were trying to milk my cock. I whimpered at this feeling and moved my remaining hand to Kukla's waist to keep my balance.

Kukla now popped her hips back slightly and I knew exactly what she wanted. Every inch of her body was screaming "fuck me." My legs felt like jelly and I could barely breathe, but there was nothing in the world I wanted to do more. I sunk my fingers into Kukla's flesh for balance and spread my legs slightly. I pulled my hips back a small amount. I felt a release of pressure as a single inch of my cock slipped out of Kukla's anus.

"Oh that is it, now back in Sultanah please!" Kukla moaned. I quickly obliged, as I knew she had been waiting years for this. I slammed my cock back inside of her, feeling tighter than ever before. Kukla squirmed on the table and she wailed like a whore. I pulled my cock out two inches and then plunged it into her again and Kukla seemed to grow even more desperate. Kukla reached both hands back behind her, allowing her breasts and face to lie directly on the table, and pulled her asscheeks apart so I could sink into her even deeper.

Every time I moved, I pulled my cock farther out and slammed it in harder than before. Soon I was simply leaving the tip in before slamming my cock all the way home. Kukla wriggled and screamed and seemed to have given herself away entirely to feeling pleasure. I could move at ease now, despite Kukla's tightness. She was ready to take everything I could give. Neither of us could keep up with this level of sensation for long. As I fucked her harder, my large balls began to swing forward as I thrust in, slapping at Kukla's cunny and teasing her clit. Kukla was nearly in tears from this pleasure.

Just a few minutes after I had first entered her asshole, I heard Kukla's moan change into a new sound. It was a low, rumbling groan from deep in her throat. It came out in one long string. As she made this noise, her body began to tighten. Her eyes closed tightly and her fingers grew white pulling on her asscheeks. Her legs locked up and the noise in her throat grew high pitched. I continued to slam my cock in and out of her body, my breath growing ragged, and she continued to take it without difficulty.

Suddenly, Kukla let out a long, gasping breath. Her body went completely still and she groaned loudly. Then her body flailed and she was chanting "Sultanah" over and over again in a faraway voice. I could feel the muscles inside of her body contracting. Through the thin barrier of flesh, I could feel the muscles in her cunny tightening and I felt the insides of her thighs grow damper as juices poured from it. More importantly, I felt all of the muscles inside her anus tightening. The milking sensation I had felt before grew even more insistent.

Kukla was still in the throes of her own orgasm when her tight asshole caused me to cum again. I thrust my hips in hard as I felt the sensation coming on. I closed my eyes and squeezed on Kukla's body. I felt my balls seize hard against my body and I felt my anus tighten and loosen rhythmically. I felt the vein in the bottom of my cock expand and contract. I felt jets of liquid slipping up from my balls and then shooting out of the tip. That liquid squirted hard inside of Kukla's tight anus. So tight, in fact, that the seed came pouring back out of her, overflowing her insides and dripping heavily onto the floor. And on top of all these mechanical processes I felt the same unworldly, vibrating calmness I had felt earlier. There was no decrease in pleasure or sensitivity; I was euphoric as I came harder and harder into Kukla's asshole.




The Sultanah Ch. 07



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 7 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Part IV: Breaking the Stranglehold

Chapter 7: The Body of the Empire

"Sultanah, please we must rest!" a voice said from behind me. I turned quickly and placed my finger to my lips, unable to hide my annoyance with the source of the complaint. We were traveling on a narrow forest path near dusk, our horses traveling in single file. The forest path was flanked on either side by steep, wooded hills. I had no military training and was certainly no expert, but even I could tell we were in a prime location for an ambush.

"It is getting late," another man behind said, in a whisper. Saygili and his top two lieutenants were the only soldiers ahead of me. He turned and looked at me, shrugging. I knew that he was at least as annoyed as I was with the pace and tenor of this expedition.

We had set out from Şehir almost a week earlier under cover of night and with the highest hopes. The goal of our expeditionary force was to find raiders from Dusman and engage them in battle. Since the collapse of King Sican's siege, many professional soldiers had stayed behind to keep pressure on my Empire. They worked in small bands and seemed to have no interest in taking or holding territory. They sought only to disrupt trade and make life miserable for my subjects who lived outside the protective walls of the city. They posed no existential threat to Bütün Dünya on their own, by they were weakening us a little each day. They were severely limiting food entering the city, which would leave us with few, if any, reserves when King Sican returned to resume his siege with new levies.

All of our various efforts at finding ways around the raiders had gone nowhere. The various alternative paths that Soygyncu had skillfully and bravely mapped out were rejected by merchants for various reasons. In fact, the attacks were getting worse. The cavalry from Dusman was becoming wealthy from attacking villages outside of Şehir and sexually sated by taking scores of peasant women against their will. This kind of activity attracted mercenaries and other unsavory types, eager to join in the plunder. That meant that even if we could avoid them now, the problem was only going to get worse. 

The only alternative to avoiding the raiders was taking them out. But this looked like it might be even more difficult. About a month after Lord Sadik was elected chancellor on a 3-2 vote (to the astonishment of nearly everyone), the Executive Assembly had issued a report estimating that there were no fewer than 15 armed cavalry groups within 20 miles of Şehir and that they varied in size from 15-25 soldiers a piece. The total number was estimated at 315 armed men. I feared that this considerably under counted the total number. The report also listed the Empire's mounted forces, which consisted of the three members of the city guards. On the other hand, the Peers had considerable numbers of horsemen at their disposal. Not counting the actual Peers themselves, lesser lords and common mounted soldiers numbered close to 600 men. The issue, of course, was that I had no right to these men and could only use them if their Lords permitted. 

Saygili, as Constable of Şehir, was present in the Executive Assembly chamber when the report was read aloud by Sir Sakşakçı (who had insisted on holding the title Executive Speaker, an office he invented. I wondered what Kukla thought of that.). Having heard the report, Saygili had made a suggestion. He offered, as one of the three members of the guard with a horse, to lead an expeditionary force. The force would not need to number even close to the 315 armed men present estimated in the field. If he could get around 65 men, he would vastly outnumber enemy troops as he found them in squads of 15-25. If he could manage to find and destroy even a few of the squads, it would become too dangerous to keep them in the field. They would return to Dusman.

I, of course, wholeheartedly endorsed this plan. I had come to trust Saygili's instincts. If he was not a brilliant soldier, he was at least determined and loyal. This seemed the perfect task. The only problem was getting access to 62 additional soldiers. No one seemed willing to offer any men. Mounted troops were highly trained and exceptionally expensive. Even Loyalists were afraid that sending out troops would only result in a major loss in investment. Lord Sadik offered a handful of soldiers and several other Loyalists added one or two. In the end, Saygili's force amounted to no more than 40 men, hardly the overwhelming number needed to put his plan into action.

Finally, I made a momentous decision. Above the objections of Cin, Kardes, Arkadas and Saygili, I promised that I would accompany the soldiers on their mission. Soldiers who knew that I was out in the field would fight harder. Some, because they loved and respected me. More, because they recognized that I controlled an immense amount of wealth and would be able to reward them handsomely if I witnessed any acts of bravery. Further, I knew from my experience during the siege that if I went with the troopers, I would be given credit for any successes we had. However, I promised I would only go if I could raise 70 mounted troops. Several more Loyalists contributed troops. More importantly, several shrewd Collaborationists, hoping I would die on the mission, sent enough men to ensure we reached the requisite 70 but no more. 

I assured Cin that I would keep these Collaborationist men split up amongst the loyal troops and sleep as far from them as possible. I avoided my sister and my friend, not wanting to hear their objections in private. Instead, I asked Soyguncu to go into my chambers, collect my clothing, and fetch me a horse. And so it was that the next morning, before news could spread, I left the city with my small force.

From that point forward, nothing had gone right. We moved slowly, despite the small size of our company. The mounted troops we had were used to posing handsomely in their expensive armor for ladies at court, not tracking enemies through rough terrain. Or trying to track, at least. We have extreme difficulty finding any of our quarry. We would stumble into burnt out villages days after an attack and find traumatized citizens (who loved their Sultanah) trying to come to terms with their loss. They would point in the direction their attackers had left, but the trail would already be cold. We rapidly became low on food and were forced to forage from the country side, taking scarce food from people already scarred by war.

Finally, four days into our expedition, we encountered an enemy unit. We had no so much tracked them as happened to run into as we approached a bridge from opposite directions. Our scouts had seen 20 enemy soldiers approaching the bridge through the forest. Rather than returning and allowing Saygili to plan an ambush, they had blown their horns, indicating an attack was appropriate. I had tried to hold the men back, but they were so excited to finally find an enemy that they charged.

The enemy had superior discipline. Rather than attempting to cross or trying to run, the raiders massed on the end of the bridge. By doing so, they created a bottleneck on the road. They essentially capped the bridge and prevented my troopers from crossing. In so doing, they turned Saygili's strategy back on us: they eliminated the strength of our numbers. Our troops backed up onto the bridge. Worse, pressure from behind pushed the front ranks directly into the swords and pikes on our enemies. 

Luckily, I suppose, my soldiers were so poorly prepared for battle that it did not take long for them to break and run. Only five soldiers, all in the very front rank on the bridge, were injured. Two died of their injuries, dropping our number to 69 (counting me). The enemy suffered no losses. However, once my troops returned to me on the far side of the bridge, they could not advance. Our numbers were too great. Essentially there was a stalemate and we both slinked off in the night, avoiding further engagement.

The defeat had absolutely destroyed the morale of my troops. Whereas they had started overly confident and almost buoyant, they now seemed completely listless. It was not the death of their comrades (no one, apparently, was very close) but the crushing of their egos that seemed to destroy them. Now we were moping around the countryside at a snail's pace. We were tracking several different groups of raiders but we did not seem to be getting any closer to any of them. Worse yet, the men seemed frightened about the possibility of another engagement.

Now, nearly a week in, we were slowly making our way through the forest and, despite the fact that the sun had not yet set, the troopers were begging for a rest. Saygili and his two fellow guards were likely willing to push on, but we were vastly outnumbered by complainers. We had already discussed the possibility of being abandoned, or worse, by the noble troops and we had reasoned that it was best not to antagonize them.

"We cannot stop here," I hissed back, "We are surrounded by high ground on either side. The next time we reach a plain or clearing we will stop for the evening." The men grumbled something about this, by they seemed to realize that, in reality, they had won. 

I slumped down on my horse and kept my eyes down. My morale was starting to flag as well. I had grown tired of exhorting the men to work harder and to be brave. I was losing faith in the success of the mission. In fact, I was considering returning now to the city. If I received all of the credit for successfully lifting the siege, what would be my share of the blame for failing to capture any raiders? Maybe it wouldn't matter; maybe my troopers would abandon me to my fate forty miles from the city.

"Fuck they are on us!" one of the soldier's shrilly cried behind me.

"Up on the ridge!" another screamed. I felt my blood run cold. I looked quickly to the left side, at the top of the ridge. The sun was setting in that direction and my eyes burned. But I saw no enemy on the crest. As I turned to my right I felt Saygili and the other two guards return to my side to offer me protection. I looked at the crest of the hill and for a moment I saw nothing. I felt my heart slow slightly; it had been a false alarm. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something small and white moving on the side of the hill. The first of many soldiers? Once again on edge, I turned and looked.

For a moment, it was hard to see what was going on. My troopers were in an absolute panic. Many were trying to climb the opposite ridge on their horses. Others had turned and were running back along the path we had just traveled. The braver ones were turning toward whoever or whatever was climbing done the steep Western slope. The forest was alive with the sound of near panicked screaming and the various metallic sounds of bouncing swords, armor, and horseshoes. Finally, through the tumult I was finally able to see what had caused the commotion. Instantly my body and mind grew calm. In fact, my former fear was replaced with rage and embarrassment.

"Settle down you fucking fools," I yelled as loudly I could above the din. Some men near me, shocked by my language, go a hold of themselves. But there was still a large amount of commotion in the forest. I placed my hands in a cone around my lips, "Damn you cowards, it is nothing but a fucking girl," I screamed out so loudly that my voice cracked slightly. In just an instant, the tumult came to an end. The horses stopped stamping and swords were hastily returned to sheaths. Deadly silence fell over the forest. Half of the soldiers (many quite a ways down the path) turned and looked at me with sheepish looks on their faces. The remaining soldiers were already looking at the girl.

She was a thin slip of a peasant girl, though undeniably beautiful. Like most peasant girls, she was shorter than most noble woman, probably only 5'0. She had very long, dark hair that, at the time, looked quite wild. She had very large, innocent brown eyes with long lashes. Her nose and ears were quite small in a way that made her eyes and red, sensual lips look larger. She was very thin with small breasts, a narrow waist, and a small round butt. Her hips flared slightly, more girlish than womanly. She had small, bare feet. 

At the time she was wearing an unsightly collection of rags and nothing more. It was apparent after a moment of observation that she had once been wearing and simple, yet elegant, white dress that fell to about her knees, accentuated her slim frame, and was supported by two thin straps over the shoulder. The dress had been torn completely around the bottom so that it was ragged and uneven at the hem and barely fell to cover her cunny and her bottom. The dress itself was caked in an orange dirt and torn in at least a dozen places, exposing her youthful skin. Most dramatically, the thin strip of material holding the dress over her left shoulder was torn away entire. The flap of fabric covering her chest was flopped forward, exposing a firm young breast with a small, brownish-red nipple.

It took a moment for the troopers to fully recognize what was happening. The girl's eyes looked almost blank and she continued to move awkwardly down the side of the hill apparently oblivious to the chaos she had briefly caused. After a moment, there was some nervous laughter.

"You fucking women, running from a little girl!" one trooper yelled. I noted that his voice seemed to come from a slight distance and I wondered whether he was, perhaps, covering for his own flight. I smiled at this, but I felt my pulse quicken at the next outburst.

"I didn't fucking run," a voice called, just a few feet from the girl, "The slut belongs to me!" I heard the man's horse start to make in the girl's direction.

"Not so fast, I saw her first!" a closer voice replied.

"I haven't had a piece in weeks!" Still another soldier claimed. Then, once again, there was tumult. Except this time, rather than running from the girl, everyone was heading in her direction. Angry words were exchanged as horses bumped into one another and men were knocked from their horses. Horses slipped up the sides of the steep hill as the girl began to move closer to the crowd, seemingly oblivious.

"Form ranks damn you!" Saygili cried over the noise of the crowd. But whatever military discipline the soldiers may have once had was completely dissipated now. Some men had broken out into fighting, less over a desire to have the first opportunity to rape the young girl, but because they were scared and tired and wanted to take it out on someone. But whoever did reach the girl would claim a victory and would want to take the spoils of war. That man would get the ultimate prize in transferring his frustration to someone innocent and weak.

I stood and watched, paralyzed by the situation. I knew this girl was no threat to us in any way and that she was in obvious distress. Further, given our location and the fact that she was barefoot indicated she lived close by and was one of my subjects. Therefore, she had my protection. I desperately wanted to offer her that protection, my heart hurt for her obvious troubles. But I also knew I had no control over the men. If I tried to assert myself now they might simply ignore me and demonstrate my impotence. Worse, they could turn on me. Despite the fact that Varis, the woman, felt her conscience screaming at her to act, the Sultanah waited for something to change.

One of the troopers had now managed to dismount and was climbing up the hill towards the girl. He had an almost deranged look on his face. Another soldier grabbed at his ankle but he kicked his mate in the face. Finally, he made it to the girl and grabbed harshly on her wrist, dragging her down. At that instant it was like a fog was lifted from her eyes. She looked up at the soldier holding her in a moment of disbelief. She looked around and saw the other soldiers all around her. Her eyes grew wide.

"Come here you little slut. You are too thin, I have a nice big piece of meat for you," the solider laughed. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the girl's lips split. From somewhere deep inside of her, a piercing screech poured forth without warning. It did not build louder and louder toward a burst. Instead, she seemed to start in mid-scream. Her voice was high and quavering. There was an unmistakable note of sadness underlying the scream, everyone present could hear it.

The man holding the girl stumbled backward slightly, letting her go. His hands flew to his ears. Many of the other men closest to him followed suit. Farther back the noise was bearable, but heartbreaking. All of the men instantly froze, even those who were fighting their friends. Their heads turned once again to the girl, whose lungs seemed to hold limitless air to match the depth of her sorrow. Finally, her voice began to crackle. After another moment, she went silent. Her eyes rolled backwards and she collapsed in a small bundle on the ground. The echo of her voice was the only remaining sound in the forest.




The Sultanah Ch. 07



"Saygili," I said now, my voice at a normal level carrying easily through the crowd now, "Please collect my villager and bring her to my horse. She appears quite pathetic and weak, she reminds me of your young sister." I had put a lot into the sentence. I had not-so-subtly informed the soldiers that, as a peasant, the girl belonged to me. It did not matter who saw her first or any other possible justification, peasants belonged to the Sultanah. 

More importantly, I had referenced a "young sister" that Saygili did not, in fact, possess. He came from a family of sons. He knew enough at this point not to say anything. Instead, many of the soldiers around me began to reflect on their sisters and their daughters as the word rang in their ears. Many men dropped their eyes to their feet and many others placed their foreheads in their own palms. Whatever animalistic craze had come over them in their sudden fear followed by sudden relief seemed to dissipate. The man who had grabbed the girl nearly jumped backwards.

Saygili did as he was told. He quickly climbed up the side of the hill and scooped the small girl in his arms. She looked like a rag doll and I wondered if she had suffered something more than a faint. He carried her briskly down the hill and set her in gently in my saddle. He placed her in front of me straddling my horse. Her head lolled forward against the neck of my animal and looked for a moment like she would fall. I quickly wrapped my arms around her, holding her up. She felt completely limp and fragile, but I could hear her breathing. I threw a lash around her, tying her to me tightly.

"Form ranks you little shits," Saygili called out. This time, his orders were followed. The men silently reformed. Saygili looked at me imploringly and then at the girl. I nodded and he returned to the front of the line, "You've all wasted enough time now. Let's get somewhere to rest." He urged his horse on and we all began to follow. 

The girl rocked gently in the seat without stirring. She continued to breathe and eventually settled into a stable position. Closer, she looked even smaller and more beautiful than she had from a distance and I was inwardly glad that I had managed to save her. Of course, she had largely saved herself with her scream and I had nearly allowed her to come to harm. But I had done what I could, when I could. The role of a Sultanah.

About half an hour later, we excited the thick forest and entered onto a wide plain with a small creek running through the middle of it. On the banks of the creek was a moderate sized village of two dozen hovels with a large meeting house in the middle. Surprisingly for a village of that size, it appeared to be entirely intact. There was no indication that Dusman raiders had bothered anyone. They were apparently not even on guard, as my troopers entered the valley without the slightest alarm from the village. Still, there were no signs of enemy troops and the area felt very safe.

"You men, camp down near the creek. The grass is dry, so keep your fires carefully," Saygili said. It was traditional when reaching a village for the men to camp outside and for the Sultan to stay in a place of honor. We had not yet reached a settlement where a standing hovel remained. Therefore, I spent every night in the bush. I was inordinately excited by the prospect of a bed and had to suppress a smile. The men grumbled and then made their way over toward the creek. Saygili, his lieutenants, and I turned and headed off toward the village.

We did not speak as we went forward, Saygili had a thoughtful look on his face and I decided to give my captain a chance to work out whatever he was thinking. The girl continued to bounce limply on my saddle and I wondered whether she had come from this village. A few moments later we moved our horses past the first of the hovels in the village. They were simple buildings of clod brick and thatched roof. They were a bit larger than they seemed, probably large enough to hold several families a piece. There were no windows cut in the walls and cook fires sent gray smoke up from holes cut in the centers of each roof. The roads between the hovels, such as they were, were simply dirt affairs that likely turned to mush in the rain. It was far beyond anything in my experience, worse than the slums in the city. But it was a paradise by comparisons to the burned down ruins we had experienced so far. We could hear people moving about in the village but did not see them yet. Finally, we entered the main square and stopped directly in front of the town hall.

For the most part the main square was empty. Calling it a square gave it more dignity that it deserved. It was a large muddy area directly in front of the town hall. Many homes opened up on the square, presumably the homes of the town's most important people. In fact, one of those important people was in the square when we arrived; a middle aged man nodding off on a bench next to the town hall door. His arms were crossed on his narrow chest and his head was drooping.

In the past, villages in Bütün Dünya were administered by Imperial Clerks. Those clerks wore large red hats to denote their status. Many town mayors continued to wear the hat, despite the fact that they no longer answered directly to the Empire. This man wore one such hat, faded and cracked.

We waited for a moment for the man to recognize our presence. Instead, his head began to droop more deeply and I heard a snore. Saygili grunted and dug his heel into his horse's side. The horse gave a low groan and the man's eyes shot open instantly. He turned and looked at us.

"Hey what the fuck kind of thing is that goddammit?" He asked angrily. He was shaking his head to the side annoyed. Then he recognized that armed soldiers were standing in the middle of town. "Oh fuck, raiders..." he said suddenly and then jumped up. He moved so quickly that his legs tangled and he fell to the ground screaming and became coated in mud.

"Shut up you idiot, we aren't raiders. If we were you'd already be dead!" Saygili said loudly. Nonetheless the man's scream had alerted the town and in a few moments men, women, and children poured into the street. They looked alarmed and many of the men carried whatever they could find handy, mostly shovels.

"Who the fuck are you and what kind of thing is that to do to a sleeping man? With raiders all about you nearly made me shit myself..." the mayor continued. I suppressed a smile. I could see why the people of this hamlet had selected him as their leader. 

"You fool..." Saygili began, shaking his head. My commander was one his last nerve and I decided to step in.

"I am called Varis," I said simply, "Your Sultanah." The man's eyes grew very wide as they strafed me. I heard a loud buzz go through the crowd.

"Gunes fuck me sidewards!" the mayor said nervously. He jumped up from his spot on the ground quickly and saluted me. Then, recognizing that this was inappropriate, he dropped down to his knees and laid his hands down flat on the ground. The other people in town followed suit, humbling themselves before me.

"That won't be necessary," I said dryly, "Just show me to my quarters." I decided to simply act as though I had been expected. The man sat up on his knees for a moment and then bounced up quickly to his feet.

"Yes...Oh yes of course. Of course. It is my honor to welcome you to our village Sultanah. I must admit we did not expect you. Not that you aren't welcome. It is just we have never been honored with a visit from any Sultan in the history of the Empire. That is not to say we are not prepared, your quarters are ready and..."

"Just take her in you moron," Saygili said.

"This way of course," the Mayor said, not looking at Saygili. Instead, his eyes remained on me. I could feel eyes all over the village on me. But I had long since grown used to that feeling. I did not turn or look. The best way to act before provincials was haughty and entitled. The mayor turned toward the hall and walked through the door. I dismounted easily and walked to follow the mayor. Saygili walked closely behind me.

"Grab the peasant girl," I said, "I will allow her to sleep on the floor in the chamber." Saygili followed my instructions 

Inside the chamber was very dark, the only light coming through the smoke hole cut in the center of the thatch roof. I could barely make out the chamber in the growing darkness. It was simply a long, empty hall with mats on the floor for sitting. People in the town would meet regularly here to discuss pressing matters. My chamber (one such chamber was kept in all town halls) was located in the back of the hall. No one was allowed to enter the chamber except for the mayor and for the Sultanah's retinue. The mayor was only allowed to enter once a day to ensure that the room was ready in case the Sultanah arrived.

As we walked through the chamber, the mayor continued to chatter on nervously about the village and the possibility of raiders. I barely listened. I could sense the bed in front of me and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Saygili walked slightly behind me, easily carrying the young peasant girl. Finally we crossed to the back of the long room. A narrow door opened up leading back into my chambers. The mayor stopped outside of it and turned. He did not look me in the eye but instead reverentially bowed his head.

"It is not much, I admit. But I do my part, it is ready for you," he said nervously. I peeked my head briefly into the door. The room was lighted by a single torch hanging from the wall. It was otherwise without adornment on the walls. There was a large round bed on the floor taking up most of the space. The blankets appeared clean. There was a small table in the corner with an earthenware jug of wine and crude cups. It was simple, but it contained no mopey soldiers. It was perfect. 

"You have done well," I said the mayor. He beamed excitedly. He opened his mouth to speak but I heard the sound of low moaning instead. I turned towards Saygili. The girl was stirring slightly in his arms, though her eyes were still closed, "Put her on my bed. She can gain her senses there." Saygili nodded and moved her inside the door. The mayor watched the girl pass (her breast, after all, was still exposed).

"These are wicked days," the mayor said, shaking his head.

"I nearly forgot," I said, "Does that girl come from your village?" I asked. Saygili returned to my side, the girl safely placed in the bed. The mayor shook his head.

"No, she is not one of ours," he said. I figured as much. The mayor furrowed his brow slightly, "Though, I must say I recognize her." 

"How?"

"I have seen her. In the next village over to the West. I occasionally trade with the mayor there. I recognize her. The miller's daughter," he clucked his tongue and looked genuinely upset, as though he just realized something terrible, "I suppose they are not well."

"Due west?" Saygili asked, "Or south by southwest?" I turned to him, searching his face for some sort of hint. What an odd question. He looked nearly white and his eyes looked slightly wild.

"You have the right of it, south by southwest it is I suppose," the Mayor said. Saygili grew silent, once again calculating. I had to find out what he was concerned about.

"How far away as the crow flies?" Saygili asked after a pregnant pause.

"Seven miles maybe."

Thank you for your assistance," I said quickly, "I am exceedingly tired. Please leave me now." The mayor jumped slightly. He looked at me searchingly, apparently trying to figure out if he had somehow offered an offense. I smiled at him dutifully and nodded.

"Oh yes, of course. I am sorry," he said. He then turned and moved quickly towards the door. I should say he was nearly running. Saygili turned as well, his countenance still quote troubled.

"Wait," I said, looking at my captain meaningfully. We both turned and watched as the mayor walked out of the chamber. I waited a few more moments to ensure he was out of earshot. Then I turned to Saygili.

"What is the significance of south by southwest? How did you know that?" I asked, in a hushed tone. Saygili looked nervous, "What are you keeping from me?"

"Oh nothing!" Saygili said quickly, "Or, at least I am not going to keep anything from you. I never would Sultanah. It is just...I wanted to confirm on the map my suspicion before I brought anything to you." I trusted Saygili implicitly and took him at his word.

"Well tell me now nonetheless, it seems you are at least relatively sure of the situation," I said. Saygili nodded slowly.

"We have been tracking several groups of enemy troopers the last few days," he said.

"I am aware."

"Yes Sultanah. Well, I have also been keeping track of burned out villages. Their locations and the dates in which they are burned. I have noticed a pattern," Saygili stopped for a moment and took a large breath, "The villages being destroyed in this area...I have been matching destroyed village to the raider group that I believe caused it. There are various hints based on the method of destruction used, the size of groups reported by survivors, even hoof prints offer some confirmation..."

"What is the pattern, spit it out!" I said. I could tell from his demeanor that he was not going to give me good news. He had not determined a way to track our enemies more effectively. I was growing nervous.

"If I had the map, I could show you," he started, "But...they are converging. The raider groups are hitting villages closer and closer together. Coming from all directions to a centralized area. I think at least 12 groups moving."

"Where are they converging?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"They have been funneling us in this direction all week, letting us get close and then pulling us in this direction. The stand at the bridge...that kept us moving here. They know we are out here. Maybe they even know that you are out here. And they are concentrating their numbers here. In this village." I felt a chill but tried not to show my concern. This was worse than I expected. We were not just facing a failed mission. We were facing destruction. We have only 69 active soldiers with terrible morale and surprisingly poor fighting ability. If we faced several hundred crack raiders...we would be dead. I ran my hand through my hair loosely and looked at Saygili.

"They are only seven miles away..." I said, remembering the location of the girl's village. Saygili nodded.

"The closest group, I think," he said, "Farther groups won't get here until sometime tomorrow, probably midday. I imagine they will wait until they are all massed." What was I to do? There was no way to fight. We had to figure out a way to run.

"Are they coming from all sides?" I asked, "Are we completely surrounded. Is there any gap in the noose?" Saygili shrugged as though he had been considering the question for some time.

"There still is now. They are too spread out. There are several ways we could go. I have been trying to figure out the areas where we would be most likely to avoid detection. If we are quiet and lucky, we can slip through and they will converge on an empty village," Saygili said.

"Not empty," I said, looking toward the main door. Saygili looked as well. I thought about the villagers standing outside at that very moment, gossiping about me excitedly.

"No," Saygili agreed, "They will die when we go in the morning. The raiders will unleash their fury on them and attempt to find out where we are going. But if we stay, we will die and they will fall with us. They will face the enemy's fury for daring to oppose them. This village is already dead and burned. I could see in the mayor's eyes, he already knew it." Saygili shrugged helplessly. I knew that everything he said was correct and I sighed. What good could we do for these people? If we stayed alive at least we might avenge them.

"Should we ready the men to leave?" I asked uncertainly. Saygili snorted.

"Those lazy bastards would mutiny if we roused them now. Besides, it is getting dark and we would get lost in the woods attempting to slip between enemy troops."

"Now that I think of it," I continued, "Leaving now would alert the townspeople that something was wrong. We can't afford that. They might try to follow us, slow us down." I felt an intense sensation of guilt as I said this, but I shook my head and reminded myself that there was no other way.

"We will wake before first light and slip out quietly. The enemy will still be getting into formation and the village will be sleeping," Saygili said.

"I agree. That will be the plan," I said solemnly, "Tell as few men as possible what we intend, I don't want word getting out. Set several watchmen so we do not sleep in. And get some rest yourself, we will need all the cunning we can muster come morning."

"As you wish Sultanah," Saygili said quietly. He bowed his head in obedience and turned to walk from the town hall. I watched him as he walked, his shoulders hunched slightly in thought or perhaps defeat. As he reached the door leading outside I placed my head in my hands. How had this all gone so poorly so quickly? And was I doing the right thing? Could I really leave without at least warning these people of what would come? So many questions that I could not begin to answer.

I sighed deeply and turned toward my quarters. I looked at the bed, barely noticing that the young girl was still lying under the rough covers. I suddenly realized how exhausted I felt. The dust from the path hung heavy on my skin and my knees felt weak. I had already given my orders. The plan was to turn tail and run. To give up for now and return to the city. Sacrifice this town because I could not save it. I couldn't change that now. I flopped down, exhausted, onto the bed. It felt like I was asleep before my head hit the rough pillow.

* * * * *

I was awakened sometime later with the sensation of hands on my shoulders. As my bleary eyes opened, I felt myself being handled roughly, tossed side to side in the bed. I groaned slightly, not remembering where I was or what I was doing there. I felt a hand grab at my face slightly, scratching me. I let out a surprised shriek and tried to move away from the flailing hands. 

The pain focused my mind. I remembered where I was, in the obscure village town hall, sleeping in my appointed quarters. The enemy was closing in around me. From the feel of things, they had already finished closing. Saygili had miscalculated, the enemy had snuck into the town in the middle of the night and were capturing me now. Someone knew who I was and where I was located, I was going to be taken prisoner.

Whatever paralysis had frozen me upon waking quickly dissipated. I felt a shot of adrenaline race through my heart and my skin began to tingle all over. I started to move. Not with any plan or goal, but simply to flail away. I thought of the assassins who had once climbed in through my window and tried to kill Arkadas. I could almost sense the knife at my throat. I tried to call out, but I felt a forearm against my neck. I began to kick my legs and to toss myself around on the bed. I began to feel panic rising in my ears.

While I was thrashing and struggling, I gradually became aware of a sound near me. My attacker was speaking. At first, I was too scared to tell exactly the content of the words. But, after a few moments, I began to hear the sound of the voice, if not the message. The voice of my attacker why high, tinny, almost scared. It sounded like a small wounded animal. At first I felt confusion, wondering what strange creature had been sent to kill me. But my confusion slowed my panic and I began to hear the words for what they were.

"Where am I? How did I get here? What did you do to them?" And various other, similar questions. Finally, I felt the fear drain from me entirely. I sensed the small size of the hands grasping me and I turned towards the source of the words. The girl in the tattered white dress. She had apparently awakened and had been trying to attack me. Or maybe just rouse me. I stopped all struggling and took a deep breath. That, however, was difficult because the girl was still attacking me.




The Sultanah Ch. 07



"Move your arm!" I gurgled finally, "I will explain everything, just stop." I could barely understand what I was saying, but the girl seemed to sense that I had relaxed. I was no longer fleeing from her and she wanted to know what I said. Her forearm eased back from my throat and I heard her breathing quietly.

"Thank you," I said.

"How did I get here? Where am I? Are you one of the raiders from Dusman? Where are you taking me? There are women in the raiders? Why did you do that? Oh Gunes!" The girl blurted all at once. I slowly pulled myself up into a sitting position on the bed. The girl's arms had become weak and they seemed to slip off of me now. She placed her face in her hands and cried.

"Please calm yourself and remain quiet," I said, "I will explain whatever I can, but you must get a hold of yourself." I said. The girl's breath hitched. She looked at me coolly, but nodded her head. I took a deep breath and quickly explained where we had found her and where, generally, we had taken her. I did not know the name of the village I was in, but I explained it was apparently 7 miles from where she lived. I said that she had been unconscious and had allowed her to sleep in my bed. She looked confused as I spoke.

"Are you here to destroy this village too? Will you burn it to the ground in the morning? Will you kill everyone?" she asked. Her words poured forth bitterly and tear raised in her eyes as she spoke. Her body was shaking with rage.

"Destroy?" I said shaking my head, 'No...No of course not. We are not raiders from Dusman."

"Well who in Gunes name are you to be here? Mercenaries? My family once had money, for ransom. If you have not already stolen it," she said, looking around nervously. It was clear that she was still very much on edge, trying to figure out what had happened to her. But her anger was also apparent.

"I am Sultanah Varis, I bring a contingent of soldiers from Şehir to rout the raiders," I said, but I felt sick as I spoke. Whatever the goal had once been, I now intended to participate in a rout. Regardless, the girl's eyes grew wide.

"Sultanah?" she asked, her eyes strafing me and her mouth hanging open.

"That is correct," I said. For a brief moment a hint of a smile flashed across her face, then an expression of mortification.

"Oh Gunes, what have I done?" she asked herself. Instantly she threw her head forward onto the bed, holding her hands out in front of her. She pressed her forehead into the blankets, her body was shaking all over, "Forgive me Sultanah, for the offense I have given you. I did not know it was you when I attacked. I thought you were an enemy. I apologize for the familiar way in which I have spoken to you...I have never been taught how to speak to one so...exalted. Please forgive me, oh Gunes..." All the while she spoke, I tried to calm her, patting her gently on the back.

"I took no offense, I brought you here. I knew that you were ignorant of my identity and reasonably scared," I said, trying to soothe her. Finally, she began to calm herself. I could still hear her crying, but her breathing calmer.

"I apologize nonetheless. Please, allow me to leave this lace and I will never bother you again," she said, starting to rise slightly, with her head still bowed.

"No!' I ordered and she stopped moving instantly, "You are not permitted to leave."

"Whatever your wish Sultanah. You may take my life for the offense I gave you. I no longer desire it anyway," she said, her body shaking slightly. I let out a soft sigh and placed my hand girl's arm. She flinched slightly.

"I do not desire your death," I said calmly, "I simply did not want you to run off. I want you to sit up, I want you to speak to me calmly. Speak to me familiarly, I will not be offended." The girl stayed cowering for a moment, as if she was not sure if this was some sort of trick. She turned her head to the side and let out a low breath.

"Perhaps I am already dead," she said more to herself than to me, "nothing this day has felt real."

"Then you are in no danger from me," I said, "Sit up, look me in the eye, tell me your name, and then tell me what happened to you this day? What has caused this turmoil in you?" The girl's body went stiff for a moment and I heard a ragged, crying breath. She sat up slowly, onto her knees next to me. Her hair was slightly disheveled and her breast was still exposed in her dress, but she did not seem to notice it. She looked forward with glassy eyes, seemingly unsure of what to do next.

"That is an order from your Sultanah," I said calmly. If I had known then the story I had just ordered her to relate, I would not have forced the issue. Nonetheless, the girl nodded slowly and turned towards me. She was still shaking but her voice, as she spoke, sounded less high-pitched and terrified. In fact, she seemed almost mechanical in her speech.

"My name is Mülteci, and I awoke this morning expecting a double celebration. Today was the occasion of my 19th birthday and, as decided in the contract my family had signed with the Mayor, it was to be my wedding day," she started. As she spoke this, she hung her head slightly and shrugged her shoulders. It seemed only the knowledge that I had ordered her to speak kept her speaking.

"My family, while somewhat prosperous, had made an exceptionally good bargain in marrying their eldest daughter to the son of the Mayor. He might have married a wealthier woman, a woman with property. But Kırık and I had been friends since childhood. He believed me to be the most beautiful girl in the village. He had demanded that his father arrange a marriage to me when we were still children. We had never wavered in our dedication to one another.

"Many girls with marriage contracts have, at best, mixed feelings on the day of their wedding. I was elated. I felt as though I had been waiting for that day my entire life. I awoke early and my mother braided my hair. She was happy as well. She was excited for grandchildren and for the prestige that would come with my match. She had spent months sewing me a beautiful white dress for the occasion, far finer than anything I had ever owned before," as she said this Mülteci looked down at the tattered remains of her clothes. A tear fell from her eye and landed on the grayed fabric. She wiped the tear away with her thumb, showing the bright white color that it had once possessed. She shook her head and continued.

"Before donning my dress, a traditional family breakfast was prepared. My father had slaughtered a goat the previous day. He was so proud of me, I had always been his favorite. And he toasted me shamelessly while we ate. My younger brother and two younger sisters seemed infected by my parent's enthusiasm. Whatever rivalries we had in the past had slipped away as we enjoyed the bittersweet moment as we ate one last meal together before I left the family to join my husband.

"After eating, my mother and sisters helped me into my dress and we exited my house. The entire village was invited to my wedding and as we emerged on the street, familiar faces surrounded me on all sides. Everyone was so excited about the party and the women complimented me on my beauty. The men congratulated my parents on the match they had negotiated. I floated on air through the narrow streets of town. Everything was decorated for the wedding. Every home held a wreath and the streets were strewn with flowers. As I moved toward the town hall, the people followed behind me, as was tradition. My father and mother stood at either side and my brother and sisters followed closely behind." Mülteci seemed almost in a trance now, her voice building toward something. It was not so much that she was telling me a story, instead she was reliving it. I felt myself holding my breath, unable to do anything but absorb the intensity of her story.

"We turned into the main square in town. I could see the mayor standing by the town hall, wearing his ceremonial robes. He was smiling broadly. If he had ever wanted a 'better' match for his son, he had long since reconciled himself to me. He was a good man and his son's happiness was far more important that advancement.

"His son, my Kırık, was standing by his side," Mülteci's voice caught as she said his name, "Was standing beside his father. He look uncomfortable in his formal clothing but excited nonetheless. He was looking down at his shoes, nervously. He must've heard the commotion as the villagers followed me into the square. His head rose. I saw his bright eyes and his knowing smile play across his face and..." Mülteci paused for a long while now. I could see the candlelight in my quarters playing across her eyes and I watched the tears slip down over her cheeks.

"And I saw the arrow pierce that smile. I watched as it emerge from his mouth, shattering the four teeth in his mouth. I watched as his eyes grew wide and blood poured from his lips. I saw him fall to the ground. No longer moving." Once again she paused, her shoulders shaking wildly. I could not speak, I waited for her to continue.

"It took a long time to understand what had happened. After a moment, I heard my voice scream, but it sounded like it was coming from someone else. I began to run. I ran pell mell across the square, running toward Kırık. His father had already dropped to his knees next to him. But before I could take more than few steps out towards my fallen fiancé, they were upon us.

"Riders seemed to come from every direction. Their swords and clubs were drawn and they descended on us all at once. I heard the clatter of hooves and the laughs of evil men. Then I heard the screams. We had all been massed together for the wedding. It seemed like we had acted purposefully, to make it easy for them. Whatever those raiders did, wherever they thrust their blades, they seemed to hit someone. I saw people falling to the ground around me, their guts spilled by sharpened blade. I turn around quickly. In time to see my mother and father killed by different men at nearly the same moment. My father's throat was cut and he fell forward quickly. My mother was not as lucky. A blade pierced her stomach and she fell forward into the dirt, screaming wildly. A horse trampled her head underfoot," As Mülteci spoke, she seemed to withdraw inside of herself.

"My siblings..." she paused, "I never saw what happened to them. I pray to Gunes that they are still alive. I wanted to run to them. Or to my fiancé. But all was confusion then. Horses were everywhere and the ground grew churned and muddy from the free flowing blood and dirt churned by hooves. Without thought, I began to run. I did not know where I was going, I was just trying to leave the village. The panic...I couldn't even think. I was thrown to the ground several times, but I kept rising and trying to escape. I saw friends and neighbors falling dead all around me.

"After a short time, I made my way out of the square and into the streets beyond. My eyes began to burn and my vision became blurred. I felt heat all around me. I realized that the village was being razed. The raiders were fanning out in the streets behind me, so I tried to run faster. 

"I reached the edge of the village and made my way across a field leading towards the woods. I knew the woods from childhood, if I could make it there I could elude anyone. But just as I reached the edge of the forest, I felt a hand slap against my back. It was a man on horseback. He hit me at full speed and I fell on my stomach onto the ground. The man was a leader of a squad and several other horsemen were standing with him. He dismounted quickly while I was still disoriented, trying to rise again. The other men followed his lead.

"I remember the leader, the man who knocked me down, said something lewd about my white dress. The dress my mother had made for me," Mülteci spoke in a way that indicated she remembered what the man had said, but could not bring herself to repeat it.

"While I was still dazed the man jumped on me. He grabbed at my ankles, pinning me to the ground. The other men ran to me as well. I felt their hands on my arms and stomach. They tore at my dress and laughed as I screamed. I tried to wiggle away, but the men were too strong. I could smell the alcohol on their breath and I knew they were drunk. They traded jokes back and forth and after a moment, while I began to wail, they started to pull their cocks from their trousers. I felt panic rising inside of me and vomited in the grass next to the men. Rather than slowing them, this seemed to entice them further. They began to pull my legs apart.

"I do not know how it happened, but they began to argue over who were rape me first. The captain claimed some right by virtue of his leadership. A larger man argued that he had not been given the opportunity to 'have' any women during their previous raid. The drunk men began to physically fight with one another. Pushing and shoving. Other men released me, their hard cocks bouncing obscenely, and they moved towards the fight, to break it up. The men on both of my arms released me. 

"There remained only one man crouching against one of my legs. He held me tightly so that I could not leave, but his eyes were averted. He was watching the fight. In fact, he was laughing at the altercation. I do not know where the impulse came from. But as the men began to pull the fighting soldiers apart, I crossed my free leg across my body and kicked the remaining man on his erect cock. He screeched loudly and moved his hands to cover his cock. But I quickly kicked again. He groaned, grabbing himself. He rolled over to the side, tears welling in his eyes. He started to roll around on the ground. He barreled into the quarreling soldiers and they all fell in a pile onto the ground, swearing and confused.

"I did not wait to see if I had any chance for escape. I simply rose and darted into the woods. I could not tell if the men chased after me or if they even noticed immediately that I had gone. Regardless, I sprinted through the underbrush, keeping to paths that I knew. Eventually, my mind went blank to everything except the impulse to keep moving. To keep moving and keep working so that I could stay alive," Mülteci finished her story now. Her voice just sort of faded out, just as she had faded out of her wits after her ordeal. Until we found her in the woods and terrified her again.

I sat on the bed next to the young bride, too overcome by the depth of her sadness and pain to think clearly. My eyes were wet and I felt stunned by the power of the girl's words. There was no doubt about her authenticity. She spoke with such fervor, I felt like I could feel see what she saw. It felt so fresh for her, a completely raw wound. In fact, it had only been a few hours earlier. Mülteci's life had been destroyed while I was just a few hours march away, trying desperately to find the enemy. Now they were on their way to this village, to wreak the same horror on still more of my people.

I decided at that time that Mülteci's suffering was over. My soldiers could not outfight the enemy, outnumbered and dejected as they were and so I could not save this village. But I would not leave Mülteci there to suffer the same fate again. If I could save this one girl from further damage, I could maybe accept the necessity of my coming flight.

Without thought, I draped my arm around Mülteci's shoulders, pulling her in towards, me, hugging her close. Her skin felt slightly cool, the after-effect of the shock that had clearly ravaged her body and mind. She was still shivering slightly, and she leaned heavily into me, placing her head on my breast. I wrapped my other arm around the girl, encompassing her in what little warmth I could provide. Mülteci was now sitting on her bottom on the bed and I was up on my knees, above her like a sentinel.

"I cannot begin to understand the pain that you feel," I whispered to her, "As your Sultanah, I will do what I can to protect you now. I am sorry there was nothing I could do before." Even as the words poured from my mouth, they felt weak and insufficient. What good was my protection now? It had already failed. What good was my protection to Mülteci? I could not offer it to all of my citizens, as they deserved.

"Please, just hold me now," Mülteci said through tears, "Part of me wondered if I would ever feel a loving touch again." My heart broke for her again, and I held her closer.

For a long while, we simply sat like that on the bed. I held Mülteci closely and offered her comfort as a woman, because I could offer her nothing of value as a Sultanah. Eventually, her crying ceased and her tears dried. But she remained leaning against me, her body warming slightly. I felt her head turn to look up at me. I bent down to look at her, to return her gaze. Her large, brown eyes looked impossibly deep. Her mouth opened slowly and I saw a red tinge rise in her cheek.

"You are as beautiful as we were told. We heard a lot about you," she said significantly, "But you are far warmer than I expected. Not at all distant or proud," As she spoke, her right hand slipped up and reached around to the back of my neck. She pulled me down slightly as her eyes closed. I did not even have time to react before I felt her soft, pink lips press into mine. My heart fluttered and I felt the electric feeling of a new lover's kiss. I was overwhelmed by it, allowing myself to melt into the feeling.

Her kiss was virginal, but my no means chaste. She did not part her lips or expose her tongue, but she nonetheless unleashed her passion. Her soft lips moved in-expertly, but enthusiastically, against my own and I heard a low moan in her throat. Her hand was soft but firm against my neck, holding me in place. She pressed into me more forcefully, making me hold her more tightly. 

After a moment, I realized what was happening. My eyes shot open. I saw Mülteci's beautiful face directly in front of me, her eyes closed in an almost prayer-like fashion. I was terribly confused and uncomfortable. I had definitely not intended this when I began comforting her. How had it happened? Had I done something that had taken advantage of this damaged 19-year old girl in her hour of need? I pulled back from her quickly, our lips breaking. Mülteci's hand, for a moment, tried to hold me in place, but I pulled free.

"Mülteci... I am sorry," I said, unsure of what the appropriate response would be. Mülteci shook her head and gave me a wan smile. She leaned forward again, closing her eyes and attempting to kiss me. I placed on of my hands on her shoulder, holding her back, "Mülteci, it is not appropriate." I explained. I still had no idea where from this had impulse had implanted in the girl's mind, but I needed to knock it loose. 

A primary cause of my concern as that I could sense that my resolve was in danger. I could feel my own body reacting to her innocent beauty. Her lips were so soft, her body so small and shapely, her eyes so earnest, and her spirit so enticing. And I felt like I could provide some comfort with my touch. I knew that if I did not stop this now, I might not be able to in the future.

"I apologize, Sultanah," the girl said, her head dropping. Guilt at her apparent discomfort flooded me now and I rubbed her shoulder gently.

"You have done nothing wrong," I replied.

"It is true what everyone said," Mülteci replied, "Everyone in the village said that the Sultanah loves us all deeply. I thought that it was just peasant talk. But here you are, caring for me. I just felt...something just told me...It seemed right," She said. My guilt grew deeper. It was just a few hours now before I would ride from this place with my forces, abandoning the peasants to their fate. This thought choked me, I was unable to speak. Mülteci continued.

"This night was to be my wedding night," she said slowly, almost entranced, "I was so ready for that. My mother had told me everything that would happen. I believed this night I would be in the arms of one who I loved and who loved me back. I thought I would experience..." Of course, I knew to what she was referring. My palms grew sweaty and I felt my cheeks flushing. "A communion of love. A final, physical binding to my Kırık."




The Sultanah Ch. 07



"I cannot imagine..." I started to console her, but she kept speaking.

"And then those men tried to take that from me. What was to be a gift to one I loved was nearly snatched from me by a gang of stinking drunks," she said, her lip curling. She spat onto the floor as she spoke, her anger rising in a way that it had not when she initially told the story. Her face grew somewhat florid and red, her appearance growing more beautiful. My breathing grew shallow. She turned now and looked me directly in the eye.

"No matter what happens after tonight, there will be more enemy soldiers," she said, "They are everywhere. Everyone knows it. We know you are trying to stop them, but you cannot. Once I leave this place, there will be more raiders. Someday I will not be as lucky today. Someday they will take what was promised to my fiancé."

"That is not true, we will stop them," I argued, Mülteci shrugged her shoulders.I felt a pang and knew her ambivalence was correct.

"Maybe. But then, maybe not. Maybe not before it is too late," she replied, "I want to give myself to someone I love. But he is gone and there is no one left, save one."

"That will happen one day, I am sure of it," I said, but I was certain of no such thing.

"When will I ever have an opportunity to find another that I can love? My village...other villages the same. The whole world is falling apart, Sultanah," Mülteci said, her voice breaking. I was no more experienced in these matters than she was, but I felt the need to offer comfort, to say the things that people always say.

"In the fullness of time, your heart will mend. The world will put itself back together. You will always love your fiancé, but there will be other loves," I tried to sound convincing, but knew that I failed. I didn't even know if I believed it. 

"My friends and family are gone. There is only one who I love now," she said.

"Who do you love?" I asked softly, not yet willing to admit to myself what she would say next. I knew there was no good answer to this question.

"Sultanah I owe you my love," Mülteci replied. I felt icy fingers all over my skin, my nipples grew hard against the fabric of my clothing. My emotions doubled back on themselves, contradicting themselves and freezing my mind. Mülteci reached up to me again, draping her hands of my neck.

"You do not have to love me in that way. An intimate love is different form the love you must bear your Sultanah. You do not owe me this," I said, my voice cracking.

"No, you owe this to me. If you cannot stop these raiders, protect my virtue by taking it for yourself, so that an enemy will not. My life and my honor belong to you, Sultanah. As the lives of all your subjects belongs to you. I do not feel alive now. I feel like I died in that square with my parents. With my fiancé. None of this feels real to me. I have given you the devotion owed to you as my Empress. You owe to me your protection. And I am so alone...please make me feel alive." 

Everything she said made sense to me. She wanted a choice, to give what she had rather than being forced to give it up. She wanted to be with someone...someone who recognized her as a person. Was I even really doing that? Did I really think of any of my peasants as people? Or just abstractions? And would giving her what she asked for here mean what she thought it did? Would I be giving her the affection she needed? Or would I just be taking something I briefly desired, accepting it cheaply? I didn't know. But I felt the obligation now, to steel my resolve once again.

"I owe you much, but I cannot..." I began. She looked at me with a withering stare, a mixture of hurt and disappointment I could hardly stand to witness.

"You must. I cannot risk losing this again..." She replied. Whatever resistance I had remaining melted as I gazed into Mülteci large eyes and heard her plea put so simply. Her absolute need for comfort. The questions slipped from my mind, the consideration of what was right and proper disappeared. My reasons for stopping seemed foolish and impractical. Court and noble emotions down amongst the earthy peasants. I felt the need to touch this peasant girl and I accepted that feeling in the moment for what it was, powerless to resist. 

"A Sultanah must always fulfill her obligations," I whispered and I bent my head down toward Mülteci. As I moved toward her, I heard a soft squeal emit from her throat and her hand tightened slightly on my neck. Our lips pressed together once again. This time, I took charge, being more knowledgeable than the young girl (a new experience for me). 

As our lips pressed together, I parted mine and slipped my tongue free. I grazed it along the ridge of Mülteci's mouth. I felt her body shiver and she enthusiastically opened her mouth as well. In a moment, I felt her tongue pour from her mouth and crash delightfully into mine. Her tongue was thick, wet, and warm. She moved it wildly around against my tongue and probed into my mouth. Her excitement and was contagious and her lack of polish in no way limited the pleasure of her touch. I allowed her tongue to enter my mouth, sucking on it and tasting her sweet mouth.

We had both abandoned ourselves in the instant to the animal passions swirling around us. The events of the day and our strange situation melted away entirely. Mülteci needed to be enveloped in the protective power of love and I needed to feel like I was not completely powerless to help. Because of those powerful feelings, we experienced no hesitation, and dove headlong into a passionate embrace.

While our tongues continued to wrestle messily on our mouths, my hands rose and found Mülteci's body. Her skin felt firm and hot through the tattered fabric of her wedding dress. I could feel her bare breast pressed against my body and I felt an uncontrollable need to feel her skin. Quickly my hands seized on the dress fabric and began to pull on it. I lifted the torn dress quickly up Mülteci's body. She lifted her arms above her head to make the movement easier. Our kiss broke only for a moment while I pulled the dress over Mülteci's head and threw it into the corner. Our mouths then crashed back together, kissing more desperately than before. My hands made their way back to Mülteci's hips and I felt the hot smoothness of her skin under my hands.

After a few moments of reckless kissing, my curiosity grew too great; I had to see Mülteci's compact body. I slowly broke our kiss and pulled away slightly. Mülteci let out a slight mewling noise and her eyes opened quickly to register her disappointment. I ignored her, promising myself I would rectify her disappointment directly. 

I now leaned back slightly and gazed at Mülteci. Her beauty took my breath away. I had already seen her small feet and lithe legs, but I now saw clearly that those legs were attached to small, tight round bottom. The way that she was sitting made it difficult for me to see her cunny, but I could see she had fashionably shaved herself bare for her wedding night. Despite her thin build, I saw that her hips flared dramatically and then tapered quickly to a narrow waist. Her stomach was thin and well-toned from work in the fields. My eyes continued to flutter up her body and I saw that her newly exposed breast was a mirror image of the other. The two small, perky teardrops sat high on her chest and her nipples, hard, pointed directly out from her chest. I groaned involuntarily, amazed that this beautiful girl had fallen into my lap.

And into my lap was correct. Mülteci was essentially sitting on me at that point, as I had pulled her on top of me slightly when I leaned back to get a look at her. As a result of this position, Mülteci could feel the rapidly growing evidence of my admiration of her body. My cock was pressing into her hip and straining against the fabric of my riding pants. Mülteci's wide eyes gazed down at my lap. I had no reason to doubt that she was a virgin before, but her excitement seemed to confirm the fact. But as she said, she had been taught what to do on her wedding night and was clearly excited by my arousal. 

Now it was Mülteci's turn to let her curiosity carry her away. She slipped quietly off of my lap (maddeningly brushing my cock as she did so) and positioned herself in front of me, on her knees. Now I could see her tight red gash of a cunny, already glistening slightly with arousal. Her clitoris was quite large for her small body and I could actually see it, even from a few feet away, aching red from her body. But Mülteci did not give me much time to admire her body. She leaned forward quickly, her hands on my clothes. She pushed me back onto the pillows on the bed. I lay in a sort of upright position while she moved about me.

Mülteci disrobed me with incredible efficiency. In just a few moments, my various shirts, undershirts, pants, and other garments lay in a pile on the floor. As she pulled the last of my undershirts off, my breasts stood exposed to the air. Mülteci smiled at them slightly and placed her hand on one. She felt its firmness and seemed surprised by the way it shook on my body as I moved. But Mülteci was excited about something else and her attention could not stay long on my breasts. 

The only clothing I was still wearing was a thin piece of fabric wrapped around my waist and covering my cock. It was not drawn tight over my body to hold my cock in place the way I had done in the past. As a result, it did not restrict my swelling arousal. Instead, my cock stood up high on my body, draped in sheer fabric. As Mülteci leaned back away from me, I saw her eyes stay on my cock.

I decided to let her go at her own pace. I kept my eyes on her sweet face and tried to control the overwhelming urge I felt to pounce on her. Mülteci lifted both of her hands up to her mouth, creating fists. She seemed to be biting both of her thumbs excitedly while her elbows and forearms covered, and pressed firmly against, her pert breasts. 

For a while, she just looked at me, too nervous and excited to move. My hips felt like they were going to start rotating on their own and instead I tightened the muscles at the base of my cock. My cock twitched heavily and Mülteci almost jumped. But this seemed to shake her out of her stupor. She leaned forward now, placing her left hand on the bed next to my hip. Her perky breasts hung down (but only slightly) over my knees and her round bottom stuck up in the air. 

Mülteci lifted her right hand and began to move it towards my cock. Her hand was trembling slightly and she moved slowly. My body was almost vibrating with excitement and I my head felt light. After a few moments, I realized that I was holding my breath and did my best to breathe. Mülteci looked up at me nervously and bit her lower lip. I nodded slowly and smiled at her.

This seemed to give Mülteci the last push she needed. I felt her palm land on the fabric covering the tip of my cock. I groaned loudly and writhed on the bed. Mülteci giggled and then finally pulled the fabric away from me, slipping it off my body and throwing it on the floor. Mülteci gasped as she stared at my cock. My erect shaft ached and pointed directly up toward Mülteci. My balls were heavy and I spread my legs slightly so they could slip down between my thighs.

Mülteci's curiosity overcame whatever nerves she was feeling. Her right hand reached forward now and touched the tip of my cock. Her fingers felt soft and delicate against my sensitive skin. I groaned and my cock twitched again. Mülteci looked into my eyes again, smiling. Her eyes were twinkling with excitement and she quickly turned her gaze back to my cock. Slowly, her fingers wrapped around the width of my cock, just below the tip. She squeezed a little tighter than I would have liked, but I did not dare stop her. Her palm felt too delicious against my cock.

Despite whatever lesson she had received regarding her wedding night, it was clear that Mülteci did not know what she was doing. Regardless, her innocent fumblings were extremely pleasurable. Her right hand moved around on my cock, sometimes squeezing it and stroking it and other times running her fingertips against the length of it. Still other times, she would gently grasp the tip of my cock between her thumb and forefinger, feeling it gently and moving it. The pads of her fingers found my balls at times, stroking and pressing on them as they grew fuller and fuller. All the while her ass swayed behind her and her breasts jiggled slightly over my knee.

After several minutes of innocent play, a fortunate accident occurred. Mülteci's hand was wrapped around my shaft and her pinky finger was pressed all the way down into my balls. She was pulling down and squeezing me tightly. Her actions forced a single, fat bead of clear liquid to drip from the tip of my cock. I groaned slightly as the liquid spilled down my tip and raced down the vein on the bottom of my shaft toward Mülteci's hand. Mülteci saw it moving towards her and, seemingly without thinking, she leaned forward quickly and pressed her tongue against my shaft. She got the little dribble seed before it could reach her hand. I groaned loudly and my hands rose involuntarily to find my breasts as I felt the hot wetness of Mülteci's tongue against my shaft.

My noise woke Mülteci to the implications of what she had done. Her eyes opened and remained very wide, looking at me nervously. Her tongue stayed frozen against my cock and I saw my shaft pressed against her face when I looked at her. I groaned again at the continuing pleasure of Mülteci's tongue on my cock and my hips ground involuntarily. Mülteci seemed now to recognize that, far from making a mistake, she had stumbled onto something pleasurable. A wide smile grew on her face and her tongue licked at me devilishly.

Mülteci threw herself entirely into this new course of action. Once again, her lack of knowledge was more than compensated by her enthusiasm. Mülteci made her tongue fat and wet and began to run it up and down the length of my shaft. My cock was coated in her warm saliva. She licked every inch of my cock, moving her neck and head so that she could lap at all sides. Each tongue of her warm, soft tongue made my entire body bounce. My hips felt like they were melting and my legs were shaking involuntarily. Eventually, Mülteci's tongue found the top of my cock and even my balls. She would move her tongue around on the tip of my cock wildly, even rubbing it on the slick, smooth underside of her tongue. When she reached my balls, she lapped at my skin forcefully, letting her tongue sink into my scrotum. Each touch was more alluring than the last.

At no time did Mülteci ever placed my cock inside of her mouth or let it slip into her throat. I suppose it never occurred to her. A large part of me wanted to take Mülteci's head in my hands teach how to properly suck a cock. I wanted to feel her tight throat close around my shaft. 

But while Mülteci was lapping at my cock, I felt something that changed my mind. Mülteci's cunny was directly over my knees. While Mülteci's tongue was pressed into my scrotum and her nose was rubbing against my shaft, I felt a peculiar sensation: a slight drip onto my knee. The liquid felt warm and thick. For a moment, I did not realize what it was. But I could heard Mülteci's ragged breath and I could see her bottom shaking in the air. I realized, it was Mülteci's cunny. She was so aroused that she was literally dripping wet on top of me. I breathed deeply through my nose and I could smell her arousal thick in the room, a warm, savory aroma. I remembered that we were not engaged in this just for my pleasure. Mülteci needed something and I was obligated to provide it.

Summoning all of my will, I slipped my hands from my breasts and found Mülteci's shoulders. I pulled her up gently. For a moment her tongue remained stuck to my shaft, but then she seemed to notice I was pulling her up. She looked up at me quickly, wondering if she had done something wrong. I gave her sultry look and pulled her toward me more forcefully. Mülteci smiled at me and started to move forward. I guided her while she crawled carefully over my body. 

After a few moments her knees were on either side of my hips and and my cock was sticking up between her legs. It was not touching her, but it was just a few short inches from her cunny. Further, her breasts hung towards my face, her small, hard brown nipples pointing at me. I could not help myself. I lifted my head slightly and opened my mouth. I let Mülteci's hard nipple enter my mouth. Her soft, silky flesh pressed against my face as my lips closed around her. I heard her moan loudly as my tongue found the dense flesh of her nipple. I sucked deeply on her nipple and flicked it with my tongue. 

Mülteci's whole body became weak and her knees buckled. Her cunny dropped slightly and it grazed the tip of my cock. We both moaned together and Mülteci's eyes shot up quickly in surprise. Her nipple popped from my mouth as Mülteci's rose so that she was erect, straddling my hips with my cock almost touching her red clit. She was looking down at me, the innocence drained from her eyes. I saw only need now. Mülteci's red cunny was dripping down her thigh and her face was flushed. I knew there could be no more delay.

I lifted my hands and placed them on Mülteci's hips. They felt warmer than before and my fingers tingled. I looked up at her and she bit her lip, nodding. Slowly, I placed pressure on her hips. Mülteci's began to sink very slowly. After a few seconds I gasped as the tip of my cock pressed against Mülteci's hot, dripping cunny. Mülteci's body went incredibly tense and I stopped pulling on her briefly. Mülteci looked nervous and enticed at the same time. I kept her in place, my cock pressed against her. But I rubbed my hand gently her hips and her soft ass. I did not want to hurt her, and I was trying to be reassuring. 

"You are ready," I said slowly, seductively, "Go at you own pace." I said. Mülteci's moaned slightly in response. But after a moment, I felt her lowering herself again. Mülteci's cunny was incredibly tight. As my cock pressed into her dripping body, it squeezed me tightly. Mülteci's panted and groaned as the tip of my cock pressed into her. She moved slowly, instinctively rocking her hips to lubricate me with her juices. Finally, the tip of my cock slipped inside of Mülteci. 

"Oh Gunes!" I groaned and I made my hands into fists on Mülteci's hips. She was so soft and warm inside and almost unbearably tight. But now the hardest part was over, the tip of my cock was inside of her. With slightly more speed, Mülteci lowered herself farther and farther onto my aching cock. She grew tighter and tighter as she went and occasionally, she would stop, panting, while grew accustomed to the feeling. But her cheeks were red and her eyes were totally alive. It was clear she was enjoying the feeling. I was just as well, I had never felt anything as soft as the caress Mülteci's cunny provided.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity, I felt Mülteci's ass settle onto my thighs and I felt her hard little clit press into my pelvis. I was entirely inside of Mülteci. For a moment we just stayed still, staring at one another in awe. The connection between us felt almost mystical and the physical pleasure we already felt was intense. The smell of my arousal mixed with that of Mülteci, now that our cunnies were so close together. If perfumed the air in the room and made it feel more humid somehow. 

My cock twitched involuntarily inside of Mülteci's cunny. She shivered and then offered a giggle. Her hips rocked slightly, tugging deliciously on my cock. It was clearly time for more. I softened my fists back out and placed my palms flat on Mülteci's hips. I pushed her hips slightly, making her rock slightly.

"Sultanah, oh my!" Mülteci's moaned. Her hands instantly shot to her mouth. Once against she placed her fists in front of her mouth, biting on her tongue. But I could see her smiling behind the coy posture. I rocked my hips slightly, thrusting my cock deeper into the warmth of Mülteci's cunny. Mülteci moaned lasciviously and rocked her hips in motion with mine. She gave no hint of pain and it seemed her wet cunny and our slow start had served her well. That was lucky for her, because I could no longer contain myself.




The Sultanah Ch. 07



My hands clenched more tightly around Mülteci's hips and I dropped my hips down in the fabric of my bed. An inch or two of my hard cock slipped out of Mülteci's soft cunny. The air felt cool against the wet skin of my shaft. Mülteci trembled as I moved. After waiting a bare second, I thrust my cock up, back into Mülteci's cunny. She felt even tighter before as I drove my body into hers. Mülteci's body trembled and she continued moaning loudly. She smiled while her voice called out in ecstasy. I did not give Mülteci's time to react; instead I quickly slipped my cock out again and then rammed it home. I repeated that motion, again and again and again. I thrust my cock in and out of Mülteci's impossibly tight cunny and felt as the tension built inside of her body with each thrust and felt her grow weaker and more enslaved to her passions.

After a few minutes of thrusting, Mülteci became too weak from the pleasure and the tension she felt to hold herself upright any longer. Her fists came down from her mouth and Mülteci pitched forward. Her hands came out in front of her to catch herself and I had a small amount of wind knocked out of me as Mülteci's hands landed in my breasts. This motion pushed her hips back, driving my cock more deeply into Mülteci's cunny. Mülteci's was smiling and panting now as she looked up into my eyes. Her hands squeezed tightly on my breasts for stability and I groaned at the sensation of my hardened nipples digging into her palm.

Mülteci now began to rock her hips now. My cock was buried deeply inside of her and her hips bounced up and down on it. She groaned and arched her back now, feeling my cock slip ever deeper inside of her. Mülteci's hands remained on my breasts, squeezing them and playing roughly with my nipples. She was panting loudly and punctuating her breaths with soft moans. She was grinding her hard clit into my body, building herself towards something she had been waiting for her entire life. Her body shook on top of me and I kept my hands tightly on her hips.

If Mülteci was getting carried away by the excitement of the moment, I was even worse. I could barely stand the intensity of Mülteci's squeezing cunny. The room was filled with the thick scent of arousal and my hold body was growing stiff from anticipation. I was holding my breath again, but I lacked the will to breathe, I wanted the lightheaded feeling. Every move of Mülteci's tight young body seemed to tug at my cock, bring the tension closer and closer to its finale. Adding to that was the tingling feeling that spread throughout my chest from Mülteci's manipulation of my nipples.

Mülteci and I had been rocking our hips together for several minutes when she finally did something that pushed me over the edge. Mülteci's hips were shaking on top of me and suddenly, I felt the muscles inside of her tighten. She looked at me mischievously, clearly realizing she had stumbled onto something new. If Mülteci's cunny was already almost too tight to bear, her sudden clenching put it past all reason. I felt her cunny wrap tightly around me, milking my cock.

"Holy Gunes, fuck me!" I moaned loudly, my fingers sinking more deeply into Mülteci's hips. The sudden addition of just the right amount of pressure was more than I could bear. My eyes closed instantly and my mouth opened. I left it open, making a hollow croaking sound. I felt all of my muscles tighten in my body and my toes curled on the bed. All of my attention was focused on the tight grasp of Mülteci's cunny wrapped around my cock. I felt my balls seizing underneath of Mülteci's body. I felt like I could not stand to feel anymore, like every inch of my body and every fragment of my soul was consumed entirely by an unbearable, immovable, and constant tension and then...suddenly...it burst. 

The tension broke and a wave of absolute pleasure radiated out from my cock, covering my entire body in a quivering warmth. All of my muscles released and I collapsed back onto the bed. My balls seized more quickly and I felt the vein at the base of my shaft expanding and contracting as it shot thick, white loads of seed deep into Mülteci's willing body. I heard her yelp in surprise and felt her squeeze the muscles in her cunny tighter. She was pulling more of my seed into her body and trying to hold it all inside of herself. Her hands squeezed more forcefully on my tits as she was laughing and moaning with delight.

Finally, the orgasm subsided and I lay, sated, on the bed. Mülteci still sat on top of me, my still-hard cock buried in her body. She could tell something important had happened and that her cunny was filling with my seed. But she was not done; instead she was smiling at me and trying to move her hips. I winced slightly at the sensitive. It was not that it was a bad feeling, on the contrary it was too much of a good feeling. My cock was far too sensitive to keep going. She sensed my discomfort and stopped.

"Have I done something wrong Sultanah?" she asked nervously, and once again she leaned back so that she was erect while kneeling over me, "I sought only to give you pleasure." I reached my hand up quickly and found Mülteci's cheek. I rubbed her smooth skin gently with my thumb and shook my head.

"Not at all, that felt wonderful," I said softly. Mülteci and looked slightly embarrassed. But I could still feel her body trembling under me and I could sense her cunny vibrating with continued desire. Mülteci had already given me so much, she needed satisfaction now. It was my responsibility. And also my pleasure. I wanted to do something for her.

I scooted back slightly and sat up quickly on the bed. Mülteci's small body was easily moved with me. She let out a surprised yelp and started to roll backwards, towards my feet. I had been hoping for this and I spread my legs slightly while I jerked my hips back forcefully. I felt my cock slip out of Mülteci's tight cunny, it felt delightful. She let out another, pleasured yelp at the sensation. A large blob of my seed spilled from Mülteci's cunny and landed on the bed. Mülteci now fell backward completely onto the bed, her breasts jiggling alluringly as her back sank into the covers.

It did not seem wise to wait to see what happened. Instead, I rolled over quickly onto my stomach. While Mülteci was lying on her back, giggling contentedly at this sudden turn of events, I scrambled over so that I was facing towards her on the bed. Mülteci's legs were slightly open and I quickly slipped on belly in between her knees, my face just a few inches from her red cunny. My breasts landed in the patch of warm seed that had spilled from Mülteci's cunny and landed on the bed and she felt wonderful as it pressed against my nipple.

I placed my hands on Mülteci's thighs, prying them open farther. Mülteci had not realized I had been moving and her body froze with the recognition that I was so close to her. Mülteci's cunny was close to my face and I could smell the mixed aroma of her savory cunny juices mixed with the tart undercurrent of my seed. Mülteci's cunny was as tight as ever and her little red clit stood out hard at the top. She was leaking from the bottom of her cunny, a mixture of my seed and her own juices. There seemed to be more of my seed and it was a milky color pooling on the bed.

I knew then, as I had always known, that it was not appropriate for me to be in this position. I was a Sultanah, it was my place to receive pleasure, not to give it. I would be lowering myself from my regal bearing if I went any further, especially with a mere peasant girl. And yet, these concerns, which had stopped me even in the heat of passion, seemed totally irrelevant now. I felt so deeply for Mülteci at that moment, that I did not even really consider stopping. And it wasn't just Mülteci, the affection I felt for her was tied up in something else, something I couldn't put my finger on at that moment. She represented something to me, a joyous duty or a cheerful obligation. And I wanted to fulfill that obligation. Somehow, by lowering myself to her, I felt that I was not lowering myself at all. If anything, I would rise higher.

After that, I pushed myself forward on the bed, I felt my hair push against Mülteci's thighs and felt her body tremble at the touch. The scent from her cunny grew more and more intense as I grew closer to it. I was surprised by how well her scent and mine mixed together. It made my eyes roll slightly and I felt my cock twitch against the fabric of the bed. In a few moments I was a mere half inch away from Mülteci's lovely cunny. The tights red lips of her cunny looked even more enticing here and her clit begged to be touched.

I waited a half second, giving Mülteci just a few moments of torture. I titled my eyes up at her. Mülteci was looking down at me, excited. She was biting her knuckle and her eyes were sparkling. She pushed her hips towards me, begging for further action.

Finally, I complied. I leaned forward slightly and let my tongue spill from my mouth. In a moment, I felt it sink in to the wet folds of Mülteci's cunny. Immediately my mouth and my nose were filled with an incredible flavor. I hadn't even really been thinking about the fact that I would, for the first time, or my own seed. But the salty, savory flavor of my own seed, mixed with Mülteci's juices gave me an electrifying feeling. I wished I had not waited so long to try. And there were still big, milky globs of it overflowing from Mülteci's tight cunny.

For the next few minutes, my tongue flew around Mülteci's, seeking out her juices and my own seed. I would hold it in my mouth and swish it around my teeth, savoring the flavor. My tongue flittered across Mülteci's sensitive skin while I swallowed them down. Mülteci's moaned loudly while I did so and after a few minutes, her hands found their way to my head. Her fingers sunk into my hair, holding onto me tightly and panting while I sucked our juices from her cunny.

After a while, my face now glistening with juices, I found that I had cleaned Mülteci's cunny entirely. I could sense the sexual flavors still on my tongue and knew it was now on my breath. All of our delicious seed and juice was now inside of me, giving my stomach an exquisite warmth. Mülteci's head was hanging back and she was moaning loudly, she didn't want me to stop. 

I opened my eyes now and I saw Mülteci's little red clit staring me in the face. I was ready to finish Mülteci's agony. I opened my mouth and wrapped my lips around Mülteci's clit. Mülteci's body jerked and she let out a high pitched scream. Her hands squeezed and pulled at my hair, pulling me more tightly into her lap. I did not need any more encouragement. I kept my lips wrapped around the girl's clit and quickly flicked my tongue against it. Mülteci's body bounced in time with my flicking tongue. After a moment, I made my tongue thick, soft, and flat and lapped at Mülteci's clit.

I stayed in this position for some time, lying on my belly between Mülteci splayed legs. I kept my hands on her hips to keep her spread wide. And I licked and sucked on her clitoris with all of my ability and energy. I followed the motions of her body, sensed her reactions, and tailored the movement of my tongue to maximize her pleasure. As I licked, Mülteci's body got more and more rigid and her hands squeezed tighter and tighter on my hair. Finally, I heard a loud croaking noise coming from Mülteci's throat and I felt her cunny tightening against my chin.

"Oh fuck, Varis!" Mülteci called out loudly as her body began to shake. I kept licking, sucking more of her flavor into me and breathing in her scent. Finally, Mülteci's body locked up entirely and, after a further second, went completely limp. She collapsed backwards onto the bed, panting and almost completely oblivious to the world. For a moment, I simply stayed down, between her legs, and caught my breath. 

After a while I lifted myself with great effort. After sidestepping Mülteci's legs, I collapsed down next to her on the bed. As I lay down next to her, Mülteci turned and looked at me, smiling. Her face glistened with sweat and she looked completely relaxed. I wrapped one of my arms around Mülteci's should, pulling her in closely. She rested her head on my breast, burrowing into me.

"That was better than I could ever had dreamed," She said sleepily, "Though I am sorry I called you Varis, Sultanah," she added. I smiled and shook my head.

"Think nothing of it here," I said, "As lovers, I believe we were equals." She smiled more broadly now and looked up at me. She was so much more beautiful than the haggard girl who had been carried into the room. I felt for a moment like I had done something right that night. We both grew more comfortable in the bed and I enjoyed the feeling of Mülteci in my arms. 

But my thoughts would not be still. As the euphoria from the encounter began to fade, I wondered what it mattered. What good did it do for one night of passion with Mülteci? She still faced depravation tomorrow. What difference if she was briefly happy now? She had already lost everything. After a long pause, I spoke.

"What will you do? Tomorrow? Thereafter," I asked. Mülteci did not look up now. Instead, she gave a long sigh and sat quietly for some time. When I began to suspect she had no intention of answering me, she spoke.

"Go on living I suppose," was all she said. She spoke no more. And in a few minutes. She was asleep. I thought deeply of her answer and their meaning and was unable to follow her into sleep. Sometime well before dawn, I rose, got dressed, and headed out to find Saygili.

* * * * *

Sometime around 4:00 p.m., much later after the sun rose and was once again beginning to set; I was standing in the center of the village, right next to the town hall I had slept in the night before. The noose had already tightened, our enemies no longer made any pretense of stealth. They were swirling around the outside of town, mounted and armed. I could hear their taunts and I knew that they were aware of my presence in town. They were slowly getting closer. They were making noise, trying to make their overwhelming numbers seem more intense. 

And there numbers had become even more overwhelming since I had arisen that morning. The number of troopers at my disposal had fallen from 69 the previous night to 42. That morning, when I had announced to the troopers that the enemy had surrounded us and that I had made the determination that I would stay in fight, I gave my soldiers the option. Those who wished to stay and fight with me could stay. Those who wished to flee would not be punished. All of the Collaborationist lords had, as well as a handful of demoralized loyalists. 

Our numbers were swelled, however, by the townspeople. They were not trained for war, but they stood arrayed in the town square, ready to protect their homes. I had given them no options when I roused their mayor. I simply explained that the enemy was closing in and that I needed their help in prosecuting the war. I was more than a little surprised and impressed with the speed at which the town mobilized. Each man and woman now carried some weapon, even if it was just a shovel, and possessed a grave visage that indicated a willingness to fight to the death.

Saygili had, likely, been surprised by my unilateral change in the plans. However, his loyalty prevented him from raising any objection. When I told him that I would be staying and fighting, he asked simply what I had in mind. I immediately laid out my plan of action for the coming day. 

I did not, however, actually tell my trusted soldier my thoughts. I was thinking only of Mülteci's words the night before, "go on living I suppose." A simple, peasant statement of permanence. There was no option to quit, no ability to simply cease going. Mülteci had experienced an unimaginable level of pain and confusion, but she not only kept on living, she desperately wanted to live. She wanted to feel alive even if doing so meant risking future pain. I reflected on this strength while I lay awake at night. It reminded me of the history of the Empire, the famous legions of Bütün Dünya. Legions that were made of common men, trained hard, and taught that there was no option but victory. I thought of my troopers, all of noble birth. So weak, so willing to quit when they did not experience instant victory. Likely they would be happy to sacrifice a town of innocents to save themselves. 

I asked myself about my role as the Sultanah, the Empress. I wanted to know what I believed my primary task would be in my office. Would it be to preserve myself and my blood? To make nobles wealthy? Or would my purpose be to preserve and foster the people of the Empire? To treat all of my subjects, even the peasants as human beings with dignity, importance, and something to add to the life of the Empire? In short, I asked whether was the Sultanah I wished to represent the strength and the body of the old Empire, or if would continue to align with the decaying, noble rot that had eaten it from the inside out. It was not a difficult decision.

And so I was handily outnumbered (at least in terms of actual soldiers) and totally surrounded by well-trained enemies. I, like all of my troopers, was dismounted. I had my blade in my hand and was facing towards the largest road leading into the town square, the location I assumed most of the enemies would choose as an entrance. My heart was fluttering and I continually asked myself whether I had made a mistake in failing to flee. But it was too late for that now. And I drew strength from the grim calm exuded by the peasants all around me.

I do not remember the exact time it occurred, but I will never forget the sound of the trumpet blasts that peeled out through the late afternoon air. They came from all sides. Each enemy crew seemed to know that the attack was to start at the same instant, and they all ordered the charge at the same time. 

Raiders came pouring into the village from all directions. I could see a large mass of horseman entering the main street of the village from the fields beyond, heading directly towards me. If I looked to either side or peered into any number of side alleys, I could see the same sight. Soldiers, moving closer and closer towards the center of town, their sabers draw and their lips peeled back in terrifying grimaces. I saw also the thin line of peasants and remaining troopers that stood inside of town square, preparing to seal off each entrance to the town center with their fragile bodies.

As I watched the enemy raiders get closer and closer to me, my feet felt heavy and my head felt light. I felt very much like I was going to vomit or collapse. The sword felt unbearable in my hand and I knew that I had no knowledge of how to wield it. It felt as though my body was trying to pull me backwards, towards the center of the square, where the most bodies would stand between me and my enemy. But, just when my courage was about to fail, a voice rang out from the square.

"For Bütün Dünya and Sultanah Varis!" the voice called out. I instantly recognized the voice as Mülteci's. Before I could react, the crowd responded.

"Huzzah!" they cried, a mighty roar from the peasants that made them sound more fearsome than I thought possible. I felt their courage wash over me, soaking down into my bones and I stood still, my face becoming grimmer and fiercer. 

The enemy raiders were closing at the same speed, their immense discipline allowing them to approach the town square from all quarters instantaneous. I saw the horses grow more and more defined as the came closer and closer. I held my sword up as they closed the distance nearer and nearer to our location. The sound of the hooves grew so loud it overwhelmed everything else; the vibrations seemed to shake inside of my stomach. They passed the last few houses on the outside of the square. I could see the decorations on the raiders' uniforms and I could nearly feel the heat of their horses' breath as they closed the last few feet between us. Murder was in the eyes of the raiders as they lifted their swords towards me and...they dropped.




The Sultanah Ch. 07



The village was suddenly filled with new noises. The awful screams of dying men and horses rang out even over the din of hooves. I turned quickly and saw that the same result had occurred everywhere. The horses had dropped. I smiled. The plan had worked.

As soon as I had told the villagers about the attack, I had put them to work implementing my plan. I set crews of broad-shouldered peasant men to work digging massive, three-foot-deep holes at the very edge of each road leading into the main square. While they dug, their wives and children were encouraged to gather every fencepost or wooden stake they could find and hone both ends into spikes. As the spikes were completed, they were sunk deeply into the muddy holes dug by their husbands. When each hole was filled with spikes, a blanket (usually several blankets) was to cover it. This blanket was then covered in mud. A quick moving horseman would never notice the difference. While the villagers worked, my remaining troopers loudly maneuvered in the fields outside of town, ensuring that prying eyes did not notice. The peasants were used to work and worked quickly and, at around 3:00 p.m., each hole was finished and the troopers were brought back to town and (carefully) helped into the square with everyone else. We then prayed that we had done enough.

Now it seemed that, as usual, Gunes was good. Our enemies were tumbling into the pits we had dug, moving at full speed. Men and horses were pierced by spike and then crushed as more men and horses fell in after them. Even after the front ranks of raiders realized the trap, their attempts to stop moving were in vain. The men behind them pushed them forward, toppling them into the pits. After the initial shock wore off, resourceful raiders tried to jump the pits and reach the town square. Most were unable to clear the growing piles of their dead brethren or could not cross the entire distance of the pit and fell in anyway. Occasionally, a single man would make it across but such a man would be no match for our massed numbers. Each man who came across piecemeal was quickly swarmed and killed. 

The raiders had not been expecting any real resistance. They knew we had only a fraction of the troopers they possessed and expect the rabble to break instantly when they entered the square. Now faced with determined, deadly resistance, the men in the rear ranks turned and fled. They were confused and scared, something they had never expected. 

I anticipated that the enemy would regroup quickly and attempt to take us again. Therefore, I had no men to spare for the holding of prisoners. I ordered my peasants and troopers into the pits to finish off any men and horses still alive and ordered that their weapons be taken for our use. This bloody order was rapidly heeded. However, once it was done I looked down the road toward the fields outside of town. I saw no enemy troops. Their fear and confusion had been complete, they had routed entirely. The battle had lasted a mere half hour. And we had won.

"Victory!" I called out in my loudest voice and heard my loyal troopers and my loyal peasants scream out the word as well, swelling loudly (and no doubt scaring any enemy soldiers who remained close enough to hear). We would later learn that 75 enemy soldiers lay dead in the pits, crushed by their horses. Among their number were two high ranking Dusman lords who had led the charge. This represented nearly a quarter of the total troops and roughly half of the senior leadership of the raiders. Upon hearing reports of the battle, King Sican was stung by the fact that his elite troops were killed primarily by peasants. More importantly, he realized that he could afford the risk of losing so many men in what was, essentially, tactically unimportant raiding. He quickly called his troops back, ending for that time the deprivations of the raiders.

But we did not know that then. All we knew was that through our strength and ingenuity we had defeated an enemy far more organized and disciplined. Their arrogance and certainty of victory had allowed us to outwit them. We had survived (losing not a single man, woman, or child) and preserved the town.

"To Sultanah Varis," Mülteci cried now as we stood in the town square, "The People's Empress!"

"Huzzah!" was the reply. Once again, Mülteci's words triggered an idea. This was one I had been playing with since at least the night before. But now, it seemed, was the correct time to put that idea into action. I raised my hands in victory and walked over to the town hall. I climbed up onto the Mayor's chair and held my hands aloft until the crowd grew silent.

"The People's Empress is right!" I called and the people cheered again, "Because this is an Empire of the people." More cheering followed. I paused for a second to collect my thoughts. I had not prepared for what I was going to say next. But once I began speaking, it came naturally, "Every inch of ground that Bütün Dünya gained through the centuries was taken by the legions. By citizen-soldiers. When this proud Empire ceased to rely on its farmers and its merchants and its artisans as soldiers, it began to wither. I, Sultanah Varis, am no longer content with this atrophy and this rot. This Empire is glory and will always remain glorious. It will only fail if we fail to live up to the glory of its name. Fulfilling this responsibility to the Empire is the right, the duty, and the privilege of all who dwell within its borders. It is not only for me. And it is certainly not only for the Peers. So this I say: Any man who finds that life in this village is too small or that life lacks adventure follow me to Şehir and take an honored place in the renewed legions of Bütün Dünya! And see all our enemies join these. Dead and buried!" The cheers were deafening. I looked around at the people around me and I felt the strength of the empire in their faces, none more so than in the face of Mülteci, who cheered loudest of all. 

When we returned to Şehir (to the shock of the deserters, who had brought news of our imminent death the day before) we came with 25 new soldiers, the core of a new imperial citizen-army. Mülteci was not among them, she went on to live her life.

End Chapter 7 - End First Half!

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 08



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 8 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 8: Betrothal

"I announce Varis, Sultan of Ülke and fourth of his name since the founding of the Hanedan dynasty, Emperor of Bütün Dünya, Lord-Mayor of Şehir..." the herald began.

"That is unnecessary," I interrupted quickly. The herald looked at me, quite shocked, but shrugged his shoulders and stepped aside. With the herald out of the way, I stepped through the large, arched doorway into the main hall of the Castle Inhanet. The room was essentially a long hallway made of dark stone. One either side of the hall were small, squat windows that let in a negligible amount of light. Regardless, it was very dark in the room and even at midday, there were torches burning throughout the area. The room was cold and humid, causing the stones to sweat. A somewhat tattered rug started at my feet and led to the far side of the hall. It was much smaller and far less grand than my throne room in Şehir, but it served the same purpose: the ruler in this castle would receive visitors here.

The ruler of this particular castle was standing next to a small throne on the far opposite end of the room. As I stepped into the room, I took a moment to evaluate her. I was surprised that she, a widow, appeared so strikingly young and beautiful. Of course, "young" is a relative term. She was young for a widow, though still more than a decade older than me. She was, I had learned, 35 years old. She was quite tall, around 5'9 with very long black hair. She had piercing, nearly black eyes that dominated her severely beautiful face. She had a small, pointed nose and thick red lips. Her skin was somewhat pale, but in a way that gave her an aristocratic air. She had large breasts that sat high on her body, seemingly without the aid of a corset. She had slender, delicate arms and long fingers. Her body tapered down from her large breasts to a small waist. Her hips flared slightly and she had a small, compact bottom. Her thighs were thin and she had long, delicate legs. She was smiling in an honest but somehow cold way but looked totally at ease. In short, I was pleasantly surprised. My fiancé was a beautiful woman.

I suppose some explanation is necessary. Just one week before I had been in a meeting with my Inner Council, discussing plans for future expansion of the legions. Most of the lords objected to the re-growth of the legions, as a threat to their power. But the Executive Assembly had approved my plan, 3-2. Manpower was not an issue. The Empire had shriveled, but Şehir remained the largest and city in the known world. The walled city itself and the surrounding countryside still a multitude of people. Many fighting-aged men were without work and ready to be placed at the Empire's service. Therefore, the only issue was figuring out a way to pay for the troops. 

Our finances were already strained and an army, even an army receives little in wages, is expensive. Cin and Kardes were arguing over increased duties on merchants now that the Dusman raids had stopped. Cin argued that increasing duties a slight amount could give us the money to raise a 10,000 man army, 6,000 more than the current establishment. Kardes argued that increasing duties now, when trade was still recovering from the wartime deprivations, would simply deter commerce and cause more trouble than good. I, on the other hand, was trying to figure out a way to make the Peers pay for the army without allowing them to realize it. Regardless, while all of this was going on, Soyguncu suddenly burst into the throne room, excitedly holding a parchment over her head.

"Sultanah Varis! A message has come, something I think you will want to read," she called out loudly, over all of the other voices in the hall. Everyone else gradually stopped talking and turned to look at my scout and spy.

"Yes," I said sitting up straighter in my throne, "What is it?" Soyguncu bounded down the carpet in the throne room, all eyes following her. There was a sort of electric feeling; we could all tell that she possessed something momentous.

"Where is the messenger from?" My older sister Kardes asked.

"How did you come by the message?" Cin asked at nearly the same instant. Soyguncu, still striding confidently across the throne room, laughed good-naturedly.

"Let the Sultanah read it and all will be revealed," she said. As she moved closer, I quickly descended the stairs of my throne and reached the meeting table. Soyguncu arrived on the opposite side and she dramatically tossed a parchment onto the table in front of me. Cin, Kardes, Agiz, Got, and even the normally aloof Arkadas, quickly crowded around the table. Saygili leaned in from his post by the rear door, trying to catch a glimpse. I quickly scooped up the paper and started to read.

"To the illustrious Sultanah Varis first of..." I skipped past my long title, "It is with a heavy heart I write to inform you of the death of my husband, Lord Sahte, the Castellan and Governor of Inhanet, has tragically succumbed to the plague," I read, "Who in Gunes balls is Lord Sahte of Inhanet?" I asked while looking up from the parchment. I had never heard those names before. Instantly, Cin and Kardes began speaking at once. Cin stepped aside and let Kardes continue.

"Inhanet," my sister explained, "Is little more than a small castle and the fields surrounding it. Maybe two or three square miles of land at most. I stayed there for several weeks when I was first traveling to meet my husband many years ago. Lord Sahte's father was the Castellan and Governor at that time."

"Where is it?"

"It is a few days ride to the East of here, near the frontier between Temsilci and Surgun, right on the edge of our own territory. I saw no more than 500 people living in the castle and the surrounding village. The castle straddles the Haraç River, a tributary of the Güney," she explained. I gazed at the map spread across the table, finding the rough area she described. The borders of Ülke, Temsilci and Surgun came together a single point, about 45 miles from Şehir. A small dot I had never noticed before read "Castle Inhanet."

"For whom did Lord Sahte hold his territory then?" I asked. I knew that he was not my Castellan or governor.

"No one," My sister replied. 

"An independent duchy of only two square miles? Between two of my most powerful enemies?" I asked incredulously. Kardes shrugged her shoulders. Now Cin stepped in, to fill in the gaps.

"Castle Inhanet had been controlled directly by the Sultan of Ülke for centuries," She explained, "Temsilci and Surgun grew more and more independent as the empire decayed, to the point that Castle Inhanet was essentially isolated from imperial control. Both Temsilci and Surgun desired the castle but, at that time, they were afraid that by taking it they would provoke a war with the Empire, when it was still potent. Further, because they both wanted it, they were afraid of provoking a war with one another over an essentially worthless plot of land. So the last Castellan and Governor appointed by Sultan Bağımsız I simply declared the castle independent. It saved everyone a lot of trouble, so it was allowed to continue. They employ a small retinue of guards paid for with tolls charged on the Haraç River." I was, as usual, shocked by Cin's encyclopedic knowledge of imperial history. She seemed to have cleared up the issue, so I read on.

"Lord Sahte, Gunes rest his soul," I noted the choice of god approvingly, "and I produced no living male heirs. As such, Lord Sahte's exiled brother, Kayınbirader, holds the strongest claim to the Governor's Throne."

"Why do we care about this?" Arkadas asked, annoyed. Cin shushed her and I read on.

"I have never met Kayınbirader, but it has come to my attention that he currently resides in the court of King Köylü of Temsilci. My sources indicate that, in exchange for his support during the exile, my brother has consented to grant King Köylü sovereignty over Castle Inhanet upon his return.

"We at Castle Inhanet are weak, but proud people. We have maintained our independence for centuries. It was my late husband's fervent desire that Castle Inhanet remain free from foreign domination. While the legal succession is clear, in this case following the law would result in the eradication of all laws at Castle Inhanet. Therefore, I will not abide by the installation of my brother on my husband's throne. Unfortunately, I am but a young widow with only a small force at my disposal. I will not be able to resist my brother-in-law and his Temsilci forces for long. 

"For many centuries, Castle Inhanet was controlled by Bütün Dünya. To this day our nations have never experienced rancor or animosity. I believe that, perhaps, it is time that the affection between the Empire and Castle Inhanet are once again renewed. I ask only for independence for my people. I offer the only thing which I possess, my hand in marriage. If you are, as I believe you to be, the hand of Gunes in this world and if you choose to accept this offer, please hurry to Castle Inhanet with all haste. There is no time to lose. I send you my undying love. Sincerely, Governess Cadı of Castle Inhanet," And with that, the letter ended.

"She is not subtle," Cin said immediately, "I am shocked that she would include so much information that could be intercepted by her enemies." Cin almost sounded disgusted by the lack of circumspection. 

"She is a small town rube, what do you expect?" Soyguncu said.

"Let's not quibble about her sophistication," I said quickly, "We should not get bogged down in details. This is an offer of marriage." I said. No thoughts of romance or love flittered into my head as this idea took shape. I had no thought that I would love this Governess Cadı. But I had been fruitlessly searching for someone to provide me with heirs almost form the instant I was made Sultanah. This was the first actual offer I had received thus far.

"It is hardly a worthy offer," Arkadas said immediately, "We have been asking Dukes and Kings for their daughters. This is a dried up widow who controls a spec of dirt that the world has forgotten. Governess? I mean really..." I looked over at my friend and lover, but she refused to make eye contact. I wondered if jealousy, more than concern about the appropriateness of the match was her true concern. I did not have time to reassure her of my love at that time, I would have to approach her later.

"We haven't had much luck with that strategy," I said dryly in response.

"Even if you go and marry her, we cannot possibly protect such a small fortress in the midst of our enemies," Got said, pointing again to the map. She was right, our forces were spread perilously thin already. I could not garrison even a small castle.

"Don't be foolish," Kardes said, "Do you think this woman actually gives a damn about Castle Inhanet or its independence? Her brother is coming back to take over. She has no role there when he arrives. She will be out in the village with the peasants before she can bury her husband. She is looking for an out. She marries Varis and then, even if the castle falls, Varis can say she married a Princess (of sorts) and this Governess Cadı gets out." As usual, my sister had cut through the obfuscation and found the true source of the issue.

"Perhaps she was more subtle than I gave her credit for," Cin responded.

"Then we are both in great need of one another," I said finally.

"Grave mistakes are made in such circumstances," Arkadas offered.

"Alliances of necessity are made in such circumstances," Cin responded. 

Given the precarious nature of my dynasty and my paucity of options, it was quickly decided that I must go to Castle Inhanet at once. My Inner Council seemed to accept the decision as inevitable, even if they were not enthusiastic about the rather weak match. Only Arkadas offered any real objection. But everyone knew the source of her displeasure and she was easily outvoted.

There was not much time to lose and I did not bother to inform the Peers of my plans. I had not yet formally decided that I would marry Governess Cadı, I had some questions to ask of her first. Therefore, their agreement was not necessary. Yet. I promised to send Cin a message as soon as my final decision was made. She could then present the marriage to the Executive Assembly as a fait accompli. I had no doubt a 3-2 vote in favor could be obtained.

Therefore, I quickly prepared for departure. I did not want to remove any of my existing troops from the city, as they were all needed for defense. I decided, with Saygili's assurance, to take the small, but growing, nucleus of my new legions. Two hundred new troops, well-equipped and trained daily by Saygili and his most competent fellow-soldiers. I decided to leave Cin in charge while I was gone and encouraged her to deflect questions regarding my whereabouts until I returned. Saygili and my scout Soyguncu would travel with me to Castle Inhanet.

The trip had been arduous, but uneventful, as we climbed through the hilly terrain leading to Castle Inhanet. And, just a short week after first receiving the letter, I was standing in front of Governess Cadı in her drafty castle, ready to hammer out the details on a marriage contract. Soyguncu and Saygili waited with my troops outside in the castle courtyard. My fiancé and I were alone.

"My exulted Sultanah, my love," she said, her voice sounding cool and silky, "I was certain that when I wrote to you that you would not fail me." As she spoke, she stepped down from the dais where the throne was located and bowed her head reverentially. 

"Had your letter more clearly indicated your beauty, I would have arrived much earlier," I said, displaying my courtly charm, such as it was. Governess Cadı gamely played along, blushing and waving her hand as if to brush the compliment aside.

"You are too kind, my Sultanah," she responded. We then stood awkwardly in silence for a moment. It was not exactly clear how we were to move forward at this time. I took a few more steps towards her, getting a better look at her attractive form.

"I..." I began.

"May I interrupt?" Governess Cadı said as soon as I began to speak. I got the impression that she had been waiting for me to talk, just so that she could speak over me. Nonetheless, I nodded for her to continue, "I apologize for my rudeness. And I apologize still further for the bluntness I will now display. I do not believe we have time for the normal, courtly games of marriage. If you permit, Sultanah, I prefer that we simply speak frankly and quickly, to determine the terms of our agreement." Her voice sounded icier than before, but in a strangely enticing sort of way. This was not the sort of woman I was expecting. And I believe I liked it.

"I agree whole-heartedly, Governess," I said, wondering exactly what she had in mind

"Cadı," she said quickly, flashing a smile, "If we are to be informal."

"I cannot grant you the same indulgence Cadı," I said. This woman was clearly sharper than what I had been expecting and I did not want her to forget that, whatever our current needs, my position was well above hers. In fact, I vowed to display not only my legal superiority, but my mental superiority as well. I vowed I would knock this woman off kilter at some point, to let her know that even in a marriage of necessity I would be the dominant partner.

"Of course not, Sultanah. I have not earned that yet." she said deferentially and bound again. Satisfied, I walked towards her. She raised her head, watching me move. Rather than stopping when I was closer, I simply brushed passed her. I walked over to her late husband's throne, turned and sat in it. I looked up at her, affecting a most comfortable appearance. She turned and faced me, it was unclear if she took offense to my presumptuousness or accepted it as the normal, haughty behavior of a powerful leader.

"Well," I said after a moment, "You brought me here and demanded a blunt exchange. Perhaps it is best if you lay out your offer." Cadı nodded quickly.

"Yes," she said without inflection, "Excellent. I offer you my hand in marriage, officiated in any way you choose. I have heard of your full-throated embrace in Gunes and I have followed your path. If you would like a marriage under the Sun God's rites, I will be happy to oblige. In exchange, I ask that Castle Inhanet remain an autonomous region within the Empire. During my life, I will remain governess here, with any rights and responsibilities that entails. You will receive no rents from Castle Inhanet, but you will provide defense when necessary. Our eldest son will inherit Castle Inhanet upon my death, even if you, unfortunately, predecease me." She summed it up quite quickly. This was nothing more or less than I expected based on the content of her letter. I knew most of the requests regarding Castle Inhanet were simply her attempts to ensure she had some independent source of wealth. I was prepared for my response.




The Sultanah Ch. 08



"Before I add my conditions," I said slowly, "I must ask a few important questions."

"Of course," Cadı said, opening her palms as if to say she had nothing to hide. I slouched comfortably on the throne and looked up at her.

"How long were you married to Lord Sahte?"

"17 years," she responded quickly. There was no sense of sadness or despair at this disclosure. She had been married nearly half her life to the man, but did not seem distressed at his passing. I did not put much thought into that fact, not all marriages are happy. Kardes, for instance, never seemed particularly misty eyed when she spoke of her late husband. I didn't really care about the state of her married like, the next question was the one that mattered.

"Did you fuck him?" I asked. Cadı's eyes grew wide and her cheeks flushed slightly red. I smiled slowly. It seemed I had achieved my goal. She was a little off-balance now.

"I..." she started, but did not speak further. For a moment, she looked around as though someone else might answer the question for her.

"I believe it was your suggestion that we be blunt," I reminded her.

"So it was," she said, clearing her throat. She paused a moment longer before answer diplomatically, "Lord Sahte and I shared a conventionally active marriage bed." I shrugged my shoulders and looked away from her.

"How often is 'conventionally active?'" I asked. The Governess let out a sigh and I looked back to her. She looked embarrassed by the question.

"If you fear a marriage such as I am suggesting would be without passion, I assure you I know my duty. You are a beautiful woman and it pleases me to look upon you. I cannot claim a general attraction to women, but I will not be derelict in my attentions to you. Further, while I will maintain the utmost fidelity to you, I will overlook any quiet indiscretion on your part," Cadı replied. Well that was certainly blunt. She did not find me attractive (though not unattractive either) but she would sleep with me. Further, I was welcome to cheat. My girlhood dreams of romance not exactly fulfilled. I snorted and rolled my eyes. She was on the wrong track anyway.

"I will tell you what I fear and what I do not fear if and when I decide to tell you," I explained, "Answer my previous questions. How often did you take your husband into your bed?"

"It varied," she answered quickly, clearly embarrassed by the dressing down, "Never less often than once in a month but usually much more. Throughout most of our marriage, I would say once a week." Her answer came out easily and sounded honest.

"And never any children for all of that?" I asked. The real crux of my issue with this prospective bride. I did not need love from her, I needed something more important. Heirs.

"I had no children whatsoever," Cadı responded, "No miscarriages or young deaths. Though I assure you that I am fertile." She now understood me correctly.

"How can you assure me that?" I said, sitting up in my chair.

"My certainty comes from two sources. As for me, I come from a family that produces many sons. I have eight brothers. Further, my father's mother gave birth to six sons. My monthly closeting has come since I reach the appropriate age, like clockwork. The second source is more certain. My late husband had a...wandering eye. And a small harem at that. Despite these interests, he failed to sire natural children as certainly as he failed to sire heirs. Any fault for the failure of this house to perpetuate lies at his feet," Cadı said forcefully. Her words confirmed some of the rumors that Soyguncu had uncovered after infiltrated Castle Inhanet a few nights earlier. I nodded my head.

"If that is the case," I said sagely, "Then the only matter is for you to hear my terms and accept them."

"I am sure you will ask nothing that I cannot give," Cadı responded, her voice growing higher and more excited. But her icy eyes stayed on me.

"You will come with me immediately to Şehir and the marriage will be consecrated under Gunes as soon as possible. While you may maintain your requested privileges here in Castle Inhanet, you will live in Şehir with me. You may appoint a regent of your choosing to maintain your interests. You will take on all of the traditional roles of Consort and that will be your only title. Chief among your duties, we will work nightly to produce an heir until that goal is reached. In fact, we will work to produce several heirs to ensure the stability of my line. When your fertility ebbs, you will be permitted to stay in Şehir with full honors, if you wish. Or you may return here, to Castle Inhanet, to live out your days. If that is acceptable, then we have an accord," I said swiftly. 

I had discussed the terms of my conditions on the marriage at length with my Inner Council. Some, especially Arkadas, had called for harder terms. They were hard pressed to define what "harder terms" might be, but they were afraid that I was endangering myself with a rapid wedding. I wondered if Arkadas would be happy with my permission to engage in 'quiet indiscretions' or if she wanted something more from me than I could give. Regardless, I hadn't heeded their claims. I was desperate for heirs and I was willing to engage in a quick, seedy marriage to a woman of little note who I did not know in order to make it done. Apparently, Cadı was equally amenable, as a broad smile spread across her face. She bowed slightly.

"My love, you have made me so happy," she said, her voice for the first time sounding warm and excited. I gave a wry smile to indicate that her jovial attitude seemed misplaced next to the rapid closing of our tawdry negotiations, but she seemed not to notice. She took a few steps closer towards me, beaming. Then she clapped her hands.

"We need a celebration!" And then all hell broke loose.

* * * * *

It was some hours later and I was in the late Lord Sahte's bed chamber, preparing for sleep. Governess Cadı had insisted that I take the castle's largest and most luxurious room. It was a squat chamber, about a tenth the size of my chambers at home. It did not feel in any way inviting, with its narrow dark windows and bare stone walls. The various torches scattered haphazardly about the walls barely seemed to penetrate the dimness all around me. Regardless, there was a large feather bed in the center of the room and it looked sufficiently comfortable, given my fatigue.

I was not certain of the time, but as I peeled off my form-fitting dress and tossed it on the floor, I reflected on my "celebration." It seemed that Cadı had been expecting the acceptance of her proposal and had organized a "spontaneous" party in thanksgiving. As soon as she clapped her hands the room began to fill with servants and townspeople. I sat, dumfounded, as chairs and tables already laden with food were brought into the hall. Musicians seemed to appear from nowhere. I knew none of the people who came streaming into the hall wearing their finest clothing, but they moved with a certainty of those who knew they had been invited. 

"I hope that you do not mind?" my fiancé had said, noticing my confusion and discomfort, "We had been under a great strain here since my late husband's death and I believed a party, where they could meet and thank their savior, would do them good." 

And thank me they did! Even as people began to sit and eat the prepared food, a long line of well-wishers began form in front of me. Each person would inform me of his or her name and occupation ("Fırıncı the Baker" and "Demirci the Smith," and so on). They would thank me profusely for aiding in the independence of Castle Inhanet and congratulate me on my coming nuptials. I thanked them weakly for their kind words and begged them not to speak of my coming marriage to anyone outside of the room. I did not want news reaching Şehir before I did.

The party itself was raucous to the point of being manic. I was not sure exactly what the customs were in Castle Inhanet, but I found the experience off-putting to say the least. Everyone ate quickly, the food already being present. They tore into everything as though they were starving. They drank copious amounts and very quickly. In just a short period of time, many of the visitors were drunk. They danced madly as the musicians played, despite the fact that they could not play well. The whole while, Cadı circulated through the room to speak with others, virtually ignoring me and leaving me to the mercies of my well-wishers. The only times she spoke to me was a gentle encouragement to drink up so that I might enjoy myself with the rest of them. I had decided, in the strange environment presented, to stay sober. When the party began to break up, I had retreated, apparently unnoticed, to my chambers.

When I was shut inside, I finally let out a long breath and relaxed slightly. Everything had occurred so quickly and seemed so strange...it was hard to understand what had happened that day. I had, finally, been betrothed. It was nothing like what I expected. I felt oddly hollow, like nothing had happened. Or the opposite of what I wanted had happened. Or something else entirely, I couldn't tell. My fiancé's attitude toward me was also troublesome. So business-like and cold until the deal had been sealed at first, and then almost terrifyingly exuberant, like she was trying to prove something once we were betrothed. Now, as I climbed naked into my bed, too tired by the day's events to think any further, I gave up trying to figure everything out. But I resolved that I would consider everything in the morning. Despite my desperation, I held most of the cards and could set things the way I liked. The bed was just as comfortable as it looked and I smiled for the first time as I pulled the cool covers over my narrow body. 

And then...a knock at the door. For a moment, I wondered if I was hearing the echoes of the party thrumming in my memory. I pulled the cover up over my head and closed my eyes. And then the knocking came again, more forcefully. The noise echoed through the room and it was readily apparent that it was coming from my door. I pulled the covers down off of my head. I sat up and let the sheets slipped down, exposing my breasts. The knocking came again, more loudly still. Whoever was present was not patient. I looked down at my dress on the floor and groaned. I would have to get dressed to take care of this.

"Hold on a moment, I will come directly," I said, not bothering to hide my annoyance. But, at the sound of my voice, I heard the latch on the door sliding and, as I looked, I saw the door opening. My skin felt prickly and I felt a panicky feeling in my stomach. Someone was breaking in.

"This is the Sultanah's room, I am not prepared for visitors!" I shrieked and I pulled the sheets up so that they were, once again, covering my breasts. But the door did not heed my command and, in a moment, it burst open entirely. Cadı was standing behind it. She was wearing the same dress she had been wearing all day, but the straps had slipped off bother of her shoulders, the material hanging low and exposing much of her large breasts, almost to the nipples. Her long, black hair was greatly disheveled. She was smirking, her eyes as icy as ever. She clasped in one hand a large bottle of wine and between the fingers on her other hand were two champagne shallow champagne coupes. 

"I apologize my love," she slurred, sounding quite intoxicated, "But I could not go to sleep without wishing my Lady good night." She explained. With that, she kicked the door closed behind her and started to walk into the room towards the bed. She stumbled only slightly, but it was clear she was not entirely herself. 

"I thank you for the sentiment, good night to you as well," I said, pointing to the door. Cadı laughed slightly and then stumbled closer towards the bed.

"That is not how a wife bids her husband goodnight," he explained haltingly.

"We are not yet wed," I pointed out and she snorted.

"Just a matter of time," she said, slinking ever closer to my bed. Finally, she reached the edge and sat down next to me. Her small ass just barely making contact with my thigh. She held up the bottle and her glasses and gave me a lascivious smile, "Perhaps we could have a little toast before going to sleep? A little celebration of our first night as a couple?"

"No, thank you, I have had too much already" I said, trying to get her out of my room. I couldn't say why, but I did not feel comfortable with her there. Perhaps it was my fatigue or her intoxication, but something about it did not feel proper. Or advisable.

"No you didn't," Cadı responded, pouting more like a young girl than the mature woman that she was, "I saw you, you didn't have a drop!"

"Were you watching me all night?" I asked dryly. Cadı smiled coyly, bit the tip of her pinky finger and nodded her head. She leaned forward towards me slightly, pushing her breasts out and allowing the thin straps to slip down to her elbows.

"I never want to take my eyes off of you," she said in a breathy whisper. I was, once again, put off by her sudden affectation of desire for me. I recalled our negotiations and was aware that she was simply acting out what she believed I desired. I don't know if I was more worried by the fact that I knew she was acting or if it was that she was doing such an excellent job of it.

"I am not thirsty now," I said, "Perhaps another time." Cadı rolled her eyes slightly and sighed.

"If that is what you wish Sultanah," she said dutifully. She then started to lean over, across my body. For a moment, I wondered what she was attempting to achieve and felt a slight concern. She was leaning towards my face, was she trying to kiss me? But she kept leaning past me and I realized that she was reaching for the nightstand next to the bed, looking for a place to set her wine and her glasses in the room. 

Regardless, her maneuver had placed her large, round breasts into my face. Her left breast was a mere inch from my nose and I could smell the sweet scent of her skin. The material of her dress slide even farther and the pale curve of her breast was largely exposed. I believed that her nipple had nearly slipped free. All the while, she was trying to adjust the table so she could set down her items. This caused her breasts to jiggle, the left one gently brushing my face. Despite my misgivings about the situation, my body could not help but react. Cadı was a beautiful woman and she would, soon enough, belong to me. From a purely animal standpoint, I desired her. She seemed to notice.

"Oh!" she said, finally placing her items on my nightstand. She then leaned back so that she was, once again, sitting upright on the bed next to me. She was smiling coyly and she looked down at her nearly exposed breasts, "Do you like these?" she asked. I felt my cheeks get read and I stammered for a moment.

"I..." I began, but before I could speak, Cadı reached her hand out and placed it between my legs on the bed. I let in a quick breath of air and felt my body tighten. The fabric of the sheet was incredibly sheer and it was as if Cadı's delicate hand was wrapping completely around my rapidly hardening cock.

"I see that you do," Cadı said triumphantly, "That is good. They will belong to you, after all." And with that Cadı's hand slipped off of my cock. I let out a breath but I kept my eyes on her. Cadı reached up to the cupped fabric barely clinging to her enormous breasts. She flipped the fabric down and looked up toward me, winking. My breath caught in my throat. Cadı's breasts were gorgeous. They were large, larger than I had anticipated from the look of her clothing. They were a lovely teardrop shape with a perfect concave top and convex bottom. They sagged very little and looked enticing on her thin frame. Her skin was a perfect, milky color that offset the bright pink hue of her nipples. Those nipples were perfectly proportioned for the size and shape of her breasts and they stood out firmly now on her chest.

"You are beautiful," I said, no longer exactly sure that I wanted my fiancé to leave.

"Think of how much larger they will grow when I produce you an heir!" she teased. With that, she lifted her left breast up with her left hand. It appeared to have a good deal of weight and sat heavy in her palm. She craned her neck down and opened her mouth. Even as her face pointed down, I watched as her eyes flickered up briefly to look at me, sparkling in their iciness. Her thin red tongue then slipped from her mouth and grazed her small, pink nipple. Her eyes closed as if in ecstasy as she shivered. She then released her breast, allowing it to fall jiggling down to her body, and looked up at me. I was holding my breath now and I could see the outline of my hard cock as it stood up through the fabric of my sheet. Despite my growing desire, a small portion of my wariness remained.

"We must stop," I said, my voice sounding plaintive, almost whiney, "We are not yet wed." Cadı laughed lightly and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Neither of us are virgins," she asserted. While she spoke she reached down between my legs with both hands. Now at my cock, below that, at my knees. As she spoke she began to crawl her fingers on the bed. But she wasn't moving forward. Instead, she was carefully pulling the fabric of my sheet down. "We will go to our wedding bed as adult women. Why should we wait any further?" she asked. As each word slipped from her mouth, inch by inch my covering began to disappear. I felt the silky fabric as it slid down my neck, over the tops of my breast, and tickled my nipples. My breasts were now exposed to the cool night air, my nipples hardened. I could see my chest rising in falling in big, gulping breaths and I could feel Cadı's eyes upon me. My body began to tingle all over

"We..." I began, but my voice came out as a sigh.

"Should make each other feel good. A different kind of toast," My fiancé said as the sheet continued to slip down across my belly, exposing my bellybutton. My cock was completely erect now and bulbous tip caught on the fabric of the sheet, pulling it up, perpendicular to my body. Cadı continued to pull on the sheet and the fabric slipped deliciously across the tip of my cock.

"Oh Gunes!" I moaned. Without thinking, my right hand shot up to my chest and my palm clasped over left breast. My forearm lay heavy across my right breast and my left nipple felt hard in my hand. I squeezed my breast and moaned again.

"It's a bigger cock that I expected!" Cadı replied, sounding pleasantly surprised. I looked at her now as saw her eyes glued to my cock. As she spoke the last of the sheet slipped over the tip of my cock. No longer held back, my cock flopped back hard, falling against my lower belly and issuing a loud slapping sound. Cadı giggled. I looked down at my body and saw my breasts spread across my chest, my flat stomach, narrow waist, and wide hips. I saw my cock laying against my body, actually sitting up a few inches. It felt right that she would be impressed. I no longer felt even slightly nervous about my appearance. I was the Sultanah and people wanted me for my power regardless of what I looked like. And besides, my body looked pretty damn good.

Without further word, Cadı threw her legs up onto the side of the bed and pulled herself entirely onto the mattress. In one deft motion, she threw her legs over my body, straddling me at the knees. Her dress draped over my legs, but did not touch my cock. I could feel the insides of her thighs as they pressed against the outside of mine. Her large breasts bounced beautifully as she moved into position. I didn't know what she was trying to do, but I no longer cared. This was a beautiful woman and she was throwing herself at me. In fact she belonged to me (or would) and there was something empowering about that feeling. Like being in the harem. My cock was doing my reasoning now and I no longer worried about expelling Cadı from my chambers.




The Sultanah Ch. 08



Cadi grinned at me and tossed her long, thick hair over her shoulder. She began to lean forward now. As she did so, her hands fell on either side of my body. She placed her palms flat on the mattress, straddling the narrowest part of my body at my waist. As a result, her elbows were close together and as she continued to lean forward, it pushed her large breasts forward and pushed them up towards her face. I felt my heart hammering in my chest and my mouth went dry. The smell of her skin and hair was overwhelming and I believed I could sense a musky aroma of arousal undercutting it. 

After a few moments, I felt the hard nubs of her nipples as they skittered across the smooth flesh of my breasts. I moaned and felt my body quiver with excitement. I could feel the reverberations that the touch of her nipples sent flowing throughout my body. I felt my cock jump between my legs. Cadı groaned as the tip of my cock brushed the inside of her leg.

Now, with her nipples pressed against my breasts and her cool eyes staring directly into mine, she stopped. Her long hair now cascaded over her shoulders and tickled the skin on my shoulders and breasts. She paused, staring at me closely. I could feel my body trembling underneath of her and I wanted desperately to feel more of her touch, she was so close. I somehow tore myself away from her mesmerizing eyes and my gaze landed on her alluring lips. I licked my own lips and then closed my eyes, leaning towards my fiancé.

"If..." Cadı suddenly said. I stopped leaning towards her my eyes fluttered open. She had not moved, but her eyes were open, her lips un-pursed, "I might be bold. I am glad to be here with your grace and I do not want to stop now. But I ask..." she paused now. She looked indecisive. My cock was aching between her spread legs and her nipples were digging deliciously into the flesh of my breasts. The smell of Cadı's cunny was now so thick in the room I could feel it on my tongue when I breathed. I could not stand the pause.

"Ask for want you want and see it granted...quickly," I hissed. Cadı smiled devilishly now and her eyes glittered, like she had been waiting for just that response.

"I wish that our first kiss would be on our wedding day," she said. I was taken aback by this request, it hardly seemed worth raising. "I will make it worth your while," my fiancé promised. Despite the fact that I would have granted her request without further negotiation, I decided to accept her sweetened offer.

"How will you do that," I said, leaning back slightly, my lips receding from her own. Cadı bowed deferentially and closed her eyes. Then she slowly began to lean back. I even felt her thighs sliding down my leg. I was surprised, wondering where she was going. 

After a moment, I felt her hands slip away from my sides. I watched as they rose up towards her chest. In a moment, she was cupping both of her breasts in her hands, pushing them up still higher on her chest. Her nipples poked between her fingers and I saw her squeezing them slightly. She looked up at me briefly, a coy look on her face. She then tilted her head down. Now she pursed her lips. I watched a large, white ball of spit slipped from her lips. I knitted my brow, trying to determine what she was doing. The ball of saliva dripped from her mouth and landed in the middle of her cleavage. Cadı pulled her breasts apart for a split second and the ball of saliva slipped between them. She pushed her breasts back together quickly and trapped the spit between them. 

I had no idea what Cadı had hoped to achieve by her actions. But she didn't pause now. In a few moments, I had figured it out. Now that the canyon between her large breasts was wet with spit, she began to lean lower towards my body. At the same time, she kept slipping backwards while keeping her eyes fixed on mine. My nipples ached as they grew harder and harder and I raised my hands up to my breasts, seeking relief. My fingertips found my nipples, squeezing them tightly, tugging on them. The sharp pain gave some relief to the growing tension and my hands sunk into the flesh of my breasts.

But Cadı had not stopped moving. She was still slipping down my body. Now she was closer than ever and I felt the bottoms of her breasts rub against my stomach as they skidded down my body. I felt Cadı's stomach now fall onto my cock. I could feel the warmth of her body through the fabric of her dress and the pressure against my cock made me twitch and moan. Still, Cadi's body continued to slide down me.

After a moment, I felt a strange sensation. I could no longer feel the bottoms of Cadı's breasts on my stomach. Instead, I felt a soft warmth against the aching tip of my cock. I realized that my cock was pressing against the underside of Cadı's breasts! She did not pause for a moment. I felt a slight pressure as my cock pressed into her skin. But then, I felt my cock easily slip into the channel between Cadı's breasts. I felt the cool wetness of Cadı's saliva as my cock pushed into her cleavage.

Cadı kept her hands on her breasts, pushing them together tightly. Her skin was so incredibly soft and her flesh was hot and inviting. Her breasts wrapped around my hard cock, hugging it tightly and squeezing it. But the spit she had dribbled down between her breasts lubricated her nicely. Despite the squeeze, there was no tension. My cock continued to slip easily, deeper and deeper between Cadı's breasts. The space grew tighter and tight, but not constricting. Instead, it felt like I was being caressed or massaged. I moaned loudly, squeezing my own nipples more tightly.

After a few moments, I felt my balls press up against the bottom of Cadı's breasts. I tore my eyes away from Cadı's and looked down between her breasts. Poking between the large orbs of her breasts was the glistening tip of my cock. I could feel Cadı's hard sternum against the vein on the base of my cock. I could feel Cadi's soft breasts wrapped around the rest, placing an intense, but an even and comfortable, pressure all around my cock. My fingers were digging so deeply into my breasts that my knuckles were turning white. I felt lightheaded and my cock was seizing against Cadı's body.

"How does this feel, my lovely?" Cadı asked, her voice sounding pouty and sensual.

"Amazing," I gasped, wondering how I kept from coming.

"How about this?" Cadı asked. And with that, she thrust her breasts forward with her hands. I saw the tip of my cock slip down inside of Cadı's cleavage once again. I felt my cock sliding down between Cadı's breasts as they continued to squeeze me tightly. Before I could even comprehend the pleasure of what I had just felt, Cadı pulled her breasts down again and the sensation reversed. Once again the tip of my cock popped up between Cadı's cleavage and my balls pressed into the underside of her breasts. I was groaning loudly and writhing on the bed as best I could below my fiancé. The feeling was unbelievable. The grip Cadı's breasts had on my cock was as firm as a hand but as soft as the inside of a mouth. I would never have thought of such a thing and I could scarcely believe how amazing it felt.

"Cadı, oh Gunes!" I moaned. She nodded.

"That's what I thought. You might find it is nice to have an experienced wife. I may show you a thing or two," she replied. But she did not give me time to breath. Instead, she began moving in earnest. She glided in a rapid rocking motion, moving up and down my body. She kept her hands on her breasts and kept them squeezed together. I groaned and writhed on the bed as my hard cock slipped rapidly between the soft pillows of her breasts. My cock warmed as she moved faster and faster, but her saliva kept the path lubricated and I felt nothing but pleasure from her touch. I kept my eyes on Cadı's breasts, enjoying the pretty swell of her body and watching my cock slip in and out of view.

"Does that feel good, lover?" Cadı, smiling. Her voice came out in staccato bursts, she was moving so quickly. I flipped my nipples between my fingers and bit my lower lip.

"Oh yes!" I hissed after a moment. Cadı winked and somehow started to bounce her large breasts faster. My eyes rolled back in my head and I bounced my head on my pillow. It was too much. My body began to shake and I pulled in a deep breath, holding it in place. I could hear a groaning noise in the back of my throat and I knew that I was getting close, Cadı's touch was overwhelming.

I felt the tension growing inside of me. My lungs felt tight, my skin felt wet, my muscles felt cramped, and my joints felt locked. I couldn't think or even remember where I was, all I knew what that I had an insatiable need for this to be released. My fingers gripped my breasts and my body shook on the bed, I just needed it to stop. 

I felt myself going light-headed and let out a long, slow breath. And as my breath slipped out in a thin, wispy stream, it felt like something had broken loose. My eyes opened and I looked down between my legs. Cadı was looking up at me, determination playing on her face as her hair fell over her eyes. Her breasts were bouncing quickly and my cock was pushing hard between her breasts. And that was where I felt it, the release. I groaned as the tension inside of me suddenly exploding, moving past the point where it had been before. By in building, I crashed through my discomfort into a plane of pure pleasure. It emanated out from my cock, sweeping over my body. Any army of pleasure routing its enemy and leaving me a quivering puddle of pure joy. 

"Oh my!" Cadı said as the vein on the underside of my cock quivered against her chest. She stopped moving as my orgasm started to rise, "I know!" she said, but did not complete the thought. Instead, her hands moved from her breasts and the pressure instantly lessened on my cock. I groaned slightly, reach my hands ineffectually down towards her. But Cadı was moving quickly. She reached across my body, as she had done earlier. Now, her breasts pressed down on my cock and I felt a shiver roll through me. 

Cadı quickly leaned back so that she was straddling me straight again. The pressure, once again, was removed from my cock and I whimpered in protest. I looked up at Cadı and I saw in her hand one of the champagne coupes that she had brought with her. She quickly reached down and her fingers wrapped around my cock. It was still seizing and thick, while globs of cum were spurting out. Cadı quickly moved her coupe into place next to my cock and she titled my shaft so that globs of cum poured from my body and landed thickly at the bottom. I groaned as Cadı squeezed on my cock, pressing her thumb against the vein running along the bottom and milking in the last of my seed. It dropped heavily into the coupe as the last of my orgasm subsides.

But Cadı wasn't finished. As I collapsed back on the bed, panting, Cadı was looking desperately at her breasts and my stomach. She found big globs of cum sitting on the tops of her breasts and she quickly scooped it off with her finger and deposited it neatly into the coupe. She did the same with a small smear of cum that she found on her belly. Next she turned to me. There was a small puddle of seed collecting in my bellybutton and quickly leaned forward on the bed. I felt her chin gently bump the tip of my cock as her lips pressed into my bellybutton. I felt the warmth of her lips and cool sucking sensation as Cadı pulled the white liquid up onto her mouth. She moved her tongue around on my belly for good measure, sucking up a bit more of my seed in the process. She then sat up quickly, her hair tossing in a wide arc. She then turned her lips down towards the coupe and spit a large ball of white seed into the bottom. I was still catching my breath as Cadı moved and I watched her movements, mesmerized.

"Maybe this would be better for a toast," Cadı stated thickly. The couple likely held 8 ounces of liquid and was around a third full of seed (and a small amount of saliva). Cadı rotated the cup in her hand and the seed swirled around the glass. She gave me a knowing look and paused entirely for a moment. Even now, as I caught my breath, I didn't know what to say or to think. My eyes were still glued to Cadı and the seed-covered coupe that she held between her large, glistening breasts. Then, Cadı winked at me, put the coupe to her mouth, and threw her head back. I could see her lips open through the wavy glass and I watched as the large ball of seed disappeared into her mouth.

Cadı lowered the glass and turned to face me. Her cheeks were bulging were seed and I saw that she was swirling it around in her mouth. She was smiling as best she could with the liquid in her mouth. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and sighed through her nose as though what she tasted was absolutely heavenly. She opened her mouth for a moment and I heard her gargling the liquid in her throat. Then her lips closed and she turned and faced me again. 

"Naw enar..." she said suddenly. As she spoke, thick globs of seed slipped out from between her lips and dribbled down her chin. She giggled and quickly raised the back of her hand to her chin, pushing the seed back into her mouth. Then she quickly moved the coupe back to her lips and spit the whole glob of liquid back into it. She licked her lips slowly and then carefully re-iterated what she said before, "Not enough." I looked at the coupe and saw that the seed was thicker and frothier than before.

"What?" I asked, somewhat dazed.

"I like my glass filled to the top when I toast," Cadı explained, "here, give me some more!" she said. She did not wait for me to say or do anything. Instead, she quickly moved so that she was no longer straddling my legs. Then, by prodding and pushing and shoving on me, she quickly rolled me over on the bed and then pulled me up so that I was on my hands and knees. I was facing towards the headboard now and Cadı was crouched on the bed behind me. I felt Cadı's hands sink into the flesh of my ass and I turned and looked over my shoulder at her. Cadı was leaning in towards me, her nipples looking even harder than before. But she had a look of slight disappointment on her face.

"You're no longer hard," she said. I dropped my head and looked down belong my body. Between the hanging orbs of my breasts, I saw my cock, only half erect, hanging between my legs. I saw Cadi's hand reach forward and wrap slowly around my softening flesh. Her soft skin felt lovely against my cock but I also felt extremely sensitive. It nearly hurt. And my cock stayed half-erect. I raised my head again and looked back at Cadı.

"I just came..."I said helplessly, I did not intend to disappoint her. Cadı smiled broadly.

"The fault is mine, my Sultanah. I will have to bring it back," she said. Without bothering to explain what that meant, Cadı began to move. She set the champagne coupe on the bed just below my cock. She covered its wide base tightly with the sheets. She kept one hand on my cock, playing with it gently with her fingertips. I felt her other hand press into my ass, pulling it apart. I could feel the cool air on my asshole, where it had been wetted from my cunny.

I felt, rather than watched, as Cadı head dropped down towards my ass. I felt her hair land loosely on my ass and drape down my legs. After a moment, I felt her hot breath against my skin. Next I felt her smooth cheeks press against the insides of my ass cheeks. She let out a slow, sizzling breath and the gentle air cooled my anus and made it pucker. I could actually feel Cadı's lips smile. But only for a moment. The next thing I felt was a wet warmth as she pressed against my anus. I groaned and arched my back as the warmth of Cadı's tongue seemed to emanate out over my body. The nerves around my anus tingled as Cadı's rough tongue slipped over it.

It seemed to be a strong aspect of Cadı's personality that she jumped into everything very quickly. Before I even had time to full register than my fiancé's tongue was pressing against my anus, she had abandoned herself entirely into the act. I felt her tongue swirling rapidly around the crinkled red surface of my ass, leaving a dripping trail of saliva wherever she touched. 

Cadı played with my asshole for a long while. I felt her tongue bathing my asshole carefully. Sometimes, she made her lips a tight seal around my anus and simply sucked on it, pulling her spit back into her mouth and putting a delicious pressure on my ass. Still other times, she probed the folds of my anus and I even felt her tongue go rigid and plunge into my tight, pink insides. All the while her fingers continued to play on my cock. In fact, while her face was buried in my ass, it freed up her other hand. This quickly made its way between my legs, caressing my aching balls.

The results of Cadı's actions were immediate. Whatever fatigue I had felt rapidly dissipated as I soaked in the attention of Cadı's warm wet tongue. My arms felt weak and my heart beat fluttered like a moth. Each movement of Cadı's tongue was accompanied by a gasping breath from my throat. I arched my back often, pushing my ass farther back into Cadı's face and driving her tongue deeper inside of me. This would invariably cause me to close my eyes, bite my lip, and moan loudly. Perhaps more importantly for Cadı, her ministrations quickly reignited my passion. In just a short time, my cock had grown hard in her hands. For a brief moment, she pulled her head from between my ass cheeks.

"I knew you would like that. I know just how your body works, you will see when we are wed," she said. Then she quickly pushed her head back into my ass. If she had achieved her goal of getting me hard, she apparently saw no need to stop. In a split second, her tongue was back in my ass, gently massaging my tingling anus.

But now that my cock was hard again, Cadı's focus turned there. She kept moving her tongue around deliciously, but her fingertips no longer slowly played with my cock. Instead, I felt her fingers wrap tightly around my shaft. It felt a little strange and I quickly realized that, because of my position, she was grasping me in an overhand fashion, with her thumb up towards my balls and her pinky finger pointing down towards my top. 

Cadı started to stroke my cock downward. The tip of my cock was pointing directly down towards the champagne coupe on the bed. I arched my back again, driving my ass into Cadı's face and dropping my cock down closer to the coupe. She moved her hand in almost a milking fashion, squeezing me very tightly. Her other hand remained on my balls, caressing them and seeming to will the seed out of them. 

Cadı now worked like a woman possessed. Her hand moved rapidly, milking my cock as hard and vigorously as she dared. Her thumb moved around wildly, sending shivers down my spine. Her other hand deftly handled my balls, squeezing them tightly but in a way that simply maximized pleasure, offering no pain. All the while her tongue was plunging deeper and deeper into my asshole, finding new nerves to titillate. I moaned on the bed and tried to keep from collapsing forward.

Despite the fact that I had just cum, Cadı's overwhelming attentions meant that I could not last for long. In fact, the feeling almost snuck up on me. I was simply enjoying the feeling of Cadi's hands on my cock and her tongue in my ass when, I suddenly felt a cool tingling all over my body. For a moment, I couldn't tell what I was experiencing and I held my breath as my body grew rigid. Unbidden, a loud groan escaped from my throat. The tingling feeling started to grow more and more intense with each passing second. In fact it seemed to grow exponentially until suddenly, the tingling sensation blossomed into a powerful orgasm that fired all of the nerves in my body and sent pleasurable impulses bouncing through my brain. 

I gasped and squeezed my hands into the fabric of the bed. Even as I did so, I could feel my cock seizing under my body. I could feel the vein on the underside of my cock throbbing and I felt hot jets of cum begin to pour from the tip of my cock. Cadı seemed to be ready, like she had been expecting it even if I had not. She kept her tongue in my ass and continued to lovingly milk my cock, by her other hand moved from my balls. It found its way to the champagne coupe and Cadı quickly positioned it perfectly under her milking hand. As the big gobs of cum splurged from my cock, Cadı's cup easily caught it. She plunged her tongue deeper into my asshole and her hand squeezed me tighter, willing every last drop of seed from my body.




The Sultanah Ch. 08



Finally, I could take no more. My orgasm began to subside and whatever little strength I retained fled with it. My legs buckled slightly and I felt my arms spread out, trying to keep from falling. As a result, my body dipped lower and I felt a warmth on the tip of my cock. After a moment, I realized that it had dipped into the pool of seed contained in Cadı's champagne coupe. Not wanting to upset it, I groaned loudly and rolled over to one side on the bed, lifting one of my legs so that it did not strike Cadı as I turned. Cadı's fingers slipped from my cock and her tongue popped out of my asshole.

I collapsed onto my back on the bed, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I caught my breath. Cadı was now sitting to the side of me on her knees. Her cheeks and lips glistened with saliva from licking my ass. She was holding the coupe, now half full, in her hands and protecting the precious liquid. But, as usual, she did not pause. Instead, she quickly bent over towards me. My cock was still hard and it was pointing up towards my breasts. The tip was coated in white seed. Cadı wrapped her hand quickly around my cock, pulling it towards her face. In an instant, I felt it pop into her mouth. 

My eyes open and I stared at her. Her own icy eyes were looking at me mischievously. Her face looked so beautiful with the tip of my cock planted inside of it. I felt her tongue, freed from my ass, swirling around the tip of my cock. It was so sensitive, I moaned and writhed wildly on the bed. I nearly pushed her away, but after a second, she let my cock fall from her mouth. The tip now glistened with spit, but was cleaned of seed. She quickly raised the coupe once again to her lips and I watched as she spit the seed into the glass, adding to the already massive collection. 

She was leaning over me now, the cup of seed hovering above my breasts. Her eyes were focused closely on my seed and she swirled it around in the glass. She licked her lips slowly and she seemed to shiver. Then her eyes turned towards me and bit her lip.

"I don't think there is enough," she said, "But I think you should check." She leaned forward now, her arms pressing her breasts together. She paused with her breasts just a few inches from my face. She was holding the coupe closely to me now, hovering just below my nose. I had manage to catch my breath now and I could smell the musky, salty scent of my seed. It was a pearly white color, with darker swirls and bubbles from Cadı's saliva. It looked oddly beautiful in the coupe and I felt my mouth watering.

"It looks a lot," I said honestly. I could not believe how much, in fact. Cadı shook her head and smile deviously.

"That isn't how we check," she said slowly. Then without further word, she lifted the coupe slightly and tipped it towards my lips. Before I could tell what was happened, I felt thick, warm liquid press against my lips. My eyes opened wide and I felt that the seed was about to pour over the sides of the coupe and drip down my chin.

"Oh my!" I said in surprise. Of course, this opened the flood gates. But, warm blobs of sticky seed poured over my teeth and into my mouth.

"Don't swallow it!" Cadı said sharply as she titled the glass still further. Instinctively, I followed her instructions, damming up the back of my throat. But more and more of my seed was dripping into my mouth. It flooded over my tongue and overwhelmed me with its tangy, salty flavor. The clean, naughty scent of seed filled my nose. I groaned, savoring these sensations and enjoying the feeling of being filled with my seed. Cadı tilted the glass up until the rim seemed to be pressing up against my eyebrows. I felt my cheeks growing strained and heavy as they filled to the breaking point with seed.

After just a few seconds, Cadı pulled the coupe away from my lips. A good deal of it still remained in the bottom of the coupe. I could feel a bead of cum glistening on my lips, I was about to burst. My teeth were flooded in the thick, viscous seed and it coated every inch of my mouth. My cheeks ached from the strain of trying to keep it inside of me. Nonetheless, the flavor was so divine that I did not mind the difficulty. In fact, I started to swish it around in my mouth, letting my seed slip through my teeth and coat every inch of my mouth. I wanted desperately to swallow it down, to feel it sit hot in my stomach. Maybe more, I wanted to gargle the hot, thick liquid as Cadı had done, but I was afraid it would overflow my mouth and drip down onto my breasts.

"There is not enough," Cadı said, reminding me that she was present. My eyes opened and I saw that the coupe was once again pressed against my lips. Directly behind the coupe were Cadı's hypnotizing breasts. I saw that she was smirking and I looked up to her icy eyes, "spit it back in here." For a moment, I considered disobeying her. I wanted to keep enjoying the taste and I didn't want her to think she could boss me around. 

But instead, I wanted to see what she would do next. I opened my mouth and my seed began to pour down my chin. It fell in a large glop on the bottom of the coupe. It started to spread out, filling the coupe. It felt slippery and warm as it passed between my lips. I roamed my tongue around on the inside of my mouth, finding remaining seed and spitting it out into the coupe. Finally, I had cleared it all out and I saw that the coupe was filled even more before with the addition of my saliva and looked bubbly and frothy. I looked up as I felt Cadı's thumb press against my chin. She slipped her thumb across, collecting the last few drops of seed and then flicking them into the coupe.

"We still need more to make a proper toast," Cadı said. And with that she slipped off the bed. She quickly turned so that she was facing the bed and then leaned over, pressing her breasts into the mattress and pushing her ass out. She reached behind herself quickly and grabbed her dress. She quickly flipped it up over her hips, exposing her ass. "Put some in here," she said, shaking her hips.

Unlike the previous instance, the excitement of tasting my seed had prevented my delight from slackening. My cock was still as hard as before and I desperately felt the need to keep going. Without speaking in response to Cadı's order, I simply slid off the bed next to her. She kept her eyes on me as I moved. I placed my hand on her breast and then let my fingers run along her body as I slowly walked around behind her.

When I reached the area behind Cadı's ass, I placed my hands on my fiancé's hips and looked down. She was not wearing any undergarments and her body was exposed. I saw the small, tight mounds of her ass with her tiny, pink rosebud of her anus. Below it, I saw the thick, pink lips of her cunny. I could tell from this angle that, unlike the fashionable ladies of Şehir, my fiancé had a full, dark bush. The smell of Cadı's body was intense, an almost floral, salty scent that seemed to have been trapped below her dress and now freed. The scent went straight to my head, making me feel light. My mouth began to water and my cock twitched between my legs despite my fatigue.

"Don't wait, my Sultanah," Cadı said, turning back and looking over her shoulder, "Give it to me now." She said. Never one to disappoint my fiancé, I quickly complied with her request. She was a tall woman and I pushed her hips down slightly. Cadı giggled and shook her ass. I reached down and wrapped my hand around the base of my cock, pulling it down towards Cadı's glistening slit. She pushed her hips back, begging me forward. I placed the tip of my cock against Cadı's hot cunny. It seemed to pull me in, opening easily to accept the tip of my cock. It felt very warm, essentially hot and tight against my tip. But it kept pulling me in farther. Without any great effort, I felt my cock slipping completely inside of Cadı's body. Her cunny wrapped warmly and wetly around me and her muscles tugged on me. I groaned and felt my breasts bounce deliciously on my chest from the effort.

I knew what Cadı wanted, she wanted swift action. And I didn't want to let her down. I quickly returned my hands to her hips, sinking my fingers into her flesh. I pulled my cock quickly out of her body so that only the tip remained inside. Cadı gasped and her knees grew wobbly. Without waiting for her reaction to settle, I quickly slammed my cock back inside of her, feeling tighter than ever before. Cadı screeched in pleasure and pushed her hips into me. 

It seemed like this was a signal, no holding back now. I began to fuck Cadı with absolute abandon. My cock flew in and out of her body with ever increasing fury. My fingers grasping more desperately on her ass with each thrust of my cock. My breathing rapidly became ragged and I felt my muscles tightening. Cadi, writhed on the bed and I saw her hands slip under her chest, grasping at her breasts. She was moaning loudly and her scent had become even more intense, seeming to fill all of the space in the room and filling my lungs. 

The experience was so concentrated and my body so fatigued, I felt myself rapidly approached another climax. For a moment I wondered what Cadı would think, if she would believe I was a selfish lover. However, at that moment, it seemed like she read my mind.

"Don't stop Sultanah," she said, "Give me your seed so that I can give you and heir. Don't stop!" And then her words devolved into a moan. She flipped her head around, her hair flying wildly. I cannot tell if was her words or the fact that her muscles chose that exact moment to tighten fiercely around my cock, but I could not hold on any longer. This orgasm felt different than the last two. Rather than the overwhelming mass of pleasure I had felt before, instead I simply felt a pleasurable shiver tremble up and then down my body. More importantly, I felt absolute relaxation. All of the tension leaving my body being replaced by satisfaction and a feeling of well-earned exhaustion. 

I leaned forward on Cadı's back, panting and trembling, while I felt my cock contracting inside of her body. Finally, I knew the last of my seed (and perhaps the last of the liquid in my body!), pumped into my fiancé's body. Then, I dropped down backwards onto the floor, my cock rapidly slipping out of Cadı's body (with a gratifying sensation). I sat on the floor, breathing deeply and looking up at Cadı.

If she was tired from our actions, she gave no indication. Instead, she quickly rolled over. She did not even look at me but instead bent over and set the champagne coupe on the floor between her feet. She then slipped off the edge of the bed and squatted on the flood, hovering above the champagne coupe. She kept her dressed hiked up around hips and I could see her cunny clearly as she placed it over the center of the coupe. 

Still without word, I saw as Cadı's muscle contracted inside of her body. She made a slight squealing noise and I saw a large glob of white seed pour from between her cunny lips and splash into the coupe below her. She pressed again and another sticky blob poured out of her body, this once leaving a thin stream of seed pouring into the coupe. The coupe itself was now around three quarters full. Now Cadı dropped down onto the floor, hearing legs spread so that she was sitting with the coupe between her knees. Her breasts bounced beautifully as she fell into place with a look of satisfaction was on her face. Finally, she looked up at me smiling.

"Did I please you Sultanah?" she asked now, wiping her hair from in front of her eyes. 

"It was lovely," I answered honestly. I felt like it would be nice now, to relax for a moment and enjoy the haze of our pleasure. But, as usual, Cadı moved purposefully and without pause.

"And there is now sufficient wine present for a toast," she said, reaching forward and grasping the coupe in her hands. She lifted it up to her face. Then she looked at me again, her eyes looking concerned, "But only enough for one. Aren't you thirsty?" she asked. I suddenly became aware of just how dry my mouth felt. I smacked my lips together.

"I do not think that would slake my thirst," I said, pointing to the cup full of seed. Cadı laughed as though I had told a particularly uproarious joke and then swatted her hand at my playfully.

"This is my coupe," she said, "I will get yours." With that she stood quickly and walked around to the other side of the bed. I sat up on the floor, shifting the rushes of fresh straw under my ass. After a moment, Cadı walked around the bed once again. In her left hand was a glass of champagne, filled nearly to the brim and in her right was her coupe of my seed. She walked over and sat down next to me. She handed me my champagne coupe.

"Finally, we can properly toast on our first night together," she said softly. She wrapped her now free arm around my shoulder and held her coupe out in front of her. The pearly liquid sloshed lazily in her coupe.

"I feel now that it is appropriate," I said, feeling the bliss that followed the end of my orgasms. I lifted my glass next to Cadı's. She turned and looked at me now and I found myself staring directly into her icy eyes. I found myself lost in them, wondering briefly how I had found myself here. And so quickly. But, just as I felt completely lost in my fiancé's gaze, I heard a slight tinkling sound. I looked down and saw that she had tapped her glass against mine.

"To the Night. And to the rest of our lives," she said slowly. I pushed my glass into her again.

"To the Night. And to the rest of our lives," I repeated. As soon as I spoke the words, Cadı tilted her glass up to her lips. I was desperate to watch and I held my glass, staring at Cadı's lips. She pressed the coupe against her mouth and opened wide. As with everything, Cadı showed no hesitation. Her mouth, and apparently her throat, opened quickly. The seed poured into Cadı's mouth in a large, warm ball. I saw it slipping through her lips. I could sense, rather than see, the thick liquid over her teeth and flooding her tongue. Instead of collecting in her mouth, I could see her throat expanding as the viscous liquid slid down into her warm belly. I cannot describe the emotions I felt as I watched her drink my seed, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. As soon as she was done, she pulled the glass from her lips and looked back at me. Seed was glistening on her smiling lips.

"Sultanah," she said, "You must finish your glass as well!" I looked down at my hands and was somewhat surprised to see the glass still there. My mouth felt sandpapery and dry, "Drink it all up, to honor the toast," she said. I needed no prompting. I quickly lifted the glass to my mouth and drank down a large mouthful of the bubbly white liquid. The initial flavor was heavenly and I took another big mouthful. However, as the champagne went down my throat I began aware of an acrid, unpleasant aftertaste. It was absolute revolting and I realized that the wine had somehow turned. I instinctively spit the second mouthful of wine into the coupe. 

I felt a brief moment of panic, realizing that this was certainly a bad omen and that Cadı might have been offended. After all, she had just drank my seed, how could I not drink her wine? But as I looked at her, I saw she was turned to the side, setting her coupe down on the ground. She hadn't noticed. I quickly moved the coupe down towards the ground and poured the remains out into the rushes on the floor. Cadı turned towards me smiling.

"Did you finish your wine?" she asked. My mouth still tasted terribly but part of me wished I had kept drinking anyway. I was so thirsty. In fact, I felt a bit light-headed now, a bit woozy.

"Yes," I lied. I was surprised because my tongue felt thick as I spoke and my voice sounded tinny and far away.

"Very good my Sultanah," Cadı said, but there was something unnerving about the way she had spoken. I opened my mouth to respond but I suddenly felt so tired, like I could not spare the effort to speak. The room was growing dark. I felt myself start to pitch over, but I did not notice when I landed on the floor.

* * * * *

I could not tell how much later that the world began to return to me. It was particularly strange because, in many ways, I was not aware that the world had left me. I was not really aware that time had passed, except that I suppose I was. And it was not as though everything came back at once. I left the nothingness of the haze and felt an empty floating sensation. I knew I was feeling it, but I did not know what I felt. After a while, I began to sense muffled noise. Slowly, the muffled noise began to take a more definite shape. I started to recognize that I heard mumbling voices, though I could not tell what they were saying. But as each second passed, it grew more and more definite. As the voices became clearer, I became more aware of who I was, though I still had no conception of what I was doing or my location. My thoughts came sluggishly and confused. But nonetheless, after some time, I could understand the words, even if their meaning was not always clear.

"Well I guess I should look at her," an unfamiliar man's voice said.

"She is in the rushes over there. She got sick afterwards, but I moved her out of it," A woman's voice responded. There was something familiar about the sound of it, but I could not be certain. I heard a crunching sound and knew it was someone walking on straw.

"Well I will be damned," the man's voice said, "It was true."

"Did you think I would lie about her?" the woman's voice offered back icily.

"Not that she is here you twit," the man shot back, "her cock. She is what they said she was."

"I could have told you that as well," the woman's voice said. Cadı. Suddenly, in my mind I registered recognition of the voice. It was Cadı. But I could not understand the significance of that fact.

"Is she dead?" the man's voice asked.

"I looked at her when she first fell. She hasn't moved. Her chest hasn't been rising and I put my hand under her nose, I didn't feel anything," Cadı responded.

"Did you give her enough?" he asked.

"I put everything we had left in the glass. She drank it all," Cadı replied.

"Was it enough?" the man asked.

"I purchased enough of that stuff to dispose of ten men," Cadı said, "It is not my fault that you used enough on Lord Sahte to kill nine! I hope there was enough left to finish her," Killed, Lord Sahte? Her? My addled mind could not comprehend what I was hearing.

"My brother is no longer Lord Sahte, do not refer to him as such," the man's voice shot back quickly and with real fierceness. Cadı's voice returned, more soothing now.

"Easy Kayınbirader," She said, "Your brother was never half the man you are."

"You should have let me dispose of him ten years ago!" Kayınbirader roared.

"We had to wait for the time to be right," she said, "For King Köylü to give you the resources we need. Forget about Sahte and Castle Inhanet. You will be made a Duke for this. A duke in a real Kingdom, not a muddy shit hole. And I will be your Duchess." Suddenly, her tone changed as though she remembered something, "And do not speak to me of waiting! I waited all night for this...Sultanah to down her glass. I had to do terrible...things to this animal to get her to drink her wine."

"Oh like you minded those things," the man suddenly said, sounding suddenly playful. I felt a rough male hand on my thigh, not understanding what that meant, "She is beautiful after all, regardless of her...deformity." Deformity? Were they talking about me, the words were so unclear, my mind so foggy. I heard Cadı snort.

"It was not as bad as I supposed it would be beforehand. But she is not the lover that you are, Kayınbirader," she responded. There was a brief pause.

"Does that mean that you are not yet satisfied?" the man asked, hopefully. I felt his voice moving farther away from me and it was then that I realized that I was located near these voices. I was in a room with at least two other people. They were talking about...something.




The Sultanah Ch. 08



"Not yet," Cadı. And after that, there were no more words. Just the sounds of action. Kisses, caresses, and the rustling of clothing. In a short period of time, I heard the sound of lovemaking in the room. Moans, kisses, and cries of passion. But I was not focusing on those noises. Instead, the conversation I had overheard was piecing itself together in my mind. The bits of words and phrases moving in various orders through my mind. I could tell that they were important, but I could not tell why.  

Suddenly, my eyes burst open. They almost immediately shut again as bright lights from the torches in the room nearly blinded me. I nearly groaned, but I checked myself. The entire import of what I had just heard had flooded into me. Cadı...and her brother...her husband...the wine... I tried to stir, but I could barely more. Even then, I suddenly grew wary. There were rushes all over the floor, movement would make noise and I would be discovered. Cadı had poisoned me. She had poisoned her husband as well. She was now fucking her brother-in-law and they had some mutual delusion that they would be granted a fief by King Köylü in recognition of my murder. 

I could feel sensation returning to my body. This was most apparent in an absolutely dreadful headache that suddenly surged into my brain. It felt like every hangover I had ever experienced piled up on top of one another. But, despite the agony, I was grateful. Apparently I was lucky to be feeling anything. Gunes be praised for that. But now that I was awakening in body and mind, what was I supposed to do? I was too groggy and pained to feel the panic I should have felt, but I knew that my situation was dire. Each second, my fear grew more solid in my stomach.

Desperately searching for something, I turned my head very slowly towards the bed. I could see Cadı's feet hanging over the side of the bed. In between her feet, I saw the wide, tanned expanse of a man's hairy ass. He was leaning forward and his hips were thrusting back and forth. His boots were just a few short feet from my hips. If I made much noise, the two lovers were likely to hear me, despite their racket. 

While I was staring at Kayınbirader's boots, I noticed something. In preparing to have his way with Cadı, the assassin had not removed his clothing. Instead, he had simply loosened his trousers and let them fall in a pile on top of his boots. His pants had, apparently, been held in place with a thick, leather belt. Connect to that belt and glittering in the low light was a scabbard with the hilt of a sword protruding from it.

For a second or two I began to consider what I was going to do, or even if I was able to do anything in my condition. However, the more I thought about it, the longer the odds seemed to be on success. I was woozy, possibly sick, and naked. Before my mind was allowed to more fully consider the difficulties ahead, my body suddenly acted intuitively. I was surprised by my actions, but my rational mind was essentially on the sidelines, watching my fight or flight instincts take charge.

In the hay rushes on the floor, I suddenly rolled over twice, towards Kayınbirader's boots. I moved jerkily and uncertainly, but not entirely slowly. I heard the rustling of the rushes, but ignored them. I was only a foot from the lovers now and I quickly reached my hand out towards the hilt of the sword. I quickly pulled back on it, feeling it slip easily from the scabbard and shake the man's pants. It was longer and much heavier than I expected and the orange light of the torches danced on it.

I did not have time to admire the sword. Instead, I quickly began to rise up onto my knees. All of this action had happened in just a couple of seconds and now, as I rose shakily, I became aware that Kayınbirader and Cadı had heard something. I saw Kayınbirader's body grow tense and he began to turn to look over his shoulder. On my knees, I felt woozy and sick. I was certain I was about to vomit and my head hurt so badly that my eyes felt like they would pop from my skull. I suppressed a small groan and pushed myself up more, trying to maintain my balance. 

I scrambled up to my feet, slipping and aching as I did so. As I reached my feet, I stumbled backwards. For one terrible second I was certain that I was going to fall backwards on the floor, the sword skittering from my grasp. Instead, I took three steps backwards and regained my balance.

By this time, Kayınbirader had turned his head completely over his shoulder. I saw his beady, black eyes and tight, ugly face contract in horror as he saw me. He pulled his cock from Cadı's body and quickly began to turn to face me.

"What the fuck is it?" Cadı asked, panting on the bed. 

"You fucking whore..." Kayınbirader said to me as he turned around entirely. He tripped a little as the pants tangled around his ankles bunched up strangely. I decided I could not wait.

"For Gunes and Bütün Dünya!" I screamed. And with that, I lifted the sword and pointed it directly forward. I started to sprint forward, but my legs felt like jelly. After a few messy steps, my toes caught on the rough floor beneath me. I began to pitch forward. For a moment I nearly lost total control over myself. I was relatively certain I was going to pitch forward onto my stomach uselessly. But I caught myself slightly with just the tips of my toes and pushed myself forward and, at the same time, I locked my elbows out in front of me, pushing the sword out straight towards the bed.

"Ugh!" was all I heard. I could feel a strange, tearing sensation as the sword pierced Kayınbirader's chest, right below his sternum. I fell with such force that it kept pushing through his body, tearing through his organs and pushing out of his back on the other side. Blood pouring in torrents from his chest and his eyes were wide. He was no longer making noise, simply looking down at the weapon finally stopped with the hilt pressed against his chest. But I pushed so hard and Kayınbirader was so thrown off by my sudden, surprising attack, that I kept pushing him back. Kayınbirader's balance was gone and he pitched backwards onto his bed.

"Oh god!" I heard from behind him. Apparently Cadı saw the sword emerge from his back. But everything happened in one quick, fluid motion. Before there was any time for Cadı to react. Kayınbirader was falling back first onto the bed, between her spread legs. Not really planning anything, but still shocked (and woozy) by what was going on, I kept my hand on the hilt of the sword, falling forward toward Kayınbirader and Cadı. I heard Cadı suddenly issue a piercing scream as I felt Kayınbirader's body fall heavily onto the bed. I bounced off of his leg, lost hold of the sword, and fell onto the floor.

I landed on my ass in the rushes, just at the foot of the bed. My eyes were swimming and I barely managed to avoid falling over entirely. But I looked back quickly to the bed, wary and ready for Kayınbirader to attack. But as I looked, I saw he was still laying on his back on the bed, on top of Cadı. He was not moving or making noise. Cadı, on the other hand, was flailing wildly underneath of him and screaming loudly.

I was wary, but I slowly rose back to my feet and stood next to the bed. It was only then that I understood what had happened. Kayınbirader's chest had been pierced, perhaps even his heart, as the sword traveled up and through his body. He was already dead, as his lifeless eyes facing the ceiling showed. When he fell, the sword had been poking out of his back. His weight, and the fact that my hand stayed pressed to the hilt, had driven the sword through Cadı's stomach. 

He was now laying on top of her and the sword was actually pressed through the mattress of the bed. She was pinned underneath of Kayınbirader, the sword all the way through her belly, and he was bleeding all over her. She was also loosing blood quickly, her skin growing even paler than before. Her eyes were still glittering and icy, but they looked panicked as she flailed under the weight of her lover.

"You!" she screamed, suddenly noticing me standing woozily next to the bed, "Oh god...that fucking moron...not enough," she wailed. I placed my hand on the bed to steady myself. I was still understanding what had happened.

"You...betrayed me..." was all I could manage to say.

"I..." Cadı began and then moaned again. But as she did, she seemed to think better of what she was going to say, "This man...is my lover... oh God...I admit. I wanted you to sleep, so I could see him once last time before I left. We are not yet wed...I was no maiden anyway... I am sorry." All of her lies were punctuated by moans and I could see foamy red blood gathering in the corners of lips. She did not know how much I knew, and was playing for sympathy. Just a good bye fuck for an old lover.

"Your brother is your lover?" I asked. Cadı moaned, it was now clear that I knew everything. There was no use in lying.

"I did what I had to do. With Lord Sahte. With you. You are a woman. You know what it takes to survive. To get ahead. There is no room for sympathy. Please, mercy. My doctor" she groaned. Her eyes glittered feverishly as she spoke and she cough blood spittle when she was finished. I nodded.

"You took a large risk," I said, and I pinched my temples, trying to sooth my aching head, "And I respect that, even if I hate you. But when you take a big risk, you must live with the consequences," I said. And I meant it. I did not, at that time, imagine I could feel respect and hate together in such a way. I also did not understand how I could go from sleeping with a woman to hating her so quickly, but I did not question my emotion, Instead, I once again put my hand on the hilt of the sword, twisting it slightly. Cadı shrieked and writhed on the bed, though with less life than before. Her lips looked nearly white now.

"If you cannot save me..."she begged, "slit my throat. End this I cannot stand it!" she screeched again tried in vainly to push her lover away. I stood looking at her for some time. Somewhere, with my clothes, was a knife. One that I had taken with me when I lifted the siege of Şehir. It would be an easy thing to put the bitch out of her misery. Her icy eyes looked at me pleadingly. But I saw not understanding in them, only an animal desire to satisfy her own needs.

"You said it yourself, women cannot afford sympathy," I said. She began wailing violently, but I still felt so sick, I could barely understand the invective she threw at me. Instead, I went over to a distance corner of the room and pulled the rushes in a pile. I laid down on them and was lulled to sleep by my enemy's cries. 

I awoke the next morning and found her quiet, though not quite dead. Her eyes were open and staring at the ceiling emptily. But her lips were moving and she was breathing shallowly. Her body was so white, the bed so red. I went downstairs and at breakfast at her table with my companions. In fact, I ordered all of my soldiers into the castle. I warned Cadı's servants that she was ill and that she would not be disturbed until I deemed it appropriate. She would die when the sword allowed and not a second earlier.

* * * * *

"She didn't even tell us about it until well after noon the next day. Then we all went up to her room, along with several of the leading persons at the ice-bitch's court. It was quite a scene when they saw what happened. They refused to believe it, or said they did. I think most of them knew. But our army was already there, in the walls. It was over before it began and it really didn't matter. Sultanah Varis placed both of their heads on the battlements, where her people could see them. She ordered that the bodies be sent King Köylü with a message that in light of the fact that they had successfully poisoned her but failed to kill her, the Sultanah suggested that he grant them a mere County instead of a Dukedom. We left only a small garrison, it will be hard to hold it and no one would want to take it. We packed up everything of value, including a store of jewels we found in the darkest places under the castle," And so Soyguncu finished the tale of my adventure at Castle Inhanet to the assembled Inner Council in the throne room at Saray Palace in Şehir. I sat on my throne, hardly feeling as triumphant Soyguncu had sounded in the telling. I took some solace in the fact that the treasure I had taken would be sufficient to begin work on my legions. But other than that, I felt troubled.

"Gunes save us!" Arkadas said, looking at me with shock, fear, and perhaps a little relief that I had not married the woman. The other members of the Inner Council, save one, expressed similar sentiments.

"You wish to formally annex Inhanet into the crownlands?" Cin said, hardly seeming surprised by the story. Perhaps, once again, she had foreseen it.

"I already requested that the chancery produce a proper deed," I responded, but I could not even muster up feigned enthusiasm. 

"You know the significance of this?" Cin asked, smiling now.

"I am still not wed, and have no prospects of it," I said sullenly. The relief I had felt in defeated another enemy and taking her castle had quickly dissipated. I was left only with a headache and a vivid illustration of just how precarious my situation truly was. The dynasty, the empire stood on a razor's edge and I could see no way out. And underneath of this concern, I felt a lurking guilt that I could hardly grasp. I had killed an assassin before, in the heat of the moment. I rarely thought of him. He had threatened Arkadas, he was faceless. Empty.

But ever since I left Castle Inhanet I saw Cadı's face, the tortured look in her icy eyes. When the immediacy of the attack faded I was faced with the fact that I had killed not just an assassin, but a lover (however briefly a lover). I had been justified in that. It was necessary for the preservation of my empire. But it was more than that. I had found a coldness I didn't know I possessed. A vindictiveness that I told myself I had used as a warning to my enemies but had felt natural and right at the time. It felt like the actions of a Sultanah.

Strangely, I felt no guilt for these initial emotions. I welcomed them, they made me feel safe. I felt guilty that I did not wished to feel differently. That I did not cry for my betrayer or feel her blood on my hands. I closed my eye and I could see the foamy blood on her mouth just like the foamy seed that had been there just hours earlier. I felt nothing human towards her, not even the shadow of it. And I was relieved. And I felt wrong about that relief, because I knew it was right. I wondered what kind of person I was becoming in order to stay on the throne. Gunes sake, even going and agreeing to such a marriage had been an act from which I once would have recoiled. 

I did not openly acknowledge these feelings. I could sense a duality in me still. I was afraid of letting Varis get too close to the Sultanah's actions; the private part of me might finally revolt. I guess I knew that deep inside, part of me wept not for Cadı, but for the innocence I lost in killing her. Luckily, Cin drew me back out.

"Not that" Cin said, "Bütün Dünya has been bleeding territories and fiefs for hundreds of years. This is the first time since Fatih II that the territory of the empire has expanded." I snorted.

"A rock sitting on top of another rock in the middle of nowhere, quite a legacy. Sultanah Varis the Conqueror," I said bitterly. All eyes in the throne room snapped to me. Their faces varied but they all spoke of confusion at my harsh words. They had come to expect more out of me and I dropped my head, shaking it. I found it hard to do my duty that day, an experience I would feel again many times. It never got any easier.

"Do not underestimate what you've done," Cin said, speaking as though she were trying to cheer me up as much as enlighten me, "The size of the growth is immaterial. The most important point is that centuries of decline and atrophy had been arrested. You have reversed the course. Now we must keep that momentum going." I saw the other heads around the table nodding at what Cin said. I smiled wanly at her. It was not so much that she was right, but that people wanted to believe she was right. That was the source of the power. 

"You're right. We should publicize this information to the people," I said lamely, but wishing I sounded more authentic.

"Remember sister," Kardes said, "An Empire is not rebuilt in a single instant. You must take a first step before you can run." I looked at Kardes and appreciated her support. But she was 38 and childless and it reminded me of something more troubling.

"That might be true, but then, how is a dynasty rebuilt?" I asked finally. At that moment, the door to the throne room fling open wildly. They battered against the walls before flopping back inside.

"You were supposed to tell me when she got back!" a voice cried from the doorway. I, along with the rest of the Inner Council, turned and looked in the direction of the noise. I rolled my eyes as I saw my younger sister Nislani standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"I told you I would..." Kardes said.

"No, no more excuses. I have been trying to talk to our beloved...brilliant Sultanah Varis the Cocked for weeks!" Nislani said impertinently. She was marching quickly down the middle of the throne room, looking self-assured and self-righteous. I felt a rage rising up inside of me, the same childhood anger I had towards my spoiled sister compounded by her disrespect for my office.

"I told you..." Kardes tried again. I felt a brief moment of sympathy and appreciation for my older sister. She had, apparently, been running interference for me. But that did not diminish my anger at my younger sister. If anything, it intensified it.

"I told you that I was tired of being ignored," Nislani interrupted again. Now she was standing just before the table where my Inner Council was meeting. 

"The guards should not have let her in," Got offered, looking at Saygili.

"We have been told that we cannot restrain her, but she has been getting violent with the guards. Abusive. In the interest of morale and in an effort to avoid allowing anything to get out of hand, I have told the guards to simply let her have her way," Saygili responded while raising his hands helplessly. 

"Do not speak about me as if I am not here," Nislani spat.

"Sister, what are you doing here? This is a government meeting," I said finally, giving her an annoyed look. Everyone turned to look at me. I could see anger and also embarrassment on the faces of my confidants. They were clearly unsure of how to proceed. In honesty, I was as well. Even Cin seemed taken aback by Nislani's sudden

"So your family is less important than Government? Your sister doesn't matter?"

"Kardes is sitting right there," I said, pointing to my older sister. I was remember Kardes words from early in my reign. Despite my rage at Nislani, I would control myself. It was beneath me to climb down to Nislani's level. Besides, an air of annoyed disinterest would really enrage her. 

"I am your sister also! I am more important!"

"How so?" Kardes said, sounding a bit wounded. I ignored this exchange.

"You would have been invited if you showed any interest in government. As a member of the royal family, you are entitled to the level of involvement you desire. We just assumed you were happier playing like a child," I explained. Everything I said was the truth, but I let the words drip off my fangs. It actually felt nice, to indulge a little in my childhood games, even if I approached it as a Sultanah would. In a strange way, it felt like recapturing some of my innocence. How hardened could I be if I still teased my little sister?

"I don't care about government..."




The Sultanah Ch. 08



"Clearly," Cin said. The Priestess then looked at me, as if willing me to end this farce before it got out of control.

"Nislani," I said calmly and then I sighed, "I will come find you as soon as the meeting is done. I do not have time for this now. But I promise," I said. Nislani shook her head and crossed her arms over her breasts.

"No, I want to do this now," she said. Before I could object, she simply started complaining, "I went to the kitchen today and they say we have no grapes. Just none. I said that we always have grapes and they said that we can't afford them because of rationing. And that is another thing. The rationing. Nothing is like it was when Father was alive. We never had to worry about how much we spent and we didn't have to give food to the people. There was enough food for them to eat themselves. And there weren't so many. The city is so crammed up with people that you can smell their body odor from the walls of the palace. Which, by the way, is in a total state of disrepair. You send all of the male maintenance workers out to join your stupid legion and now the women have to do maintenance. But there is no one left to do the house cleaning. The palace is dirty. My room is disgusting. But I don't even care about that. None of this would matter if you had just done what you were supposed to do and get me another match. I am getting old. I need to be married..."

Nislani's complaints continued but I was no longer really listening. I supposed that I could tell her that rationing was a necessity because of the war and that father had lived beyond his means and that the people did not smell simply to inconvenience her, but I did not. Instead, my head was slowly turning over some other ideas that she had raised. They were no definite thoughts, just a swirl of random ideas and concerns that had been swimming in my mind for weeks. 

I look at Nislani, saw her mouth moving but heard nothing. I felt disgusted by her childish bitching and I looked away from her. But I did not want her to know I was ignoring her, so I looked over her shoulder, where my eyes would still seem to be following her monologue. My eyes happened to rest on a tapestry showing Sultan Tarih II and his wife, Sultanah Cinsel. I had rarely noticed that particular tapestry but I was familiar with the subject. They had been amongst the most successful royal couples in the history of the Empire. I thought briefly of the history of that illustrious pair. 

Suddenly, all of my swirling thoughts crystalized and my stomach tightened. There was only one path out of the uncertainty and weakness that had surrounded my throne since I first sat upon it. It was the only solution to the problems I had been trying in vain to stop in any other way. There was a cure, but it felt to my heart that it was worse than the disease. Perhaps before that moment, I had not been hardened enough, threatened enough to understand that option. Now I was left with nothing else.

"Gunes no!" I said to myself, but it came out more loudly that I intended. Eyes turned away from Nislani and returned to me. Nislani looked enraged by my sudden words.

"'Gunes no' what? You think I am making this up?" Nislani asked haughtily.

"Quiet yourself, I am about to solve one of your problems," I said angrily. I felt my mouth moving mechanically now. When I had suddenly come to a realization about the course of action that I needed to take, it was like my emotions became completely overwhelmed and then shut down. My rational mind, the mind of the Sultanah, would not allow any internal objections. This was not a choice. This was what had to be done. In a way, it was like Gunes' voice was exiting through my mouth.

"What?" Nislani asked with a snotty tone. I ignored her.

"Cin," I said, turning to my priestess, "Correct me if I am wrong but Sultan Kâfir I, was the first Sultan to convert to the Tanril heresy, was he not?" Cin furrowed her brow but then nodded slowly.

"Yes..." she said slowly.

"What does this have to do with me?" Nislani said and again I ignored her.

"Now, Sultan Kâfir I, his older brother had been Sultan before him. Sultan Tarih II, correct," I said, indicating toward the tapestry. I had always been an excellent history student and I damned myself for remembering these facts.

"Yes. Sultan Tarih II's sons both died in their early twenties without children and so Sultan Kâfir I inherited from his older brother," Cin replied, still looking unsure about the purpose of my questioning. Nislani's fists were white and her lips were pursed tightly.

"And when Sultan Kâfir I aligned himself with the Tanril Heresy, he was devout. He followed all of the precepts of the Tanril faith assiduously. Correct?" I asked Cin.

"Yes, by all accounts his conversion was genuine, if misguided," Cin replied. 

"And so he took a wife from Dusman, who was well-versed in the heretical religion and turned his back on Gunes preferred method of royal marriage," I replied. Suddenly, Cin's eyes grew wide. She turned and looked at the tapestry and then at Nislani.

"That is correct," she said, her voice sounding wary.

"Gunes was afraid that her blood would thin over time, was she not?" I asked. Now Cin did not speak, simply nodded, "And so the ancient Sultans protected Gunes legacy and Gunes rewarded them by providing able, capable sons and protecting against any otherwise expected...irregularities."

"Yes, but..." Cin stated, but I kept going, I felt my throat tightening and I was barely holding back tears now. I was going to have to say what I had been thinking and, in so doing, put my thoughts in an actual, rational order for the first time. I had wondered what kind of woman I was becoming to protect my throne. I was about to remove all mystery. One who would do anything, who would show no mercy, and who would have no sympathy. Not even for myself.

"When the Sultans embraced Tanri they forgot about Gunes' blood. And so Sultan Tarih II was the last Sultan to marry his sister, Sultanah Cinsel. And Gunes turned her back on the Empire. We have known only ruin since. But I have returned to the truth path. I have, once again, embraced Gunes. Therefore, I must protect what remains of her blood in my veins," I turned and looked at Nislani now, through glassy eyes, "Nislani, before the end of the month, we will be wed.

End Chapter 8

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 09



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 9 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl. In Chapter 8, Varis is briefly engaged and kills her fiancé for betraying her.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Part V: The Wedding

Chapter 9: Rehearsal

"Welcome, Sultanah Varis I, to your Harem," Tutuklu of Şehir, my beautiful, naked Pezevenk (or senior member of the Harem) stated as I walked through the secret passage and entered the vaulted chamber where my concubines were housed. There were 111 other members of the harem scattered about the great chamber, just as there always were. They were swimming in the fountain, lounging on the couches, and drinking wine. As was the custom, only the Pezevenk acknowledged my entrance, the other girls simply ignored me. 

I returned the favor. Despite my natural inclination to stare at the beautiful women and revel in my ownership of this place, I was far too focused on the task at hand. It was the first time I had gone to the Harem since my first visit and this time I had come without Cin. I was biting my lip and moving my hands nervously. But it was not about the actual visit, it was about what the visit represented.

"Hello Tutuklu," I said and my Pezevenk nodded slowly. I looked around the room briefly, but not really sure what I was looking for.

"It is certainly a pleasure to see you back. We were all so delighted with your first visit. The girls who were able to serve you have been lording their experiences over the other, quite jealous girls," Tutuklu said in a joking manner, "Luckily, this is a completely fresh shift. None of the girls present today were with us the last time."

"That is good," I said, but I could not manage to make my voice sound normal. I was quite distracted.

"How may we serve you?" Tutuklu said, sensing my unease and seeking to do her job as my Pezevenk. However, this was the question I had been dreading. I did not really want to tell her what I wanted. I ran my hand through my hair and looked at Tutuklu. I turned and saw a couch sitting near the edge of the fountain. Without speaking, I walked over and sat down. There were two beautiful, naked women splashing each other playfully just a few feet ahead in the water, trying not to look at me from the corners of their eyes. Tutuklu had sensed that I wanted her to follow and a few moments later, she was sitting on the couch next to me. She did not speak, but looked at me, waiting for me to talk. I fidgeted in the chair for a few moments, trying to get my thoughts together.

"Have you heard?" I asked finally, leaning forward on the couch and putting my face in my hands. There was a long pause.

"Heard what?" Tutuklu asked. I sighed.

"I appreciate you efforts in maintaining the illusion that this is a separate place, outside of the world. But I know you speak with Cin on occasion. Eunuchs or someone must drop off food somewhere. You are not completely isolated. What I want right now is forthright conversation," I said. Tutuklu looked a bit shocked. Perhaps more than shocked, it might have been terror.

"Surely, Cin or...someone...this place is all I really know, I cannot give you any sort of advice," she said nervously. I reached over and placed my palm on her bare knee. I felt the heat of her body and the smoothness of her skin and we were both soothed slightly.

"I won't ask you any public policy questions, Tutuklu. And if you do not know something, simply say it. You will not be punished." The girls swimming in the water had stopped moving, they were listening. Tutuklu shot them an angry look and they move farther out into the water and commenced playing again. Tutuklu looked back to me and nodded.

"How may I serve you, Sultanah?" she asked.

"Have you heard?" I asked.

"That you are to be married in three days?" Tutuklu asked and I let out a low sigh. I felt a bit nauseated and looked up at the water swirling above me on the ceiling. I wished I could open the fountain up above me, to feel some air from outside.

"Yes, do you hear the identity of my fiancé?" I asked now. There was a long pause and I turned back to look at Tutuklu. She was biting her lip and her eyes would not meet mine.

"Your sister, Nislani," she said, noticing my gaze. I nodded my head. This was the source of my turmoil. I had made the decision to marry my sister in a sort of bolt of hellish, inspirational lightning. I could find no one to marry me and I desperately needed an heir. My sister also needed to be married off and I could not actually afford a dowry. Not with the war on. Further, the Empire had a long tradition of sibling marriage that had existed, successfully, for thousands of years. It had only been abandoned when Gunes was abandoned and the Empire's fortunes had faded with the tradition. Now that I had re-embraced Gunes, it was natural to reassert the ancient tradition. This would reinforce my commitment to Gunes, it would separate me from my enemies in Dusman, it would provide me with a wife, and it would eliminate the possibility of another spinster sister. It was an elegant solution to several problems. And, as the Sultanah, it was an easy decision. Once I had conceived of the idea, there was really no way to stop it. 

In fact, it seemed that everyone agreed with the decision. The Inner Council had been relatively easy to convince. While Cin had been nervous at first, mostly regarding Nislani's suitability as my consort, she had grown enthusiastic with my decision to embrace the Ancient traditions. In fact, she seemed a bit embarrassed that she had not thought of it first. Got and Agiz followed Nislani's lead. Kardes seemed shocked by the decision, but never said anything against it. I assumed her keen sense of realpolitik told her this was the only move to make. Arkadas seemed relieved, as if she knew that the marriage would be a mere formality given my hatred of Nislani and that she would remain first in my affections. I figured she was right. Soyguncu and Saygili knew that it was not their role to question me in the sphere of my personal life.

The Executive Assembly had likewise been easily controlled. My allies, Lord Sadik and Duke Göstermelik, who had embraced Gunes wholeheartedly, agreed with my decision, even if they seemed to exhibit some personal distaste. Sir Sakşakçı had been drunk when he was informed of the tradition and stated he could not hold an opinion until he spoke with his wife. I had no concerns. More surprisingly, Hain and Örnek had also supported my decision. I supposed that they also liked the sharpening of ideological lines. My decision to throw my lot in irrevocably with Gunes and to take such a wildly taboo action, they felt, would only help their side to eventually triumph. Their physical disgust at my decision was evident, but their desire for power overcame whatever scruples they might have. The Peers in general had followed their leaders on the question, with only a few minor lords expressing any objection. The people, whatever their personal views, no longer saw fit to question any of my actions. As far as they were concerned, I was Gunes reincarnated and infallible.

Therefore, only two people seemed completely opposed to the union. The first, of course, was Nislani. As soon as I announced my decision she had rejected it out of hand. She had claimed I was simply making fun of her and that I had no intention of going through with it. When she saw I was serious and that other people took my suggestion seriously, she became even more intransigent. She locked herself in her room and threatened to kill herself rather than go through with the action. A few hours later, hungry, she had emerged undaunted. Even now she was claiming that she would take the red dress being made for her wedding (she was actually being measured on the last details at that very moment) but that she would never go through with the ceremony. She promised to call me all sorts of names at the wedding and further pledged that she would mean every word of it.

The final person opposed to the marriage was me. While, from a Sultanah's point of view, there was really no question about it, I was no solely the Sultanah. I knew that this action would solve several of my problems, but it seemed like such a horrible manner of correcting a political situation. I did not want to marry my sister, especially with that sister being Nislani. She thought I was cruel and cold, I thought she was childish and dull. We could barely stand to be in the same room together, let alone be married. Further, I had not entirely given up on the idea of romance, even if I was willing to marry for politics. This decision definitely foreclosed that possibility. I was constantly running up arguments in my mind for why this decision was terrible and why I had to call of the wedding. But each time I did so, the part of my brain that was the leader of my people and existed for more than just myself, would intrude. It would knock down the arguments, one by one, leaving me with the necessity of my actions. 

The most effective argument I had given myself had actually lead me here, to the harem. Beyond the issues of romance and temperamental compatibility, there was a mechanical aspect that had to be considered. I was not marrying my sister simply to have a romantic or even platonic companion. The goal of our marriage was clear: to produce offspring. The problem, of course, was that in order to produce offspring, I would need to have sex with my sister. In fact, it was part of the ancient marriage tradition that I consummate the marriage with my sister on the first night. Witnesses would be present to ensure the validity of the marriage and to serve as oath-keepers if it were ever challenged. But could I do it? Even if my mind knew that I had no choice, that I had to have sex with Nislani, could I actually go through with it? I didn't want to. Regardless, I argued with myself for a long time until finally, I had come to a decision that had led me down into the harem. These thoughts were swirling in my head as I sat on the couch next to my Pezevenk.

"Tutuklu, you have had a child, have you not?" I asked. Tutuklu's eyebrows furrowed and she nodded.

"Yes, a daughter, Fahişe. She is actually out in the water now," she said and gestured out towards the fountain. In the center of the fountain was a young woman around my age who looked remarkably like a younger version of Tutuklu was wearing a loose fitting skirt and no top and walking languidly through the water. Tutuklu smiled at her daughter proudly.

"Is..." I said, finally reaching towards my ultimate purpose in arriving here, "Is she my father's daughter?" I asked. I looked more closely at the lithe, pretty girl in the pond. She did not look like me or anyone else in my family. Tutuklu shook her head.

"No. I was pregnant with Fahişe when I arrived here. She grew up here and entered the harem when she reached the age of 18," she said. I felt myself slightly disappointed, and then felt embarrassed and a bit disgusted by that disappointment.

"But there are women here who are my father's daughters correct? I have...half sisters in this place?" I asked, my mouth going try and my throat clicking. Tutuklu nodded, and I wondered if she understood where I was going.

"Many. You father visited here often before your mother put a stop to his visits. Many of the women in the harem are descended from your father, though I do not believe they would count as your half-sisters. They are your property as much as I am," She said deferentially. Suddenly a thought popped in my head. I looked at the beautiful Tutuklu and then, looked back at her daughter.

"Tutuklu," I said, "If, as your Sultanah..." I knew what I wanted to ask, but it suddenly felt embarrassing. Wrong. Then I thought about my wedding in three days, and I realized that I did not have a strong grasp of right and wrong. Or maybe that right and wrong were different for a Sultanah. I proceeded, "If, as your Sultanah, I was to order you to make love to your daughter, what would you do?" I don't know why I wanted to know the answer to the question but I desperately did. Could Tutuklu do her duty? She gave me a slightly pained look and then gazed at her daughter. She blushed slightly and then turned back to me. After a long pause, she spoke.

"As a member of the harem and as a Pezevenk, I have seen my daughter do...things in training that most mothers would probably never see. I cannot say I have relished those experiences, but I have done them with a happy heart. I would not seek out an opportunity to make love to my daughter and I do not desire it. But, if you were to order me to do so, I would do as my Sultanah commands. I would make love to my daughter and I would enjoy it, as you wish," she said. Each word came from her slightly tortured and I knew that when she said she would 'enjoy' it, she was speaking for my benefit. In short, she was doing her duty now and would do so in the future. I felt both saddened and galvanized by this response. Saddened because what it meant for my future. And also, because of something I felt just then. Some part of me that I did not totally understand felt a sudden flash of brief excitement. A sexual thrill. But I pushed this idea aside quickly and with guilt. Instead, the parts of me that dealt with responsibility and honor felt elated. This was the sort of solution I was looking for, a way of looking at my duty as being simply an administrative task and Tutuklu's response pushed me on to my next question. 

"Are any of my half-sisters present? And if so, is her mother also present?" Tutuklu looked relieved that we were no longer talking about her daughter and she scanned the room. For a few moments, she was silent, though I could see her lips moving slightly. Finally, she began nodding.

"Yes," she said and I felt my stomach do a flip and my muscles grow tight, "Your...half-sister as you call it, Yarım and her mother Metres are both present." It seemed that everything was in place.

"Is she...attractive?" I asked, my voice catching in my throat.

"Yarım?" Tutuklu asked and I nodded, "She is a beauty. As are most of your father's daughters (and all of his legitimate daughters)." I wanted to acknowledge the compliment but I could not. My heard was humming in my chest now and I felt like I was gasping. The moment had arrived. I looked around the room, trying to find the right spot. Finally, I found it.

"Tutuklu," I managed to say, "Please gather Yarım and Metres and take them over there," I pointed to a distant corner of the harem chamber. There was a four-post bed in the corner with a massive canopy, making essentially a closed area within the room.

"Yes Sultanah," Tutuklu said and then she rose from the couch and began to walk away. Oh a whim, I stopped her.

"Tutuklu," I said and she turned and looked at me, "fetch Fahişe as well." I said. I saw the pained look once again cross my Pezevenk's face. She did an excellent job of mastering her emotions and soon her tranquil look returned.

"Yes Sultanah," she said, sounding slightly more wooden than before. I decided that I would reassure her.

"Do no worry, you will not be required to sleep with your daughter," I said, "I have other things in mind." Tutuklu looked slightly relieved, nodded, and then went about her task. Now I rose as well and made my way over to the small bed in the corner.

I moved quickly over to the location. I thought that I could feel the eyes of the harem on me as I moved and, for some reason, it made me uncomfortable. I felt like they knew what I was doing, why I was doing it, and that they did not approve. I did not like this feeling but I also welcomed it. To a certain extent, this was what I was trying to cultivate. And to overcome.

After a brief walk I was standing outside of the bed. It was actually larger than I had anticipated, almost as large as the massive bed in my own bedroom. The canopy, which hung down to the floor on all four sides and covered the top of the bed, was a thin, pink material that was somewhat see-through. I pushed through the gap in the canopy, climbed onto the bed, and closed the canopy behind me. The bed was incredibly lush with large, pink pillows and silky purple blankets heaped on it neatly. I crawled into the middle of the bed and laid down. The fabrics seemed to wrap around me and I felt slightly relaxed, despite myself. I had not slept well of late, and it felt good to lay down.

Before I had a chance to truly begin to relax, I could hear movement outside of the bed. I looked through the fabric of the canopy and I could see the silhouettes of four people standing outside. They were not speaking, but seemed to be waiting for me. "Tutuklu, is that you?"

"Yes Sultanah," was the response. I suddenly felt that I was not ready for this, that I could quit. But it was too late now, how could I stop this?




The Sultanah Ch. 09



"Would you please come into the bed? Leave the others there for now. I must speak to you alone," I said. Without another word, Tutuklu spread open the canopy and slipped naked onto the bed. She crawled across the vast fabric until she was close to me. 

"How may I serve you, Sultanah?" she asked. Something in her voice indicated that she was a bit confused about what was happening. Finally, I could not hold back anymore, I had to tell her the plan.

"You will instruct the other three women outside to disrobe. Then you will ask Metres and your daughter Fahişe to join you on the bed. You three will sit together at the foot of the bed and I will speak briefly with Metres. Then you will order my half-sister into the bed. You, Metres, and Fahişe will then watch as I have sex with my...with Yarım. This will be my trial run for my wedding night," I explained.

I remember where this idea had come from. I had been thinking about the fact that I would need to have sex with my sister in order to consummate the marriage. I had a fear that the time would come and I would be unable to act (it was only slightly more intense than my fear that the time would come and I would do it). I wanted a test to ensure that I would be able to do it, something that would allow me to back out before it was too late if I could not. But I could not think of any way. I certainly wasn't going to sleep with my sister before the wedding night. 

I had refused to share my fears with anyone, but Cin had obviously noticed my intense discomfort. She had suggested that I go to the harem, to let off some steam before my wedding night. She had not suggested my current course of action. But when she said, "remember, you do not have to love your sister. Treat her no differently than you would a member of your harem," that the idea came to me. The inspiration to have my half-sister's mother watch (as well as another mother and daughter pair) had just occurred to me. It would help me replicate the awkwardness of the consummation ceremony on the wedding night. Although, as Tutuklu called Metres and Fahişe into the bed, it suddenly seemed like a much less clever idea. 

The two women crawled into bed, also naked. As I said before, Fahişe looked remarkably like her mother, though younger. The same lithe form, the same high breasts, the same olive skin, even the same pink slash between her legs. Metres was around the same age as Tutuklu, perhaps a little younger. Despite this, she did not look quite as appealing as the Pezevenk. It was not that she was unattractive, in fact for a slightly older woman she was quite pretty, she just lacked Tutuklu's possessed, dignified air. Metres was slightly shorter than Tutuklu, maybe 5'6. She had black hair that was pulled back in a tight bun. Her face was open and warm (though it looked slightly nervous now) and she had an angular nose and wide lips. Her breasts were very large, but only sagging slightly with age and her nipples were large and pink. Her body was curvy with a slightly narrowed waist and a large bottom. Her legs remained shapely and her feet were small. She maintained a small patch of dark black hair above her cunny, though it was well-controlled.

"Please, sit at the foot of the bed, Metres in the middle," I said, my voice sounding shaky and uneasy. The women nodded and obeyed my commands. Soon, the three women were seated in the proper location. Metres sat in the middle her legs grossed in a manner than spread her cunny wide. Tutuklu and her daughter sat on either side of her. I don't know if they planned it or if it was part of the training, or if mother and daughter were simply so very similar, but Tutuklu and Fahişe sat in the exact same manner. This gave their appearance a distinctly symmetrical and attractive appearance. They propped themselves up on one arm, leaning in towards Metres with their legs folded over one another elegantly off to the side. I saw the way their pert breasts pressed against the flesh of their arms as they tilted their heads to the side, letting their long hair drape over their shoulders.

I wanted to stop and admire their beauty, but I saw the ill-concealed anxiety in Metres' eyes and I decided to push forward. "Metres," I said, "The girl outside, is she your daughter?" My voice sounded more commanding than I thought possible and Metres reacted with studied precision.

"Yes," she said, "Yarım is my daughter." The woman's voice was low and seductive, but it sounded trained. I wonder what she normally sounded like, how she wanted to sound.

"How old is she?" I asked sharply. It felt good to place myself in control here, I reminded myself that I would be in control at the wedding as well.

"20 years," Metres responded quickly. My father had stopped going to the Harem 16 years earlier. 

"She was born here? How long have you been in the Harem?" I asked both questions at once. I trusted Tutuklu, but I wanted to get this information from the mother's mouth.

"She was. I was born here as well. I have never left," she said and I was a bit surprised. It was rare for a family to have several generations live entirely within the Harem. It was rare for the requisite skills and beauty to pass so many times.

"Who was your father?" I asked, intrigued.

"The Sultan, Kral III," she said, almost continued speaking, but I raised my hand. My grandfather was her father. She was my brother's half-sister. 

"And who is Yarım's father?" I asked. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at Tutuklu. The Pezevenk nodded slowly and encouragingly.

"The Sultan, Kral IV, your illustrious father," she stated flatly. My father had, accidentally or not, continued the ancient tradition of Gunes as well. He had coupled with his sister. 

"Therefore," I said, my mastery of the situation not quite enough to stifle my nerves any further, "Yarım is both my cousin and my half-sister." Metres shook her head and looked nervous.

"We do not place ourselves in that position," she stated, "We recognize our position below you..." she looked nervous. I wondered the source of her concern, I had raised the issue. As usual, Tutuklu sensed my concern and addressed it.

"We sisters of the Harem," she said, "are familiar with stories of the past. Certain Sultans have decided upon their ascension to dismiss their harems. Or dismiss part of their harems. Including their father's bastards. It is difficult for a woman who has known nothing but the harem. She is often made a common street walker. It is a fear many have had since you took the throne, though your previous visit eased some concerns." Tutuklu spoke easily. She already knew my plan.

"That is not my intention. This will remain your home and your daughter's home at least as long as it remains mine," I said calmly, smiling at Metres who looked relieved, "though you may like what happens here less than expulsion," I said nervously. Metres looked slightly concerned at that, but did not speak. "Tell me this," I added before she had a chance to think on it too deeply, "Is your daughter a virgin?"

"A virgin?" the woman asked, her brow knotting.

"Has she been fucked?" I asked. Metres looked helplessly at Tutuklu and shrugged.

"What else would she be, Sultanah Varis? She has had the training, she is not unskilled. But your father...he never came here. There is no...It is impossible," she said. I raised my hand again.

"I did not intend to trouble you, your answer is sufficient," I said. I had known she was a virgin, but again, I wanted to hear it come from her mother's mouth, "You must now watch as that status is taken from your daughter. I will steal your daughter's virginity. I will take my sister's virginity. You will watch. And this mother and daughter will watch as well," I said, pointing to Tutuklu and her daughter. An awkward silence descended on our canopied bed. I sat in it for a while, soaking in the discomfort, wondering how I would react.

"Do you wish for Yarım to enter?" Tutuklu asked after a while. I shook my head.

"No, first I must be disrobed," I stated, "Tutuklu, I want you and your daughter to crawl up here and disrobe me." Tutuklu and Fahişe moved as if they had been shot up by springs. They were so used to following commands that they didn't even think, they simply acted. Both women rose quickly onto their hands and knees on the bed. They began to crawl across the fabric expanse. They looked up at me as they moved, their full breasts swinging below their serene faces and their asses high in the air. Once again, they moved in unison through choice, training, or inclination. I was intrigued by the idea of looking at a beautiful spring morning on one hand and then, on the other, the same location on a full summer evening and realizing that while one was more uncertain and the other more mature, they were equally alluring in their own way. 

In a few moments, they were on either side of me. As I had noticed before, it seemed that elegant disrobing had been one of the many skills imparted to the Harem. Without speaking to one another, or even really taken notice of one another, their hands flew over my body lightly. I barely felt as their palms and fingers skittered across my thigh or touched briefly on my nipple. They did not so much lift me as they encouraged my movements into the most economical motion so that, in a matter of seconds, I lay naked on the bed, my clothes dropped out of the canopy of the bed. Tutuklu and Fahişe knelt on either side of my hips, facing towards one another and waiting for my next order. I looked down at my body, laid out on the bed. It was tauter, more tanned than it had once been. My actions were making me more fit and less included to sit and eat indulgently. I looked good. But I noticed that, between my legs, my cock hung low and tight against my body. Despite the beautiful women around, I was not aroused. While I had taken on a commanding air, I was quite nervous still. Maybe more so that before. 

I don't know what compelled me to take my next action, to make my next order. I had promised Tutuklu that her capacity would be to watch. I had no intention of going back on my promise. Further, I didn't really know what I was trying to prove. But I thought, if I could just see this happen, if I could see it and know that it was not disgusting or fatal, maybe I could go through with this. I believe that maybe this would calm me.

"Tutuklu, lean forward. You as well Fahişe. I want you to kiss one another. Not as mother and daughter but...as sisters of the Harem," I said, using the phrase Tutuklu had tried. I heard Metres on the far side of the room take in a sharp breath. Both Tutuklu and Fahişe turned to look at me, shocked. Despite their usual willingness to do anything I ordered, even before the words spilled full-formed from my lips, their natural aversion to the action had overridden them. Fahişe's cheeks were red and her mother looked like she felt betrayed.

"I..." Tutuklu began, but then stopped. She lacked the words to give defiance, but it was clear that this was what she desperately wanted to offer. I reached my hand up closest to her and placed it on her thigh. I felt the warmth of her skin under my hand and felt her trembling. I felt that same trembling inside of me and I knew I was chasing the right feeling.

"I promised you something and I will not breach that wall. But I need this. Do this, and I will forever be in your debt," I stated. Rather than ordering or blustering, as I certainly could have within my rights, I beseeched her as a person. I confirmed my promise and respected her aversion. She sensed this difference and, it seemed, respected it. She nodded slowly and then turned to face her daughter. Fahişe turned as well, looking at her mother nervously, her eyes wide.

"It is okay Fahişe," Tutuklu said in a voice that was different than her normal tone with me, it was the way she spoke with one she truly loved, "We will trust the Sultanah and do our duty." She said. Fahişe nodded uncomfortably, but it was clear from her motion that she had given up her will. She cast her lot in with her mother, and let Tutuklu take all the responsible actions.

And, now that she had decided to act, Tutuklu took those actions quickly. She leaned forward, over my body and lifted her hands. Her right hand (the one closest to me) reached forward and rested gingerly on her daughter's hip and her left hand reached up, grazing across her daughter's cheek and then coming to rest on Fahişe neck. Fahişe followed her mother's lead. Her left hand reached forward and rested on her mother's wrist. Her on right hand reached forward and rested on her mother's thigh. She leaned in as her mother pulled her gently on the back of her neck.

The two women paused. It was likely only half a second, but that time seemed to stretch out for an interminable period of time. Both women had their eyes open and they were looking at each other intently. Fahişe's eyes showed both fear and an underlying trust in her mother. Tutuklu's eyes showed intensity that seemed to combine both an intense love for her daughter with an overarching desire to do as she was ordered. In a moment, that pause was broken, both women closed their eyes as the same time, and leaned forward.

Fahişe instinctively tilted her head slightly to the side and I watched as her lips met and then sank into Tutuklu's lips. I heard a low moan escape from one of them as their lips fused together. I saw the muscles in their arms and legs tense as they touched. For a moment, their lips were simply pressed together, the soft pink strips of flesh resting on top of one another. But it was clear that whatever invigorating feeling that someone feels with a first kiss was not absent here. In fact, it seemed that the effect was greater than they expect. I saw a shiver run up through both of their bodies and, in the same instance, I saw their lips begin to move. At first they simply moved in opposition to one another, pushing more fully and trying to sink more deeply into the kiss. 

They both groaned now, but as they did so, their mouths open. Without hesitation, their tongues spilled forth and found each other in the space over my body. I watched as their tongues, mother and daughter, fell over one another and lapped at one another. I watched as Tutuklu pressed her tongue into her daughter's mouth and then watched as Fahişe returned the favor. Their hands clenched tightly on one another, but somehow their bodies grew limper, like they were melting into one another. Their tongues grew bolder, slipping around one another's lips and tasting each other decadently. Either they were trained exceedingly well in the art of affecting passion, or they had actually released themselves into the sensations they felt.

The exhilarating sensation that seemed to envelop mother and daughter was not limited to the participants. I watched the proceedings, awestruck. At first, I had merely been shocked by what I saw. Despite the fact that I had precipitated it and had some idea of what it would look like in my mind, the effect was far more powerful that I had expected. The strength of the taboo and also the passion it aroused was greater than I could have ever expected. The shock faded quickly, but the excitement remained steadfastly behind. I admit that I enjoyed what I saw. It was no simply the fact that I would gain pleasure from watching any two beautiful women kiss one another, it was excitement from the fact that these two, mother and daughter, should not be acting in this manner. The taboo itself, was the draw. I had, perhaps, known this deep inside of myself before I saw Tutuklu and Fahişe together, but I could only acknowledge it now, in the full grip of my passion. And, in embracing the feeling, I noticed something different. I looked between their bodies and down towards my legs. Between my thighs I saw my cock growing hard, rising up to meet the mother and her daughter.

My eyes followed the tip of my cock up, rising to watch the women once again. They were growing more wanton now. Perhaps it was simply their training taking over. Maybe it was something else. Their tongues moved thickly, tasting one another with abandon. Their heads moved more quickly, trying to gain leverage to feel more of one another. They were moaning loudly now in time with their caresses. These, too, were growing more intense. I watched as their hands began to move on one another, stroking arms and hips, even bellies. Their motions became so emphatic, so loosed from control, that something they had no quite intended happened. Fahişe leaned in more fully towards her more, running her hand toward her mother's elbow. But, as she did so, Tutuklu turned slightly. The result, was that for just a briefest breath of a second, Tutuklu's nipples grazed against her daughter's nipples. I watched it from my location as if it were in slow motion, the touch of the sensitive, now erect, nodes at the ends of their breasts.

Instantly, everything stopped. It was like a switch had been thrown. The two women, at the exact same instant, seemed to recognize that some border had been crossed. Or, more accurately, that they had been crossing the line all along and only now came to terms with it. They jerks their heads back quickly, breaking their kiss, and their hands fell instantly to their sides. They both looked down, not daring to gaze into one another's eyes. 

While the mother and daughter had stopped their actions, the excitement had not faded for me. If anything, my interest had grown. Trained concubines, blushing and feeling ashamed. Somehow, that was almost as thrilling as the kiss had been. My body felt like it was one fire and my cock was now fully erect, straining hard at my body. I felt ashamed of the feeling I had, but this shame was completely covered over with excitement and desire. In fact, that shame seemed to add to the intensity, to make the excitement I felt more acute and deeper. For a brief moment, a vision of my sister, Nislani, flittered through my head. I saw the shape of her body and also the outline of my distaste for her. Was there something there as well? Something I could use when I needed it? I didn't know, but I was ready for the test.

"Thank you both," I said, and both women jolted slightly, "Please return to your places. And call Yarım." Both Tutuklu and Fahişe returned to their spots next to Metres. They both looked a bit disheveled and uncomfortable, like they had been possessed and then returned to their changed bodies. Metres looked slightly terrified, but her cheeks were also flushed with arousal. I knew that I was not the only once excited. I knew that even Tutuklu and Fahişe were contending with the reactions of their bodies.

"Yarım," Tutuklu said woodenly, pulling me out of my consideration of the situation, "You may enter." All eyes turned to the canopy of the bed and listened as the footfalls of our last companion made her way to the bed. Surely, Yarım had heard what was spoken of beyond the canopy and knew what to expect. If she did not desire it, she had been trained well enough to comply anyway. The canopy split open and Yarım climbed into the bed. In a few moments, she was upright, naked, on her knees next to Tutuklu. Her appearance took my breath away.

It was not that she was beautiful, although she was undoubtedly that. Tutuklu had been right. I could see a resemblance to her mother. They were both basically the same height and their skin and hair was the same color, although Yarım let her grown long and lay in a thick ponytail. She also had the same open face, slightly large nose, and generous mouth. Moreover, I saw in Yarım's delicious body, the taut curves that must have served her mother well in the past. Like her mother, Yarım had large breasts, those hers sat up high on her chest. Her body tapered down slightly more than her mother and her stomach was thinner. Yarım, like her mother, had very wide hips and a large ass. However, Yarım's large ass was almost impossibly firm, sitting up high behind her like a shelf below her back. Like her mother, she had a small v-shaped patch of short, dark hair over her cunny. She also had her mother's shapely legs and small feet. 




The Sultanah Ch. 09



All of this was very appealing to me. But that was not what seemed to thicken the air around me. No, as Yarım looked up, I found myself gazing directly into her eyes. They looked nothing like her mother's gray, mournful eyes. Instead, it was like looking in a mirror. Her eyes were exactly like mine. If nothing else (and certain other features did imply it), I would have been able to tell the family resemblance from the eyes. This girl was, undoubtedly, my sister. Almost the exact same age and from the same father. The only difference between us was the identity of our mother. And that gave me the right to order and the obligation for her to obey.

I felt a slight thrill at these various realizations as Yarım stopped and looked at her mother. I felt the same excitement I felt when I watched Tutuklu and Fahişe embrace. I had the power to make something happen, something that should not happen. And that was, Gunes help me, and arousing feeling. More importantly, as I looked at Yarım, I saw the family resemblance but none of the family baggage. I did not see my hatred for Nislani there, no dread at having to do...something with my flesh and blood. I knew the taboo was there, but this was my sister in only a formal sense. She was...and she wasn't. Somehow, that made it easier. In fact, it made it feel necessary. I not only could go through with this, I wanted it. I wanted to feel that taboo exhilaration I had experience vicariously with Tutuklu and her daughter. Moreover, I had a somewhat surprising feeling that I had not expected. After the anticipation of committing a taboo action for so long, I was anxious to simply have it over with. I was ready and I couldn't wait any longer.

"Sister," I said and felt gratified when Yarım looked up, "Come to me now. I desire you." Yarım took a moment and looked back at her mother and Tutuklu beseechingly. Clearly the word "sister" had thrown her off. But the two older women, while rattled, found no trouble in maintaining their discipline. They did not react to the younger woman's gaze and gave a clear indication that she was to act. Yarım looked back towards me, her face showing more determination and less confusion, as if she was fortified by the actions of her mother and Pezevenk.

"Right away, Sultanah," she said in a trained, sultry voice. She then dropped down onto her hands and knees on the bed, her large breasts swaying against one another, and began to crawl towards me.

"No. Stop," I said forcefully. Yarım stopped instantly and looked up at me. She appeared nervous, wondering how she had angered me. I was not angry, but it was important that I maintain the correct mindset. "Do not call my 'Sultanah' in this bed. When we are enclosed in this canopy, if you need to address me, you will call me sister," I said. I told myself that this was essential to ensuring that this test, this preparation for my wedding, was an effective inoculation against the natural revulsion to incest.

"Of course...sister," Yarım said softly. I felt a shiver run down my spine and my hard cock twitched in my lap and I wondered how much my explanation for my actions was enough. How much of this was for 'practice' and how much did I just like the idea of committing a taboo? I shook these thoughts aside as Yarım began, once again, to crawl towards me. She was, of course, well-trained, and she slinked towards me rather than rushed. I saw her breasts rub against her arms and her large, well-built ass rock back and forth as she moved. 

"Stay on your hands and knees," I ordered, "crawl up here so that you are straddling my legs, I want your hands on either side of my hips." I had not really planned out where I was going or what I wanted. There were certain ritualistic sexual acts that were a part of the wedding consummation but I was not prepared for those here. In fact, in my heart of hearts, I had believed I was going to balk before this point. So, I just decided to go with what felt right at the moment. 

Yarım nodded slowly, and kept moving. In a few moments, she was in position. She was high up on her hands and knees with her legs spread quite wide. Her warm knees were actually touching, though just barely, my calves. Her hands were likewise touching my body, her thumbs just grazing my hips. Her breasts were hanging down over my cock and I could feel the heat of her cunny over my knees. I could smell the light perfume that Yarım had applied to her body and it made my body quiver with anticipation. My mouth grew dry. This might have been a task I had to complete before my wedding, but there was no reason why it could not be a pleasurable experience.

"How may I serve you now, sister?" Yarım asked, still tripping slightly on the final word. I smiled at her. I turned my head to the side slightly and looked at the other three woman, sitting a few feet behind Yarım's ass and watching. Then I turned back and looked at my half-sister. Now was the time to further heighten discomfort, to make everyone extremely aware of the events that were going to transpire and to put myself in a position where I should desire to walk away. I kept waiting for something to break inside of me, to finally accept that I could not do this.

"Sis," I began, "Have you been trained to suck cock?"

"Yes," Yarım said instantly and I saw her eyes, just for a moment, gaze down at my cock.

"And do you believe you are skilled at it? Can you suck cock well?"

"I believe I would be excellent at that task," Yarım responded, and I could hear real pride in her voice.

"Do you want to suck a cock, sister?" I asked. Yarım paused for a moment and again I saw her try to catch a glimpse of my cock from the corner of her eye.

"Yes," she responded at last and I thought I could see some redness rising in her cheeks.

"But you've never actually sucked one, right?"

"No," she responded.

"And this is the first one you've ever actually seen?"

"Yes it is...sister," Yarım said and I nearly laughed with pleasure. I could tell she was slightly uncomfortable, but she was doing her duty and trying her best to fulfill my wishes.

"Then how do you know you are good at it?" I asked. Yarım's eyebrows knitted, as though she were trying to solve an impossible equation. I decided to push forward. "Did your mother tell you that you would be good when she watched you train?" I asked. Yarım looked for a moment like she wanted to turn around, but did not. I found that, rather than heightening my own discomfort, I was becoming more enveloped in my arousal, more excited. 

"My mother never watched me train. I never watched her. That is the common custom here," Yarım responded. A reasonable custom to be certain.

"Do you think your mother would be proud of you if you sucked cock well?" I asked.

"She is proud when I do my duty, so she would be," Yarım said with certainty, though I could tell she was uneasy with the topic. I nodded slowly. I reached my hand up under my body and wrapped my fingers around the shaft of my cock. Yarım did not respond, waiting for orders. My cock felt exceptionally rigid and hot in my hands and I pulled it up slightly. After a moment, I felt the tip of my cock press against the edge of Yarım's breast. My half-sister jumped slightly.

"Let's make your mother proud," I said finally, "Why don't you suck your sister's cock while your mother watches? Then she can see you do your duty." While I spoke, I rotated my hand around in my lap, making my cock circle around on the flesh of Yarım's breast. 

"If that is your wish Sultanah," Yarım said, her voice coming out slightly shaky and uneasy.

"Sister," I corrected.

"As you wish, sister," Yarım said apologetically. With that, she began to lower herself down slightly and to rock back on her hips. The tips of my cock pressed deliciously against her body as she moved. In a few moments, I felt her soft, warm ass settled down onto my shins and I felt her voluptuous breasts press against the tops of my thighs. I could feel her hard nipples pressing into my skin. Yarım's hands moved from off of the bed, the left one pressed flat against my hip and then slide down against my ass. The right one moved draped across my thigh and poked at my fingers, which were still wrapped around the shaft of my cock. I quickly released myself and my hard cock flopped back and slapped my taut belly. Yarım didn't hesitate, in a moment, her right hand replaced mine around the shaft of my cock. Her palm felt silky smooth and her grip was tight, but comfortable. I suppressed a small moan.

"Does it feel like what you expected?" I asked. I could hear Yarım's breath coming raggedly from her throat and she did not speak for a few seconds.

"No," she said finally, "It is harder than I thought, and warmer."

"Find out if it tastes like you imagined," I responded quickly. I could actually feel Yarım's heartbeat through her massive breast. It was a rapid fluttering against my thigh and I knew she was nervous. I did not know if it was because she was excited or disgusted, but her reaction was enticing for some reason. Yarım pulled my cock back so that it was facing directly into the air. She opened her mouth slightly and moved her neck up so that her lips were hovering over the tip of my cock. In a moment, the tip of my cock disappeared into my half-sister's mouth.

It was instantly apparent that, despite her lack of practical experience, the training provided by the Harem was exemplary. Yarım's thick, hot tongue instantly found its way to the top of my cock. After a few seconds at lapping at the tip and swirling around wetly, Yarım's tongue grew rigid and began to probe and taste inside the folds of my foreskin. I heard her moan as she tasted me. I groaned as well and my fingers involuntarily grasped at the blanket covering the bed.

But Yarım was hardly finished. It seemed that now that she was acting, the training had taken over entirely. After coating the tip of my cock with her slick saliva and massaging my foreskin with her tongue, she opened her mouth more widely. I watched as she began to press her face down towards my stomach. As she did so, she moved her hand away from my cock, no longer needing it to keep my shaft in place. I watched as inch after inch of my cock began to slip into Yarım's dripping wet mouth. Her tongue was not idle. Even as my cock began to slip into my half-sister's throat, it swirled around on my cock thickly, covering it in saliva and squeezing my shaft in a warm embrace.

I was completely frozen by the pleasure I felt and the speed that the inexperienced concubine displayed. In just a few seconds, I felt Yarım's nose pressing into my belly and I felt her chin settle down on my aching, swollen balls. But she had nose roughly shoved my cock into her throat, she had slipped it in so easily and so warmly, I was shocked to think she had never done this before. 

And she wasn't done. Her tongue continued to swirl around on my cock and then slipped out over her lower lip. My cock drove even deeper into her throat and I felt her tongue pressing into my scrotum and probing at my balls. For the first time, she made a slight choking sound and it seemed that she was having some difficulty in fitting the whole thing inside of her mouth. Her eyes shot open now just as I was looking down at her. I had wanted to see the look of her lips, stretched around the circumference of my cock and I had not been disappointed. But, I could scarcely believe it when I saw my own eyes, watery from choking, staring up at me from my own lap. My half-sister was taking my whole cock in her throat.

"Oh shit!" I moaned as I recognized this fact. It was no longer possible to keep up any semblance of the fiction in my mind that this was some sort of chore. This was just the pure pleasure of sex. In fact, it was better than most sex, because it was so much more depraved. Yarım pulled back slightly, letting my cock slide back between her lips so that only the tip remained inside. She then easily slammed it home once again, burying the tip of my cock in her throat and probing her tongue into my balls. 

While this was an unbearably pleasurable sensation, I still needed more. While I had been telling myself before that I wanted to heighten the discomfort, I now admitted to myself that I wanted only to heighten the intensity of the taboo. While Yarım began to bounce up her throat up and down on my quivering cock, I turned my head slightly to the side and looked at the three women at the base of the bed.

"Aunt Metres," I said, addressing her for the first time by her unofficial title, "Can you see your daughter sucking my cock?" I asked loudly. I felt Yarım's body tense against me as she heard me address her mother, but she was too deep in her actions now. I could feel the heat of her cunny against my legs and I knew that she was enjoying her work. She kept going, kept swirling her tongue around on my cock and letting her tongue lap at my balls. I was focused on Metres. As I watched her I saw her face contract slightly with surprise that I had addressed her. She looked briefly at the Pezevenk for support and then answered honestly.

"I cannot see much from my vantage point," she said.

"Do you see your daughter's cunny lips? Do you see her asshole?" I asked, imagining what her view must be. My last word had come out more of a squeal than an actual word as Yarım's throat closed around my cock.

"Yes," came the simple response from the girl's mother.

"Do you like them? Are they beautiful," I asked now, my hands gripping so tightly on my blanket that my knuckles turned white. I could feel my legs shaking under Yarım's body and I could barely breathe.

"My daughter...is a beautiful woman," Metres managed to say. 

"Are you happy you get to see her suck her first cock," I said, my voice coming out in a high-pitched wheeze. My hips were now bucking involuntarily as Yarım's tongue continued to swirl around on my shaft and balls. She almost seemed to have no need to breathe, as she kept my cock buried in her throat for long periods of time.

"Yes, it is a pleasure to see she can perform her duties well," Metres said, but it was unclear if she meant it or if she just wanted to please me. I didn't care. I threw my head back on the bed, thrusting my hips up into my half-sister's face. I could feel that I was losing control. I had been too excited and Yarım's touch was too skillful. I was rapidly approaching an irresistible release. I turned, one last time, and looked at Metres' red but beautiful face.

"Do you want me to cum in your daughter's mouth, to fill her throat with my seed? Don't speak of duty, speak of desire," I asked desperately. Metres looked distraught and I could feel her daughter's hands tightening on my hips.

"Yes," Metres said after an unbelievably long pause, "I desire it," she said defeated. And in that moment, I realized that she hadn't just been trying to please me. She was ashamed because she was enjoying the view. This was too much for me to handle and, finally, I felt sweet relief. 

It was pleasure, but it was so much more than that. I had not been able to think about anything but my impending marriage for weeks and that particular worry had really only served to cover up a series of other equally or more important concerns for which I did not yet have a solution. The world seemed to be falling apart around me but now, I felt just one minute of complete, absolute, perfect release from everything. My cock was buried in my half-sister's throat and the only thing I could focus on was the radiating waves of pleasure that soaked through my body and jet-pull of my seed as it splashed into Yarım's throat. 

As the feeling began to fade, I groaned loudly, and collapsed, totally limp onto the bed. I opened my eyes and looked down at Yarım. I could see her eyes, so much like mine, looking back up at me serenely. Her cheeks were bulging with my seed, some of which had leaked out of her lips. Her body was trembling all over, but she kept my cock buried in her mouth, her tongue was still swirling around on the sensitive tip of my cock, because I hadn't ordered her to stop.

"Sit up," I gasped, "Take my cock from your mouth, but don't swallow my seed." Yarım instantly complied with my order, sitting back quickly in the bed so that she was squatting over my shins. She kept her lips tight on my cock as she slid it out of her mouth, ensuring that all of my seed remained sealed in her lips. My thighs felt cool as Yarım's large breasts rose off of them. Now that she was sitting up, her large breasts bounced slightly and I could see her nipples were hard. In fact, her cunny was actually dripping down onto my knees and it was clear that she had enjoyed her first duty as a member of the Harem. She continued to stare at me with my own eyes and her cheeks continued to sag under the weight of my seed.

Now that she was sitting up, I could see slightly between her legs. I noticed a few drops of liquid glistening at the opening of her cunny, but I was not thinking about that now. Instead, I was looking through her legs, seeing Metres' toes on the bed. I smiled deviously as I caught my breath, I knew what I wanted.

"Yarım," I said, "Turn and you open your mouth, show your mother the seed I placed there." Yarım quickly turned her head, facing her mother. I could tell she opened her mouth and could see the interest on the faces of the three women behind her. Even her mother seemed intrigued by the actions, despite herself. It gave me an idea.

"Fahişe, Metres, Tutuklu" I said forcefully, "Lay down on your backs right where you are." The three women did not hesitate and in a moment they were laying shoulder to shoulder on the bed. Their breasts splayed out of their thin chests and their hair draped together on the mattress, and I found that my body had sufficiently recovered that I was beginning to grow aroused again.

"Yarım, go deposit my seed in Fahişe's mouth. Don't kissing her and don't spill it," I ordered. Yarım nodded her head obediently and then quickly turned. She raised her knees and kept from landing on my shins and then she started to move back towards the other three women. I watched her large ass bounce as she moved away from me. 

I could sense her eyes run across the three women on the bed as she moved herself into position. In fact, I saw her pause briefly as she gazed at her own mother. I felt a sick thrill at this and I realized how deeply I was into this action now. I felt no shame, I was past that now. In fact, I felt pride at my devilish mind as Yarım stopped on her knees at Fahişe's side. Yarım bent over the slightly younger girl, hovering her mouth a few inches above Fahişe's face. Fahişe looked up at her, anxiously. After a slight pause, Yarım attempted to speak.

"O-hen, er mouf," she said, but even this attempt was too much, a large blob of pearly seed slipped form her lips and landed thick of Fahişe's chin. Fahişe's body trembled at the impact. But, I watched as her mouth opened quickly and her tongue darted out. She drug the bottom of her long pink tongue down along her chin, scooping up the seed neatly and then pulling it into her mouth. As she did so, she left her lips open. 

Now Yarım bent over slightly further, still keeping her mouth a short distance from Fahişe's face. I watched as my half-sister's lips spread apart slightly. A small dribble of seed and saliva appeared and the center of her lips. I saw Yarım push slowly with her mouth and a thin, sticky stream of juices began to pour from her mouth. It hung in the air for a few second, just a thin stream. Then, Yarım pushed harder, a larger blob of seed and speed dribbled from her mouth. It quickly traveled the distance from Yarım's mouth and I saw it land thick and slimy on Fahişe's tongue. Fahişe moaned loudly as the liquid landed in her mouth, but she kept her lips parted, letting more and more of the salty seed land on her tongue.




The Sultanah Ch. 09



"Do you like that your daughter is spitting my seed into Fahişe's mouth," I asked Metres. 

"Yes," the mother panted.

"Do you like that your daughter is tasting my seed for the first time, Pezevenk?" I asked.

"Oh Gunes yes," Tutuklu sighed. I appreciated her increased ardor for the action. I saw Fahişe shiver when she heard her mother speak.

It took several seconds for the whole load to drip in one long line from Yarım's mouth to Fahişe's. Yarım was very careful, ensuring that each drop slipped from her mouth and landed on her companion's tongue. Fahişe was equally conscientious, working hard to making sure that the thin strand of cum stayed in a pool in her mouth. She moaned loudly while she tasted it, clearly enjoying her first experienced with her master's seed. Finally, Yarım stuck her tongue out, forcing the last of my seed into Fahişe's mouth. I did not hesitate or give them time to think, I kept pushing the action forward.

"Fahişe," I said sharply, "Get up on your knees and give that seed to my Aunt Metres, just like you received it." Yarım moved back slightly, giving Fahişe room to rise up on the bed. Fahişe moved quickly, jumping up to her knees so quickly that I saw her hard nipples bouncing on her smaller breasts. Her cheeks were also now bulging with seed. Soon she was leaning over Metres mouth, reversing her previous position. Metres mouth was open. 

Fahişe was less careful that my half-sister had been. She opened her mouth more widely that Yarım had done and a large blob of seed poured from her mouth and landed in a lump on Metres' lips and mouth. Metres was now tasting the seed that I had deposited in her daughter's mouth. Her saliva added to the salty flavor that the mother now tasted. Fahişe kept spitting rapidly into Metres mouth, overwhelming her with my seed. But Metres struggled bravely, taking as much of my salty seed as she could handle and pushing loose droplets into her mouth with her finger. In just a few seconds, she was done.

"Now, Metres, give the seed to your Pezevenk," I ordered. Once again, the actions duplicated. Metres quickly jumped up onto her knees and leaned over Tutuklu's head. Tutuklu opened her mouth wide and prepared for my load. Metres, like her daughter, was controlled, spitting out a thin line of ejaculate into Tutuklu's mouth. Tutuklu, like her own daughter, moaned wantonly as the first dribbles of seed landed in her mouth. That seed included the saliva of many other women now, including her own daughter. Her lips seemed to be shaking, like she was begging for more. Metres kept her steady pace, but before, long, her mouth was full of the seed.

"Now you sit up," I ordered Tutuklu. She was quickly on her knees facing me, as were all of the other women. They all had read cheeks and were breathing deeply, clearly affected by the atmosphere under the canopy. I rose up on my knees as well, feeling my breasts bouncing. I was feeling the same effect. "Open your mouth," I ordered, "Let me see the seed." Tutuklu quickly complied. I saw her mouth coated in pearly liquid and white saliva. It covered her tongue and her teeth were swimming in it. In fact, some of the seed dripped from the corner of her mouth, landing thickly on her left nipple. 

"Swallow it," I ordered. With that Tutuklu closed her mouth and gulped. She opened her mouth again, revealing a deep red mouth, a pretty pink tongue, and nothing else. The other women gazed at her jealously, no doubt wondering what it felt like to have the slimy ball of my juices slip down their throats and land warm in their bellies.

Regardless of what they were thinking, the seen I had just witnessed had stirred other thoughts in me. In fact, as I gazed down at my body, I saw my cock had easily recovered from my previous orgasm. I saw Yarım's eyes gazing across the bed at me, she saw it as well.

"Return to me Yarım," I ordered, suddenly knowing what I wanted to do, "Get on your hands and knees and get in front of me. Face your mother, my aunt." My tone brooked no dissent, but I doubted that Yarım desired that now. Instead, she practically scrambled across the bed towards me, her training in seduction giving way to the actual desires of her body. In a few moments, she was in the position I requested.

From that angle, Yarım was an incredible sight. Her large, heart-shape ass was thrust high in the air before more. Her legs were spread slightly at her cunny was split open, essentially dripping liquid. Between the stretched cheeks of her ass was a small, pink rosebud of an asshole. A thin back protruded out from her hips, her narrow spine outlined through her soft skin. Her head was facing away from me and her lustrous hair seemed to shine on its own. If my body had not already begun to react, it would have now. My cock was now absolutely hard again, the flesh seeming to strain against the skin and craving more pleasure. 

Without thought, I raised my hands up and placed them on Yarım's hips. I crushed her skin under my soft palms and her flesh felt warm. Her knees buckled slightly at my touch and I saw her body trembling all over. I could feel the blood rushing in my ears and I could hear myself panting. I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself. I became aware of Yarım's aroma on the air. The thick, musky scent of her arousal filled my nose and made me groan aloud. I looked out over her body and something caught my eye.

"Metres," I said, my voice quavering. My aunt looked up at me, her eyes slightly unfocused, her face a mask of lust, "Do you smell my sister's arousal?" I asked.

"Yes," Metres voice said immediately, coming out as little more than a whisper. I breathed in again, savoring her scent again.

"Do you like the smell of your daughter's cunny?" I asked her. I looked directly into her eyes, I felt the confusion and the disgust there.

"Yes, it is lovely," she said honestly after a long pause. I groaned again now and the tip of my cock felt tingly and hot. I couldn't wait any further. I tightened my grip on Yarım's hips and thrust my cock forward. It was a wild stab and I slipped underneath of Yarım's dripping cunning. In fact, I slipped through the soft skin of her lips, feeling her hot wetness on my cock. My cock slipped under her cunny, slipping easily across her hard clit. 

"Oh Gunes be praised!" Yarım moaned and her arms grew weak, she almost pitched forward onto the ground as the pleasure from my touch raked through her body. Before she had a chance to recover, I pulled my cock back (sliding it across her clitoris once again) and then rammed it home in one quick motion. 

Yarım may have been a virgin (or as much of a virgin as a girl can be who has been trained at the Harem) but her cunny was so unbelievably wet that my cock quickly slipped into her body. She groaned again as I felt the slick, hot walls of her cunny wrap around my desperate cock. Her body held me closely, so much more closely than even her tongue had held me earlier. She was so tight and her body's grip so warm and inviting that I could not pull my cock back out. Instead, I began to unthinkingly thrust my cock into her rapidly, just trying to get her body to squeeze me more. My breasts bounced lewdly on my chest as I moved. Yarım was already squealing in pleasure, I could tell that she was enjoying herself. One of her hands move quickly from the mattress and grabbed at her own breasts. I kept thrusting at her wildly, feeling her body's grip on my cock tighten.

A gasp. I sensed it more than heard it because I was too enraptured by the feel of Yarım's body wrapped around mine. But there was a gasp, I knew it. And I realized that there were other people in the room, it had fled from my mind while I entered Yarım. Now, as I kept my hips thrusting into my half-sister, I looked up at the three women sitting at the end of the bed. Their faces were slightly red, they had slightly damp skin, and their bodies seemed to be moving against their will. They were squirming, but not from discomfort. I did not know which of them gasped or why, but I knew it was them.

I realized then that we were no longer engaged in the project we had started in. We had believed we were all here to do our duty. Mothers and daughters of the Harem were responded, as required, to the whim of the Sultanah. I was here because I needed to prepare to fulfill my duty and marry Nislani. We had all expected some disgust and or some displeasure in fulfilling our duties, but we resolved to do it. But we were now finding something else. It was not just that we could go on, not just that we were capable of doing something distasteful. We were loving it! It was not just me. We through ourselves into our duty and were surprised, and a bit embarrassed, to find that it offered pleasures we'd never expected before. I decided to push into it further, to share the heightened desire with the four women who shared my bed.

"Yarım, can you see your mother," I panted. Yarım was breathing heavily and did not speak. I raised my right hand briefly and brought it down with a quick rap on her large, round ass cheek. She yelped in pain and thrust her ass back towards me, driving my cock deeper into her. She then groaned in pleasure.

"Yes!" she exhaled at last.

"Yes, what?" I asked.

"Yes sister, I see my mother!" she cried in ecstasy.

"Fahişe," I said, "Are you watching?"

"Yes," the girl responded enthusiastically. She was looking at my breasts bouncing on my chest and I saw her lick her lips. 

"Do you wish you were here?" I asked, "Do you wish your mother was watching you get fucked?" 

"Yes!" Fahişe panted as she squirmed on the bed. I saw her eye glance over at her mother and she blushed slightly, but she looked back at me.

"Is that what you want Tutuklu? Do you want to see your daughter get fucked, would you like to watch my cock slip into her wet cunny? Would that make you wet?"

"Yes!" Tutuklu essentially screamed now, "I want it Sultanah"

"Aunt Metres," I said, watching the older woman's eyes brighten slightly, "Are you watching your daughter get fucked?" 

"Yes," she said with no hesitation now. 

"Do you like it?" I asked.

"I love it," Metres responded honestly. Her eyes were glued on her daughter, watching me thrust my cock into her. A sudden inspiration struck. I knew what I wanted to do. I thrust my cock deeply into Yarım's cunny once and then pulled backward, trying to get out. Yarım was tight, but with some effort, I was able to slip my hard, dripping cock from her quivering cunny. I heard her whimper in displeasure. But I didn't stop. Instead, I rocked her hard to one side with the hands that where placed on her hips. She was slightly unbalanced and she fell over quickly. Soon she was on her back with her legs spread and I was kneeling in between them. Her large breasts splayed out on her chest and her eyes looked wild with desire.

"Aunt Metres," I said quickly, come up here immediately. "If you want to see, you should come closer," I said. I took my hard cock in my hand now and slapped it down hard towards Yarım's body. I heard the wet slap as it crashed against Yarım's dripping cunny. It slapped hard on Yarım's clitoris and she moaned in pleasure, writhing on the bed. I kept slapping my cock down, over and over again, under Aunt Metres was kneeling next to me, looking down at Yarım's body. I looked up at my aunt and stopped slapping Yarım. Once again, she whimpered.

"Can you see my half-sister better from here?" I asked. I could see that Metres' nipples were incredibly hard now and she was breathing deeply. Her hair was slightly out of place and she looked like her body was ready to burst with desire.

"I can see everything," She responded. I looked down at Yarım.

"You mother can see you now," I said to her, "Tell her what you want. What is it you want right now? Address your mother, let her know." Yarım writhed on the bed, trying to thrust her hips up to contact my cock.

"Mommy," she begged, "I want sister to fuck me. I want her to put her cock in my cunny!" she begged. I looked at Metres. She was holding her breath and looking at her daughter intently.

"Can I Aunt Metres? Can I fuck your daughter now, with you right here?" I asked.

"Yes, please Gunes, please do it!" Metres begged now, letting out a deep, rapid breath and looking down at my cock. It was a scream of passion I could not ignore. I quickly slammed my cock home, pushing it into Yarım's still tight cunny. Yarım groaned loudly and her body vibrated. I heard her mother suck in a breath sharply and her eyes remained fixed, watching my cock slip into her daughter. I pulled my cock out slightly and slammed it home again as Metres watched. I started to thrust in and out, and Metres watched, spellbound.

"Touch yourself," I ordered suddenly, the words seeming to pour from somewhere deep inside of me. For a moment, Metres' eyes raised from her daughter's stretching cunny and she looked at me, bewildered.

"What?" she asked. But now the idea was stuck in my mind, I wanted to see it.

"You are enjoying the scene. Your daughter is getting fucked. I want you to play with yourself, so that we can cum at the same time," I said, "that is an order." Metres looked down briefly at her daughter, a little nervous by this request. Yarım was looking up at her mother as well.

"Oh mommy, I love you," she moaned, "It feels so good!" If Metres had any intention of resisting me before, that impulse died quickly. From her position on her knees, Metres quickly spread her legs and, in a flash, her fingers were between them. I watched her fingers quickly flit around her clitoris and heard her high-pitched squeals of pleasure. She kept her eyes on her daughter, watching as I thrust into her warm cunny and matching her own rhythm to my own. 

Both mother and daughter were moaning now and I was panting frantically. In an effort to catch my breath, I threw my head back and inhaled sharply. But as my eyes rose I became aware others were still in unbearable tension. Tutuklu and her daughter were sitting on the edge of the bed, leaking out onto the blanket, and squirming uncontrollably.

"You two, touch yourselves as well," I ordered. It was like the two women had been waiting desperately to hear those words. As before, they moved in unison. They were sitting on their asses with their legs crossed now but they quickly spread their legs and sat up sharply. Tutuklu raised her left leg, the one closest to her daughter and draped it over her daughter's right thigh. Now both their legs were spread and they were somewhat entwined together. 

They both looked at one another briefly, their faces turning red. They both smiled sheepishly. I believed, at first, that they were just a bit embarrassed by the touch of their naked skin. But I was underestimating them. A silent conversation had gone on between them. 

Tutuklu now raised her left hand and Fahişe now raised her right. While I had expected them to each play with themselves, I saw them now cross arms, reaching into each other's laps. In a moment, I saw Fahişe's fingers slip easily into her mother's wet cunny and I saw Tutuklu's own finger's find her daughter's hard clit. Both moaned loudly and began to move their fingers more quickly. The whole while their eyes stayed focused ahead of them (except for a few, slightly embarrassed, sidelong glances), watching as I thrust my aching cock in and out of Yarım sopping cunny.

I don't know how long we stayed in that position, but it felt like forever. Yarım was on her back while I thrust my cock wildly into her, her breasts rolling up and bumping her chin. Metres was kneeling next to us, her fingers flying around her cunny, her other hand grasping her nipples while she moaned. On the far side of the bed Tutuklu and her daughter finger each other's cunnies while they moaned and watched on the bed. We were all pulled forward on the strength of our arousal, unable to hold ourselves back.

I might have gone on forever, pounding away at my half-sister's cunny, if not for Metres. I was sweating and panting so hard I felt like I was going to collapse, I did not feel like I was anywhere close to finishing. I wondered if I would collapse before I could cum. But, as I was dealing with this thought, I saw Metres hand slip from her breast and reach down. In a very rapid motion, her palm came to rest on the soft, warm expanse of her daughter's heaving breast. Her fingers fumbled briefly, before finding Yarım's nipple, squeezing and pulling on it excitedly.

For some reason, this vision or a mother grasping at the breast of her daughter, to give them each pleasure, was too much for me. It sent me instantly over the edge. The wave came crashing down on top of me before I could even see it coming. But, more importantly, it seemed to have triggered something in the room. Because even as I heard my voice moaning loudly and felt my body beginning to tremble, I could hear and see the other women reacting as well. It seemed that Metres action had triggered everyone in unison, even Tutuklu and Fahişe were moaning and writhing on the bed. I could feel Yarım's cunny contracting tightly around my body. All of us, reaching the supreme state of pleasure at the same time with no thought of the propriety of the action. If anything, rebelling against the world to experience illicit pleasure. We all reach the same, shattering crescendo at the same moment. The last thought I had was to pull my cock from Yarım's body, just as I could feel my seed begin to well, facing the tip of my cock towards the woman's large breasts.

The next thing that I saw was thick, white spurts of my seed shooting from my cock and splashing against Yarım's body. It was a surprising amount, especially because I had already finished earlier. It was like I had channeled the excitement of all four other women, and that I was releasing their desires as well. The seed landed on Yarım's stomach, pooled in her bellybutton, splashed across her breasts, and even landed in the hollow of her neck before my body finally grew tired and I collapsed, panting, next to Yarım. 

After a brief moment, I could hear the other women panting as well and giggling at the actions that had occurred. When I felt able, I sat up on the bed and look looked at the women sitting around me. Metres no longer had her hand on her daughter's breasts and Tutuklu no longer had her leg draped over her daughter's. Fahişe no longer hand her hand in her mother's lap. But any discomfort we had felt at the beginning was gone. We felt only the intense relaxation that came with having had our share of pleasure. I looked down at Yarım's body in particular and saw her smiling, contented, while coated in her sticky reward. Once last thought flittered through my mind.

"Metres," I said, "Why don't you collect the seed with your hands and drink it down. It is a mother's duty to clean her daughter." Metres smiled devilishly, no longer constrained by her former shame. She raised her hand back to her daughter's breasts, scooping up the seed with her fingers. Yarım groaned slightly at her mother's touch. Metres then lifted the finger to her mouth, pushing it into her lips before returning her hand to her daughter's body. She seemed to savor my flavor on her tongue and I heard her swirling it around before swallowing it back down when a new finger-full of seed was ready for her lips.

I watched as Metres, giggling, cleaned her daughter. I saw Yarım soaking in her mother's attention and enjoying the sensation of being cleaned. I also noticed that Tutuklu and her daughter were watching together, contentedly. They were holding hands and their heads were leaned together passively. 

And while we all watched, I my upcoming wedding suddenly popped into my mind. I guess I should not have been surprised, but I was. I knew that the situation would be far different in a few days when I took Nislani to bed after the wedding. I was indifferent to Yarım and Metres, while I actively dislike Nislani. Perhaps more importantly, the taboo of incest felt stronger with my sister than it did with my half-sister and my aunt. This had been a tiny fraction of the problem I would face in the near future. 




The Sultanah Ch. 09



But still, as the afterglow of my orgasm faded, I felt somewhat relieved. There were parallels here that I could draw on, despite the differences. I did not have to like my sister to feel physical pleasure in coupling with her. I had seen two women experience physical pleasure with their mothers because it was ordered. They had no desired it, at least at first. But they were bound and required to feel pleasure. And, if anything, they seemed glad that it had happened. Their initial disgust had, in fact, been overcome by the physical pleasure they felt. 

I did not hold out hope that this would occur with Nislani. I did not expect that I would enjoy the emotional and mental aspects of what was to come. I knew that even if I...placed my cock in Nislani that I would still not like her. My disgust could not be overcome because it was stronger than simply taboo. But I didn't have to, I knew now that it was possible to do my duty. If Metres could grasp her daughter's breast and Tutuklu could stroke her daughter's clitoris, then I could begat an heir. And, as Metres licked the last of the seed from her finger (which she had pulled from her daughter's bellybutton) I knew that I would.

End Chapter 9

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 10



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 10 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl. In Chapter 8, Varis is briefly engaged and kills her fiancé for betraying her. In Chapter 9, Varis slept with a member of the harem, her half-sister, while her aunt watched.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 10: The Ceremony

It was only a matter of time now before it happened, there was really no way to stop it now. I didn't know that I wanted to stop it, but the option had passed. So I sat nervously in my throne in the reception hall of the palace, staring at the front door and waiting for it to open. Every time my eyes closed I prayed that it would still be shut when my eyes opened. But I also wanted it to be open, to be able to get everything over with. I just wanted it to begin. 

I was not waiting for the inevitable argument with Nislani. That had already happened. It had been about three hours before the set starting time for the wedding when it happened. I was sitting in my private room with Arkadas. She was applying my make-up so that I could look like a traditional bride in the manner dictated by Gunes. I had agonized for a long time about whether I should dress as a 'man' for the ceremony but I had ultimately decided that I had sacrificed enough and that two brides would be appropriate for the wedding. I was sitting on my bed in a loose-fitting robe with my eyes closed and Arkadas was carefully applying shadow to my eyes while seated on a chair next to me. I heard the door fly open and crash into the wall, but I kept my eyes closed. I had been expecting this for days. I was actually surprised it had taken this long.

"I am not supposed to see you yet," I said coolly. Arkadas had paused and I could tell she was looking at my sister standing in the doorway, "Keep going," I said to her.

"She isn't even dressed or made-up yet!" Arkadas whispered to me, "You know how long she takes for everything. She won't be ready." I kept my eyes closed. 

Arkadas seemed genuinely distraught about it. Her attitude leading up to my wedding had been surprisingly supportive. She had been afraid, I think, that I would find a love that would replace her friendship (our love, while still physical, had mutually never progressed beyond the point of friendship). While she sympathized with the emotional and physical difficulty I would have with marrying my sister, she seemed certain now that she would not be replaced. She would remain my greatest confidant and friend and so she was not concerned. While her interests were therefore quite narrow, I admit I leaned heavily on her in those weeks, supported by her commitment to me.

"Stop whispering about me you...slave!" Nislani said, her voice coming out petulant and childish. I sighed as Arkadas responded.

"Don't speak to me in that fashion!" she shot back quickly. I raised my hand slowly, not wishing to see this devolve any further.

"Nislani. Do not abuse Arkadas. She is the only person in this palace who doesn't already despise you. You would do well to treat her nicely," I said with a bored voice. But, despite my outward calm, I could feel excitement in my chest. I did not know what the result of this interview would be, but in my growing anticipation I had hoped it would clarify something when it inevitably came. It would somehow...make whatever happened next the obvious choice.

"I am glad everyone hates me!" Nislani yelled back, "If your degenerate friends and cronies liked me I would count myself a pervert!" I could hear her stomping closer now and, once again, Arkadas stopped applying makeup.

"Comb my hair or something then," I ordered her. I felt Arkadas crawl onto the bed behind me and start to stroke at my long hair. My sister sat down on the chair across from me. I kept my eyes closed to maintain the tradition and also to show my sister that her concerns were of little note to me. Perhaps more importantly, I did not know what I would do if I saw her.

"Sister," I began, "Why are you here?" My voice sounded weary, though I had not intended it. Nislani sighed loudly.

"Are you serious?" she asked, "Why the...fuck do you think I am here, sister." The last word was spat out in sniveling mockery of my own voice.

"I don't know, not getting ready for the wedding," I shot back in the same vein.

"We are three hours from the scheduled start," she replied.

"I know. You don't have a lot of time," I said.

"When are you going to...spring whatever trap this is. I am tired of being in the dark," she responded. I let that statement hang for a second. I was not sure what it meant.

"Trap?" I asked.

"Yeah, whatever game you're playing or con you are running, just tell me so I can stop going through with all of this stupid nonsense," she replied. 

"Nislani, what are you talking about? What scheme?"

"I don't know you haven't told me!"

"I don't understand what you are talking about, what plan? We are getting...married in a couple of hours. That is the end of it!"

"You can't just tell me now? I have done everything you asked, I won't screw it up," she responded.

"You are screwing it up because you are not getting ready. That is literally all you have to do today!"

"Why?"

"So we can get married! Why else?"

"Don't fuck with me Varis. This is like your thing with Cardinal Rahip or the thing to lift the siege. I thought you were serious at first but the more I thought about it the less sense it made. You don't like me and I don't like you. Getting married...we are sisters! It makes no sense. But then I started thinking that you are so devious and crafty, you always have schemes going on. So you want people to think we are getting married for some reason. I didn't understand it, but I don't have to understand it. Once I figured that out, I just went along with everything. I keep waiting for you to do whatever it is you are going to do. But I can't stand it anymore. You have to tell me, we are getting too close and I am getting nervous," Nislani spat out all of this theory and paranoia in one long stream of words. 

When she was done, I was actually somewhat impressed with her imagination, her creativity. She had completely convinced herself that this was some sort of conspiratorial plot. That I was using our wedding as a ruse to achieve some other action. I almost laughed. I wished I had figured out some way to make her right.

"Nislani..."

"Don't say it isn't true, I know it is," she said, before I could explain. Her words indicated a certainty that her voice could not back up. She was essentially begging me to admit that there was some secret plan. This was the last, delusional refuge of a desperate woman.

"In three hours, Cin is going to perform the marriage ceremony. Under the laws of the realm, that wedding will be legal. I will no longer be on the hook for a dowry for a virginal sister and I will have a spouse to begat me heirs. That is the plan. The scheme. The whole thing," I said.

"No, but..."

"Nislani. That is the only plan," I interrupted. I kept my eyes closed and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. My heart was humming. I didn't feel good about this either. And Nislani was dredging it all up. But now she was sitting quietly. For several minutes, the only sound I heard was the slight tearing noise of a coarse brush running through my hair while Arkadas combed me. But I could sense that Nislani was present, she had not moved. She was simply stewing in her anger. Finally, 

"You're fucking disgusting." She did not scream. She spoke in a defeated, incredulous voice, "You want this. You hate me so much that you would do this to me. You probably meet with all the ladies at court, talk about it, to laugh it up." Now the heat in my cheeks grew more intense and it was my turn to unleash a little righteous fury.

"Do you think I have time to sorry about whether or not I hate you? You child. When we were both children, I hated you. Now I don't even think about you. You are a luxury I do not have. I no more ordered you to marry me out of hatred than I did out of love. This is politically necessary. I cannot justify any action in my life anymore that is not politically necessary. I cannot do anything just out of spite just like I cannot do anything just on a joyful whim. You think that I want this? You think I want to humiliate myself before the world by marrying my sister? Do you think that I want to fuck you? I absolutely do not and you are a moron if you think otherwise."

"You are the Sultanah, you get to do whatever you want, don't act like..." Nislani began.

"I am the Sultanah. I get to do whatever I need. I get to do my duty. I have not, as Varis, been able to do anything I want for a very long time. There are knives at my throat every second of every day. I wade through blood up to my knees just to gain the right to breathe tomorrow. I have to commit heinous acts and bear the moral responsibility on my soul because my empire demands it. I ruin myself so that others can live. I fight every day and I do it for you. I do it for my family and for the dynasty we represent. I have lost everything to be the Sultanah. I have nothing. You lose the chance to have one fancy wedding party with a handsome man at your side and you lose your cunny a few nights of your life. Your sacrifice is nothing compared to mine." 

I unleashed everything. Every stray thought I had had for weeks, all of my resentments and my fears about my current situation. I poured it out hot and thick. As the last of the words spilled from my lips I felt totally drained. I could barely lift my head. I had already proven to myself that I could do my duty, but I was letting Nislani know that I didn't have to like it. As the whirring in my ears died down, I could hear Nislani sobbing on the chair next to me.

"Well I guess if you're unhappy, then it is okay that I am. If you are miserable because you have a cock and are an heir then I should be miserable too. You don't know what they are saying about me out there Varis. Not about you, they are afraid of you or respect you or something because you're ruthless. But what they say about me... All I have ever cared about it my place at court, you know that. You're destroying it!"

"I am already ruined, I cannot shed tears for you," I shot back. I did not really understand what she was talking about. I had heard nothing at court. Though, admittedly I ran in different circles that Nislani and, perhaps more importantly, courtiers tended not to tell me the truth. Regardless, her little troubles with her stupid little friends were beneath my concern. Her self-respect was inconsequential compared to the needs of the Empire.

"You aren't ruining me because you have the power, you are ruining me because your jealous of my freedom, is that it?" she sobbed. Something in her words stung. She was wrong, I knew that. My primary motivation was simply to solve a series of political problems. But I was jealous. I had not been all that much more grown than her just a few months ago. I had been shuffling off my childhood rapidly. And I was jealous. I had all of the cares in the world and Nislani was in a state of innocence and I did begrudge her that. Maybe that made my duty a little easier to stomach, I didn't know. 

"It doesn't matter why. You don't get to ask why. Our father is dead, I am his heir. You are bound to obey me," I said, tired.

"Funny that you would even mention father. Nothing like this would have happened if he were alive," she said morosely, the tears nearly choking her voice. Inadvertently, her words crystalized something in my mind. I thought of my father, and the kingdom he bequeathed to me. I thought about all his attempts and machinations, his various failures. The failure of his will. While the personal parts of myself would still regret the future, Nislani's allusion to our father clearly indicated the correct action for Sultanah.

"It would not have. And he is dead and his Empire is a tiny speck of dust, inconsequential in world politics. And this is because Father and his forbearers, for hundreds of years, have been afraid to do their duty. I will do what I have to in order to save this Empire. I am no longer afraid. I will not let my own emotions get in the way. I will be the Sultanah that this empire needs. And you be the consort it needs," I said. I did not add "or else" but I suppose I could have. I don't know what my threat would have been, but this was not optional. I had allowed myself this brief opportunity to complain, to give my sister all of the reasons why my life was almost unbearable, but now it was time to stop whining. It was time to act in the best interests of others. That was my role.

"I don't want to do this Varis. I don't want to...I cannot take this. You have to make it stop. I don't want this." Nislani said, her voice breaking. This was not simply a childish fit. I could hear the sincerity in her voice, the pleading nature of her statement. I was surprised to find I was slightly affected by her despair. I still did not see her, but I could feel the physical force of her sincerity. It was powerful. But not enough; the die was cast. I ignored my sympathy just as easily as I ignored my own despair.

"Neither do I," I replied. I opened my eyes now and saw Nislani staring at me, deflated. I could not see Nislani, but I could sense something across the void, something in the silence that was different than the stony defiance before. I don't know what it was. The anger or sense of injustice seemed to have fled from her. I felt her thinking about the situation from my point of view. I saw her realizing that we were both lost, "But our choices are to marry and live or give up and die. I am not being dramatic. We live on a knife's edge. Go get ready," I said, "Arkadas, get back to my eyes." Nislani was still crying, but I heard her get up from the chair, defeated. She moved slowly out of the room.

So no, I was not waiting for Nislani's blow-up, she had let it all out. And I was not waiting for the wedding ceremony either. That had also already happened. 

Three hours later I was standing on the balcony where I had once been crowned before my people. It was an absolutely still, windless day. There was not a cloud in the cerulean sky and the sun was shining down from the highest point in its daily journey. 

Once again, I was preparing for a sacred rite that was to be witnessed before my subjects. They were standing far below me, in the public squares and stretching back into the filthy streets beyond. There were more of them present this time, people had come in from the countryside to view the wedding. Whatever personal discomfort they might have at witnessing a sibling wedding, they had come to trust me. Further, they were at least somewhat familiar with Imperial history. They knew that if a sibling wedding was inappropriate for a 'normal' person, it could be justified for royalty. Further, their desire for a celebration likely overwhelmed whatever moral qualms they might possess.

The Peers were also present. The Executive Assembly and the more powerful lords and their ladies sat on the balcony in front of me. Chairs had been specially arranged for the purpose. These dignitaries included both Loyalists and Collaborationists dressed in their finest clothing. Lord Sadik, as the Chancellor, sat in a place of honor. He was flanked by Sir Sakşakçı and his wife on one side and Duke Göstermelik and the Duchess on the other. However, Duke Hain and Lord Örnek and their wives were also close by, looking excited to be present. The members of the Peerage who could not fit on the balcony were placed just inside or even in rooms on higher floors of the palace, where they could look down on the ceremony.

The only other people on the balcony were the priestesses who would perform the sacred rite, Cin, Agiz and Got. They were wearing their traditional red robes and looked far more comfortable than anyone else on the balcony. Cin had been supremely jealous that I had thought of the marriage to Nislani. She had taken credit in a small way, by saying my idea showed that she had been successful in leading me towards Gunes. She had spent weeks in her library, researching previous sibling marriages in the Gunes tradition to ensure that this particular marriage would meet the exact specifications necessary. Every aspect of the ceremony had been planned by the priestess, from the red bunting strewn around the outside of the palace to the arrangement of the nobles in a semi-circular pattern around the balcony.

I had been announced before my arrival and I was standing near the edge of the balcony next to the priestesses. I was facing the nobles and my side was turned towards the people in the streets below. I had already waved to the people when I arrived.

I was wearing a traditional wedding dress, the likes of which had not been worn in hundreds of years. It was red, as was tradition, a very deep blood red that was slightly darker than the outfits worn by the priestesses. However dress, perhaps, is not an accurate description of the outfit. It included a long, tight red skirt that fell about three quarters of the way down my calves with short, gold tassels that tickled the tops of my bare feet. The skirt hung low on my body with the waistband actually riding around my body at the widest parts of my hips. The top curve of my ass (while not, thank Gunes, the crack) was exposed as it rose up to my back. Several inches of flesh were exposed below my bellybutton. In fact, my cock began just an inch or so below the hem of the skirt. 




The Sultanah Ch. 10



The expanse of flesh from the hem of the skirt to my top was vast. The feminine curve of my hips down to my narrow waist was clearly visible. As was the gentle slope of my torso back out as my body rose towards my breasts. The top itself was the same color as the skirt. It was, essentially, a very tight half-shirt. It had very short sleeves, barely more than a tank top. The fabric stretch across my back and was clasped together in the front between my breasts. There were no cups in the shirt to hold my breasts, in fact the bottoms of them poked out of the bottom of the shirt. The shirt was tight, however, and squeezed my breast into place. The clasp in the middle was just a single, small hook and eye. Above that clasp, the top clung tightly to my skin. However, there was not much fabric and my cleavage was exposed to my guests. Several gold tassels hung from the hemlines all around the top.

The only jewelry I wore was a small gold necklace with a ruby pendant that sat directly between my breasts. The exposure of my cleavage and the low-hanging necklace accentuated my neck, making it look long and regal. My hair was left completely unencumbered, flowing down my back and over my shoulders after being parted in the middle. A small, cloth ring was placed in my hair and my red veil hung down over my face from there.

With respect to my face, Arkadas had done an admirable job of applying make-up in the traditional fashion. She had applied powder to my face, lightening my olive skin slightly to make the rest of the make-up appear starker. My lips had been painted a deep red color, making my teeth appear particularly white. She had applied dark red eyeshadow to dramatically accentuate my eyes and offset this with a thick mascara that made my eyelashes look particularly long. Arkadas had done a splendid job of ensuring that everything, from my eyebrows to the powder on my chin, was just so. I had a symmetrical and alluring appearance that seemed more of an ideal than an actual human form. My face appeared more severe but also more beautiful than I had ever seen it before. I appeared as Gunes must have appeared.

These positive feeling about my appearance (so deliciously exposed and so desirable to everyone around me) was the only thing keeping me in place and secure. I could feel myself channeling Gunes as I wore her prescribed clothing and make-up. This allowed me to stand still and prepare to do my duty. Without it, I don't know that I would have been strong enough to go through with it, even knowing the stakes. 

Perhaps Cin truly had the gift of prophecy and she could sense that, it we did not begin immediately, that I would flee from this place and all of my responsibilities. Or maybe she was simply excited about the prospect of a wedding performed in the "old" manner. Regardless, I had only been standing on the balcony, listening to the cheers of my people and looking at the face of my Peers, for a few moments when Cin turned to the crowd and raised both of her arms high above her head. She then launched easily into her prepared remarks, an amalgamation of what Priestesses had been saying at Royal weddings for centuries before the arrival of Tanri. 

"People of Şehir! Subjects of Ülke! Vassals of Bütün Dünya, welcome!" A great cheer rose up from the crowd and Cin walked over to the edge of the balcony so that she could see them more closely. I followed her movements carefully with my eyes. Each syllable she uttered caused a jolt in my stomach and made my heart flutter faster. I felt dizzy and my eyes, involuntarily, closed. I breathed deeply, trying not to think about what was about to happen, and I leaned on Cin's words, trying to listen to the reassuring sound of her voice without hearing the content.

"It is my honor and privilege to be with you on this day, to witness the extension of our illustrious Hanedan Dynasty and to usher in a rebirth for our great Empire!" This was also met with cheers and Cin soaked it in. I gazed over towards the palace, looking for the door where Nislani was waiting. I wondered what she would do when the time came.

"Rebirth. The rejuvenation and reawakening of our Empire starts with the rebirth of the traditions that made this Empire great. Centuries ago, the traditional ways of doing things were never question. People worshipped the Sun God because they knew no other God was present. And, at the same time, they served the power of the Empire because they knew that no other early power was present. When unified, Gunes and the Empire were unconquerable. The armies of the Empire spread out over the world and everywhere found victory, honor, and glory. In thanksgiving for these victories, the Sultans and their subjects praised Gunes and spread the message of the Sun God. The armies of the Empire spread the true religion all over the world and the fidelity of the Empire to Gunes brought peace and prosperity to all Imperial subjects, even the new conquered peoples," Cin's voice sounded almost orgasmic, taken away with the glories of the past. She then dropped her head dramatically, sighing.

"It is impossible to pinpoint an instant when reckless doubt and childish ignorance upset this perfect partnership. Scholars have debated the causes for centuries already. Some believed that life in the Empire was too good, that a decadent people believed they no longer needed the Sun God's guidance. Others believed that minor setbacks in the Empire's fortunes caused fickle Sultans to forget the blessings of Gunes. There are thousands of other suggestions. It is not important.

"What is important is that through the centuries, our Sultans have slipped away from the traditions that bound the dynasty to Gunes and, as a result, bound our Empire to this Earth. First in surprise and then in wrath, Gunes then turned on the Empire, seeking to induce the Sultans to see the error of their ways. The Sultans, unbound from the Sun God, found that their Empire had been nearly wrenched from the surface of the Earth. The God-given authority of the Emperors has been usurped by heretical fools in faraway cities. The sacred place ignored and false idols venerated by idiots. All earthly authority slipping away as spiritual authority was ignored.

"The fortunes of the Empire have always been tied to the fortunes of Gunes. As Imperial ignorance of the true religion faded, the Empire faded. As if to represent this collapse of earthly authority, the Blood of Gunes drained from the veins of the Hanedan Dynasty like an hourglass draining sand. Gunes Blood was debased and diluted by the blood of foreign harlots and sacrilegious whores. It seemed inevitable that the last few grains of sand, the last few drops of blood, would drain from the Hanedan line, all hope of reconciliation with Gunes would be extinguished, and the Empire would fade into history," Cin's voice grew low as she spoke. It almost seemed that she was on the verge of tears and her sincerity overrode my annoyance that my mother and grandmothers were referred to as 'whores' and 'harlots." The people had grown completely hushed and they seemed to lean in towards the stage, needing to hear what Cin was saying and believing it in their hearts.

"But," Cin said, her voice perking up suddenly, "Just as it is always darkest before the dawn, in our most dire straits, a new light burst forth onto the world. The light of the Sun, augmented by the light of two shooting stars, has shaken the Imperial line from its ignorance and apathy. A new Sultanah has risen, versed in the history of the Empire and cognizant of the reality of Gunes' blessings. Sultanah Varis I," and as she spoke a great cheer went up from the people and I smiled despite myself, "has re-forged the bond between the Hanedan line and the Sun God. She has returned to the old traditions and has set the Empire, once again, on the path to glory.

"Today, the Sultanah has asked you to be present to witness the symbolic re-affirmation of that re-forged bond. Today, two daughters of Gunes, possessing the very blood of the Sun God, will be wed. Their blood will mix in a child, an heir to the Hanedan line. The debasement of the Royal Blood will cease. And, as centuries pass, the blood of Gunes will once again concentrate in the veins of our illustrious Sultans. And just as Sultanah Varis I will wed Princess Nislani today, the Hanedan Dynasty will symbolically renew its marriage with Gunes. And, just as this wedding will bring glory to our Sultanah and her wife, the marriage of Gunes and the Royal family will bring glory to Bütün Dünya!" 

And once again, Cin raised her hands high above the ground, everyone cheered loudly, almost wildly. Though many likely missed the meaning of some of Cin's words, they could feel what she was saying. She was saying that this marriage would be blessed by the Sun God and that it would make their lives better. And they were ready for it.

"Will the Princess Nislani please come forward?" Cin bellowed and the crowd roared louder. I turned and looked once again at the door to the palace. I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen. I was still waiting for something to change, some accident of time or place that would allow me a way out of this prison that I had built for myself. Part of me wanted Nislani to have run away. To go somewhere and never return. It would be an absolute disaster for the Empire. But it would not be my fault.

A guard reached over to the door and grabbed the knob, pulling it open quickly. Standing in the doorway, dressed exactly as I was and wearing identical make-up, was my sister Nislani. In addition to her red eyeshadow, her eyes themselves were red from crying and her shoulders were slightly hunched. It was clear that she wished she was anywhere else in the world (she barely reacted to the massive cheer in her favor) but she had resolved, as I had, to do her duty. I had broken when we spoke, her last delusion run out. She had no mind for intrigue, no way to escape her fate. I took a breath.

Agiz and Got walked across the balcony rapidly until they were standing on either side of Nislani. They took her arms in theirs and began to walk her over towards me. I was struck by Nislani's beauty, though I felt a bit narcissistic in that thought because she looked so much like me. She had the same flow of wide hips, the same pert breasts squeezed into the small shirt, the same hair, the same eyes, even a remarkably similar face. Nonetheless, I had never seen my sister look more beautiful and I realized why my father had believed her to be such a prize on the international marriage market.

In a few seconds, Agiz and Got had returned to Cin's side. They had deposited Nislani directly next to me. We were separated by only a foot or two but Nislani would not acknowledge me. Her head was bowed and her eyes were closed. She was whispering something to herself, I assumed it was encouragement. I had ordered her to be here and she was, I could not demand that she enjoy the proceedings. I did not plan on enjoying them myself. I owed my sister a debt, for conquering her childishness and doing her duty as a Princess. I felt the first soft feelings I had experienced for her in a very long time.

"Varis Hanedan, I present to you, Nislani Hanedan, your betrothed," Cin called out over the crowd. Another great cheer rose up. As was required, I reached my right hand over and took Nislani's hand. Her fingers were icy cold and she did not react to my touch. She continued to whisper silently to herself. If Cin noticed, she gave no indication and continued on.

"Varis Hanedan, do you accept this presentation?" she asked me. I looked at my sister, so beautiful and distraught. I almost laughed as a thought rushed to my brain. Nislani was my Empire, brittle, unyielding, difficult, and on the verge of collapse. I loved it despite myself. And I guess her.

"I accept her," I said, my voice sounding clearer than I believed possible.

"Nislani Hanedan, do you accept your betrothed as she is presented?" Cin asked and my sister made no movement. Cin waited patiently, but Nislani simply mumbled to herself. There was absolute stillness in the air and the crowd around us had grown entirely silent. Cin looked at my sister angrily, apparently thinking that she was purposefully ruining the ceremony. I quickly realized that Nislani was not even listening. I squeezed her hand very tightly, my muscles contracting to the point that they ached. Nislani jumped and let out a quiet whimper. She looked at me, anger in her eyes. I quickly motioned my head toward Cin, who was staring daggers at my sister.

"I accept her," Nislani said, her voice sounding weak and uncertain. But in the absolute stillness, her voice carried out over the crowd. I was surprised by the feelings I felt as Nislani spoke. I was, to a certain extent, disappointed. I had hoped that Nislani would figure out a way out of it. A larger part of me was relieved, the trouble was past and the deed was done. But the greatest part of me felt something else. Pride. I had made this happen despite everything, despite my own wishes. It felt...good. Cin seemed to agree.

"As the Sun above us shines down in unequaled splendor, so do the blessings of Gunes fall on this pair. Feel the sunlight dissolve the ephemeral borders that separate you. Feel the heat of this day forge you once again into a single being. And what Gunes has joined, let no man tear asunder," Cin said, completing the prayer. Her smile was so wide it threatened to tear her face, "Sultanah Varis, you may now kiss your bride."

I woodenly turned and face my sister. She did not move, but I pulled gently on her hand. Her eyes were still closed and her head was still bowed, but she slowly turned to face in my direction. Her shoulders were rising and falling slowly and I could tell she was trying to control her breathing. I reached my left hand over and placed it on my sister's chin. Her skin felt cold and somewhat clammy. I placed some pressure on her chin. Her head rose in a hard, jerking fashion until her face was directed towards mine. Her eyes were still closed and her lips were still moving. 

I looked briefly over at Cin. She still looked triumphant and was staring out at the crowd. She noticed my reluctance and looked at my sister. She shrugged slightly and indicated with her head, telling me to continue. I sighed and looked back at my sister. I slipped my hand off of Nislani's chin, I slid it back across her cheek, finding the back of her neck. Her skin here also felt cold, though it was smooth and pleasant to touch. I looked once more at my sister's face, but she continued to ignore everything. I closed my eyes and titled my head. I leaned in forward towards my sister. I tried to pull her in towards me, but she stayed unmoved. 

After a moment, I felt my lips press into my sister's. They felt cold, almost hard to the touch and she did not return the kiss. I kept my lips on hers for several seconds. After first, I did not believe that she even noticed that I was kissing her. But then, I felt, against my cheek, a slight wetness. A tear had dripped from my sister's eye, run down her cheek, and touched my face. It was her only protest. I quickly broke our kiss and backed away.

"I now pronounce you married!" Cin declared.

And so no, I was not waiting for my marriage ceremony either, it was legally done, my sister was my wife. No, I was waiting instead for the consummation of that ceremony. The final rite to ensure the perpetuation of my dynasty.

I did not know exactly when it would happen. In fact, I had believed it would have happened already. The reception for my wedding had already been going on for several hours. It had started first in the streets. As soon as Cin had declared my marriage to Nislani, my subjects became absolutely ecstatic. The cheering and jubilation seemed to stretch the city to its limits. Only after they had shouted themselves hoarse, did the people move on to the actual celebration. All of the city squares were made available to them. Food was purchased at my expense and distributed in the city. The water in the city fountains was replaced with wine. Minstrels and musicians of all kind had flooded into the city and dances and impromptu theater had broken out all over.

The celebrations within the palaces had started scarcely any later. Entire floors of the building were given over to celebration. Kardes and Cin had overseen every aspect of the planning. Food, drink, and spices of every imaginable kind were found in great abundance. I had hired the finest musicians and most skilled singers to entertain my honored guests. No one from outside of the Empire had been invited, so those present were the members of my own Peerage, present to celebrate my marriage and drink for free. 

The most honored noble guests were those who had been selected to eat in the throne room. I sat in the front of that room with my wife, Nislani, by my side. The magnates drank my wine and toasted Nislani and me often. A section of the room had been set aside for dancing and many of the magnates had danced with their wives (and each other's daughters). The room was overflowing with the sounds of conversation and the tinkling of glasses. The food in the throne room was the most exquisite kind and had been purchased dearly in these rough times. But the two most honored attendees of the reception did not partake. I was far too nervous to think of eating anything. Nislani had not spoken since the end of the ceremony, she looked down at her food listlessly did not acknowledge the world around her. Perhaps that was for the best.

I was just beginning to think that Cin had made some change to the order of events, when the rear door of the throne room open loudly and loud bell could be heard ringing out over the noise of the crowd. Slowly, the magnates in the throne room became aware of the ringing bell and grew quiet. The revelry of the other people in the palace, outside the throne room, as well as the peasants in the streets, could easily be heard, but the room itself was silent. Smiles began to appear on drunken, reddened faces and I saw lascivious old men wink at one another and trade hushed, bawdy remarked. I felt a lump form in my throat and my knees instinctively locked together.

I turned and looked at the sound of the opening door. I saw the Guardian Party standing at the door. There were nine members of the Party: Cin, Agiz, Got, Kardes, and the five wives of the members of the Executive Assembly. The Guardian Party had been invented centuries earlier as an institution to ensure the consummation of royal marriage. To ensure that the, often unwilling, parties actually engaged in sexual intercourse on the night of the marriage, representatives from both families (sometimes even fathers or mothers) would enter the bridal chamber on the first night and watch. At first, there had been no ceremonial aspect of the act; it had simply been a practical requirement, to ensure that the wedding was legal. However, over the centuries, many rituals had been attached to the process such that the entire event had become extremely formal.

And the first part of the tradition was that the Guardian Party was to burst in on the husband and bride in the midst of the wedding reception and drag them to their bed chambers. This was done quickly and with great mirth. The other people at the reception would scream out good-natured obscenities and predict the actions that would occur that evening. And, my Guardian Party was no different.

The nine members of the Party, with Cin in the lead, rushed to the table and grabbed at my arms and legs. Other women rushed at Nislani. It was customary for the bride and groom to put up some token resistance and, in the interest of tradition, I struggled somewhat as the women began to lift me. I even cried out slightly against the catcalls in the room. Nislani, on the other hand, went limp as the women grabbed her, and they pulled her easily out of the room and into the hallway leading to my chambers. I followed behind her and the door was closed, leaving the rest of the reception to their party and leaving me with ten of the most important women in the realm.




The Sultanah Ch. 10



Nislani looked particularly aggrieved to see the Guardian Party. I assumed that she simply knew what their arrival meant. Though, I suppose I should have been aware that there was more. I should have thought about what Nislani had said earlier, during out argument. Nislani had her reasons to dislike the Guardian Party. Not the entire party, but instead, the wives of the Barons (save for Kukla). Before my father's death she had run in the same circles as the younger wives (amongst others). They had, in many ways, grown up together. When my father died and our position became precarious, they had let Nislani know in no uncertain terms that she was no longer as worthy of their friendship as she had been before. I knew some of this, I suppose, but did not think much of it. She had assumed their affection was genuine and was crushed to find it so...conditional. Regardless, she had been weak in her will and still desired to be a part of the most exclusive circles and was allowed to tag along, humiliatingly, as a charity case. 

These women took every opportunity to deride her and humiliate her. I later learned that when it was announced that she and I would wed, they had scornfully tossed her out of the group entirely, claiming she was beneath contempt. Laughing, as they did so, at her despair. Part of her discomfort at the wedding had been anticipating not just her first night with me, but the fact that her tormentors would be present. This disdain had been what finally sent her into my chambers that morning. Now, as they looked on scornfully at her final humiliation, Nislani seemed to break. She was already humiliated in their eyes, brutalized and de-humanized by their hatred. The same thing that had caused me to rise to the occasion, to become the Sultanah, had crushed my younger sister. 

But I had only the smallest inkling of these events at the time. I was more focused on what the nine women had in mind than their status as my sister's former clique. I should note, it was not common for women to constitute all, or even the majority, of the Guardian Party. This had been a somewhat contentious issues in the weeks leading up to my marriage. While there was no dynastic need for a Guardian Party (no foreign family was ensuring their daughter was properly 'accepted.') there were still those who wanted to ensure that the marriage was consummated. Those people included Cin and the various Lords. They wanted to know that I would do what was necessary to ensure the perpetuation of my dynasty. I believed that many Collaborationists hoped that I would be unable to perform, thereby giving them a pretext to depose me in favor of someone willing to begat an heir. 

However, no one could determine the propriety of allowing men to witness my wedding night. While men were usually present, these men exclusively had an interest in the new wife present. Specifically, it would be the girl's father, brother, uncle, or (more commonly) some representative of the same. The only man present from the groom's side would be the groom himself. Here, Nislani and I, obviously, came from the same family. Further, there were no men left in our family. If there were, we would not be married. After long debate in the Executive Assembly it was decided that Cin and her fellow priestesses would be present as representatives of Gunes, Kardes would be present as a neutral representative of the Hanedan dynasty, and the wives of the Executive Assembly members would be present to represent the interests of the nobility. These women could be trusted to guard the interests of the peerage without affecting my sister's dignity.

And so, as we tumbled wildly into my room, Cin, Agiz, Got, and Kardes rapidly pushed me over toward my bed while Duchesses Hain and Göstermelik along with Ladies Örnek, Sadik, and Kukla Sakşakçı took Nislani into the privy for preparation. Once I was on the bed, the priestesses essentially attacked me. In a few moments, my wedding garments were lying on a pile on the floor. I was completely naked on the bed, my cock hanging limp between my legs and my nipples hardened by the sudden caress of cool, evening air. As soon as they had completed their task, the priestesses smilingly piled off of the bed. I noticed that Kardes carefully avoided gazing at my body, but I could see her cheeks were red. This would be terrible for her as well, as the representative of our family. The things she would have to see!

Now that I had been forcibly disrobed, the next stage in the highly formalized process could begin. There was a knock. It was not on the outside door, but instead coming from the privy, where my sister had just been taken. Kardes, fulfilling her role as the family representative, spoke.

"Enter," she said, her voice sounding tight and nervous. Regardless, the women in the privy opened the door and burst in, heading to my bed. They walked out in order of importance, with Lady Sadik come out first, as the wife of the Chancellor. The other women filed out slowly. With the exception of Duchess Hain, they were young, vibrant, attractive women. They were second or third wives, my age and younger. 

The last lady to enter was my former love, Kukla. She gave me a wry smile and a wink as she exited the privy. In fact, they were all looking at me closely. They, of course, knew about my anatomical abnormality, there were no mysteries left in the Empire. But, despite their efforts to behave as though they were not shocked by my appearance, I could see their unease in their eyes. Kukla, of course, was less the least affected. The other four women had mixtures of curiosity, disgust, and excitement on their face. A combination I knew well. Lady Sadik blushed uncontrollably and Duchess Hain had a simpering smile on her face. Despite their intense interest in my body, they continued to walk towards me and eventually, when all of the ladies were standing at the foot of my bed, the turned to the privy.

"Consort Nislani has been inspected and her virginity is confirmed," Lady Sadik said (though this was actually no longer done, it was simply stated. She was a virgin since marriage, and that was sufficient for the law).

"Then she may enter," Kardes said and we all looked toward the privy door. Glassy-eyed, Nislani stepped out into my bedroom. I let out a deep breath. Unprotected and nervous, Nislani had an innocent beauty that I had never noticed before. Her eyes were so wide, her face so naïve, she looked younger than her 18 years. Her body looked remarkably like mine, though still encapsulated in her wedding dress. Her breasts were the same size and sat high on her chest, she had the same delicate arms, the same thin waist, the same wide hips and slender legs. She was only slightly shorter than me, her nose slightly longer, and she had a small black birthmark on her left breast that I could see where her flesh poked from the bottom of her shirt. Without the crowds and the bright sun shining down on us, she no longer looked like a doll or mannequin used for wedding ceremonies. She looked like a terrified young wife.

Despite our close physical appearance, with me naked and her still clothed, I could really sense the differences between us. I know that might sound strange or even impossible, but I could. And it wasn't simply that she was childish and I was, at least now, more mature. There were deeper differences. I could sense her delicacy, her need for protection. I could sense the loss she felt and her isolation (who had been with Nislani all these months while I had been ruling? Who did she confide in with her friends gone?). I could feel her softness where I was rigid. For the second time that day, I felt gentle feelings toward my sister.

"Approach!" Cin said, as Nislani remained in the doorway. Nislani jumped slightly and her wet eyes looked up at Cin. She nodded slowly and then made her way form the privy to the edge of the bed. She moved deliberately, like she had to order her feet to rise and fall with each step. But eventually, she was standing at the foot of the bed, directly in front of the Guardian Party. She was looking up at me where I sat at the top of the bed and I could see her eyes move, embarrassed, over my limp cock and balls. I could hear a slight sigh, but she stopped where she was supposed to stand.

"Are you prepared to enter freely into this marriage bed?" Kardes asked, her voice clearly affected by Nislani's appearance as well.

"I am..." A squeak of a voice escaped my sister. She spoke quickly. I wondered if her whispers to herself during our wedding had been an internal pep-talk and that now she was simply ready and wanted to get it over with. That was the way I felt, I did not to wait longer.

"You must prove three things to serve as a satisfactory Consort for a Sultan. You must prove your devotion as a wife, your dignity as a royal, and your dedication to the Empire as the Consort," Kardes explained in the ancient manner. This was where the rituals had become particularly rigid. Three sexual acts were required of the new bride to satisfy the Guardian Party. It was not really known when these particular tasks had been developed. Where there had once been no ritual, there was now no deviation. These rituals were as important as the kiss during the wedding ceremony. Perhaps more so, because after this, there was no turning back. But whatever discomfort my representative, Kardes, might have in explaining them was beside the point. Everyone had their role to play.

"Tell her what she must do and she shall accomplish it," Lady Sadik responded, giving the traditional lines as though she was reading them from her hand. She spoke in a somewhat haughty manner, I could sense her delight in the weirdness of the proceedings. The other Barons' wives looked equally smug. I looked to the side, by the bed, and saw Kardes looking down at the foot of our bed at our sister. Her eyes looked pinched and she gulped deeply.

"Nislani, to demonstrate your devotion as a wife, you must demonstrate your submission to your husband...er wife," Nislani said, recovering from the memorized lines to make her statement more accurate, "You kneel on this hard floor with no thought of your own comfort and you must pleasure your...wife in a manner which gives you no gratification. You are forgoing you own needs to serve the needs of the Sultanah, just as the Sultanah forgoes her own needs for the Empire." 

While the script provided was too coy to actually spell out what needed to be done, it was clear to everyone the manner in which Nislani was required to "please" me. As such, the announcement served as my cue. I took a deep breath and briefly placed my hand on my heart, willing it to slow. I inched myself to the edge of the bed and placed my feet on the cold marble floor. I felt the eyes of the women around the room on me as I stood up next to the bed. My legs felt weak and I swayed uneasily for a moment. Kardes nearly reached out to balance me, but Cin held her back. I had been thinking so intently on the situation and on Nislani's obvious distress that I had barely noticed how nervous I was. It was not that I had conquered my nerves, they were all there, swirling in my stomach. I had just ignored them. Now they were returning to me with interest.

"She will do as commanded," Lady Sadik said. This was Nislani's cue. For a moment she simply stood at the foot of the bed. Unlike the other women in the room, her eyes had not followed me. Instead, she was staring at the spot I had been sitting a few seconds before. She made no noise, and the Guardian Party at her back looked at one another arrogantly. Finally, Duchess Hain reached forward and pushed my sister's shoulder slightly and then the women giggled rudely. Nislani made a quiet noise in her throat and jumped. But her eyes went back into focus and she shook her head. Her head turned towards me and she realized I was standing. Despite the fact that she had clearly not heard Kardes' command, she knew the part of the ceremony she had reached (the entire ceremony, in fact, was described in lurid detail by a female family member on a Princess' 18th birthday). She bowed awkwardly and then started to move towards me.

Her motions were jerky and mechanical and her eyes remained down, focusing on my feet. She moved slowly, but not so slowly that she could be faulted. Her breasts bounced slightly in her revealing shirt as her feet padded along the marble. Perhaps if she was not my sister and I was not surrounded by family members, priestesses, and strange women, I would have been affected by her ethereal, sensual beauty as she walked. Instead, my body remained motionless, standing next to the bed. My cock remained limp between my legs. 

Finally, my sister walked directly in front of me and then turned so that she was facing me. She was only a foot away from me now, our breasts were nearly touching. Our eyes locked together for the briefest of times. But somehow, that fraction of a second seemed to stretch out into eternity. I saw her wide, scared eyes and her nervous, but beautiful face. But then the moment passed and I didn't even know what it meant. In retrospect, it didn't even really seem to last that long.

Regardless, the spell was broken by Nislani's movement. She slowly started to shrink before me. Where we once stood nearly face to face, I watched as her eyes slipped down below my nose, my lips, my chin, my throat, my breasts, and my stomach. Down and down, getting ever lower. The whole time she kept her pupils facing up towards me, as though she could maintain her discipline if she could see my face, if she could keep her focus on the parts of my body that she was familiar with.

But eventually, Nislani's knees landed on the cold marble floor. Her neck was craned back entirely and here wide eyes were looking up. I was looked down, between my breasts. I could see the tops of Nislani's breasts, separated from my limp cock by only a couple of short inches. 

As she settled onto the ground, I hear a low sigh slip through her lips. Then she took a deep breath. I became aware of the absolute stillness in the room. I could not take my eyes off of Nislani to look around, but I knew that no one was moving. No one was breathing. I believe they were all thinking what I was thinking: 'when is this going to stop? Who is going to stop it? This can't possibly happen.' But, at the same time, we could all sense that this thing, this duty and requirement, had a will of its own now. It was pulling events forward even if no one, except perhaps Cin, really wanted it to happen. Or perhaps some wanted it out of spite. Regardless, it had to happen.

Nislani seemed to understand this as well as the rest of us. She was still looking up at me pleadingly, but finally, she blinked. And when her eyes opened again, her head had dropped slightly and she was facing my cock. She had seen it from a distance a moment before, but now, she was experiencing it intimately. This was the thing that had placed us in this situation. This aberration in my anatomy had placed us in this situation. Nislani surely hated it, it gave me power over her. And yet she as bound, by all of the conventions of society, to try to give it pleasure.

And yet, as Nislani's hand slowly rose from her side, her eyes flickered up to me briefly. And in that look I could feel something I had been noticing all day. Those soft feelings I had for my sister. My sister hated that I was Sultanah, but she had heard what I'd said to her in the morning. And I think she believed it. I did not want this power over her any more than she wanted me to have it. She felt trapped but she could sense that I felt trapped as well. That had been a revelation to her. I know she felt this, because I felt it in myself. I could feel the bond. I once overhead my father tell one of my brothers, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Nislani and I understood that principle in that moment. We were not allies, but we were both trapped in this situation, it was our enemy. The office of Sultanah was my enemy. The silly girls in the room were my sister's enemies. And we both knew that we could only get out of it together. As Nislani's hand rose up and her finger tentatively touch the base of my cock, a truce was called. A temporary alliance of expedience was forged.

I moaned despite myself. The pads of Nislani's fingers were very soft. She touched me with just the slightest amount of pressure, her skin just barely tickling mine. I felt my shoulders relax slightly and my breathing slow. Nislani jumped slightly as I moved, but she kept her cool fingers against my warm skin. She looked at my limp cock, seeming to study the impression it made on her hand. 

She slipped her fingers around my cock, her skin skimming over mine. Eventually, I found her warm palm pressing against the side of my cock, her fingers were wrapped all the way around me. Her hands were so small that a couple of inches of limp cock still stuck out from her lightly closed fist, pointing towards her breasts. For a moment, she simply held it, her eyes glued to the tip of my cock. I looked down at her between my breasts, watching our chests rise and fall in unison.

After a few moments, I felt my sister flick her wrist slightly to the side. My limp cock bent to the side slightly and I groaned. Her fingers squeezed and slipped around me in a pleasant way. She then bent my cock the other direction, and I groaned again, more loudly. Then, Nislani leaned in slightly, I could feel the breath from her nose against the tip of my cock and I felt a prickly feeling up my back. But then there was nothing. I looked down at my sister, my brow slightly knotted. She was staring up at me, giving me a beseeching look. She moved my cock slightly in her hand and leaned upward. She hazarded a glance at the women around us then spoke to me so softly that I could barely hear.

"Isn't it supposed to be hard?" she whispered, "Varis, I have never done this before...I wouldn't even know how to do this if it was hard. What do I do now?" Now I looked around. I saw all the leering Guardians, leaning in towards us and trying to hear. I personified my hated fate with them, and leaned in towards my sister, working with my temporary ally. We had to get out of this, and that meant going through it.

"I am nervous and you're...this is difficult," I said and she looked a little pained. I hastened to explain, "Everything you're doing is good. You look beautiful. You can't screw this part up as long as you don't use your teeth. Just do what feels...good," I offered and then gave a little shrug. Nislani gave me a wry look, but I could tell she was drawing strength from me. Hell, it was the first time she didn't look catatonic since our conversation earlier in the day. Her eyes dropped back down to the two inches of soft cock poking out of her hand.

I saw her hesitate for a moment and then I watched as her thick lips part slightly. Her head leaned in towards my body. I felt her exhale sharply and warm air caressed the tip of my cock. And before that pleasant sensation faded, I felt my sister's tongue slide over my foreskin. My entire body felt tingly and my hands clenched into fists. I let out a low breath of air and felt a lump forming in my throat. This was so incredibly wrong, even if the sensation of my sister's tongue pressing against my foreskin was undeniably pleasant. 

Despite the fact that my body seemed to be reacting totally to Nislani's touch, I did manage to hear something from the side. Nislani's saliva was just starting to wet the bottom of the tip of my cock when a sharp gasp issued from the Guardian Party, or at least the wives of the barons. I turned my head slightly and could see Duchess Hain shaking her head.

"I can't believe she did it," I heard her whisper only slightly discretely under her breath.




The Sultanah Ch. 10



"I am not surprised. What do you expect from degenerates?" Lady Örnek responded. Even my 'allies' Lady Sadik and Duchess Göstermelik looked shocked and disgusted. On Kukla looked on totally unfazed. In fact, she was leaning in slightly, trying to get a better view. The Guardian Party, it seemed had been expecting this marriage to fall apart right here. They were looking forward to my failure. Whatever the politics of their husbands, these silly women were expecting to see a freak show and they were excited despite themselves to be seeing it.

I felt anger rising up in my chest, shooting adrenaline through my system. How dare they! What had I ever failed at since I had become Sultanah? And who were these silly women to doubt me. Maybe I was feeding of Nislani's displeasure with these women as well. For the first time I had been married I felt a surge of passion run through my system. It was not passion for my sister, but passion to succeed. I just directed that feeling towards Nislani.

"Oh Nislani!" I moaned, somewhat more loudly that I intended, "That is divine. Don't stop!" I gasped. It felt nice, but I admit to embellishing slightly. I looked down now at my sister. Her tongue was protruding slightly from her mouth, my soft cock was balanced on the tip. Her eyes were wide and she looked a bit stunned by my words. "Just lick it. They think we can't," I hissed afterwards.

As I said, I did not know Nislani's history with these women at the time. I did not know that they humiliated her and derided her for weeks before this night. But I had, unwittingly, unlocked a certain pathway in her mind. As soon as the words fell from my lips, Nislani suddenly jumped to her task with passion that had been missing before. While we had already aligned ourselves against our enemy, I had suddenly put a human face on that enemy. A particular human face that Nislani needed to overcome both for her dignity and for her sanity. It was more than just them, but they encapsulated all of her shame nonetheless. She was bound to commit an act that should be humiliating. Her only recourse was to refuse to be humiliated, to embrace her fate to strike at her enemies. And Nislani attacked with vigor.

Nislani was not skilled at her task. It was clear she had been telling the truth when she said she had never done this before. But, what she lacked in experience, she made up for in fervor. Her hand remained wrapped around the base of my cock, actually squeezing me somewhat sharply. Her tongue poured out of her mouth, finding the soft flesh of my cock. She moved her tongue manically, covering every inch of my cock with her warm, soft flesh. She lapped at the base of my cock, running her tongue thickly against it. She rubbed the bottom of her tongue furiously over the top of my cock, trying to stretch her tongue out to touch as much area as possible. She titled my cock first one direction, and then the other, planting kisses on and lapping at the sides of my shaft. She even lift my cock upwards and found my balls, covering them with her mouth and bouncing them on her tongue.

My sister had no idea what she was doing but she had followed my advice to do anything but use her teeth and, as a result, she couldn't help but give me pleasure. My body reacted to her touch almost instantly. Part of it was just the sensation of her rough, wet tongue slipping across my flesh. Some of it was the determination that I was going to do what I had to do to finish my task as Sultanah. Another, largely unacknowledged aspect was the taboo of having my sister's mouth on my cock. But, perhaps the largest part, was simply that I was fired by passion and could feel Nislani's passion as well. Our shared fervor built on itself, growing more intense with each passing moment. And, to my only slightly surprise, after only a minute or two of having Nislani lap at my cock and lick my balls, I felt my shaft growing hard. 

As my shaft expanded, growing harder and longer in Nislani's grip, she began to notice as well. In a few moments, my hard cock was sticking out straight from my body, pointing to my sister's lips. She looked up at me, her cheeks flushed. I saw that she was actually smiling. Not a happy or surprised smile, but a vicious smile. She was proud that she had excited me and I felt her hand trembling with excitement around my cock.

"Put the tip in your mouth and swirl your tongue around it," I ordered, somewhat louder now. I could still hear the baron's wives whispering to one another but I no longer cared. I could tell that I was going to succeed now and I felt a wave of ecstasy as a result. Moreover, Nislani's actions were undeniably gratifying, and I wanted to focus on the pleasure I felt, rather than focus on the stuffy wives at the foot of the bed.

Nislani nodded her head at my instructions and she placed her tongue at the base of my cock, right where it met my balls. She made her tongue rigid, pointing the tip of her tongue against my skin. Then, slowly, she started to pull her head back, dragging her tongue alone the shaft of my cock. She traced the bulging vein on the bottom of my cock, keeping pressure on it. I felt a delightful, creeping feeling run up my spine as Nislani moved and I held my breath. Finally, Nislani's tongue slipped around the curve of the tip of my cock and then it was pressed against her lips. Nislani didn't hesitate, she opened her mouth and let the tip of my cock slip inside.

I felt Nislani's lips close around the tip of my cock. Her mouth felt humid and inviting. I looked down at her face, her eyes were open and she was looking up at me. Her face...it was so strange. For a moment, it felt and looked like I was on my knees before myself, sucking my own cock. But I did not have time to focus on this strange fact or to really consider the implications of having my sister sucking on my cock. Because, almost as soon as the tip of my hard cock was pressed into the wet, sticky confines of Nislani's mouth, her tongue had found me. Once again, Nislani did not know what she was doing. But this was even less important now. Nislani sucked on my cock slightly, making a gently vacuum in her mouth, pulling my skin into her lips. Her tongue began to swirl all around the tip, touching every inch it and bathing it in her saliva. For a long while I did not move. I stood rigid on the floor, actually rising up onto my tiptoes, closing my eyes, and just enjoying the sensation of the rough, wet tongue gliding over my skin.

Instinctively, Nislani could tell that something more was needed. As my cock was rigid now, her hand slipped off the base. In fact, she had been squeezing so tightly that she had been holding me back slightly. I let out a low breath as blood poured into my cock, making it harder than ever before, pushing more tightly into Nislani's mouth. Which was, apparently, just what she wanted. She opened her lips slightly wider, breaking the vacuum on my cock. And she began to press her face in towards my body. Slowly, my cock started to slip deeper into my sister's mouth. The whole while, she moved her tongue frantically around on my cock, covering it in her saliva and caressing it with her movements. In a few seconds, more than half of my cock had disappeared into my sister's mouth and she gagged violently, her eyes filling with tears.

The sensation was too much for me. The very end of Nislani's throat squeezed tightly around the tip of my cock as she gagged. Her tongue moved desperately around the bottom of my shaft. And, in an apparent bit to steady herself, Nislani's left hand rose up, finding my balls and squeezing them gently in her soft fingers. My cock felt like it was going to burst and there was simply too many sensations and emotions swirling in my overheated brain. I kept breathing in deeper and deeper, trying to catch my breath, but always forgetting to breathe out. My knees shook and I spread my feet slightly, to maintain my balance. My eyes were open now and I looked down at my sister's beautiful face, shocked by the feelings I felt toward her. I needed something to release the tension.

Without thought, both of my hands rose from my sides. My left hand quickly found its way to my sister. I felt my hand drop down on to the top of her hand, sinking into her soft hair. My fingers gripped loosely around her head, giving me something to balance on. More importantly, my right hand shot up and found my right breast. My palm sunk into my cool, slightly damp flesh and I felt the heft of my breast in my hand. Most of my fingers sunk deeply into my breast, squeezing at it. My forefinger and thumb found my hardened nipple, poking out straight, just like my cock below. I pinched the hard nub of flesh between my fingers, squeezing it and feeling the release of tension as the delicious pain registered in my brain. While my sister's tongue swirled over my cock, I squeezed my finger and forefinger together, rolling my hard nipple around and lessening the unbearable anxiety I felt in my chest. Finally, I was able to let out a breath of air, feeling light-headed and tingly.

Nislani was not done trying to get more and more of my cock into her throat. Tears were running down her cheeks from choking, but her beautiful eyes were still looking at me intently. Her tongue continued to lap at my cock in her mouth, coating it in slippery saliva, lubricating it thickly. She pushed her lips forward more, letting them slip over my silky flesh. She choked again, but as she recovered her pushed further. Her fingers were still playing with my balls, poking and rolling them gently. An inch of my cock still remained outside of Nislani's mouth, and she pulled my balls forward, pressing my scrotum into her chin. Nislani moaned as she felt the soft skin against her face and the vibrations of her moan rocketed through my body.

"Oh shit Nislani!" I groaned back, my hand gripping tighter on her head.

"Cease!" Cin said suddenly and with great force. My head shot up and I looked at her, confused. I looked down at my sister, my cock still buried in her mouth, her tongue frozen on the underside of my shaft. She looked out of the corner of her eye and Cin as well. Suddenly where I was and what I was doing returned to me. It would not do any good to shoot my seed down my sister's throat. There was a time and place for that in the ceremony. Cin had stopped us before it was too late. Time to move on to the next step. I stepped back slightly, letting my cock slip from between Nislani's lips. She did not move, but let my cock slide from her body. Pulling out of her mouth felt almost as good as going in. Once the tip of my cock emerged, glistening, from my sister's mouth, I noticed a long, thin string of saliva dripping from my sister's chin. My cock twitched at the naughtiness of the vision.

"Nislani," Kardes said suddenly, her voice sounding thick. I turned and looked at her and saw that her face was red. She saw me looking and her eyes darted away, embarrassed. I saw her nipples, hard, through her robe and guessed the cause of her embarrassment. But there was no time to dwell on it, she was moving to the next stage in the ceremony, "to demonstrate your dignity as a royal, you must go to the window overlooking the square and give this speech to the common people below. You must maintain your composure at all costs," she said. 

Even as she spoke, the wives of the barons were moving toward her. They quickly pulled her up to her feet (Kukla wiped the saliva from her chin and looked at me as she surreptitiously licked her fingers clean). Nislani continued to look straight in my eyes as the Guardians prepared her for the next step. Lady Sadik handed Nislani the script of her speech (it was the same speech that had been given by ever consort for generations) and pointed out the correct window. While she was doing this, the other women were working on Nislani's skirt. In a few quick motions they had unhooked the back of the skirt, pulled it down my sister's legs, and then thrown it on the floor, discarded.

My sister now stood before me, wearing only her tight-fitting top. Her legs, stomach, hips, and cunny, were now completely exposed. My eyes instantly dropped to that portion of Nislani's body. I saw her narrow waist, flat stomach, and wide hips that were so similar to mine. Her long, legs and delicate feet were almost indistinguishable from my own. But of course, there was an extremely apparent difference between my sister's body and my own. There, between her legs, my sister had only a small, pink slit that terminated in a small nub of a clitoris several inches below her belly button. Her lips were tight together and the skin of mound was smooth and evenly colored. She waxed her body clean of hair and her cunny looked stunningly perfect. For a brief second I had a vision of what my body would look like if I were not cursed and blessed as the Sultanah.

But I did not have much time to consider the mysteries of life. In a few seconds, the hands of the Guardians were on my sister's shoulder. They turned her around quickly and shoved her towards the window. Nislani stumbled as they pushed her but they did not stop. In a few seconds, Nislani was standing directly in front of the curtain at the window. She looked back over her shoulder briefly at me, and then faced forward once again. Lady Sadik and Duchess Hain stood on either side of her, clutching the curtain.

"Begin your speech," Kardes ordered from beside the bed. With that Lady Sadik and Duchess Hain quickly pulled the top part of the curtain apart. Kukla then pushed my sister's shoulder forward, sending her head and chest through the open window. Lady Sadik and Duchess Hain then quickly closed the curtain around Nislani's body, tying it in place. Now Nislani's head, arms, chest, and the top of her stomach were protruding, fully clothed, through the window over the crowd below. Her hips, ass, legs, and cunny, exposed and bent forward slightly, were still covered in the room behind her. 

"It is the Consort!" a voice called from the street below, noticing my sister at the appointed place at the appointed time. At first there was a low mumbling sound outside and then a great cheer rose up as the people welcomed their new Sultanah-Consort. I saw Nislani's ass and legs clench slightly, nervous, as she looked at the crowd below. I heard a strange squeaky sound as she tried to speak. She then cleared her throat, paused a minute longer, and began her speech.

"People of Şehir," she started and the continued on with the prepared remarks. I was not listening.

"Test your wife's dignity," Lady Sadik intoned impertinently, "For only in testing her to the utmost of your ability will you ensure that she deserves to sit by your side."

Of course, I knew what I was supposed to do. Nislani, standing in the window, knew what I was supposed to do. As did all of the other ladies present. In fact, all of the Royals and nobles in the palace were aware of the purpose of this particular ceremony. Only the people below were unaware of the exact nature of the speech they were about to hear. They simply knew that Nislani, like all consorts before her, was required to lean from the window and speak to the people. She was to introduce herself and to make a connection with them. She would promise to think first of the people and to be their intermediary with the ruler. It consisted mostly of platitudes but was an attempt to bind the people to the monarchy. The people accepted it as that and likely never thought more of it. They likely never wondered why they never saw the consort's legs during the speech. Maybe they noticed that the Consort often looked flushed, stumbled, and seemed nervous. But likely they figured it was simply nerves caused by the need to speak.

Perhaps they would have been surprised to see me moving quickly across the room, naked with my breasts and cock bouncing as I moved. Perhaps they would have been shocked to see me drop down to my knees behind Nislani, placing my hands on her thighs. But the entire idea of the ceremony was that Nislani was to ensure that they never knew what happened behind the curtain. And I was supposed to put her to the test.

And so, there I was on my knees behind my sister. I had my hands on both of her thighs and my cock was pressed slightly against her right calf. Her body was trembling and she was reading out her promises and obligations with a mechanical nervousness. 

I rose up slightly on my knees, allowing my cock to scrape along the back of my sister's leg, giving me a slightly chill. I felt Nislani's body react, she knew what was touching her. I knew I had to commit completely because the ceremony would take as long as necessary. I also knew that I had to maintain my seed for the third and final ceremony. Therefore, I quickly began my task, trying to bring the same intensity to it that Nislani had brought to her role.

I was kneeling just a few inches away from my sister's body. Her large, round ass was directly in my face and I could see her cunny under her body, facing down toward the floor. I could see, even in the low light, that her cunny lips were glistening slightly. Her aroma was overwhelming, a thick musky scent that filled my nose and seemed to coat my tongue. Nislani had become excited by our actions thus far. Somehow, this made my chest flutter with excitement. I had caused this reaction in this woman. I noticed that it was easier to think this way now, when I could not see my sister's face.

Nislani's excitement was contagious. I wrapped my left hand around my sister's thigh and then lifted my right hand up between her legs. Nislani's body trembled as she felt my body moving against her and I heard her voice shake slightly. After a few moments, my hand was suspended in the air, just below my sister's slippery cunny. I could feel the heat coming off of her body and my cock ached as it rubbed more fully against her leg.

Slowly, my fingers made their way up to my sister's cunny. I didn't want to move too quickly, didn't want my sister to be startled. At the same time, I was nervous. I was excited about touching her, I wanted to make this feel pleasurable. I can't explain why, but it was part of my calculation. Finally, I felt my fingers gently stroke against my sister's wet lips. I heard her gasp slightly, but she continued speaking as if nothing had happened. 

My sister's cunny felt incredibly warm and smooth to the touch. Her lips were dripping wet now and my fingers glided easily over her body. I felt the gentle rise of her mons, the puffy softness of her lips, and the sticky wetness of her slit with my slow, moving finger tips. Nislani's words became thicker in her mouth and her knees bent slightly, trying to get down onto my fingers. I kept moving my hand around, touching her everywhere and enjoying the feeling of her cunny against my skin.

After some time spent in gentle, teasing touches, I heard Nislani let out a low sigh and almost moan at the end of a sentence. Her cunny actually dripped into my hand. I knew that she needed more. With a careful movement of my wrist, finger tips found themselves buried slightly in the folds of my sister's cunny. All except one, my forefinger, instead, had found her clitoris. I placed the pad of my finger gently on the little button, pressing it gently with just the slightest amount of pressure.

"Oh Gunes..."my sister moaned suddenly, I could heard her through the curtain, "Please preserve me and help me to keep these oaths!" she recovered nicely. To reward her, I started to rotate my finger in tight little circles around her clitoris. I offered only the slightest pressure and her cunny was so wet that she provided absolutely no friction. I could hear the panting in Nislani's voice, even as she continued her speech.

I was leaning in closely to Nislani's body now, my fingers sliding over her cunny. My head was placed against the back of her thigh, my hair hanging down her leg. From where I was located, Nislani's scent was becoming overpowering. It had grown thicker, muskier, and I breathed her into my lungs. Her split cunny was dripping down onto my hands and I knew that her flavor would be even stronger than her aroma.




The Sultanah Ch. 10



Whatever prohibitions normally attached to the Sultanah tasting a woman's body was suspended here. Beyond the fact that this was my wife and not a social inferior, the ceremony practically begged for such contact. I circled my finger around on my sister's clit once more and breathed her in deeply. Then, I turned my face towards her. 

Given her position, I could not reach her clit with my tongue, as I might've like to. I kept my finger there, circling, instead. But, with her ass poked back and up slightly, Nislani's now aroused cunny was essentially open and turned back, dripping, towards my face. The excitement I felt in that moment and the effect that Nislani's body was having on me were overpowering. As I looked at her tight, dripping pink lips, I lost control and dove in. 

I felt Nislani's body go rigid and she stopped speaking for a minute as my tongue plunged into her cunny. I felt the tight walls of her body wrap around my tongue, pulling at it. Her cunny felt hot and thick liquid instantly coated my tongue. Nislani's flavor was incredible, a strong musky flavor with delicate, aromatic notes underneath. My tongue plunged inside of her, lapping at her ridged insides and trying to push into her as deeply as possible. The rest of the world seemed to melt away and I focused entirely on tasting Nislani's insides, touching every part of her with my tongue, while my fingers continued to probe at her clit. I could not even tell if Nislani was keeping up with her speech, I focused entirely on the task at hand. My cock ached terrible and my balls sagged low against my body, filling rapidly.

I don't know how long I continued in this way, on my knees with my tongue buried in my sister's cunny. But I do remember what made me stop. I was pressed tightly against my sister, one of my ears actually resting on her ass cheek. But my other ear was open and, despite my wild excitement, I could hear. And, in fact, I heard one of the Guardians behind me.

"It is one of those things," she said, "You can't look away."

"It is better than most of these ceremonies," I heard Kukla said defensively.

"It is disgusting," I heard the first voice say, recognizing it as Duchess Hain, "Like two stupid animals that have gotten stuck together in a barn yard." 

Once again, I felt the anger rising inside of me. I had not chosen this tradition and I had not decided that I would bury my head between my sister's legs. I had been forced to do this by tradition and would have gladly skipped it if that were possible. But, in being made to do this, I had made the most of it. I had allowed my body to react to the stimuli. Now these women speaking loudly, trying to make me feel ashamed of doing my duty. They created the world where I had to do this, now I would make them pay. If they thought this was disgusting...

I quickly pulled my head back out from my sister's cunny. My cheeks and face were lathered in her juices and her scent was thick in my nose. I heard Nislani whimper slightly under her breath, but she was still speaking. I looked to the side. Nislani's ass, like mine, was large, and her ass sat firm and high above her thighs. I moved my free hand from Nislani's thigh and quickly raised it up, sinking it into the firm, hot flesh of Nislani's ass. My face was still resting against her other cheek and I pressed slightly into her, gaining leverage. Then, I used my hand to pull Nislani's ass cheeks apart. There, in the center of her ass, was the small, purplish brown rosebud of my sister' asshole. It was just a small, crinkled spot in the large expanse of soft, smooth flesh that made up her ass. I blew on it slightly and watched it pucker. Nislani shivered.

"Oh my..." a voice said, "What is she doing now?"

As if that were my cue, I instantly pushed my face into Nislani's body. I felt the firm, warm flesh of Nislani's ass as it wrapped around my face. I even felt my nose sinking into the skin at the base of her spine. Nislani's scent, so strong at her cunny, was here was well. It was sharper, more tart that it had been, but still recognizable. But most importantly, I felt my lips pressing against the tights fold of Nislani's asshole.

"Revolting!" someone said behind me and I smiled into my sister's asshole. Then I got to work. At first, I just pressed my lips into Nislani's asshole, feeling the folds pressing against my skin. Each kiss I planted on her body caused my sister to jump. 

After a few seconds, this wasn't enough for me. My lips part and I slowly pushed my tongue out between my teeth. I felt my tongue press into the wrinkles of my sister's asshole and heard her gasp in her speech. She actually stopped talking for a few seconds before returning to her script. As she began to speak again, I pushed more and more of my tongue out of my mouth. Soon my tongue was coiled against the tight skin of my sister's asshole. The flavor of her skin was salty and tangy and it made my heart beat faster. Her scent had grown more intense and I could taste it mixing on my tongue. My cock was aching and I found myself rubbing against my sister's leg inadvertently. 

I began to swirl my tongue around on Nislani's asshole. I kept my face tight against Nislani's body and there was essentially not enough space for me tongue to fit outside of my mouth. Soon, Nislani's asshole was dripping with my saliva. Her body was shaking and, for a brief instant, her asshole relaxed and she sighed. Suddenly, my tongue plunged deeply into my sister's asshole. I was surprised by how quickly it happened. 

My body tingled as I came to terms with what I was feeling. Nislani's asshole was squeezed around my tongue with a vice grip, but I was surprisingly deep inside of her. The walls of her asshole were smooth and rubbery, but constricted hard around me. She was incredibly hot inside and somewhat wet, but mostly from my spit. The flavor I had tasted outside of her asshole was here, but concentrated, more intense. I groaned, savoring the taste and surprising myself with how much I liked it. I think some of the reason I liked it so much was the women behind me had seen what happened and they were thoroughly disgusted. I welcomed their disgusted, twitching my tongue inside of my sister's asshole, massaging her insides. 

The whole while, my hand remained on Nislani's clit, rubbing it furiously, and causing her body to tighten and her muscles to lock. My cock was flying furiously against Nislani's calf and I could feel my cunny dripping down my leg. I did not think about what I was doing or who I was doing it to. I just thought about my discomfort with the situation and my hatred for my fate and I poured that into my actions, feeling the tension rise inside of me and...

"Cease!" Cin said again. Once again, drawn by the force of her words I stopped moving. My tongue still buried in Nislani's ass, my hand froze on her cunny. For a moment, Nislani stopped speaking. Once again, Cin had stopped us before we went too far.

"Conclude your remarks," Kardes said, her voice sounding small and nervous. Nislani completed the sentence she was one, then finished up in the traditional manner.

"Thank you all, and I look forward to serving as your Royal Liaison in the future," she stated and then quickly disappeared back inside the curtain. No one outside ever knew why the speeches of this kind ended so abruptly or why some Consorts said more than others.

But that wasn't my concern. Once Nislani was back in the room, she turned quickly towards me. Her cheeks were very red, her hair was tossed slightly askew by the wind and her eyes were feverishly bright. I had never seen her look more beautiful in my life. Her looks retained their naïveté, her innocence, and her vivacity and somehow shed her immaturity, her pettiness, and her ignorance. If she was disgusted by my actions, she didn't show it. Instead, she appeared excited to the point of frenzy. I rose up so that I was standing in front of her, my cock twitching between my legs. I was barely breathing and I could see that Nislani was panting enough for both of us, her breasts rising and falling rapidly. We were both on the knife's edge, barely able to control ourselves.

"Nislani, to prove your dedication to the Empire as the Consort..." We heard Kardes saying. But more important, we could hear the women behind us, snickering. 

"Fuck them Varis. Fuck all of this," My sister whispered, "Put a baby in me." That was enough for me. I did not hear Kardes finish her sentence and say "accept your wife's seed." I knew that was what she was saying, but I wasn't paying attention. Instead, I was reaching forward quickly to tear Nislani's shirt from her body, exposing her perky young breasts and leaving her as naked as I was. She shuffled it off, as though desperate to be free from its embrace. Then, I dropped instantly down onto the floor with Nislani. We didn't want to wait to go to the bed, we wanted to do this here and now. To shove it right in the face of fate and its Guardians. 

Nislani dropped back onto the cold marble floor on her back. She instantly spread her legs. I saw her cunny, glistening with juices. I could see my saliva where the loaves of her ass where still visible. Her beautiful breasts were spread across her chest, her nipples hard. She had her arms outstretched and she was smiling. 

I wildly dove between my sister's legs, throwing my body into hers. The first thing I felt was my breasts pressing into my sister's breasts. Our soft mounds of flesh squeezed together, becoming firm, but comfortable. The rest of my body closed the gap as my stomach landed on Nislani's quivering stomach and my hips pressed hard against hers. Most importantly, I felt my cock slap against Nislani's clitoris and rub across the length of her cunny. Nislani gasped.

"Oh Gunes, Varis get it inside of me. I need it," Nislani moaned. My mouth went dry and I looked into her eyes, seeing the need there. I felt her hips moving underneath of me and I moved my hips as well. I was about to reach down and adjust my cock with my hand, but our hips slipped into line and I felt the tip of my cock suddenly poke against the opening of my sister's cunny. Nislani was panting wildly now and shoving her hips down. For a moment I wondered if we'd both lost our minds, we seemed to be in a thoughtless frenzy. But that rational thought melted as Nislani shoved down hard, driving the tip of my cock into her body.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Nislani moaned.

"Gunes!" I cried in response. Nislani was even tighter around my cock that she had been around my tongue. But somehow wetter too. Her body seemed to pull on mine and, with seemingly no effort on my part, I suddenly found that my cock was sinking deeper and deeper into Nislani. Her cunny walls wrapped tight around my cock, squeezing and massaging me expertly. Nislani may have been inexperienced but her body knew exactly what it was doing. In a moment, my cock was buried completely in her body, my balls pressing against her wet ass.

Neither Nislani nor I were in any position to take our time. Almost as soon as my cock had completely entered Nislani's body, I was pulling it back out. As soon as the tip was the only thing remaining in, I slammed it home. Nislani moaned and wrapped her arms around me. I knew she must feel some pain, this was the first time she had ever done this. But she wanted it so badly she showed no signs of reticence. Instead, I felt her hips thrusting against me. I pulled back out and fired home again. Soon we were thrashing wildly on the floor, my cock pounding in and out of my sister's cunny. We were both moaning loudly, our eyes locked together.

It was impossible that we could go on for long at that pace. We were both already so wound up by our prior actions and we were fucking wildly. All the hatred I felt for my fate, for the Guardians, hell for Nislani, was put into my actions. I could feel Nislani's hate burning up as well. We converted it into pure sexual energy and threw it at one another. I cannot describe the feelings I had in those few moments, a lifetime of frustration boiled down to its purest for and then ejected in sex. It felt so good and also so...emptying. I cannot do the sensation justice. I never felt anything like it, before or since.

I don't know who started first. In fact, I think we might both have started our climax at the exact same moment. All I know is that I thrust my cock into my sister one time, extremely hard. And it felt like her cunny grabbed me tightly. I could feel the muscles rippling inside of her body. I felt myself go tense at the exact moment I felt Nislani's body going rigid underneath of me. I closed my eyes and heard a low croak issue from my throat, and I could heard Nislani moaning as well. Her arms pulled me in tighter and her cunny milked my cock expertly. 

Suddenly, I felt a sudden burst of pure energy. I felt the world melt away and suddenly there was an intense, soothing wave that poured from my sister's cunny, wrapped all over me and turned my bones to jelly. The only bodily sensation I could feel was the seizing of my cock as gob after gob of thick seed poured into my sister's cunny. We had done it, the ceremony was completed. We had done our duty and accepted our fates.

A few seconds later, my seed spent, I collapsed onto my side next to Nislani. The marble felt cool on my sweat-dampened skin and I panted furiously to catch my breath. I could see Nislani breathing also, her hands were down between her legs, feeling the seed overflowing her cunny. I felt empty, drained entirely. There was a hush in the room and it seemed no one really understood what had just happened. The only sound was that of desperate breathing. Though, I thought I could hear the drip of my seed as it dripped onto the marble floor from my sister's cunny. 

"The marriage has been consummated," Kardes said, "Nislani has proven herself and able Consort. The Guardians wish you both a lifetime of happiness. The ceremony is over. The Guardians are hereby disbanded. We may now leave." Kardes spoke quickly as if she was desperate for the ceremony to be over and to be out of the room. Cin and the priestess seemed ready to leave as well, more bored by the ceremony than disgusted. Cin had already achieved what she wanted, she had performed the wedding ceremony and preached a sermon about Gunes to the masses. Watching people who already believed fuck one another was really beyond the interest of the priestesses.

"You've done well Sultanah...And the Consort as well. I am proud of you both for doing your duty," Cin said. Agiz and Got both congratulated us quickly and then filed out of the room to return to the party. Cin was hoping to work with the aristocrats while they were drunk, to get commitment on conversion. The baron's wives moved slightly slower. I could still hear them talking, especially once Cin and Kardes were out of the room.

"Disgusting..."

"It is like they wanted to do it..."

"They enjoyed it, we all must do what we must but we don't have to like it..."

"I will never get the image from my mind..."

"You are all exaggerating, it went well," Kukla said. I turned for a moment to watch as the childish women collected themselves and walked from my chambers. But even as they expressed their disgust, I noticed that their faces were flushed and that their nipples were sticking out hard through their robes. They sort of slinked from the room and I could tell their cunnies were wet. None of these women had ever been fucked like Nislani was fucked, with their tired old men scrambling over them. They had never had someone abandon their senses to fuck them beyond the point of reason. They might have legitimately been disgusted. But they were jealous too. 

I laughed a little to myself and then turned to kiss Nislani on the cheek, to thank her for doing her duty and for helping her dynasty. Apparently, Nislani had had the same impulse, and she turned her face towards mine on the floor at the exact same moment. Without planning, Nislani and I suddenly found our lips pressed together as we panted, naked, on the floor. For a moment we stopped and our eyes opened, confused. We giggled nervously but I saw Nislani's eyes grow softer. Mine did the same. I pressed my lips more easily into my wife's, and we shared our first real kiss.

End Chapter 10

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 11



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 11 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl. In Chapter 8, Varis is briefly engaged and kills her fiancé for betraying her. In Chapter 9, Varis slept with a member of the harem, her half-sister, while her aunt watched. In Chapter 10, Varis wed her sister and consummated the marriage.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Part VI: Unorthodox Thinking

Chapter 11: New Additions

"Frankly Nislani...Wife...I do not care. I do not have time for this..." I said, trying to make my voice sound less annoyed than it was.

"You don't care? You don't care?" she asked, "Well I guess if you don't care then it isn't important."

"It's not that it isn't important it is just right now..."

"I don't want to hear it," my sister yelled at me, "Do you think this is what I want to do? Have a banquet with," she looked down at the ambassadorial notice that was placed in her hand, "Prince Aptallar Altın from Ada to help you cement some sort of trade agreement? I don't care Varis. But this is my job as the Consort. To host parties and make you look good..."

"And I know you are good at it and you like it and..."

"I don't like it!" Nislani lied, "But I do it for you because you said we need to increase our grain supplies in the event of another siege. So I got you think meeting with..."

"I know, someone with grain. And I appreciate that but..."

"But nothing, you have to do this," Nislani screamed.

"I can't!" I yelled back. Suddenly the door to our chambers (I sighed when I thought about the fact that they used to be mine. I was essentially living in Arkadas quarters at that point) burst open and Nislani and I both turned to look and see who was bold enough to simply barge in on one of our arguments.

"I have been knocking for five minutes," Cin said, entering the room dramatically. I raised my hands as a sign of impotence.

"Varis is saying she won't go to the banquet tonight," Nislani whined.

"I said I can't..." I responded.

"From my point of view that is no different."

"Well your point of view is not the be all end all of everything!"

"Stop!" Cin shouted, "I am not here to counsel you on your marriage. I have come to take Sultanah Varis away," She moved closer towards me and I felt a rush of relief. My savior.

"But we only have five hours before the banquet and..."

"And I will have her back in plenty of time to go to the banquet, which she will definitely attend," Cin responded. Nislani opened her mouth to complain, realized she won, and smiled.

"Good," she said simply, then she turned back to her closet to pick out the clothing she would wear to the banquet. She no longer had a reason to consider me.

"Cin, I am not going to that damned banquet...I have other things to do," I said.

"Like what?"

"There is an Executive Assembly meeting tonight and I want to be present," I explained. I spoke as if it were self-evident that I would need to be there.

"You've never gone to those before," Cin pointed out, correctly. I raised my hand to explain further, but Cin stopped me, "I need to take you somewhere. We can discuss it on the way," she said. Without further word, she turned and walked out of the room. I looked at Nislani, throwing dresses on the floor from her closet, sighed, and followed Cin out. I closed the door behind me.

"I am not going to that damned banquet tonight. It is a waste of time," I said immediately. Cin stopped walking and turned and looked at me.

"You are going," Cin said, "It is a good idea." 

"I wrote to King Tüccar and suggested a military alliance. He sent his youngest, stupidest son to negotiate a limited trade deal," I responded.

"If he is stupid, you should be able to really put one over on him," Cin suggested wryly. I sighed and dropped my hands to my side.

"I don't need trade deals right now," I replied.

"You do need trade deals. You need all the help you can get," she responded.

"I need more than that now. We are completely isolated militarily."

"This can be the first step towards a military alliance in the future, rulers need to learn that they can trust you," she said and I knew she was right. Nonetheless, it did me no good.

"There is no time for that if everything else were going right then this would be great. But the campaign season will be starting soon and..." I started.

"How is your marriage?" Cin interrupted. For a moment I didn't even really register what she was asking. It was totally irrelevant and I shook my head.

"I didn't meant that, I mean if my political situation were going right..."

"I know what you meant, I asked about your marriage," Cin explained. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned in towards me. She raised her eyebrows.

"You saw it," I said, pointing to the room.

"I saw an argument, is that the sum total of your marriage right now?" she asked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth I snorted and threw my hands up.

"Essentially," I said and looked at my priestess evenly. Cin continued to stare at me, her eyebrows still up, waiting for more of an explanation. I sighed and then spoke, "It is different than it used to be. I don't know...I don't hate her anymore if that is what you are wondering. What we've been through these last few months...We have real things to hate now. But I don't know...We are not particularly well-suited anyway. We disagree on everything and can't seem to figure out how we are supposed to fit together,"

"Some would say that means you complement one another. You should stop fighting against your differences and accept them as strengths," Cin explained. Easy for a priestess who would never marry to suggest. I let that comment roll away without touching it.

"More importantly," I said, leaning in slightly, "it is still incredibly awkward that she is my sister..." This was, of course, an understatement. After the nerves and the sense of duty surrounding the marriage had melted away, my sister and I were left only with a confusing mass of emotions. Neither one of us really wanted to approach it, afraid it could explode. I tried not to think about it and spent as little time with Nislani as I could justify.

"Your wife. You should cease to think about her as your sister. She will be your wife for a much longer time," Cin responded. 

"If we don't kill each other," I responded.

"How goes the production of an heir? That was the primary purpose of this wedding," Cin asked and I winced. I knew she was going to ask about that eventually, I had been trying my hardest for the past few weeks to avoid the topic altogether.

"Well it is too early to tell..." I stalled.

"Have you been trying?" She asked intently. I paused for a long time, trying to think up a way of lying without lying. Cin's eyes bored holes into my face and she could tell the answer before I finally abandoned my efforts and simply told the truth.

"Well, you saw us consummate the marriage," I said and then my face grew red, "And that night we...well we went again once after everyone left. Some residual energy I suppose. But since then...it doesn't feel natural."

"It never will if you create a barrier around it. Sex is an important part of marriage, Sultanah. Gunes urges us to be fruitful in our marriages not just because it produces children, but because it produces joy," Cin said slowly. I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally. In honesty, the memory of my wedding night was now painfully embarrassing to me and the thought of doing it again...was less than appealing. I had done my duty, need I do it ovr and over again?

"Joy is something I no longer seek. I do not believe it is my fate," I said honestly.

"Gunes fates no one with misery," Cin said certainly.

"You must admit that she has not exactly...endowed me with success in my personal life," I said, looking down between my legs. Cin snorted and shook her head.

"Gunes has gifted you a beautiful young wife to share your sorrows, yet you choose to be alone. Just like Gunes has gifted your empire with many advantages and yet you focus solely on your military isolation. It is as if you desire to be alone, despite yourself," Cin explained.

"I have always been alone. Even Arkadas and my family did not know me," I protested. 

"You are not so alone as you think and that is what I came here to show you," Cin said angrily and then she turned and walked away. For a moment I paused, confused by this sudden turn of events. I looked back at my door and thought of Nislani inside, preparing for the banquet. I nearly shuddered and then ran after Cin, wondering where she was taking me.

* * * * *

"Believe it or not, Cin, but I have been to this part of the palace before. In fact a red priestess you may know was the first to demonstrate its utility," I said to my priestess. We were standing a doorway in the bowels of my palace, staring into the vaulted room with the watery roof that housed my harem. Cin had led me down to this location rapidly. She had not answered any of my questions on the way down and I had actually begun to wonder whether she had actually given up on telling me anything. But now, as we stood in the harem, Cin turned to me, smiling.

"I am not showing you the harem," she explained, "Or...that is, I am not just showing you the harem. There is something special here for you today. Do you not recognize anything different?" I turned from the priestess now and looked around the vast room. I saw all of the normal features, the columns, pools, bars, and couches. Everything looked absolutely normal. Except...

"Where are the concubines?" I asked. As I scanned the room, I saw only three women in the far corner. I saw Tutuklu, my head concubine or Pezevenk, completely naked in front of a couch. Two other women, clothed in robes, were sitting on the couch and Tutuklu was speaking to them softly. Usually there were 111 concubines in the room at all times. In fact, that was the mandate. I grew nervous, something was wrong.

"All but three are in their quarters," Cin explained. Well at least they hadn't left.

"Is this proper? Why so few?" I asked.

"It is by my order," Cin explained. Tutuklu had turned around from the couch and she had seen us. She waved and then began to walk in our direction. The two women with her rose awkwardly from the couch and followed.

"Is that within your duties as priestess?" I asked, confused by this turn of events. What was Cin's purpose in this?

"Not generally, but there is a reason today," Cin said enigmatically. 

"Welcome, Sultanah Varis I, to your harem," Tutuklu said from a couple of dozen yards away. She was rapidly closing the distance between us. Her two fellow concubines followed behind slowly. I did not recognize either of them, though this was hardly strange. I had only seen a small fraction women in the Harem. As they got closer, I took account of their appearances.

The one on Tutuklu's left was a striking for her willow build. She was quite tall, around 5'9 and very thin. Her legs were very long and thin, her feet small and her knees slightly knobby. Her hips were somewhat narrow, though they gave her body a feminine curve anyway, because her waist was exceptionally thin. Her stomach was very flat and her torso was long and narrow. She had small, taut breasts that were sitting high on her chest despite the fact that her hard nipples showed that nothing was holding them up beneath her robe. She had long, thin arms with lengthy, delicate fingers. Her face was somewhat angular with a small, sharp chin, and a long, pointed nose. However, these features surprisingly did not make her appear severe or unpleasant. In fact, she had very thick lips and large, egg-shaped doe eyes, and small somewhat pointed ears that gave her an ethereal appearance, like an elf or some other mythological creature. Her long, straight, golden hair and skin that was the color of milk. She clearly came from the same region as Arkadas. She exuded an air of nervous elegance or reticent grace that was particularly alluring.

Somehow, the girl standing to Tutuklu's right managed to project that same aura while looking nothing like her companion. For one, she was much shorter, shorter than me even at 5'3 and had a slightly curvier build. Her legs were short, though delicate and she small feet and curvy thighs. Her hips were somewhat widely set and she had a large, high ass. Her waist narrower than her hips and then her torso flared out to her perfectly proportioned breasts, giving her a perfect hourglass shape accenting her hips. Her arms were toned and her hands were small. She had a somewhat long neck for her build. Her face was open an warm with high cheeks, a generous mouth, and a small, upturned nose. The only features she seemed to share with her companion were egg-shaped, gray eyes and small, pointed ears. Her hair was black as midnight and cropped around her shoulders. Her skin was a dusky reddish color that stood out prominently against her dark hair. If the tall girl was an elf, this girl was a pixie. Somehow a match, despite their difference. Both women were looking down slightly, unwilling to meet my gaze.

After looking at the women and appreciating their forms, I was more confused than before. I wondered why they were present. It was not that they were unattractive, quite the contrary. I just did not understand what made them, rather than the thousands of other beautiful women in the harem, necessary at this meeting. As if reading my mind, Cin began to speak.

"Sultanah, you were not wrong when you told me earlier that in some ways your path is difficult," she said loudly, "You are often forced to act independently and this makes you feel that you are alone. Being alone is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. You often do excellent thinking on your own. But solitude is destructive when it begins to feel isolating. However, as I said, no one is fated to misery. Certainly not a Sultanah. What you feel is not isolation. It is selectivity, exclusion, and distinctiveness. You do not make rapid connections and do not feel easy with society because you need very particular things and this makes you demanding. Further, others sense your needs, whether consciously or not, and perceive their inability to measure to your standards. They reject you pre-emptively, as it is certain you would reject them. However, goals achieved and connections made lightly deteriorate rapidly. As street merchants says, 'easy come, easy go.' In order to maintain your distinctive standards you must work hard. And make sacrifices. But, in so doing, you ensure that the bonds you forge are iron clad. The ties you create are not based on necessity or fleeting circumstances, but instead the recognition of a true, spiritual bond. 

"When you first came here, it seems like quite a long time ago now, you asked me for something. We both knew that it was rare and that I might not be able to procure what you needed. True to form for your circumstances, the rarity of your dream did not make it expensive. You are the only person with this particular desire, making it available. But, it was nonetheless difficult to procure because it must be sought with great care and superhuman effort. Because of the love I bear for you as my Sultanah, I worked to achieve your aim. I give to you, as a gift, that which you wanted more than anything else: a demonstration that you are not alone. In every way you are not alone, but instead unique. You simply needed the time to find that absolute right thing. I hope that you take some time to savor that feeling."

Even before Cin had finished speaking, I knew what she had brought me. I had nearly forgotten, but on my first trip to the Harem I had whispered a fleeting request in Cin's ear. It had faded in my memory as the months passed and far more momentous events took up my time. But apparently Cin had continued to work on my request and here it was. Suddenly I knew why these two women were present. My breathing quickened and my head felt light. I did not even know what to think.

"Thank you, Cin," I said, my voice coming out as a gasp. Cin's words seemed to fade now. I was not really sure what she was talking about. My gift was all I cared for now.

"Thank me by taking this lesson to heart," she said, then she turned to Tutuklu, "I believe we should leave the Sultanah to her gift," she said. Cin then turned and started to walk from the room, heading back into the passage beyond.

"Of course," Tututklu said to me, smiling. Then she also turned, heading back to the harem's quarters. In a few moments, I was alone in the massive room with the two newest concubines. They were still looking at their feet nervously, perhaps more nervous now because Tutuklu was gone. My whole being was buzzing and I had to control myself. I had never even really considered what would happen if Cin had achieved her aim and filled my request. I was nervous and excited. I wanted to be with these women and I wanted to run away in fear and confusion. I decided to simply speak with them for a moment, perhaps to calm my frazzled nerves.




The Sultanah Ch. 11



"Do you know who I am?" I asked first, trying to sound disarming but instead finding that I sounded arrogant. The two women nodded slowly, but chose not to look up at me. I sighed and tried a different tact.

"What are your names?" I asked. They both mumbled so quietly that I could barely make out noises, let alone actual names. "Please, there is no need to be nervous here. We are alone here. I won't pull rank," I smiled, trying to seem easy, "What are your names? You first," I pointed to the taller girl.

"Kıvrak," she said, her lip quivering as she spoke, but I saw her eyes glance up slightly, peering between strands of golden hair. I thought this was likely a good sign. I smiled broadly at her and she looked away.

"And you?" I said, turning to the shorter girl.

"Peri," The girl said, sounding slightly bolder than her companion. She even looked up at me, her eyes looking deferential but not afraid.

"Those are lovely names," I said, trying to sound encouraging, "How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks," Peri said.

"A month," Kıvrak mumbled at the same time. Then they both became quiet, giving the other a chance to be here.

"Have you received any training?" I asked. Both women shook their heads.

"Lady Tutuklu...she said that she did not want us to train with the...other girls yet. She said that we were meant for you...green," Peri explained in a small voice.

"How did you come to be in the Harem?" I asked, wondering if perhaps they had been concubines or even prostitutes in the past, somewhere else.

"I...was born a slave in Köle and had been a house servant until six months ago," Kıvrak said, "I do not know anything about this. I was simply purchased and sent here. I hope I do not displease you." Her words came in a long rush and I raised my hand, trying to sooth.

"Everything will be fine," I promised, "It pleases me that you are here." Kıvrak gave me a wary smile and nodded.

"My parents sold me," Peri said, sounding bitter, "They had difficulty finding a marriage match for me and then your agents offered them a small sum and they sold me. I am glad I am gone. I hated them and they hated me. At least I am apparently wanted here." I nodded slowly. Hers was not an uncommon story for a poor family with a beautiful daughter. Selling a girl to a Harem was much more lucrative than raising her dowry. 

"You are most definitely wanted," I said, biting my lip. I had not intended to make any sort innuendo, I was simply reacting in the moment. Nonetheless, the girls interpreted it as such. They laughed nervously at my statement and looked at one another nervously. Despite this, they seemed a little more comfortable now, their bodies seemed less tense and they were looking up. And I was feeling looser well, perhaps their comfort had put me at ease. More likely, the surprise of their arrival had worn off and my thoughts had become more focused. I had never in my life expected to meet these women and I was absolutely curious. I needed to find out what, exactly, Cin had brought for me. I decided not to beat around the bush. Cin had promised me a connection to reward my years of isolation, and I expected it to be apparent.

"Kıvrak," I said, my tone growing slightly sharper, "disrobe for me." Kıvrak's eyes instantly grew wide. I had purposefully chosen the more timid girl. But Peri seemed to feel nervous and uncomfortable as well.

"I..." Kıvrak started, her hands instinctively crossing over her breasts. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"You have not been trained, but you know what this place is, do you not?" I asked her. Her mouth opened again to speak but no noise came out. After a moment, she closed her mouth and simply nodded.

"I was not lying when I said you were wanted. Both of you. You have always been seeking a place where you belong, a place where you fit so well that you did not need to think about who you are. You wanted a place where you could feel...natural," I offered. Despite their nervousness, the two women were nodding slowly, "Well, this is it. You have found your place in the sun. You can either embrace it now...or you can give it up and go back where you came from. I will grant you your freedom and you can go back to slavery or to your parents or wherever you want. I will put a coin in your pocket on the way out the door. But you won't ever find this again." 

I had not intended to give a speech. In fact, just a few minutes before, before Cin told me about their arrival, I would have doubted I could have said those words to anyone. I had certainly not felt like I was in a natural fit when I was in my room, arguing with my wife. But I could feel it now. I couldn't explain why, but I was suddenly feeling more accepted, more natural. An aura was growing around us, the connection that Cin had promised coming together already. I pushed it right back out to them.

Kıvrak looked over at Peri and then turned her innocent eyes to me. She simply looked at me for a long while and it felt like I was being sized up. I think she was trying to determine whether or not I was speaking truthfully. I think she was partially tempted, to take my money and to leave. But, I could see in her eyes that she wanted to believe me. And her desire to be accepted was enough, she accepted her place as a concubine in my harem. A paltry price to pay.

"As you wish, Sultanah," Kıvrak said in an impossibly tiny voice. But then, she began to disrobe. Her robe was only loosely wrapped around her body and she quickly loosened the fabric over her shoulder. In a moment, the top of the robe flopped forward, exposing everything above Kıvrak's waist. Her small breasts defied gravity, perfectly shaped and high on her slight chest. Her nipples were small and pink and had a puffy appearance that I found appealing. Her body was thinner than I had initially thought and her stomach sloped dramatically down to her waist. She was beautiful, though clearly as a slave she had rarely eaten her fill.

Kıvrak looked up at me now, her eyes looking slightly feverish and nervous. She breathed in deeply and then let it out in a shaking rattle causing her breasts to jiggle slightly. She bit her lip and then looked down at her waist. Finally, she glanced at me again. I looked at her coldly, taking no notice of her obvious discomfort. Kıvrak grew awkward under my gaze and her eyes darted down to her feet again. I heard her mumble something to herself and then she reached down to the bottom of her robe and began to loosen it. Finally, the loose knot came undone and the thin fabric slipped down over Kıvrak's youthful hips and down along her long legs. My eyes immediately darted down to the area between Kıvrak's legs, searching to see if Cin had truly answered my request. And there my eyes found what I hardly could have believed was possible, Kıvrak's cock.

The willowy girl nearly placed her hands over her member, but she looked up and saw my eyes, recognizing that I wanted to see it. She satisfied herself by crossing her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and half covering her nipples. Her cock was around the same length as mine, so roughly five inches. However, while mine was somewhat thick, Kıvrak's cock was thin, only around an inch in diameter at its widest spot. Her balls were also quite small, hanging like small, pale grapes from her white body. Like me, Kıvrak had no hair on her body, making her soft cock appear slightly larger than it was. 

"You are absolutely beautiful," I said, my tongue feeling thick and my mouth filling with saliva.

"Thank you," Kıvrak mumbled, her voice sounding as if she were uncertain if she should believe me.

I looked over at Peri and saw that she was turned, looking at her companion. Peri's eyes were wide and shock was clearly written across her face. I wondered if she had known about Kıvrak's body or if this was the first she had seen it. I decided to end the suspense about bodies, it was time for everyone to follow suit.

"Peri, it is your turn to disrobe," I said. Peri kept her eyes on Kıvrak's cock for a moment, then she turned and looked at me. For a moment, it looked like she was going to say something, then thought better of it. Instead of speaking, Peri nodded and then began to follow my order. She disrobed herself in the same way that Kıvrak had done, reaching up first and untying the loose material around her shoulder. Soon, her perfectly proportioned teardrop shaped breasts were exposed, showing her somewhat long, purplish nipples on her dusky skin. Unlike Kıvrak, Peri took no time to contemplate her next step. In fairness, her taller companion had already opened the door. Peri reached down and rapidly loosened the robe and let it fall into a pile on the floor. 

Peri's cock was large and looked particularly massive on her small frame. It was probably six and a half inches long and quite thick, my hands would probably struggle to wrap around it at the thickest part. It hung down soft between Peri's legs, stretching halfway down the length of her thighs. Her balls were not as large as mine, though much large than Kıvrak's. She also had no hair on her body and I wondered if perhaps we all had the exact same condition. 

"You look just as beautiful as Kıvrak," I said. Peri blushed slightly, but seemed more lively and excited that her friend.

"Thank you," she smirked, putting her hands on her hips. 

Now it was Kıvrak's turn to feel stunned, staring at the body of her companion with her mouth slightly open. The two beautiful women stood in front of me, their cocks hanging between their legs and their nipples growing harder in the cool air. I could not believe that Cin had actually found, as I requested, members of the harem who were like me. My entire life I had wondered if there were other girls like me, born with cocks. Now there were two of them right in front of me, both beautiful and both totally within my possession. I felt my body reacting to the situation, my own nipples grew tight and I felt my cock stirring between my legs.

"Have either of you ever met someone...like you before?" I asked. They turned and looked at one another and both shook their heads.

"Peri, is that why you never married?" I asked, pointing to her cock. 

"Yes ma'am," she said.

"What happens in this room stays here, with just the three of us, is that understood," I said suddenly, sharply. The two women rapidly nodded, "In that case, call me Varis," I said. I paused for a moment, looking at the girls and trying to control my excitement. These women were so beautiful that I would have desire them anyway, but the fact that they were so like me made me feel desirable as well. I wanted to express the sensuality and intimacy I suddenly felt. They felt it too, I could sense it. There was an aura engulfing us and I didn't question it. It felt, as I had predicted, natural and right. And it pushed me forward. I knew that there were things that I needed to do now, things that might not be appropriate given my social station. But they needed to be done, I didn't even question it or wonder where my ideas had come from. Everything that was to come would be absolutely essential, I could sense it. So the agreement to secrecy was important. Having gained agreement, I felt secure. I knew these girls could keep a secret. 

"Have your bodies interfered with your ability to obtain romantic partners?" I asked, trying not to be too crude. Peri knitted her brow and Kıvrak shrugged noncommittally. 

"I don't know what you mean," Peri said.

"Have you ever fucked?" I asked now deciding that it was an appropriate time to be crude. As the dirty word poured from my mouth it made my lips tingle and my heart beat hastened.

"No," said Kıvrak.

"Not...everything. Just those things I could do without taking my clothing off," Peri explained heavily. I knew exactly what I wanted now. I turned then and started walking away. I began making my way toward a couch I saw sitting next to a small fountain on the side of the room. After walking a few steps, I turned over my shoulder and looked at the two women, still standing nervously.

"Follow me," I said, "Peri, you are going to be tested on your claim and Kıvrak, I am going to put an end to your misery." And then I turned and kept walking. As I crossed dozen or so yards to the couch, I reached around on my robe, pulling out loose knots and untying straps. In a few seconds, the robe just melted off of my body and landed in a clump on the floor. I kept walking, stepping out of the robe with ease. I looked down slightly as I walked, seeing my breasts shake in time with my sultry gait and seeing my cock, half-hard now, bouncing with each step. 

Finally, I reached the couch, turned rapidly, and sat down. I cross my legs at the ankle on the floor and threw my arms across the top of the couch. My knees were slightly apart and my cock was easily visible, lying somewhat on the silky fabric of the sofa, sticking up slightly. I opened my eyes and smiled. The two girls were standing close by, only few feet from my body. Peri had a look of excitement on her face, though mixed with nerves (I felt my own emotions matching hers). I wondered briefly about her life, thinking that perhaps she had always waited for a moment like this as well. Kıvrak, on the other hand, looked terrified. Only a lifetime of studied obedience kept her in her place. I did not so much see a disgust with the proceedings or an unwillingness to act, as I saw a fear about what was to come. I would focus on her first.

"Kıvrak," I said, "I want you to climb up onto this couch. Face me and stand with your feet on either side of my hips." Sensing Kıvrak's essential submissiveness, I spoke in an imperious tone, knowing that she would obey. I was not disappointed. She nearly tripped as she started to move forward, caught herself, and then walked quickly to the edge of the couch. Her long legs extended and she stepped up onto the seat, her foot grazing my hips. Then she rose up, her other foot coming to rest against my other hip. 

I now looked up at Kıvrak's body towering statuesque above me. I saw her delicate legs rising up at my sides, her thin hips at my face level. I saw the long stretch of her thin abdomen and the soft curve of the underside of her breasts. I saw her puffy nipples sticking out straight above my head. I saw her face, looking down nervously between her breasts, her eyes wide and her lip pinched between her teeth. 

But the thing I noticed most, of course, was her cock. It was directly in front of my face, just a few inches away from my lips. It was still very soft and looked slightly shriveled with nerves. Her foreskin closed completely over the tip. Each breath made her balls bounce slightly. I could smell the scent of her body, a mix of salty, nervous sweat, and sweet rose perfume. I felt my mouth watering and I licked my lips. 

I had long since given up on ever being with a man. I had found in the past few months that while I had often in my childhood longed for a husband, this had truly been a longing to feel 'normal' than an actual desire to be with a man. After my first time with Arkadas, such a long time ago, I had slowly come to terms with the fact that I was, and always had been, more attracted to women. But, despite this, I had remained in my heart slightly interested a man's touch. Not a man's touch really, I didn't care about that. I wanted to feel a cock. To know what it felt like to be taken as a women. Perhaps my easy familiarity with my own body had kept this curiosity alive even as my interest in men in general faded. But I had never really expected to sate my curiosity in practice. Even if I had found a man to whom I was attracted, it was too dangerous. I could not be seen, as Sultanah, lowering myself before any man. It would be fatal to my power. But here, Cin had collected for me a solution to that problem. Here was everything I wanted in a single package. And I wanted to take it now. But there was still one last thing.

"Peri," I said around Kıvrak's body, "You said you have some experience in matters of the body?" 

"Yes Varis," Peri purred, her voice showing the same excitement I felt.

"Prove it," I said, unhooking my ankles and spreading my legs. I felt my cock bounce slightly and I could tell that in looking at Kıvrak, I had grown completely hard, "Suck my cock," I ordered. I took this as a cue for myself as well. I didn't think, I just moved quickly, letting my desires lead the way, after all I was in my harem.

My right hand shot up from my side and I moved it quickly in front of my body. I quickly wrapped my hand around Kıvrak's cock, feeling my fingers sink into the spongy flesh. Her cock felt somewhat cool in my hand and I could tell she was nervous. But, nonetheless, the feeling was incredible. So different than feeling my own body. My fingers pressed into Kıvrak's body and I felt my thumb bump up against her soft balls. Her limp cock draped down on over my thumb, hanging down towards the floor. I instantly started to slide my fingers up the length of Kıvrak's shaft and my finger moved off of her balls. Soon, most of the shaft was encased in my hand and her skin felt silky and cool. Just the tip of her cock stuck out from the palm of my hand and I lifted it up so that I was looking at her body directly head on. 

I could heard Kıvrak's gasping for breath and I could feel her whole body shaking around my hand. I looked up briefly and I saw her wide eyes staring down at me. She had lifted her left hand up to her mouth and was chewing nervously on her thumb. But I could feel the blood coursing in her cock and it had grown slightly harder against my palm. She was nervous, but her body was reacting to my touch. I took that as a signal to keep going. In fact, I decided to jump in fully.

It would not have been possible to hold me back if I tried. My mouth was dripping and my eyes were open, I knew they looked wild. Every inch of my body was tingling with excitement and I felt my cock throbbing in my lap. I opened my mouth slightly, stretched my neck out, and pushed my lips forward. In half a moment, I felt cool, smooth skin press against my lips. Instinctively, I opened my lips wider, pushing my head forward with more force. I felt the tip of Kıvrak's cock suddenly slip into my mouth.

My tongue rose up instantly to caress the bottom of Kıvrak's shaft. I moaned loudly, the vibrations shaking my mouth and causing Kıvrak to gasp. I cannot adequately describe what this felt like. Kıvrak's skin was so incredibly smooth and felt like it was gently caressing my tongue. I could feel a slight hardness to her and I knew that her excitement was growing. Her skin tasted salty and also somewhat bitter, but in a pleasant way like coffee. Her scent was growing more intense now, the salty, rosy scent from before now mixing with the scent of her cunny, which was now very close to my face, just behind her balls. Kıvrak's free hand came down and gently rested on the top of my head. For a moment I thought she was going to push me farther in towards her stomach, but I quickly realized that she as simply trying to keep her feet.

Whether she was trying to push me or not, I decided I would head in that direction. Kıvrak's cock was still quite soft, so I made a slight vacuum in my mouth, sucking on her gently. I felt the tip of her cock expand in my mouth. But I moved my hand away from her cock, placing it instead on her warm thigh. Kıvrak groaned slightly and her knees wobbled. But I kept sucking on her cock and moving my head forward, taking more and more of her soft shaft into my mouth. I felt her thin cock slipping over my tongue and I undulated it gently, massaging her cock gently as it moved deeper and deeper into her mouth. 

However, when Kıvrak's cock was halfway into my mouth, I suddenly froze. It was not because of anything Kıvrak had done or any reticence on my part. Instead, I was momentarily shocked to find that Peri had started to complete her assigned task. I had not noticed her kneel down between my spread legs and, obviously, I could not see her. But while my tongue swirled over the tip of Kıvrak's cock, I suddenly felt cool fingers wrap around the base of my hard cock, giving me a firm but pleasant squeeze.




The Sultanah Ch. 11



Peri's fingers sunk into my scrotum, feeling warm and firm against my aching balls. My cock, which was harder than I could ever remember feeling it, stuck up high and straight towards the concubine's mouth. She showed no shyness or confusion about her task. I was still coming to terms with the fact that Peri's soft, small hands were feeling my throbbing cock when I felt a soft warmth against my tip. Peri had kissed my cock. Soon, I began to feel kisses down the length of my cock, sometimes tickling the bottom of my shaft, other times the tip or the top. Occasionally, her gentle lips would find their way to my scrotum. Her tongue protruded slightly as she kissed, pressing her hot wet tongue against my flesh and leaving me slightly wet with her saliva. All the while she kept her grip on my cock, rolling her fingers and palm slightly to enhance the sensation.

After a few moments of moaning while I took in the sensation of Peri's touch, I realized that I had stopped moving. I realized something else as well. Despite her anxiety, Kıvrak's body had surrendered to my touch. No longer limp in my mouth, Kıvrak's cock now felt firm (if not completely hard) against my tongue. It had grown slightly as well, pushing out on my tight lips and working its way further into my mouth. As Peri continued to pepper my cock with kisses, I decided to reward Kıvrak further for her show of appreciation. 

I parted my lips slightly and let the vacuum ebb, it was no longer necessary. But I kept my tongue pressed against the bottom of Kıvrak's cock. I started to push my head forward slowly, feeling Kıvrak's skin slipping deeper and deeper into my mouth. Soon, I felt the bulbous tip of her cock, now very hard, slip passed my back teeth and push into my throat. I felt myself gag, my throat closing quickly and my eyes filling with tears. My mouth fill with thick, sticky spit. I took a breath with my nose and kept myself calm. Then, as the gag relaxed, I push again, feeling Kivrak's cock pushing against the back of my throat. I felt my thick saliva dripping all over the length of Kıvrak's shaft and I worked my tongue around on the bottom, coating her with more. I gagged again, but now I knew what to expect, I kept pushing her cock into my throat further, letting my gagging throat wrap around her tip.

Perhaps Peri felt my body convulsing slightly as I gagged and she wanted to reward me. Or maybe she just felt it was time, having already coated my cock in soft kisses. Whatever her reasons, Peri decided to follow my lead. And, I must admit, she was more skilled at it. Her lips were planted against my balls and she quickly kissed her way up the shaft until her lips were pressed against my tip. Then I felt her lips moved and I realized that her mouth had opened. 

I felt her mouth start to slip down the length of my cock. Only, it wasn't slipping against my cock, Peri had opened her mouth wide enough and was moving carefully enough that her tongue and her lips never made contact with my cock. I only knew what she was doing because I could feel the humidity of her mouth as it glided over my aching shaft. Liquid dripped from the tip of my cock and landed in Peri's mouth. I heard her moan but she didn't stop. Eventually, I felt her chin press into my balls and this seemed to give Peri the signal she was waiting for. In an instant, her lips closed and her mouth collapsed around my shaft. I felt her tongue pressing against the throbbing bottom of my cock and I felt her gag as well, her throat closing around my shaft tightly. Then she pulled my cock back slightly, letting it rest against her tongue. Her tongue moved rapidly, coating me in another layer of saliva and tasting my salty skin.

While she was moving, I kept my mouth largely still. Kıvrak's cock was still pressing against the back of my throat and I was now controlling my gag reflex. I kept my tongue moving around on Kıvrak's shaft, letting it bounce on my tongue and bathing it in my saliva. But I was focused on Peri's movement, moaning around Kıvrak's cock as I took in the sensation. 

But as I felt Peri's chin hit my scrotum, I knew I needed to do more for Kıvrak. Now that my gagging was under control, I wanted to go further. Only a half inch or so of Kıvrak's hard cock remained outside of my mouth and I breathed in through my nose and pushed forward. Her cock was so slippery with my saliva now that there was really no trouble at all. I was surprised to find her cock silkily and easily driving across my tongue and deep into my throat. Before I knew it my nose was pressed into Kıvrak's flat belly and my chin was resting against her warm balls.

Now everything had locked into place. Peri was on her knees in front of me, her neck craned so that she could fit my entire cock into her throat. Her tongue moved lazily over my shaft, her head bobbing slightly. Her tits were pressed into the fabric of the couch, though I could feel the sides of them now against my thighs as I closed my legs slightly. Kıvrak was standing on the couch, her feet on either side of my hips. She had one hand gripping desperately to the top of my head, trying to keep balance. The other, I saw, was pulling fiercely on one of her puffy nipples. Her mouth was open and she was moaning loudly. Her hips shook slightly as she thrust into my face. And that was where I was primarily focused. I kept Kıvrak's cock buried deep in my mouth, only occasionally letting it slip out slightly so I could gobble it back up. Her cock had grown very hard and I could feel the vein on the bottom throbbing against my tongue. I could smell the scent of her cunny and my saliva. I had raised both hands up now, reaching them around Kıvrak's body and letting them sink into the soft flesh of my lover's ass, pushing her in more deeply into my face.

I don't know how long we stayed in that position. It felt both like an instant and an eternity. But I remember how it ended. Peri's hands were gently rubbing up and down my thighs while her mouth continued to work around my cock. I felt the tension rising in my body and I stopped breathing out of my nose. My hands sunk more deeply into Kıvrak's ass. I was moaning and shaking my head side to side, letting Kıvrak's cock bounce around my mouth and in my throat. 

I felt myself growing so close that I hardly noticed Kıvrak's body tensing against my own and I certainly didn't notice that her hips were thrusting more and more rapidly towards my face. I felt Peri's tongue slip out of her mouth on the underside of my cock, pushing into my scrotum and I knew I was just seconds away. But Kıvrak was closer. Suddenly, I heard a loud grunt above me and my eyes fluttered open. I looked up at Kıvrak and saw that she was still leaning down over me but her eyes were slammed shut. Her mouth was wide open and she was groaning loudly. In fact, a thin drip of saliva dripped from her senseless mouth and landed on the top of my breasts. Her hips thrust twice more and then I felt the vein on the bottom of her cock expand in my mouth.

Then I felt hot, sticky liquid bursting into my mouth. The first thick jet shot right down my throat, filling my stomach with a warm, unfamiliar feeling. I was a bit shocked and I pulled my head back slightly. But Kıvrak's was not finished and soon more of the thick seed was pouring into my mouth. In coated my touch and covered my teeth. It tasted salty and musky and filled my nose with a strange, dirty floral flavor filled my nose. It was different than my own seed, somewhat alien, but delicious. 

Kıvrak's cock kept expanding in my mouth, shooting more and more of her seed against the insides of my cheeks and off the roof of my mouth. My cheeks began to sag with the weight of her seed and I began to swallow it down so that it would not leak out. It dripped in a large, sticky ball down the back of my throat, landing in my stomach with a warm splash. Kıvrak moaned again, thrusting her hips and depositing the last few drops of her delicious seed in my mouth.

But I did not really have time to savor the sensation. Even as Kıvrak was generously filling my mouth with her seed, Peri was still sucking on my cock. In fact, she had grown more intense and my body had been pushed more and more closely to the edge. In fact, it felt like I was able to push farther, the tension growing more extreme, as I focused on sucking down Kıvrak's juices. But as the last few drops of Kıvrak's seed landed hot against my tongue, Peri pushed me deep into her throat and gagged. Finally, aware of what was happening, I rapidly tumbled over the edge. Soon, thick warm ropes of seed were pouring from my body and splashing into Peri's eager mouth.

And I felt that feeling of warmth and acceptance that one can only feel when another has given them supreme, physical pleasure. Especially when done selflessly, when another gives you pleasure but receives none in return. It emanated out from between my legs, but eventually swept up over my entire body, filling me with a sense of satisfaction and belonging. Everything else just faded away and I existed in that moment entirely. It was absolutely beautiful.

Eventually, the pleasure began to fade and I became aware of where I was and what I was doing. Peri was still on her knees in front of me and the sensitive tip of my cock was still in her mouth as she sucked the last of my seed down. Kıvrak was leaning forward heavily, her hands now on the back of the couch and her breasts resting against the top of my head. Her cock was still in my mouth, though it was rapidly growing soft. My face was smeared slightly with her seed, feeling sticky where it had dripped from my mouth. I opened my lips and let her cock fall out of me. Kıvrak sighed and then rolled over onto the couch, panting heavily. 

I looked down at Peri who was now looking up at me, able to see me. She still had her hand around the base of my cock and it was still hard. She gave me a naughty look, winked, and then licked the tip of my cock. I giggled and then beckoned for her to release me. She did so reluctantly, standing up in front of me. Her cock looked painfully hard now, the circumcised tip looking red and desperate. Her nipples were also extremely hard and her breasts looked like they ached. I needed to help her. I licked my lips, tasting Kıvrak's seed, and knew just how I wanted to do it. But I wanted everyone involved.

"Kıvrak," I ordered suddenly, "Get down on your hands and knees on the floor." Kıvrak rolled over onto her back on the couch, her legs flopping over my thighs and her cock lying limp against her stomach. She was panting and her breasts were rising and falling rapidly on her chest. She gave me a look as if she could not believe I wanted her to act now. I didn't feel like waiting, I was by no means sated yet. I snapped my fingers and pointed to the floor. Now Kıvrak moved. In a moment, she was on her hands and knees on the ground.

Kıvrak was facing away from the couch and her ass was up in the air. Her long, narrow back extended down towards her blonde head. She was turned back, looking at me nervously. I looked briefly down towards her legs. I saw that her white asscheeks, small and tight, had pulled apart and revealed a small, crinkled pink asshole. Below that, I saw a tight pink slit of a cunny, glistening with juices and pulling apart slightly, inviting someone in. Her lips were somewhat large and looked inflamed with excitement. Belong that, I saw small balls hanging in a slightly reddened scrotum. And below that, I saw a soft, narrow shaft of a cock hanging down towards the floor. I had never been able to see myself in that angle, though I knew that is roughly what I would look like. I was surprised at how alluring I found Kıvrak's body. My cock, which had never really gotten soft after finishing in Peri's mouth, now grew as hard as ever before and my nipples began to tingle.

I slipped quickly from the bed and dropped to my knees directly behind Kıvrak. My hands instantly found their way to Kıvrak's hips. My cock, sticking up hard between Kıvrak's legs actually bumped into Kıvrak's cock, making it shake slightly. Kıvrak's moaned and her knees grew weak. I giggled at this and actually pulled back for a second and then leaned forward. I could smell Kıvrak's salty cunny and feel the head coming off of it. I pressed my lips against her balls and then kissed down the length of her cock, planting a final, long kiss on the tip (in fact I stuck out my tongue and bounced it against it. Then I returned to my position behind her body.

Her body was so much taller than mine, her legs so long, that as I situated myself behind her, I found that I could not reach her body. I reached underneath of her with my hand and pushed her knees apart. Kıvrak seemed to sense what I wanted and she splayed her knees out far on the marble floor. She groaned a little in pain as she spread her legs very wide. So wide, in fact, that the tip of her soft cock pressed against the cold floor. Now my hands returned to her hips and I found that her body was somewhat low, but in a perfect position.

I reached my hand up and licked my forefinger and middle finger briefly. Then I moved it down towards Kıvrak's cunny. Any concern I had was completely unfounded. After a moment, my fingers found Kıvrak's lips. My damp fingers barely added to her wetness. Her body was absolutely dripping with excitement. I could actually see her juices spilling out from her wet cunny and dribbling down the length of her cock. She was ready. And, as I looked at my hard, throbbing cock, I knew I was ready as well. 

I moved my now wet fingers to my cock, wrapping my hand around my shaft and pushing it down slightly. My cock felt sticky form Peri's mouth and was slightly damp. It felt like a rock wrapped in velvet in my hand as I moved my hips and got myself in place. After a moment, I felt the hard tip of my cock press against Kıvrak's wet cunny lips. Kıvrak gasped and her hips thrust back slightly. No longer shy, the girl wanted this. So did I and I wasted no time in obliging.

My hips thrust forward slightly and I gasped as I felt the tip of my cock slip into Kıvrak's eager cunny. She was so incredible wet that I simply slipped inside. But she was very tight inside and I felt her muscles squeeze tightly around my cock. I bent my head down, looking at where my cock entered the woman's body. I felt a dirty chill just looking at it. But I had a more important task. I spit a large blob of saliva from my lips and it splashed down onto the top of my cock. My hand, still down between my legs, spread the slippery saliva all over my cock, covering it in a thick shiny layer and adding to Peri's drying spit. 

Then, when I was wet, I started to push again. Kıvrak moaned and her body trembled, but her hips kept pushing back. I felt my cock slipping more easily into Kıvrak's body, her cunny squeezing me tightly the whole way. Finally, I felt my balls press into Kıvrak's balls and I felt her cock bounce limp against my body. Kıvrak moaned loudly and I let out a groan. I was completely inside of her now, my cock wrapped in the warm wetness of her body.

As soon as my cock was completely inside Kıvrak's cunny, my hands returned to her hips. I was just about to start thrusting in and out of Kıvrak's cunny when something caught the corner of my eye. Peri was standing to my left, watching me push my cock into Kıvrak's body. Her hand was wrapped around her own cock, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were wide. She was breathing heavily and her breasts shook on her body. I had nearly forgotten. Peri was the only person who had not received any satisfaction yet.

"Do you want to join us?" I asked, looking directly in the shorter woman's eyes. As I spoke, shook my hips left to right and then back, moving my cock around inside of Kıvrak's cunny. I purred as her body tightened around me and she moaned. Peri nodded her head enthusiastically.

"More than I've ever wanted anything, Varis," She said, her hand moving faster on her hard cock. The tip looked like it was about to explode and my mouth watered. Kıvrak's seed had tasted delightful and I wondered how Peri would differ. I lifted my left up and hooked my finger at Peri.

"Come here, stand right by my side," I said. Peri practically jumped, bounding the distance between us and sending her cock and her breasts bouncing. After a moment, she stopped by my side as I had ordered. I started to slowly move my hips, pushing in and out of Kıvrak's body. I was rewarded with loud gasps followed by moans. I kept my right hand on Kıvrak's hip, holding her in place while her cunny wrapped ever more tightly and wetly around me. I listened to the sound of her cock bouncing back into my balls and then slapping forward against her stomach. Her scent was overwhelming and it pushed me to act with Peri.

Peri was standing nervously with her hand still wrapped around the base of her cock. She was very close to me. In fact, I could feel her cock near the side of my face and we both knew what we wanted. I turned my head to the side and looked up at Peri's body. I followed the slope of her hips up to her perfectly shaped breasts, her purplish nipples looking as hard as diamonds. Her pretty face was looking down at her own cock, watching her hand stroke towards the side of my face. My eyes dropped down to her cock. The tip was an inflamed red color and its circumcised dome was so hard it looked like polished marble. The reddish brown shaft looked almost as smooth between her fingers. I didn't want to wait any longer, I opened my mouth and leaned forward.

There was a small drip of seed on the end of Peri's cock and this was the first, salty sweet thing I felt against my tongue. I savored the flavor and marveled at the strange feeling of the tip of Peri's cock, so smooth and hot with the foreskin removed. But I did not get a chance to explore for long, Peri was absolutely desperate. She roughly pushed her hips forward, flattening down my tongue with the force of her movements. I opened my lips wider to accommodate her and felt the hard bottom of her shaft slip over my tongue. In half a moment, Peri's cock was in the back of my throat and I was gagging around it. My lips were stretched around the girth of her body and I felt like I was swallowing her whole shaft. She pulled back slightly, her cock coated in my saliva, and gave me a chance to breathe. But, before long, her cock was once again pounding into the back of my throat, causing me to gag. 

I kept my hands on Kıvrak's hips and simply let Peri do what she wanted, I never tried to stop her rough thrusts. After a few moments, I felt one of Peri's hands reach around to the back of my head, giving her more control of my mouth. Her other hand dropped down and mercifully found my breasts. Her fingers skittered over my nipples, pinching them and sinking in the flesh of my breasts. I tried to gasp around Peri's cock but found that it only slipped deeper into my throat, making a vibrating gurgling sound.

Now the three of us were working on the same steady beat. Kıvrak, on her hands and knees, thrust back at a very steady rate, pushing into my body. I felt her cock and her breasts shaking with each movement and I could hear her wanton moans filling the cavernous room. I was kneeling behind her, thrusting my cock in and out of her body, savoring the sensation of her cunny wrapping tightly around me. My head was turned to the side and I was pushing my face into Peri's body. I felt her balls against my chin and my nose was pressed hard into her soft stomach. I could smell her scent, different from Kıvrak's, a fruitier, heartier smell that mixed pleasantly with the smell of Kıvrak's cunny. 

Peri's cock was pressed deeply into my throat and I could taste the salty, rich flavor of her skin as my tongue undulated against the bottom of her shaft. Occasionally I gagged on Peri's thick cock and tears were running down my cheeks, my mouth was full of thick saliva. Peri's hand on the back of my head pushed more forcefully all the time, trying to drive her cock deeper into my throat. Her hand on my breast grew more insistence, pinching and grasping with abandon.




The Sultanah Ch. 11



Given Peri's state of arousal, it was no surprise that she was the first to finish. The only surprise was the force she showed in finishing. At first, I simply felt her balls seize up against my chin. Then I felt her hand shove hard on the back of my head. Her whole body was shaking wildly and a croaking noise came from her throat. I felt her rise up on her tiptoes and her cock pushed up against the roof of my mouth. Peri let out a loud groan and then I felt the vein on the lower side of her cock expand in my mouth. 

Suddenly, my mouth was filled with a sweet, musky liquid. Unlike Kıvrak (or me, for that matter), Peri's seed did not shoot out in giant globs. Instead, it seemed to pour out of her body in a steady, overwhelming stream of thick liquid. It rapidly coated my tongue and covered my teeth. I felt it pouring down my throat and my cheeks began to sag. I tried to swallow, but the position of Peri's cock made that impossible. Instead, Peri's cock continue to pour into me until it overflowed, pouring out from my lips and dripping onto my chin, neck, and breasts. Peri's hand stayed on the back of my head the whole time, but eventually, the flow of seed slowed to a stop and Peri's body relaxed with a sigh. She took a wobbly step back, her still-hard cock popping from my lips.

She looked at me and then gave me a lewd smile, "Varis, you look so pretty like that," she said, moving her hand in a way that indicated the seed toward the seed on my face and body. I looked down at the pearly liquid pooling on my body and shivered. I stopped thrusting into Kıvrak's body and moved my hands up to the mixture of seed and saliva on my breast. I groaned as I started to rub the liquid into my skin, kneading it into my breast until a sticky film covered my nipples and my breasts. The fruity, salty smell of Peri's seed filled my nose as it coated my skin and I breathed it in deeply. Peri kept her eyes on me as I moved. In fact, her hand returned to her cock, still hard, and started to stroke again as she watched. A girl after my own heart. 

Kıvrak had no idea what I was doing, she just knew that I was no longer thrusting into her. She pushed her hips back once and groaned. I felt her hot, dripping cunny around me and I pushed back into her once as well. Her cock bounced back against me and I could feel that she was hard again, her cock pushing up and running along her stomach. I nearly continued what I had been doing before. But as I moved I felt a slickness between my thighs. For a moment, I was unsure of what caused it. Then I realized, my cunny was dripping down my leg.

Ever since my first experience with Arkadas, I had consistently ignored my cunny. My cock was, literally and symbolically, the source of all my worldly power. It was my right to act as Sultanah and the future of the Hanedan Dynasty. The women I had been with had recognized that power and had sought to please it. I, feeling a bit uncertain and insecure in my position, had also focused on it, ignoring that there was another half to my identity. I barely thought of my cunny or thought of it only in passing. 

But here I was, with these two women who knew exactly how I felt and my cunny was making itself apparent. In fact, I could smell my own tart scent mixing with that of Kıvrak's dripping cunny and Peri's sticky seed in the room. Suddenly, I felt an overpowering desire to take the opportunity and embrace my cunny and to be taken as a woman can be taken. In fact, a sudden vision flashed into my head, something even more spectacular. I slipped my cock out of Kıvrak's body and heard her groan in disappointment. I would make it up to her.

"Both of you on the floor, I know what I want," I ordered. The two women looked confused but I began to grab at their limbs and to direct them into the correct position. After a few moments, they seemed to understand what I wanted and they rapidly began to get themselves into position. After only a half a minute of manipulation, the two women were ready and waiting for me.

They were both lying on their backs on the cold floor of the chamber. Their heads were facing opposite directions, their toes pointed toward once another's feet. But they weren't simply lying next to one another, they were overlapped. Kıvrak's left thigh was thrown up over Peri's right thigh and vice versa. Their bodies were pushed all the way together so that their balls and wet cunnies were pressed together. The shafts of their cocks shot up from their bodies, pointing towards the ceiling of the chamber. Peri's cock was longer and thicker, outstripping her partner's body, making my choice easy.

As soon as the girls were in position, I stepped over their bodies, placing my feet on their side of their interlaced thighs. I was facing Peri, my back to Kıvrak. The two were excited and I could see them writhing on the floor, pressing their cocks and the cunnies together. I didn't want to force them to wait any longer. I quickly started to kneel down on the floor, placing my knees where my feet had once been.

As soon as I was in position, I felt their cocks touching my body. Peri's cock slipped up against my own and I could feel her heat and hardness against me. Kıvrak's cock slipped up between the cheeks of my ass, grinding wetly against my anus and then pushing hard and wet against my skin. I shivered and moaned as I felt this, but I wanted more. I looked at Peri first.

"I want you in my cunny," I breathed at her, actually lifting her hand and placing it on her own cock, willing her to take the next step. I didn't even look to see what she was doing, instead, I looked over my shoulder at Kıvrak. In the same motion, I put my right hand to my mouth and spit a large glob of saliva into it. I brought it down to my neck, finding a patch of undisturbed seed there, I scooped up that liquid as well. As I looked into Kıvrak's eyes I slathered the saliva and seed against the crinkled folds of my anus, "I want you in my asshole," I said. Then I turned back to Peri. I put my hands on my breasts, squeezing my nipples and letting the girls know that they were to fulfill my commands, that I was done orchestrating their actions.

They jumped to their task quickly. They didn't even need to speak, they seemed to sense instinctively what needed to be done. I felt their hands and arms lifting me up slightly and I felt them moving their cocks into the correct position. In just a few moments, I felt Peri's cock pressing against the dripping opening of my cunny. I looked up and Peri nervously, this was the first time I had ever felt this sensation. She looked wild with excitement but smiled at me reassuringly. Slowly, she began to lower me down onto her cock.

The sensation was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I felt the lips of my cunny spread apart and then I felt the bulbous tip of Peri's cock push into my tight opening. I gasped as my body gave way, allowing Peri to enter me further. I was so incredibly wet that Peri's cock easily made its way inside of me. But I was tight, I could feel my body wrapping around hers. There was some pain, I admit, but the pleasure was undeniable. So different than being on the other side of this equation. After a few moments, I felt my body settle down onto Peri's, her cock buried entirely within my body. I felt her hardness filling me totally, a tingly wholeness I cannot adequately describe.

But I didn't have time to dwell on it, or even to catch my breath. Even as I was panting and moaning at this delightful, alien sensation, Peri was wrapping her arms around me and pulling me down. I let out a surprised yelp and pitched forward slightly. I felt my breasts land on Peri's breasts, our hard nipples rubbing together. I felt my hard cock press into Peri's belly, and then my own, as I collapsed down on top of her. Our faces were just a few inches apart and I felt Peri's cock shifting deliciously inside of my body.

Before I had a chance to figure out what was going on, Kıvrak's eliminated all doubt. I was still growing accustomed to the feeling of Peri's cock in my cunny, when I felt the forcefully kiss of Kıvrak's cock pressing against my anus. Peri had tipped me forward slightly so that Kıvrak could reach my asshole. My body went tense as she touched me and I sucked in air quickly. Peri's hand rose up on my sides, rubbing my ribs and the sides of my breasts. She shushed me, encouraged me to breathe, and told me to relax my body. Her voice was soothing and I took her advice.

With my body no longer overly tense, Kıvrak was able to begin. I felt one of Kıvrak's hands on my lower back while the other one was clearly wrapped around her thin cock. I kept my eyes forward on Peri, who was smiling devilishly. She moved her hips slightly, moving her cock inside of my cunny and making me swoon. But it kept me focused on pleasure and I barely winced when I felt the tip of Kıvrak's cock gently stretching open my anus. I nonetheless gasped as I felt the bulbous tip slip into me entirely. Peri reached her hands up to my head, playing in my hair and keeping me relaxed. I felt my anus stretching and there was some real pain now, though it mixed with the pleasure of Peri's cock in my cunny. 

Kıvrak's took her hand from her cock (she was set inside of me now, it was not going anywhere) and she spit in her palm. I heard her slathering her saliva on her cock and then felt her wet fingers slipping around my anus. Now more completely lubricated, Kıvrak began to slowly pull my hips back. Rather than thrust inside of me, Kıvrak and Peri slowly rocked me back into my earlier kneeling position. As they did so, I could feel Kıvrak's slippery cock begin to inch its way into my asshole. The women moved slowly but deliberately, and I felt every inch of Kıvrak's cock as it stretched me out and pushed deeper and deeper into me. 

The deeper she went, the easier it became. Soon the pain was subsiding and a new, pleasurable feeling started to replace it. My body began to tingle and I became aware of the sensations swirling around me. I felt Peri's cock rocking inside of me while Kıvrak pushed deeper. There was only a small amount of tissue separating their cocks and I could feel them both inside of me, rubbing against one another deliciously. Before I knew it, I was sitting up straight above my lovers' hips, both of their cocks shoved to the hilt inside of me. My own cock was sticking out straight away from my body, hard and excited.

"Oh Gunes, I feel so full," I moaned. I raised my hands above my head, sticking my fingers into my hair and pulling on it gently, seeking relief from the relentless sensation. Peri's hands rose up as I spoke, her palms instantly finding my nipples and her fingers sinking into my flesh. Kıvrak's hand were also busy, rising up to my full ass and grasping at my flesh. I ever felt her pull my cheeks apart so she could watch her thin, white cock disappear into my tight, stretched asshole.

We were all locked together perfectly and we began to writhe together. Our actions were not pre-meditated, but we all moved in the same way, our efforts complementing one another. I rock slightly on my hips, my head thrown back wildly and my eyes closed. I could hear myself moaning, but it was like a sound coming from a million miles away. All of my energy was focused down between my legs and it seemed like an entire universe of pleasure and formed there, engulfing everything else and washing away any other concern. 

Peri kept her hands on my breasts, squeezing them and exploring them. At the same time, she bounced her ass up and down on the floor wildly, sending her cock pounding in and out of my virgin cunny. Each thrust of her cock seemed to push it deeper, finding new nerves and new pleasures. My cock and balls bounced wickedly on top of Peri's body and little droplets of early seed dribbled across her chest. I could feel her eyes on the curves of my body and I could hear her panting and tensing beneath me.

Kıvrak's motions were more controlled, but it took less movement to cause a huge reaction there. Rather than jumping up and down on the floor, Kıvrak largely kept her body motionless, letting Peri's movements gently rock her cock in and out of my anus. The more she moved, the looser and more comfortable I became. Any sense of discomfort or pinching had long-since evaporated and instead her careful motions seemed to be rocking me towards oblivion. The only force in Kıvrak's motions was in her hands, where she gripped ever more forcefully on the flesh of my ass and spread my cheeks farther apart so that she could watch herself fuck me.

Each of their actions individually were amazing, but it was the way they came together that made the experience so unbelievable. I could feel their cocks rubbing together inside of me. It seemed that each motion found just a little extra space inside of me to the point that I was overfilled, like their cocks would pop out of my mouth. But there was no discomfort from this, instead, the more and more filled I became, the better I felt. I could sense warmth growing between my legs, my toes stretched, my knees locked, my nipples tingled, and my throat issued moans unbidden from my conscious mind.

It was all too much. I finished first. The sensations swirling around me were so intense that I didn't even sense it coming on. I was riding the pleasure and the bodies beneath me and simply enjoying the feeling of everything coming together in this way. But suddenly, I felt a concentrated point of pleasure erupt from between my legs. It had an impossible intensity that instantly outstripped the narrow point that had birthed it and it erupted out all over my body, spreading from my cock down my legs and up over my breasts before overwhelming my brain. I heard myself screeching loudly and I could tell that all my muscles were tied in knots. But all I felt was the pleasure of my orgasm as it tore through my body.

As the sensation started to fade (somewhat) I once again became aware of the world around me. My eyes shot opened and I looked ahead of me. I saw a large spurt of seed, almost eye level, in the air. I watched it fall and then splatter on to Peri's face, coating her nose and splashing across her smiling teeth. It looked as though several globs had already fallen on her and Peri's face looked iced with my seed. There were also strips of seed across her stomach, breasts, and neck. There was even seed pooling in her hair.

Even while the last few globs of my seed poured from my body and landed on Peri, it seemed that I had pushed her over the edge. She was smiling, but her teeth were clenched and her eyes were closed. I was trying to catch my breath and feeling light-headed as I felt all of Peri's muscles tighten underneath me. Suddenly, deep in my cunny, I felt a burst of warmth that I had never felt before. I heard Peri groan and felt her fingers sink ever more deeply into my sensitive nipples. Peri thrust her hips a few more times and I knew that her sticky, pearly seed was filling my cunny.

Peri's rapid movements (as well as my instinctive clenching during my own orgasm) triggered Kıvrak as well. Peri's cock rubbed her through my body while my tight anus held her in place. I heard her groan loudly and felt her fingers sink into my ass. For the first time, she thrust her hips up, driving her cock deeper into my ass that it had ever been before. I grunted at the sudden jolt. I was holding my breath now, feeling like I might collapse as I withstood the onslaught. The same warmth I had felt in my cunny was now repeated, only deep in my asshole. It felt different, both because Kıvrak's seed came out with more force and because there seemed to be less space for it. I felt it stretching out my insides, making me feel hot and bursting. 

For several seconds, the girls just thrust their cocks hard up into me, moaning and writhing on the floor and my body pulled the last few drops of their seed from their aching balls. Finally, they each gave one last, small thrust at the same time and then collapsed onto the floor panting. I took a large gasping breath and only then became aware of the pleasure I had felt, allowing the women to place their seed in my body. 

But I was still far too lightheaded from sensation and lack of breath. I saw dark spots in front of my eyes, smiled, and then pitched over to the side. I heard the girls groan as their slipper cocks popped out of my body (a pleasant sensation that I had never experienced before) and landed panting on the ground next to them. No longer corked in by cocks, the seed now overflowed my body, pouring into pearly pools on the marble floor. I hardly noticed. I embraced the cold marble floor and took large, heaving breaths. I could hear the other women doing the same around me.

For a long while that was all I could do, trying to get myself together and enjoy the afterglow of a particularly powerful experience. Eventually, I was able to catch my breath and I sat up. The other women were still laying on the floor, getting their bearings. They cocks, now limp, lay against their thighs. I could see their breasts heaving as they breathed, but I saw absent-minded smiles on their faces. They were a million miles away, basking in the pleasure they had never expected to feel.

I noticed as I sat that my cunny and my asshole felt wet. I looked down and saw that I was sitting in a puddle of seed. The floral, musky smell rose up from it, making my tired cock twitch slightly. Without thinking, I reached my hand down towards the seed. It was rapidly cooling on the marble, making it feel slightly thicker but no less sticky. I played with it for a minute, watching the swirls in the pearly liquid as I mixed Peri's seed with Kıvrak's. 

Without thinking, I scooped up a small amount of the mixed seed with my finger, pushing it into my palm. I looked up at the girls. They were looking at me now, but seemed too tired to say or do anything else. I saw Peri's face and noticed the seed, my seed, still plastered all over it. Without asking, I reached forward and put my finger against Peri's cheek. I moved my other hand over as well, still cradling the seed. I scooped my finger down along Peri's cheek, slipping some of my seed down into my palm. 

I moved back slightly and looked at my palm. I used my finger to swirl the seed some more, mixing my juices with that of the other girls. The pearly color seemed to grow more luminescent, like it was infused with the rays of the sun. The scent became more powerful, a mixture of all the heady aromas we each had produced. Despite my fatigue, I felt my nipples grow hard just at the scent. I knew what I wanted to do. I quickly raised my palm up to my face, tilting it back towards me. 

In a moment, I felt the cooling liquid press against my lips. I opened them, allowing the thick, salty seed to pour into my mouth and pool on my tongue. The taste was even more incredible than I would have believed given the scent and I stuck my tongue out, licking it rapidly off my tongue. I wanted to savor it, to taste it and let it roll around in my mouth, but I couldn't wait. I swallowed it down quickly, feeling it deposit deep in my stomach.

I closed my eyes and savored the aftertaste of the seed on my tongue, and breathed the scent of it through my nose. Despite the fact that the seed had been cooling, it felt warm in my stomach. In fact, I felt a certain calmness come over me and I no longer felt tired, no longer felt like I was short on air. I just felt at peace at that moment, I let it soak over me.

I didn't really notice that I had begun to think until I was already forming several complex ideas. I had been so excited when Cin had brought me here and showed me these women (and informed me who they were) that her words seemed to roll right off my back. I hadn't even noticed them. Now I found I had been ruminating over them all this time. Something about the acts I had just performed seemed to crystalize these thoughts together. I could not explain it, but I felt like I had gulped down wisdom and it was emanating all over my body, spreading out from my stomach.




The Sultanah Ch. 11



Cin, of course, had been right. I had been searching for acceptance as Sultanah since the day of my coronation. Earlier actually. I had been trying to convince the people and the barons of my legitimacy by acting as a Sultan would act. I had been trying desperately to find an ally, someone in the world to take up arms against my enemy on my behalf, as my father had tried. Seeking allies was important (necessary really) but it had become more than that to me. I felt so strange, so alone and different. I felt that outside confirmation would make me feel whole. But I was rejected everywhere and by everyone. Even those who had an interest in my success. No one trusted me, they didn't understand me. I tried to project the male aspects of myself, to make myself seem like the other leaders (for my own sake, if not for theirs), but I was denying something about myself. I sought their daughters for marriage, I played their dynastic games, I thought of war on their terms. But I was denying something about myself in these encounters. I was different. But I understood now, that didn't have to mean I would be alone. 

Cin was there for me. Arkadas was there. Kardes, Soyguncu, Saygili, and others were there as well. They had not (all) been there waiting when I first became Sultanah, I had had to work to find them. And to keep them. But now I had earned their loyalty. And we were stronger because of it. They would not have been a sufficient Inner Council for someone else, a normal, male Sultan. A bunch of women, a thief, a glorified guard. But I was not a normal, male Sultan. The world was not designed for me. But I was making a place for myself by working harder, by finding things that other people didn't want and using them in ways that no one else could. 

Who else would want two cocked concubines? Even two as beautiful as Kıvrak and Peri? They would not know what to do with them at best, be disgusted at worse. But I had felt whole here, physically and spiritually, in a way I never did when I worked against my nature. They had filled me and made me feel invincible. I had searched through the trash of men, to find the diamonds in the rough for a Sultanah. It would not have worked for anyone else, but it gave me strength.

These thoughts truly illustrated Cin's insight or, perhaps the insight of Gunes, because I would never have been able to see the connection between this issue and my problems with my wife, Nislani. Why was I still in conflict with her? I had spoken honestly with Cin, my hatred of her had truly burned away. But if that was the case, what did we have left to fight about? What did it mean when I thought that we were not connecting? Perhaps it was not her or me, but the boxes we had placed ourselves in. I had married her. She was my wife and I was the...husband. We tried to fill those roles because that is what we knew and that is what everyone else expected, even if they were disgusted by us. But that wasn't who we were. I was not a husband. Nislani was not a wife. Placing a hat on a dog does not make him a man. But there was something there, between us. There had to be, Gunes would not have put us together otherwise. 

And that was the realization that I had, covered in seed and panting on the cold floor of my harem, surrounded by concubines with cocks. I was thinking about my policy in a fundamentally flawed way. At the same time, I was thinking of my marriage in a fundamentally flawed way. What I needed to do was stop thinking about what I was supposed to do based on what anyone else would do. I was not anyone else. I needed to work harder and think about my situation differently. I needed to find connections on my own terms. And when I did, they'd be stronger than steel.

End Chapter 11

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN



The Sultanah Ch. 12



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 12 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl. In Chapter 8, Varis is briefly engaged and kills her fiancé for betraying her. In Chapter 9, Varis slept with a member of the harem, her half-sister, while her aunt watched. In Chapter 10, Varis wed her sister and consummated the marriage. In Chapter 11, Varis sleeps with two new hermaphrodite members of the harem.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 12: Connections Cemented

"If you didn't want to come you could have just said so," I said angrily. Kardes, sitting next to me, jumped slightly, then turned to look at me. Her eyes grew narrow.

"What?" she asked in a whisper. She looked around the reception room to see if anyone heard me speaking to her. We were, after all, technically prisoners. But I was not concerned about that. The Republic of Anaerki was a strange land, but it was not completely without social convention (Cin assured me). The worst case scenario was that we would be released without any other issue. We were waiting, shackled, in the reception room of the Mürebbiye of Anaerki, the elected head of government. Only the Mürebbiye could set us free or, I hoped, cement a deal. But the door to the throne room (or whatever a Republican leader elected for life calls a throne room) I had bigger things to worry about at this time.

"If you didn't want to come on this trip, you didn't have to. Just say you don't want to go, you don't have to be passive aggressive the entire trip," I shot back, not bothering to whisper. Perhaps that was not a great idea, but at this point my nerves were shot. Kardes had been giving them quite a workout over the last few days and I had reached my wits end.

It had started before we had set out for Anaerki. I had thought I was doing something nice for my older sister, but it seemed that I was wrong. Worse, I had no idea why I was wrong. In fact, as I thought of it, I realized she had essentially invited herself along.

The day after my experience with Kıvrak and Peri I had been in my room, going over some of my maps with Saygili. Kardes and Cin were present, talking to one another, and not really paying attention. Saygili and I were discussing the defense of a new trade route, having agreed to a deal with Prince Aptallar Altın of Ada (and no, Nislani had not let me hear the end of how beneficial the deal was). While looking at the map, I noticed a small gray area blocked out on the map that ran through some mountains just to the North of the Empire's current borders. The new trade route would not be affected by this area, nonetheless, I pointed to it.

"What is this?" I asked. Saygili shook his head and began talking about the trade route again, but I interrupted him, "Cin, come here, what is this?" I asked. Cin stopped speaking to Kardes and walked over to the table. My sister followed her. Cin gazed at the map a second.

"Anaerki," she said, then turned and started to speak to Kardes again. I snorted.

"Yes, and this is the land of milk and honey just to its left. There to the right, dogs are kings and the streets are paved in silver," I said dryly. Everyone knew the stories of the Anaerki. A mysterious land in the North with bizarre, savage practices. It was a fantasy land invented by adults to tell their children during long winter nights with nothing else to do. Saygili laughed slightly at my joke.

"The only country with a dog for a king is this one," Cin shot back, "That is the Republic of Anaerki," she said.

"That is a myth, really, what is that place?" I said.

"It is not a myth, Cin said, her voice growing somewhat annoyed. If this was a joke of some sort, she was really committing to it, "The Republic of Anaerki is a small patch of ground with a relatively small, warrior population. Their remote location and savage ways ensured that the Empire, in its hay day, enveloped rather than conquered it. The Anaerkis would, occasionally, raid into the Empire. Other times they were hired as mercenaries. That is how they got their fearsome reputation. But they have never left. They stay in the mountains and maintain their independence and neutrality," she said. I looked at her face, seeking some indication of a smile. But there was none. Cin was, apparently, telling the truth. I couldn't believe it. The stories I had heard since I was child...Some of it was true. But how much?

"Do they boil their enemies and eat them?" I asked, thinking about one story in particular that had given me nightmares as a small child.

"Many of the stories told of them are exaggerations," Cin explained, "But don't believe that it is all just stories. Their reputation is earned." Cin said. She saw me looking at her intently, still waiting for a straight answer, "Boil? Sometimes. Eat? Never," she responded. I felt so strange, like we had uncovered a strange new civilization just outside our borders. A legend come to life.

"If they used to act as our mercenaries, why have they ceased to serve us? Why have they faded into legend?" I asked. Cin smiled now, realizing I was taking her seriously.

"The Anaerkis do not worship Gunes. In the old days, given that they were outside of the Empire's direct jurisdiction, the Emperors did not press the point. They were allowed to worship their own, private goddesses. But Tanri was not as tolerant. The Anaerki refused to convert and the relationship faded," Cin explained. Yet another corrosion of the Empire that could be laid at Tanri's door. But Cin's story piqued my interest nonetheless.

"Are they still as war-like as they were in those days?" I asked now. Cin shrugged.

"My experience with Anaerki is extremely limited. They were always very traditional. I doubt they have changed much," she said.

"I am going. I am going to ask their King..."

"Their Mürebbiye," Cin corrected.

"Their...whatever, if what was once a profitable relationship can be salvaged all these years later," I said. I spoke with iron conviction. I don't know where it came from. But the sense of anticipation was rising in me with each word that Cin spoke about the ancient, mountain people. It was some sort of hunch, a realization that this was what I was supposed to do.

"I doubt it," Cin said without affect.

"Why? Is it dangerous? You know that does not bother me," I said, moving away from the table and joining Cin and Kardes.

"Unfortunately that is true. You don't know that there is a difference between bravery and recklessness. You are lucky that Gunes protects you," she said wryly, "No, I don't doubt you would go. But I don't think you would have much success." I ignored her chiding and pressed on.

"Why not? If the bone of contention was Tanri...Well that is gone. I am in no position to dictate to outsiders. The God of the Empire is Gunes. But our allies can worship whatever they want," I said, warming to the prospect. Here it was, exactly what I had been looking for. A different kind of alliance, one that no one else would court. One that would be difficult to procure. Isn't that what Cin had been implying that I should look for? It seemed like a perfect opportunity.

"I think that it is unlikely that they have forgiven the rebuke offered by the earlier followers of Tanri," Cin explained, "They are a very proud people."

"What is more humbling that the Sultanah herself, coming in person to apologize and ask for forgiveness? We simply explain that we made a mistake in the past, turned our back on an ally...a valued ally at that, and that we want to make amends" The more I talked, the more I warmed to the idea. It seemed like an excellent strategy to me. But as finished speaking, Kardes snorted. I turned to look at her, she looked annoyed. "What?" I asked.

"You think that will be enough?" she asked, "A partnership of several hundred years, discarded over what you will now admit is a passing fad, and you think you can just say you are sorry? What right do you have to expect them to come crawling back to us?" Kardes sounded bitter as she spoke, like she could sense enormity of the harm apparently felt by the Anaerkis. Cin remained quiet, looking at my sister.

"I am not responsible for the circumstances that gave rise to the breach," I said, "I won't lean on that fact, it is unbecoming. But certainly they will be aware. I will simply say that as soon as the situation came to my attention, I decided to rectify it." Once again, I believed I had a perfectly satisfactory explanation.

"So their concerns did not come to your attention until several months into your reign? How will that fly?" Kardes shot back.

"I have been a little busy defending my country and preventing it from being overrun," I said back, now feeling hot myself. Why was Kardes fighting me so hard on this? 

"There are still issues closer to home," Cin said and then she looked over at my sister, making it clear she was lending support there. I had expected both my sister and Cin to think this was an excellent idea. But they both seemed reluctant.

"There are always going to be issues at home!" I shot back, "This is a chance to do...to do what you suggested Cin, and you know it. I am seeking new connections on my own terms. What is the source of your reticence?" 

"I never told you to jeopardize your existing strength in the search for something new. What are you doing to protect your current network?" Cin said and I instantly furrowed my brow. 

"What are you talking about? I don't have a 'network' that is the entirety of the problem!" I said. I had no idea what my priestess was getting at. I was about to continue along this line of questioning, when Kardes cut in.

"You are going no matter what we say aren't you?" she asked.

"It is my right. And I think it is best," I said.

"And you always do what you think is best. No need ask anyone else what they think or consider other options?" She spat back.

"That is what I am doing right now. I just haven't heard anything that dissuades me," I explained.

"If you are going, then I am going to," Kardes said suddenly, "I am going to make sure that you don't do anything rash. That you don't act without thinking." I was blindsided by all of this. When had Kardes ever questioned my wisdom in the past? When had I ever acted impulsively in a way that jeopardized my position? I sometimes acted quickly, but only when the situation dictated it. I shrugged my shoulders and stared at my sister.

"We are going to be riding though the mountains, it won't be an easy trip. But you are welcome to come if you want," I said. I usually enjoyed my sister's company and I knew that it was going to be a boring trek. I didn't see any reason not to allow her to come.

"Excellent," said Cin, suddenly sounding brighter, "If that is the case, then I will make the preparations for your departure." It seemed that Cin's mood had done a 180 degree turn. Suddenly, she was not only on board with the trip, but willing to put everything in motion. I stared at her, confused, but she refused to make an indication of the sudden, seemingly impulsive change in her attitude. Why had my sister's decision to go with me made such a sudden and dramatic difference?

"I will make my own preparations. If you believe it is important, we should leave tomorrow morning. Dawn," My sister said. Then she turned and walked out the door. I watched her leave, my brow furrowed deeper and my body felt tense. 

"Alright," said Cin, "Let's plan this out!" And then she jumped into the planning of my mission with great enthusiasm, all previous concerns suddenly set aside. Anytime I alluded to this change, she simply brushed me off. Instead she focused on providing me with all of the information she had on Anaerki, which was more than she had initially let on.

We had set out the next day at dawn, just as Kardes had suggested. As with my last trip to search for allies, I took my small legion with me. Saygili was in command and Soyguncu was there with a small, new contingent of cavalry to act as scouts. Cin stayed behind to manage affairs in my absence. 

I had hoped that whatever problem had caused my sister to be so disagreeable the previous night had faded. But it seemed as we left that she was just as angry, if not more so, than the day before. As we traveled I tried, in vain, to start conversations on a variety of topics. I did my best to choose things that I believed my older sister cared about. But Kardes refused to commit to any conversation. She would answer my questions in a monotone 'yes' or 'no' and then speak no further. After a few hours of nervous pestering I stopped.

As we traveled north from Şehir, things did not change. Well, the scenery changed. The army traveled over grassland, forded streams, and passed nearly single file through narrow forest paths. But all the while, Kardes stewed in her silence, leaving me questioning all my actions. I tried to think back over all of my encounters with Kardes over the previous few months, but I could find nothing that would explain this hostility. Eventually I gave up even trying to find out, I ignored Kardes as she ignored me. But within, I could feel a gnawing anxiety, an unease about the source of this sudden breach.

The army seemed to take on our somber, silent mood and we traveled for several days in near silence. Morale was somewhat low as the weather turned. As we made our way through forests in the foothills outside of Anaerki, it began to rain. It was an icy cold rain that fell lazily but persistently. It lasted for days, sinking into our bones and making everyone ache. 

But we pushed on. The forest grew denser as we began to climb higher into the mountains. These were not white-peaked alps, but instead old, worn, green mountains that looked like nothing more than hills from a distance but became progressively more difficult to climb the farther we went. The men's calves ached and our horses grew exhausted climbing up and down the winding paths, heading toward the center of the gray spot on our maps. We didn't really know where, exactly, we were going. We were planning on being intercepted by the Anaerkis.

About a week after we set out, this finally happened and in a particularly embarrassing and terrifying manner. We were travel on a twisting mountain pass. To our right was dense forest trending upwards towards the peak of the mountain. The trees were exceptionally dense and it was hard to see more than a few feet into the gloom. The top of the mountain was not visible. To our left was a precipitous drop off, at least twenty feet high but in some places much higher, leading to a small valley below. The path was only wide enough for two soldiers to walk abreast and we were moving slowly. Everyone leaned in towards the wooded side, trying to ensure that they did not fall off the path and into the valley below.

Saygili, Soyguncu, Kardes, and I were in the front of the pack, leading the way. We'd been navigating the treacherous pass for well over half a day, wondering when we could possible stop to eat, when it happened. We made a sharp right turn, following the path. As we turned, I felt a sudden jolt of fear and excitement. On the road, directly in front of us, were two well-armored warriors blocking the way. They stood motionless just a few dozen yards ahead of us. They were armed with long swords and they had bows strung over their back. Their bronze helmets were plumed with red feathers, giving them a particularly fearsome appearance. They matched perfectly with the legends. They were the Anaerki.

"Hail!" I said, raising my hand in a non-threatening manner. We had no desire to trespass.

"Stop, you have no idea what you're doing!" Kardes said. I realized I had acted a little impulsively after being surprised and delighted by the sudden appearance, but I was in no mood to concede that Kardes was right about anything.

"You need to relax, let me handle this," I said to her before turning back to look at the warriors on the road. As I looked, I saw one of the warriors, the one on the right, raise a hand up in the air, locked in a fist. I heard a slight rustling to my right and turned to look. I jumped on my horse and nearly pulled it over the edge of the precipice. Just inches from my face, poking out from the woods, was a heavily armored head! I glance back behind me instinctively. All along the length of our lines, soldiers had suddenly popped out of the woods. The slightest shove delivered in unison could send my entire army tumbling over the cliff.

"I told you!" Kardes said.

"It was too late anyway," I said, my heart thrumming in my chest. I turned and looked at the helmeted face again, I could see cool eyes in the open slit. I could feel the warrior's breath sour on my face. We were in extreme danger. There was really only one choice, "Legion...This is your Sultanah. Keep your weapons in your scabbards. Raise your hands over your head!" I called out loudly. I saw the warrior to my side startle slightly and I grew very nervous. But I quickly placed my hands over my heads. I could hear armor clinking behind me as my soldiers followed suit. The two warriors in front of us hand moved closer now, closing the distance between us rapidly. They stopped in front of me, taking the reins of my horse.




The Sultanah Ch. 12



"We have not been told to expect foreigners," a high voice said, I was surprised to find, in the common tongue (though heavily accented), "You are now prisoners of the Mürebbiye of Anaerki."

"We accept the situation for what it is and we will not resist. We meant no disrespect," I said, trying to sound calm. I could still feel the person at my side staring at me, "We only sought an audience with the Mürebbiye." I noticed that the warriors seemed to relax. I knew they must've been following us for some time, wondering about our intentions. They had waited until they got us in a vulnerable position and then materialized out of the trees. I was not surprised to find we outnumbered them greatly. 

"Well, we will be taking you to the Mürebbiye's official residence. If the Mürebbiye decides to grant an audience, there are few places more convenient," the warrior responded. Then, both warriors turned, whistled, and started to walk forward. The warriors poured out of the woods and began to intersperse in our lines, clutching their weapons tightly. Another, large group came up behind our soldiers, capping the end of our line. We started marching together, everyone quiet in the rain. Everyone, that is, except Kardes.

"This is your fault," she hissed at me as we began to move. I did not respond. In fact, I didn't know how to respond. Her hostility seemed to grow during the trip and now she was 'blaming' me for doing exactly what we wanted: finding someone to taking us to the Mürebbiye. 

Perhaps I was anxious about the meeting but I did not want to think about it. That is actually quite likely. But instead of focusing on the unknown (namely what would happen to us now that we were prisoners), I focused my anger and my anxiety on my sister. And, as our guides led us through the forest and through small, seemingly abandoned mountain villages, I stewed. This situation was tough enough as it was, I did not need members of my Inner Council, my sister for Gunes sake, second guessing me and growing angry with me.

We were not as close as I had expected to the Mürebbiye's residence. I don't know why I had believed that we would reach the conclusion of our mission in the center of the Anaerki. Regardless, it had been a mistake. The warriors walked us up and down the mountains, never pausing or flagged. My men, still hungry, were essentially jogging to keep up with the pace. The whole while, we moved higher and higher in the mountains and the air grew thinner. Evening was beginning to come on and I wondered if they were going to make us walk all night or if we would sleep in the elements. I considered asking one of the warriors, perhaps the one who had spoken to me earlier. But they all remained totally silent, not even their armor clinking as they walked. They moved more like specters than humans. The feeling made me uneasy and kept my mouth closed. And kept my mind stewing silently on my problems. 

By the time we reached the Mürebbiye's residence, I was enraged with Kardes; if anything, the discomfort and the problems on this trip were her fault. I was so upset that I barely noticed the majesty of the Mürebbiye's compound. Calling it a castle would be giving it too much credit. It was a circular palisade wall surrounding a small village consisting mostly of hovels. There was a large residence in the very center of the building, a two story wooden structure with a slate, rather than thatched, roof. 

While this hardly sounds majestic, it was the location of the residence that gave it some splendor. The palisades encapsulated a small, hanging valley near the highest part of the mountain range. From the village, it was possible to see out over the green-topped mountains stretching off in every direction. I could see a massive river at the bottom of the mountain, in a narrow valley. I knew from my maps that this was the source of the Kuzey River, wich eventually led to Şehir. The rain had stopped shortly before we arrived and the sky was a pure, cloudless blue just beginning to grow dark in the far east and I could see rainbows in the distance. In short, it was a breathtaking place. Beautiful enough to allow me to forget about my sister for a moment.

Once in the center of the village we saw several women and warriors walking around. They purposefully took no notice of us, though I caught a few glancing at us out of the corners of their eyes. Once we were all within the palisade, the warriors closed the door behind us. The warriors fanned out along the perimeter of the palisade, turning their weapons towards us. The women moved into their homes, recognizing that the village was now a prison. They did not seem particularly concerned, more that they were trying to stay out of the way than that they feared trouble. The warrior who had first taken us prisoner indicated to me (and to my chagrin Kardes) that we should enter the Mürebbiye's residence and wait on our audience. I looked at my soldiers, anxious and silent and nodded to them encouragingly. I, of course, was slightly nervous now (despite the details of my plan) but I tried to convey calm. I was not sure if it worked, but nonetheless I turned from them. Kardes and I entered the residence and were led quickly to the reception hall. There we waited for the Mürebbiye and eventually we began to fight. 

"This is neither the time nor the place to discuss this," Kardes said in response to my attempts to get her to explain the nature of her complaint. She scooted away from me on the bench we were seated upon.

"All we have is time. Who knows when the Mürebbiye will see us?" I responded sharply.

"Please think about what you are doing! You are picking a fight in the middle of a diplomatic mission. Think of how this looks!" Kardes whispered back.

"This is a fight you chose to have. You are angry at me for some reason and you won't say why," I shot back.

"Please just stop it now, control yourself," Kardes pled.

"You have the power to stop this, just tell me why you are upset so that I can understand it," I replied, feeling heated. I saw a few warrior heads turn towards us.

"Varis, please..." Kardes said, her eyes growing wide and her voice starting to shake. She was getting angry now. She no longer bothered whispering.

"Just tell me," I interrupted. Kardes' lips pursed and her face was red. She was shaking with anger now.

"You want to know Varis? You want to know why I am upset with you?"

"That is what I have been saying all along!" I responded, exasperated.

"Why Nislani?" She said and I saw tears welling in her eyes. I barely understood the meaning of her words. Nislani? What did she have to do with this, "You decided you had to marry your sister. There were only two present. There was a spoiled brat who hated you and always tried to ruin everything in your life. And then there was your older sister, who was loyal to you, who gave you guidance before anyone else, who stood by your side when the world was trying to crash down around you. And what? You chose the brat! Is it because she is younger and prettier than me? Fine, I guess if that is important. But you didn't even discuss it with me. You just went and did it without even asking my opinion. And then, to make matters worse, you make me preside over it! You make me watch while you and Nislani consummate your marriage. And now you aren't getting along with her. Ha! I could've told you that was going to happen. But you didn't ask."

I sputtered, completely thrown off balance by this sudden harangue. Whatever I had thought was the problem, it certainly wasn't this. I tried to say something, anything. Feebly, I noted, "You were the one who told me to be nice to her..."

"I told you to ignore her because her petty concerns because they were beneath you. I didn't tell you marry and then fuck her!" Kardes responded. I was simply growing more confused. I felt like my body and mind were moving through molasses. What was Kardes saying? What did she want?

"So... you wanted...me to marry you instead of Nislani?" I couldn't believe she meant that. 

"I wanted you to think of me first! I have been loyal to you since the beginning. I know how politics works and I would be an asset. I was in the room when you came up with your brilliant little marriage idea, but you didn't even think of me. It was Nislani from the first instant. This is what I always get for the work I do for people..." she trailed off.

"You know what Nislani and I had to do...have to keep doing. You saw it. You wanted that with me?" I asked, still not sure she was fully understanding what she was asking for.

"There was a time when I would've done anything for you Varis. I believed in you as Sultanah. I loved you and would make any sacrifice to make sure that you succeeded."

"Loved?" I asked, noting the past tense and feeling a coldness in the pit of my stomach.

"You may enter now," A voice said, causing me to jump. Kardes had not had a chance to respond and now she turned, her eyes welling with tears, towards the door of the throne room. A guard was present, beckoning us inside.

"Go Varis. You didn't need me in this decision either, so go do what you want," she said, no longer bothering to whisper. I rose mechanically and started towards the door. The guards were looking at us and I wondered how much they understood about what was going on. Maybe more than I did. I felt dizzy and my stomach was knotted up as I walked through the door. I heard Kardes walking behind me, moving lighter, like she was glad to have her troubles off her chest.

I barely remembered why I was entering the room. My mind was now completely consumed with thoughts of Kardes. I tried to remember everything that had happened in the run up to my marriage. It was true, I had never thought of Kardes. I was listening to Nislani complain and then it struck me that there was a solution to both of our problems. Was it just age? Kardes was 38 and it was less likely that she would produce an heir than Nislani. Besides, as a widow there was no actual need for her to be married. She was not like Nislani, who needed to be wed for the sake of appearances. Speaking of appearance, that was certainly not it. Kardes was older than Nislani, but she was still an attractive woman. And I hardly chose Nislani because of sexual attraction. It had been a necessity.

While I felt my reasons were quite clear, I had to admit to myself that these were more rationalizations than anything else. I had never even thought of Kardes. She already had a place in my life, as one of my trusted advisors. Nislani, on the other hand, had been a hanging problem. My only thought had been neutralizing her. Kardes had not even really figured into the equation.

But now that I thought of it, it became clear that Kardes had felt, at the very least, uncomfortable about the situation. When I had first made my announcement, Cin had been demonstrably in favor of the marriage. But I did not recall Kardes saying anything. Kardes did not, as usual, take command of the planning of the social aspects of the wedding, allowing Cin to do everything. Further, when she presided over the consummation, she had seemed intensely uncomfortable. I had just assumed she was uncomfortable because I was and Nislani was, but it was now clear that there was more to it than that.

While I now understood that Kardes was upset, I still could not honestly figure out why. She seemed to blow off the implication that she was attracted to me. Then was marriage to me a reward for her loyalty? I truly respect Kardes and loved her deeply; I would have done anything to prove my appreciation for her steadfastness and her support. She had become a pillar in my life in such a short period of time, filling any gaps I'd lost when the men in my family were killed. Doing more than that in fact. I just never dreamed that becoming my consort was the sort of reward she would have wanted. In fact, I had never thought about any reward for Kardes or anyone else. I gave things to people like Kukla and Nislani, those I needed to convince. I always assumed my success and the success of the Empire was reward for Kardes. I had been wrong.

And the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Not, so much, that Kardes wanted to marry me. But what it was she believed the marriage would represent. I remembered Kardes story about her marriage to a man far distant from power. Her attempts to manipulate the situation to gain a seat at the table. The miserable failure of that attempt with the death of her husband. I thought about her knowledge of the court and the personalities at play there. Kardes was an important part of my success and she wanted a role that reflected her contribution, something that made her exercise of power legitimate. The story of Kardes life was a story of thwarted ambition, the role of most intelligent women in the Empire. Kukla was a similar story, a similar illustration. And when I had one place for a woman to gain some modicum of power, I had given to Nislani. I had never realized that, because I had neglected to think about it. 

As I made my way into the Mürebbiye gloomy throne room, I was overcome with shame. I barely noticed the dirt floor, the roughhewn benches, the thatch roof. I was thinking of Kardes. Now all of her anger made sense. It even explained Cin's initial refusal to support the plan and the subsequent change of heart. She had understood what I didn't, that as important as it was for me to forge my new connections, it was equally important that I cultivate the loyalty of those dedicated to me already. 

But, in truth, all of these thoughts were more of a jumbled set of impulses than the fully formed ideas laid out above. I instinctively knew all this to be the case, but I couldn't have put it so succinctly. And there was no time either. Because within a few minutes, Kardes and I had been led through the throne room, out a back door, and into the Mürebbiye's private chambers. Regardless of the importance I now placed on Kardes concerns, I had to focus now on the purpose of my visit.

In a daze, I came to terms with my surroundings. I was in a small room, around the size of the largest privy in my own palace. There were windows on one side of the room and they let a thin, pale white stream of lights into the dark room. It was dark because the walls were made entirely of some sort blackish wood. It was sparsely furnished, simply a bed, a chair, and a desk scattered with papers. One guard followed us into the room, closing the door afterward. There was only one person in the room. The Mürebbiye was seat at the desk, leaning over several papers. Unlike all of the other warriors we saw, the Mürebbiye was not wearing any armor. In fact, she was wearing very little at all.

The Mürebbiye of Anaerki, as all leaders of the Republic since its founding centuries earlier, was a woman. Those rumors, at least, had been true. Cin had told me as much during my briefing before I left. The Empire had always been unnerved by this fact, but the warriors of Anaerki were so potent, that the Sultans ignored the unorthodox nature of their government. I had been expecting as much when I arrived. What I was not expecting, however, was for the Mürebbiye to be such an attractive woman.

She was younger than I expected, mid to late thirties I believed, but in prime physical shape due to her status as a warrior-leader. A Mürebbiye, if successful, was elected for life. But she could be impeached if she was unsuccessful for battle. This particular Mürebbiye looked as though she would never lose a fight in her life. She was wearing only a loose skirt tied around her waist and a black, brassiere-like top that left little the imagination. As a result, I received an unimpeded view of her body. 

She was quite tall, around 5'9 and had a trim, powerful build. She had slender legs with smooth, golden-brown skin with sleek muscles just below the surface. She had a muscular bottom and somewhat wide hips, especially given her height. Her stomach was flat and toned (though not overly muscled in any sort of masculine way). Her breasts were small and high on her chest, though they looked larger crammed into her small top. Her arms looked powerful without being overly muscular and she had a long, elegant neck. Her face was fiercely beautiful with a pointed chin, full lips, small nose, and large round eyes that were dark and intelligent. She had long reddish-brown hair that was tied behind her back in a long, tightly braided ponytail. In short, she looked like a beautiful athlete with skin tanned evenly from the sun and body toned expertly by daily practice.

She let us stand awkwardly for inside of the room for several minutes while she pored over documents on her desk. I did my best to maintain my Imperial dignity, looking off into the distance and ignoring the fact that she ignored me. I had plenty to think about, my sister's concerns still fresh in my mind. But, after a time, the Mürebbiye spoke without looking up.

"Why are you trespassing in Anaerki?" she asked, her voice sounding annoyed even though it was almost as thickly accented as the warrior we had first encountered. The sound of her voice focused my attention on the matter at hand and my concerns about my sister shifted into the back of my mind. I had to answer this question. Without an adequate explanation of my arrest, I decided to change the subject.

"Greetings Mürebbiye, I am Sultanah Varis I of Bütün Dünya, I have arrived on a diplomatic mission from Şehir..." I was going to speak further, but the Mürebbiye interrupted me.

"Why is the Sultan sending his wife on diplomatic missions? Does he think that will impress me? What does Tanri think of allowing women to work in politics?" the Mürebbiye spat. It seemed that she was at least as ignorant of the Empire as I was of Anaerki. I decided to disabuse her of her misunderstandings gently.

"There is no Sultan in Şehir. And there is no Tanri either. There is only me. And Gunes," I said solemnly. Finally, this seemed to get the Mürebbiye's attention and she quickly turned from her papers, looking me over now with increased interest. I was now able to see her more clearly and was stunned by her youthful beauty.

"The heresy has passed? And a woman sits on the throne in Ülke? There are new things under the sun after all," she said, sounding amused. She stood now, her statuesque body rising to full height. I decided to follow the strand of her words, trying to lay the charm on somewhat thickly.

"We have had great reason and ample opportunity to consider the mistakes of the Empire's recent past," I explained, "In a way, it is why I am here." I tried to sound as humble as possible and I bowed slightly as I spoke. I was really playing down my dignity as the Sultanah and I hoped that the Mürebbiye appreciated it.

"In that case, you are at least welcome to my quarters. We do not stand on ceremony in Anaerki, please excuse my informality." Her tone was much more inviting now. She walked gracefully around the bed and then stopped and sat down on the edge, facing us.

"Thank you," I responded, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mürebbiye..."

"Please, my first name, Maderşahi, will be fine" she insisted, "As I said, we are informal here." I nodded, unwilling to grant equal access to her. I was going to humble myself, not give away everything.

"Well Maderşahi," I said, the strange name catching slightly on my tongue, "I wish to apologize on behalf of the Empire for our previous behavior. As you noted, we were in the grips of heresy. We followed a false God that taught of the inherent subservience of women. Whatever offense our actions cause, I hope that we can put them behind us." Maderşahi looked at me quizzically. She glanced over my shoulder at the guard and then shrugged.

"Everyone makes mistakes. Clearly your ascension indicates that the Empire has recognized its past misogyny and has put it aside. I see no reason to hold a grudge. The apology is accepted," Maderşahi said and I felt shocked. Diplomatically apologies, even one offered as freely and easily as mine, were not generally just 'accepted' like a private affair. This was an opportunity for negotiation, an opening into a talk on more weighty issues. Maderşahi had simply shoved all that aside. She had not been lying about her informality. But it left me sputtering. Where was I to go from here?




The Sultanah Ch. 12



"Your generosity is appreciated," I heard a voice to my left saying. I turned and saw Kardes speaking. Clearly she had seen my confusion and, as usual, she rescued me, "We have grown up hearing stories about the ferocity of Anaerki arms. Tales of your mercy were less accurate." I felt relieved. Kardes had known exactly what to say, Maderşahi smiled broadly and spoke to the 

"Do you hear that, Kız? The Empire has not seen us in battle in hundreds of years and yet our reputation precedes us," Maderşahi said to the guard behind us. Her voice sounded amused (and a bit proud). I stayed quiet, letting Kardes take the wheel. Even if she was angry at me, she still recognized the interests of our family and our Empire. That was why she had decided to come with me. She said she no longer loved me, but she wanted to protect the Empire and, incidentally, me. She seemed focused.

"Well it is not merely legend. We had a demonstration of the Anaerki skill at arms today," Kardes stated and then described the way in which our forces were silently ambushed and taken prisoner during the day. Kardes played up the nature of our surprise. Maderşahi took great joy in Kardes' recounting of her nation's military prowess.

"But mercy also," I added suddenly, "Your warriors did not merely toss us over the ravine, the leader, he..."

"He?" Maderşahi asked, furrowing her brow. And then laughing slightly, "I don't know Kız, should you be offended?" she asked. I turned and looked at the guard standing at the door. I heard a good-natured laugh emanating from the helmet. Quickly the guard reached up and grabbed the plume on the helmet, pulling it off. I had been expecting a gruff face man with weather-beaten skin, someone like Saygili. Instead, I saw the smiling, youthful face of a woman. A woman who looked remarkably like a younger version of Maderşahi was staring back at me. Kız was, apparently, a beautiful woman.

"I apologize again," my face turned red, "I just assumed..."

"An assumption that many have made when facing our forces in battle," Maderşahi explained, "But all of our forces are women. Men are not permitted in our legions." My eyes grew wide. I knew that Anaerki was led by women. I assumed a council of old, wizened crones who were consulted by the military elite. Cin had not been certain, but had stated my assumption seemed likely. I had never expected a society that felt...inverted. Maderşahi laughed at my confusion, "It seems that the legends have neglected certain aspects. It does not surprise me that Imperial legions failed to tell their wives that they were whipped or saved by armed women."

"I guess not," I said, sounding as awestruck as I felt. Maderşahi seemed to sense that I needed greater explanation and did not wait for me to ask.

"We live in a totally bifurcated society," Maderşahi explained. "The women control the military and the government and stay here, in the Keep, and on patrol, for most of the year. The men live far below in the valley with the children and any women who are pregnant or nursing. Each year we meet for a several weeks with our husbands. Did you notice the empty villages along your path on the way in? Those are communal family units used at that time. There we re-unite with our children briefly and mate with our husbands. When a woman reaches 18 years of age, she is sent here to the Keep to begin her military training. Men, upon coming of age, run farms and act as merchants."

"Why?" I asked as she finished. It was not a diplomatic question, but I was simply curious. I could barely conceive of this organization for society. It seemed alien and unnatural. I needed to know more.

"Why what?" She asked, "Why women soldiers? That is easy enough. We are smaller and we eat less, making us more mobile and ideal for irregular cavalry units. We are more flexible, stealther, and we tend to live longer. Our senses are sharper. We go to war with light bows and small spears. When mounted and firing, brute force is not exactly an issue. Women also fight harder. We know when we lose that we will be raped and made slaves. We fight to the last. Further, we strike fear in the hearts of our enemies. At some of it is as simple as the fact that we are different, other soldiers do not know how to handle us." I could understand the logic in everything she said. In fact, I found it quite compelling. But that did not change the strangeness of it.

"Of course, we once had male soldiers as well. And female merchants for that matter," Maderşahi continued quickly, "But we found that the men, when armed, had a hard time accepting female leaders. When a female Mürebbiye was elected (which was rare) she often faced opposition to her policies," she explained.

"That sounds familiar," I said without thinking and I saw Maderşahi smile. But it was true; it was the story of my Peers if I ever heard it.

"Well many years ago, the women of Anaerki faced this dilemma and they made a choice. They could have accepted subservience. Instead, they chose resistance. They rebelled. They eliminated the most prominent males (their husbands, in some cases) and disarmed the rest of the men. We have been in charge ever since. We keep the men as far from as possible most of the time. They are busy with their duties. We are not tempted to grant them additional rewards. Our older daughters act as spies to keep them in their place but, in all honesty, they have accepted the situation at this point," Maderşahi said, with considerable, earned, pride. 

That such a thing was even possible was beyond my comprehension. But Maderşahi spoke with such conviction and with such ease that there was no doubt that what she said was true. I had seen the 'abandoned' villages with my own eyes. And I had not actually seen any men, just warriors with face-covering helmets. I had seen no children either. And, despite my absolute shock, I was more certain than ever that I was in the right place, seeking the right kind of alliance. What better partner for a Sultanah than an army of women? I felt like Maderşahi had given me the perfect opening. I found my tongue and spoke.

"It is true what they say," I explained, "history repeats itself. I will be frank as you have been frank. I confide that I have sat on my throne for only a brief time and I have not sat easily. There are many within my Empire that doubt my legitimacy. More importantly, the rest of the world denies my legitimacy. Not because of any defect in my parentage, I am my father's daughter, but because of my gender."

"This is a sanctuary in a hostile world," Maderşahi agreed.

"I now ask you to be more than that," I said and Maderşahi furrowed her brow, "I did not come here merely to apologize. Though, if that is all I accomplish I will consider this trip a success. But, my most important mission was to renew an agreement that once existed. Or even to extend it. There used to be a tacit agreement between Anaerki and the Empire. Your nation provided force of arms and the Empire provided you with stability and support. I will to, at least, renew that agreement. But more importantly, I would like to sign a formal alliance with Anaerki on behalf of Bütün Dünya. This will help you to draw on the resources of the Empire. And it will help me sit more firmly on my throne, throwing the men who oppose me back on their heels. There are only two nations in the world, that I know of, led by women. It is imperative that we stick together." 

I had not intended to lay all of my cards out so quickly, but the situation had felt right. I had taken a risk, but I hoped that my directness and candor would pay off. Maderşahi leaned back slightly on her bed and she rubbed her chin carefully with her thumb and forefinger. I saw her once briefly glance over my shoulder at Kız.

"You need not answer immediately," Kardes said, trying to backtrack my impulsiveness, "We merely wanted to give you the information to make a decision. We can be patient. Feel free to discuss this with...anyone who should be consulted"

"I appreciate that, but I was elected for my decisiveness in battle and in diplomacy. The women expect me to lead and they expect to follow. I would no sooner ask their opinion on this than I would on my choice of husband," Maderşahi explained coolly.  

Then she sat for a while in silence. It was clear she was thinking deeply about the proposal. My nerves began to grow unbearable. It was almost worse not know that to receive a definitive rejection. My heart was pounding and the blood was coursing through my veins at lightning speed. Finally, Maderşahi leaned forward on the bed and opened her eyes. She smiled, but sadly and shrugged slightly.

"I am sorry, I cannot," was all she said, and she held her hands up as if to show she meant no harm. My jaw dropped open. Despite my nerves, I had honestly not expected that. A flat 'no.' I croaked for a second, trying to make noise before my voice finally cooperated.

"No? Why not? Surely you understand that the situation has changed...I apologized..."

"And I sincerely accepted the apology. There is no grudge here; a small country cannot afford grudges. But it cannot afford to take on the world based on some misplaced notion of female solidarity," Maderşahi explained patiently, "My heart, Sultanah, is with you. I want you to defeat your enemies at home and abroad if for no other reason to show the men in my country the folly of attempting to upset the balance of things here. But I have studied the decay of the Empire. I have monitored it to the best of my ability. It sounds to me like things have only gotten worse. I cannot commit my country to destruction." I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Her bluntness was no longer refreshing. She expected the Empire, and me, to fail. I was livid.

"I am not asking you to commit to destruction; I am asking you to take part in a glorious victory. You said yourself that your warriors are feared," I tried.

"That is because we know when to fight and when not to fight. We do not place ourselves in situations that we cannot win and thereby maintain our aura of invincibility," Maderşahi stated. The fact that she exposed her strategic vision told me a lot about how long she figured I would survive, "I am truly sorry Sultanah. I will not hold you prisoner, but I will not let you hold me prisoner either. I thank you for your visit and your apology, but it is time that we part." With that Maderşahi rose and then turned to walk back towards her desk.

I knew that I was now supposed to turn and exit the room. More than that, I was supposed to turn and exit the country. But everything had happened so fast. Once second, we were bonding over our shared struggles as women in power and the next I was being dismissed. Everything here was so abrupt and so off-putting. There was no chance for persuasion, not diplomatic dance. She made her decision, she stated it coldly, and then we were done. I was standing, sputtering, and trying to think of what I was supposed to do. This had not gone at all like I expected...

"What is that?" Kardes' voice suddenly interrupted my internal meltdown. I turned and looked at her and saw that she looked calm, unmoved. Her arm was extended and she was pointing towards the wall. I followed her finger and I saw, in the bright spot on the wall splashed by the bright sun light, a small wall-hanging. It showed some sort of scene and was very crudely rendered. I wondered where Kardes' sudden interest in primitive art had come from. I felt like her voice had unstuck me from my stupor. Now I was ready to turn and to leave. But Maderşahi stopped moving and turned to face the direction of Kardes' finger. For a moment, she simply gazed at the hanging, and then she smiled indulgently.

"Oh, the Tapestry of Goblen? Yes, it is quite unbecoming isn't it?" she asked. "But it is an ancient prophecy."

"Who is Goblen?" Kardes asked interestedly.

"The Sun God, of course," Maderşahi stated and my ears pricked up. The Anaerki worshipped the Sun God as well. My head, which had been bowed in defeated, shot up and I leaned forward slightly, trying to get a better look at the tapestry. The figures were quite small, but I could see that there were two panels to the tapestry. On the left were four human figures, little better than stick drawings, in a room together. They were lumped together closely, though I could not make out what they were doing. On the right, was a giant battle depicted with rivers of blood and clouds of fire.

"What is the prophecy, if you do not mind me asking, I know you are quite busy," Kardes said evenly. Maderşahi laughed indulgently.

"Certainly not, it is one of the prized possessions of the Mürebbiye's house," she bragged, "anyone is sure of its origin. Many say that Goblen herself stitched it with threats from a midnight sun in the far North. In the same way, no one knows how it came to be here. It has simply been here for as long as anyone can remember, going back to our earliest written records. Regardless, every Priestess who has viewed it has interpreted it in the same way," As she spoke, Maderşahi walked closer to the tapestry. She gazed at it for a few moments before turning back towards us.

"According to that interpretation, this prophecy predicts that Goblen, or her representative, will come to this world in human form. A mixture of the spiritual and the physical. Goblen will bind herself to Anaerki and then, in a great battle, she will defeat the enemies of light and usher in a new era of human existence," Each word that Maderşahi said made my ears prick and my skin tingle. My mouth went dry. I thought back to my coronation with Cin. This prophecy was so familiar. A Sun Goddess. A spiritual return. A new era. I looked at the tapestry glowing under the light of the Sun. I had never doubted the existence of Gunes before, but I would never doubt her absolute power again. I was too spellbound to speak.

"What are the people on the left panel doing? Who are they?" Kardes asked. I strained now to look at the tapestry, to make out the details that she saw. Maderşahi shrugged.

"No one is entirely certain. But the most common interpretation is that they are sealing an agreement in the manner wedding contracts are sealed in Anaerki," Maderşahi responded.

"How is that done?" Kardes asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"The female relatives of the marrying couple bind themselves together with a sexual act. Usually it is the mothers of the marrying couple, but it can be any two relatives," she said matter-of-factly, as though this were a common ceremony the world over. But it did not seem that strange once I thought about it. These women were alone together throughout most of the year; certainly they had sexual needs during that time. As for sealing an agreement with sex, I could hardly act as an impartial moral judge.

"They are having sex in the tapestry?" Kardes asked, keeping at it. Maderşahi did not seem to mind that we were not leaving, she was clearly enjoying the conversation.

"That is what they say," Maderşahi responded, then she suddenly grew more animated, "But the strangest thing, and the detail that the priestesses argue about the most is this character," she pointed to one of the stick figures, the only one stitched in red string, "This one character is interpreted to be Goblen or her representative. You can see the large loops and two dots that make the primitive drawing of her breasts. But there, down between her legs..."

"A cock?" Kardes asked and I could feel her eyes turn towards me.

"Exactly!" Maderşahi, "It is so strange. No one can tell what it means. But it is easily the most mysterious aspect of the entire tapestry."

"I believe," I said taking a step towards the center of the room. My body moved on its own and my words came without conscious thought. I was swept away by the magic of this moment, the utter impossibility that this could have happened without some divine plan, "That I can explain the tapestry and eliminate all of the mysteries." I heard Kız snort behind me, but Maderşahi stared at me intently.

"What do you mean?" She asked. I could not have spoken then if I had wanted it. But all of my intelligence had drained from my tongue and pooled in my fingertips. I did not explain anything; instead, my hands began to reach for my clothes. I could hear the confused sounds of Maderşahi and Kız asking me what I was doing, but I did not so much ignore them as I lacked the ability to heed them. I felt my armored chest plate fall from my body, my helmet then clanked on top of it. My boots, greaves, leather pants, gloves, and bracers soon followed them. I lifted my rough cotton shirt over my head quickly after that, exposing my breasts to the assembled women. Now I was wearing nothing but my bloomers

"Oh my! What is going on?" Kız said behind me, sounding confused. I hooked my fingers into waist band of my bloomers

"You are living in the prophetic moment, it will be fulfilled," I said and with that I quickly shoved my bloomers down, letting them pool at my ankles. I looked down briefly, seeing my limp cock lying between my thighs. I heard a gasp and realized that the others had seen it as well.

"Goblen be praised!" Maderşahi said and instinctively dropped to her knees. I heard Kız drop as well. I looked at Kardes and she only looked slightly less stunned than I. I could heard the two Anaerkis asking a thousand questions at once, now it was there turn not to know what to do.

"I was born until two falling stars, like the two in window in the tapestry," I said, pointing to the wall-hanging. In the first picture there was a window on the room with the figures, two white streaks were there in a blue field, "My birth fulfilled the 50th prophecy of Gunes. I also fulfill the prophecy of Goblen, the Sun Goddess. Goblen and Gunes are one and the same." The voice that came from my throat did not sound like my own. They filled the room and carried unmistakable authority.

"It cannot be," Kız said in a manner that indicated she was trying to convince herself. Maderşahi showed no such incredulity.

"It has finally happened. I never believed it would occur while I was in office. I have not noticed the signs, but they are so obvious now. The whole world is in turmoil. It is time for a change, the dawning of a new era," she said from her knees. I beckoned for her to get up.

"Are you...Goblen? Gunes?" she asked nervously as she rose. I shook my head.

"I do not believe so," I said honestly, "I am a representative, as you said before, and my path is often unclear to me. I simply know that I am on a path and that I must continue to go forward." Wonder filled the eyes of the women in the room. We all felt the power of the moment, we knew that we were on the precipice of something...incredible.

"What...What are we to do now?" Maderşahi said, suddenly deferring to my authority. The voice that had possessed me before was silent. I needed to find my own way now.

"Well...it is clear that we are to conclude an alliance," I said. This seemed natural. I had arrived to do that and the fortuitous discovery of the tapestry, just as I was about to leave, seemed to indicate that we needed to reverse course. Perhaps more importantly, I could feel electricity in the air. Something was happening here, something beyond the visible world. I could tell that something big had to happen and it had to happen now.

"The situation has changed entirely. I can no longer say no," Maderşahi stated. I could see a feverish excitement in her eyes and there was no longer any hesitation.

"Then it is agreed, a full military alliance?" I asked, shocked once again by how quickly the situation had changed. It was as if Gunes had changed the hearts of every person in the room. Maderşahi quickly took my hand, shaking it firmly. Her eyes occasionally darted, nervous and confused, to my cock, but then would return to my eyes.




The Sultanah Ch. 12



"Of course, it is agreed. I wish that there were greater words that I could use," she said. And then we felt...nothing. We both stood for a moment, our hands shaking. 

"I thought...I thought something was going to happen," Maderşahi said after an awkward moment. We had both been waiting for some sort of sign. Something momentous that would show we were moving in the right direction, to prove that the prophecy would be fulfilled. Now we both felt sheepish, the magic of the moment seeming to fade. We dropped our hands to our sides.

"Is this it?" Kız asked nervously, now she too had risen from her knees and walked around so that she was standing next to Maderşahi. I shrugged my shoulders.

"You have not completed the proper motions," Kardes suddenly said from my side, "Have you already forgotten about the tapestry," she said, pointing to it. The figures in the room. The sexual bond.

"We need to seal the agreement," Maderşahi realized, then she turned back to me, smiling nervously. I felt a thrill run up my back. I had forgotten in the excitement. Now a new form of excitement gripped me. Something I always associated with Gunes.

"We have made an agreement," I said, feeling my cock twitch slightly. Maderşahi looked down at it and smiled nervously.

"It has been a long time since I have had a cock..." she said. That seemed to settle it. We both knew what we were going to do. It was just a matter of starting. Once again, we paused awkwardly for some time.

"How exactly is this done?" I asked, "Is there some ritual to it?" I asked. I looked at Maderşahi's tight body and wondered what it would feel like. But I did not feel right just suddenly grabbing it. Things still did not feel rights.

"Usually...Well there is no usually, you just sort of do it after you made an agreement," Maderşahi said. Something still was not right. The room became darker as the sun slipped behind a passing cloud. We didn't feel like we could just jump right in. There was nothing that should have held us back, but there was some invisible force in the room, telling us that we were wrong. The same pregnant feeling of incompleteness hung in the air around us. My cock remained limp, the passions stirred once again resumed their normal course. Finally, someone spoke.

"Mürebbiye, I think that we are once again mistaking the message of the tapestry. We are not dealing with a normal agreement," Kız said after moment, "the tapestry does show the customary two people. There are four." All eyes once again returned to the tapestry. I felt a lump in my throat. The guard was right. Just thinking about it, made my blood warm and I felt my heart beating faster. It felt like we were on the right track. 

"We are not binding two families together in a commercial or political transaction," I suddenly stated, my voice taking on the strange, mechanical aspect that had unnerved me before, "Yes, we are binding the physical. But we are binding the spiritual as well. Ülke with Anaerki. Gunes with Goblen. The additional significance requires additional celebrants." And with that the idea closed from my mind, but the inherent logic of it remained compelling. We all soaked in the meaning of the tapestry when coupled with my words.

"Who are the other two?" Maderşahi asked, though everyone was thinking the same thing.

"I can't imagine the prophecy was for four people to discover the truth, then for two to leave, and then for two more to arrive," Kız said, though it sounded like she was desperate to believe something different.

"But it can't be the four of us" Maderşahi said quickly, clearly waiting for someone to say exactly what her guard had said so that she could push back. She sounded almost panic as she turned from looking at Kız and appealed to me, "Kız is my daughter," Suddenly, their strikingly similar appearance made perfect sense to me. It also made sense that the younger woman would serve as her mother's bodyguard. Who could she trust more implicitly, especially considering there was no hereditary leader? But the implication of what that meant hung heavy in the air. It seemed to get to the Mürebbiye and Maderşahi continued her thoughts:

"I did not raise her, it is true. Her father did, as is the custom. I barely knew her, just a few weeks a year, until five years ago when she became a woman. But it is nonetheless inappropriate. There must be some other way," But even as she spoke, the air in the room seemed to grow colder. She ignored it, "I can see the family resemblance here, who is this Kardes to you, Sultanah?" I turned and looked at Kardes.

I was about to answer quickly, but as I looked at Kardes, her eyes turned to me. I saw her pupils clearly, her kind eyes. I thought the important place she held, unofficially, in the administration of my Empire. She had taught me to behave in a regal manner. She had discovered the means to control the Executive Assembly. She had prevented me from leaving this place impulsively when I was first dismissed. She had found the tapestry and understood its importance. I thought of her loyalty to me and to the Empire. I thought of the ways in which I had failed to reward her and had harmed her pride. I thought of times when I should have at least considered her advice, but did not even think to ask. The quick answer I was about to give no longer seemed to make any sense. I smiled at Kardes for a moment, and then I turned back to Maderşahi.

"This is Kardes Hanedan. She is a member of my Inner Council, an invaluable counselor, and the first woman in the history of the Empire to hold the title Minister of State as our chief diplomat. If any person should be involved in the sealing of an alliance, it is her," I said slowly and I could hear Kardes breath in sharply as I announced (impulsively perhaps) her new title, "She also happens to be my older sister." I finished. I turned and looked at my sister after I spoke. She looked completely taken aback. I reached over and took her hand. Squeezing it tightly I whispered into her ear, "You've earned it."

"You are... in favor of your sister being present for this. With participating?" Kız asked.

"This sister? Yes," I responded without hesitation. Kız looked over at her mother and shrugged. An impish smile formed on her face. We could all feel the energy rising in the room. This felt right. The normal rules clearly did not apply. Whatever we had been searching around for, it made sense.

"It is often said in Anaerki that agreements should be sealed in blood. I have never seen it done this way," Maderşahi said, then her face split into a smile, "But damned if it does not seem right, right now," she said. 

"Do you think we can actually do this?" I asked, trying not to look at my sister out of the corner of the eye. I knew I could. I had done it before. But could everyone else?

"How can we not?" Maderşahi asked, "It is clearly willed by the Sun God." She did not speak as though trapped by fate. In fact, she seemed to welcome it.

"My mother has always been my ideal of beauty and strength. I have admired her from a far since childhood and my admiration has only grown since I have come to know her as an adult. I cannot say I have ever thought that this would happen. Why would I? But it would be an honor," Kız said and her cheeks grew red. Her mother also looked slightly embarrassed, obviously quite flattered.

"I would do anything for you," Kardes said to me and I felt my heart swell. I had let Kardes know that I loved her still and that I respected her. Her affection as returned to me and I realized its importance by my brief experience of is loss. There were no doubts now. 

But, once again, we stood silently in the room, looking at one another. I could feel excitement rising inside of me, I knew something interesting was going to happen. But no one wanted to make the first move. No one knew what that move would be. The tension just kept growing and growing in the room, making the air feel thick, heavy.

Finally, Maderşahi was the first to crack, "Let's forget who we are now. We exist to fulfill the prophecy, our relationships begin and end with that. We can worry about the rest later. Let's just get passed the start and the discomfort will melt away," she said. Without further word, she turned quickly to face her daughter. Her hand slipped behind Kız's neck, pulling her slightly to the side. Maderşahi tilted her head to the side. I watched as their lips pressed together, mother and daughter. At first, their lips simply linked gently, their bodies staying distant. Eventually, Kız seemed to melt into her mother's kiss, pressing her body against Maderşahi. Their lips parted and I watched as their tongues began to explore one another's mouths. The electricity in the room grew more intense. I felt my cock stirring between my legs. 

I felt a sudden compulsion to turn towards Kardes. I saw her looking at me already. Her nipples were sticking out hard through her shirt and her lips were slightly parted. The slight wrinkles that lines her face seemed to have smoothed, she looked younger than I could ever remember seeing her. Her bright, emerald eyes shone with excitement. We felt the same impulses that had pulled Maderşahi and Kız together playing on our bodies. There was no will to resist. We didn't bother.

My hands seemed to move on their own and they quickly found their way to Kardes' hips. I felt the warm, roundness of her body alluring and my hands moved to the narrowest area of her waist. Kardes reached up around my neck, hooking her elbows around the back of my neck. I felt my sister's large breasts press into my own, I felt my cock brushing against her leg. Kardes closed her eyes now and tilted her head to the side. I followed suit. In a moment, I felt my sister's soft lips brush against my own. My lips tingled and my cock felt thick against my sister's leg. I could smell her skin, fresh as the morning rain. I moaned slightly, opening my mouth. Kardes exploited the breach and soon I felt her tongue tumble into my own. Her tongue was thick and cool, and she moved the rough surface against my gums and then drug it sensuously over my teeth. I spread my lips farther, letting her slip deeper inside of me. I probed out with my own tongue, tasting her.

It felt so natural then. I cannot explain it. Just an hour earlier this was the last thing I ever would have expected to happen. Even before I had offended Kardes, I would not have thought of doing this. She was my older sister and she was beautiful (she looked so much like an older, kinder Nislani after all) but my incestuous experiences in the past had largely been the result of necessity. But somehow, this did not feel like incest. We were cloaked in the rays of the sun, we fulfilled the prophecy, we acted out our roles, and it felt lovely. Something else was in control of the situation. It could only have been Gunes, protecting me. She made the prophecy come true, she brought me new alliances, and she allowed me to honor my older, more important alliances, all in one moment. There was no room to second guess. Everything just came as it came.

Apparently Maderşahi and Kız felt the same way. While Kardes and I kissed and our bodies pressed ever more closely together, I became aware of a strange sound next to us. At first I could not make out the nature of the sound. Eventually, I heard a strange clanking noise. I opened one eye and looked over towards the other two women and I saw that Kız's chest plate had dropped to the floor. I saw her mother's hands working all over her, loosening ties and buckles, removing her clothes. Kız was attempting to do the same, though much more quietly. I saw her hands on the blanket around her mother's waist, pulling at it and trying to loosen it.

My eyes closed once again. But as my focus returned fully to Kardes, I was slightly surprised to find that my hands were already occupied. Like Maderşahi and Kız, my hands were flying over my partner's body, pulling clothing loose and dropping items onto the floor. Kardes offered no resistance. On the contrary, as I pulled on fabric or adjusted belts, Kardes moved to assist me. In just a few minutes, Kardes was naked before me; our lips still pressed together, my cock now sliding half-hard against Kardes' smooth thigh. 

I heard a slapping sound as a shirt fell onto the floor next to me and I knew without looking that Maderşahi and Kız were naked as well. With difficulty, I was able to open my eyes and break my kiss with Kardes. I heard her whimper slightly as her eyes fluttered back open. She smiled at me dreamily and allowed me to turn and face Maderşahi and Kız (she gasped as my cock slipped from her thigh). Maderşahi and Kız had also stopped kissing and they turned to face me. 

The bodies of the three women surrounding me were exquisite in their nude state. As I pulled away slightly, I was shocked by the degree to which Kardes' body looked like Nislani's, if a little more mature. Her breasts were the same shape as my wife's, but they were much larger. Despite that, they were not saggy or droopy, instead sitting up on her chest, her dark nipples pointing straight out. Her stomach was a little fuller than Nislani's but by no means chubby. Similarly, her hips were wider and her ass more generous. Her cunny was shaved bare in the courtly fashion and her cunny lips were dark, perhaps a bit larger than Nisani's. But in general, she looked like Nislani (or me for that matter). A slightly bottom-heavy hourglass shape with sweeping curves and delicate limbs. 

As Maderşahi and Kız, their bodies were just as tight and athletic naked as they had appeared when clothed. Kız looked remarkably like her mother. They had the same faces, the same small breasts, the same flat stomachs, the same muscular asses, and the same runner's legs. I could see that both women had small, puffy red nipples, full red pussy lips, and small triangular patches of well-kempt pubic hair. The only difference was that Maderşahi's face was slightly lined and a bit more severe while Kız was slightly rounder. I attributed this to the stresses of the job. That would also explain the handful of gray hairs that topped Maderşahi's head but not that of her young daughter. 

I looked up at the tapestry, the four naked figures standing together in a tight formation. I realized we had reached that exact moment, the predicted event. My body trembled and my cock grew harder as I realized that we had done everything right. I could almost feel a red glow, like the one emanating from the primary figure in the tapestry. The other women were looking at me, waiting for me to take my place in the lead. Somehow, I knew exactly what I wanted.

"Maderşahi," I said, "I need you to lay on your back on the bed. Spread your legs." I ordered softly, there was no force in my command. It was like I knew what she wanted and was giving her permission. Maderşahi responded with alacrity. Without speaking, she lay back on the bed, her legs pulling apart widely. She was laying across the width of the bed, her feet towards me and her head right on the edge of the bed on the other side. The reddish lips of her cunny spread open and I could see her glistening in the sunlight. The red nub of her clitoris stood out hard at the top of her cunny. Her breasts spread out on her ribcage and her lips were pulled apart, smiling. Her eyes looked feverish. Like she was desperate for me to begin. I wanted to oblige. But an urge came over me, an understanding of what was needed next.

"Kardes," I said and turned to look at her, rubbing her elbow with my hand, "My beautiful sister. I need you to go and straddle Maderşahi's face. Face me on your knees," I said. Kardes bit her lip and nodded. Then she quickly walked around to the other side of the bed. She stood and faced me when her hips were directly behind Maderşahi's head. She looked down at Maderşahi and smiled. I watched as my sister ran her hand over Maderşahi's hair for a moment and she may have whispered something. I saw Maderşahi nod and then my sister stepped up onto the bed.

Kardes placed her knees on the bed, lifting herself up easily over Maderşahi's face. She placed her hands down on either side of Maderşahi's hips as she adjusted her knees. Then Kardes sat back until she was kneeling over Maderşahi's lips, her large ass spread out of the Mürebbiye's face. Kardes let out a strange cooing sound and I saw her sink down farther onto Maderşahi's face. It was hard to see from my angle, but I could tell that Maderşahi's tongue was already moving around on Karde's cunny and sucking at her clit. Kardes moaned loudly. Maderşahi's hands quickly rose up to her own chest, finding her nipples with her fingers. I watched she began to play with her breasts, her hips moving slightly on the fabric of the bed. Her cunny grew wetter and the scent of it began to fill the air.

Whatever force was compelling me told me that it was my turn to move next. I did not speak, I just let the impulses move me as they wood. I stepped forward towards Maderşahi, my body vibrating with excitement. I was not breathing. My hands lowered and dropped down onto Maderşahi's knees and I felt her trembling as I pushed them farther apart. Her musky scent rose higher, filling my nose and actually coating my tongue. I looked down between my legs now, I saw my cock was fully hard now, my body ready and willing. Maderşahi's hips were shaking on the bed and it was clear that she was ready as well. 

I heard Kardes gasp and I looked up. Her body was rigid and she was smiling, her hands on her own hips, holding tightly. I wanted some of what she had. I took a step forward, pulling Maderşahi's legs around me. I moved my right hand down, wrapping it around the base of my hard cock. I looked up at Maderşahi's tight body and I pushed my cock down. I felt the tip of my cock tap Maderşahi's clit and then slide down between her cunny lips. She felt wet and incredibly smooth. I heard Maderşahi moan, muffled by my sister's cunny on her face. She writhed more wildly on the bed. 

I reached my free hand forward and grabbed Maderşahi's hip, rubbing her skin gently with my palm. The tip of my cock was now pressed against the opening of Maderşahi's cunny. In fact, it was buried within the folds of her lips, wetting the tip of my cock and preparing it. I felt the heat of her body surging through me. I wanted more. 

Carefully, I started to press my hips in towards Maderşahi's body. I heard the woman groan as her cunny split open, making room for my hard cock. The slick walls of Maderşahi's cunny wrapped tightly around me. But I could feel her body pulling me in harder, desperate for more. Inch after inch of my cock slipped into Maderşahi's cunny. She became tighter and tighter as each second passed. My body tingled all over and I started to breath in ragged breaths. Finally, I felt my balls press against Maderşahi's asscheeks and I felt my hips lock into hers. 

I looked down and saw the root of my cock pressed against the Maderşahi's stretched red cunny lips. Her hard clit sat up, aching for attention. Maderşahi was writhing on the bed, shoving her hips down, driving to drive my cock deeper into her body. Her wet body was wrapped tightly around my cock and it felt like it was milking me, trying to pull the salty seed out of my balls. I groaned and pitched forward. My right hand now landed on the bed next to Maderşahi's breast and I could feel her rubbing against the inside of my elbow. My cock drove deeper into Maderşahi's body and now our stomachs were pressed together and I could feel her trembling. 

I could also hear her moaning into my sister' cunny more clearly. I looked up slightly. I saw Kardes looking down at me. Both of her hands were on her breasts now, playing with her nipples and sinking her fingers into her flesh. She was smiling at me and her muscles seemed rigid and tense. She was panting and occasionally her eyes would close and she would let out a satisfied moan.




The Sultanah Ch. 12



Almost everything was in place now. But I suddenly became aware of a loose end. Or, more accurately, whatever force was controlling the proceedings finally indicated a role for our final participant. I did not think about what I was going to say. In fact, I had no idea what I would say until the words were suddenly flowing out of me, "Kız, get down on your knees behind me. Eat my ass!"

Once again, there was no hesitation on the part of my remaining companion. She was standing to my side (looking nervous that she would be left out) when I spoke. At my words she essentially jumped up and then ran around behind me. For a few seconds, I felt her carefully dropping herself down onto the ground behind me. Her knees settled between my calves and I felt her breasts press against the backs of my thighs. 

I felt her warm breath against my ass and then, after a brief moment, her fingers were sinking into the flesh of my asscheeks. She carefully spread them apart and the air felt cool against my exposed anus. But not for long, Kız was desperate to get involved. I felt her face press warmly against my spread asscheeks. Her breathing became warmer, more concentrated on my asshole. Then I felt her lips press gently against the crinkled rosebud of my anus. I arched my back (shoving my cock harder into Maderşahi's body) and gasped. I felt her lips part and her warm, wet tongue slipped from her mouth and drug along the rough surface of my asshole. The taste buds on her tongue raked over me, sending jolts of sensation through my body, making my nipples ache. Kız moaned now, sending a vibration through my body and then she grew more adventurous, sticking her tongue out further and lapping wantonly at my asshole.

We were all in the correct position now, everything felt right. Kardes was on her knees, her back arrow straight and her muscles tense. She made a low croaking sound on occasion. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open. She was rocking slightly and her hands were clasped on her ample breasts, squeezing them and playing with her nipples. I think she had already cum several times. Her ass was sitting flat on Maderşahi's face. Her asshole was perched on Maderşahi's nose and her warm red cunny was sitting directly on Maderşahi's lips. 

I could sometimes see Maderşahi's tongue, slipping out from her mouth and running along my sister's cunny lips, focusing on her hard clitoris. Other times, her tongue was pulled back, actually shoved inside of my sister's cunny, tasting her slippery juices. Her chin was dripping with saliva and cunny juices. The whole time, Maderşahi was moaning loaning, sending vibrations through my sister's body. Maderşahi's body was laid out across the bed and it was writhing in ecstasy. One of her hands remained on her breasts, but it was simply grasping it, as though it was keeping Maderşahi in place. Her other hand was on the bed, pulling desperately at the sheets. Her legs were spread and her knees were pushed back far, so far that her limber body was almost completely pushed back with her thighs on the covers. 

I lay into between Maderşahi legs, my stomach lying across her's and my head hung down, draping my hair over her breasts. My cock was pushed into her sopping wet pussy, which was leaving a damp spot on the covers beneath her ass. I was supporting myself with my hand and focused entirely on pulling my cock in and out of Maderşahi's body. Her cunny, still almost unbearably tight, was so wet that I could slip in and out easily. But I each time I went back in, I seemed to sink deeper and deeper inside of her. I groaned as Maderşahi's body seemed to suck and pull on my cock.

Kız was behind me on her knees. I could not see what she was doing, but I could feel it her so clearly that it felt like seeing. She had spread my asscheeks wider and wider, getting more and more access to my asshole. I did not know if she'd ever done anything like this in the past, but she took to it with gusto. Her tongue, soft and flat, lapped at my anus passionately, coating it with spit and massaging my sensitive nerves. Occasionally, she would make her tongue rigid, poking her tongue into me furtively, tasting the depths of my asshole. She moved her neck to the rhythm of my thrusting cock, keeping her tongue close. My cunny dripped down on my balls, making them wet. Each time I swung back, my balls smack damply into her chin. She was close enough to smell the musky scent of her mother's cunt while I fucked it. I could hear her panting wildly as she licked.

The power of our movements was too much. Whatever force was controlling the events had no interest in allowing me to hold one. After several minutes of moving together in a writhing mass, I shoved my cock hard into Maderşahi's body, my body rubbing hard against her clit. This seemed to push Maderşahi's over the edge. Her shaking stopped and her body became incredibly rigid. I felt her cunny, already so tight, squeeze hard around my cock, milking it wildly. At the same time, Kız's tongue plunged hard and rigid into my asshole. The attack on my nerves was too much. 

Instinctively, my eyes closed and my muscles tensed up. I heard myself groan loudly and I tried to shove my cock harder into Maderşahi's contracting cunny. My anus tightened around Kız's tongue, locking her inside of me. My body trembled and my breath caught in my throat. I felt like the world was standing still, waiting for everything to break loose. Finally, the tension released in a wave of icy warmth that emanated out from my cock, spreading all over my body and soothing my raging mind. I felt my cock contracting inside of Maderşahi's taut body, shooting big gobs of milky white liquid into her waiting cunny. The room was filled with the sounds of wet bodies moving together and the passionate moans of women in the midst of climax. 

Finally, the noise began to die down. The last of my seed deposited in my lover's cunny and my anus loosened on Kız's tongue. Even Maderşahi's cunny, filled to the overflow with seed, relaxed, and my cock slipped out of her, still hard. Seed poured from Maderşahi's cunny, pooling in a pearly puddle next to her ass. Kardes, apparently overwhelmed by a series of orgasms, collapsed onto her side on the bed. Maderşahi's glistening face remained looking at the ceiling. Even Kız dropped back on her ass on the floor, catching her breath. The room was silent except for the sound of panting.

But I could tell that the events were not over yet. Not by a long shot. My body was still tired, my brain still recovering from the fog and fuzz of my orgasm, when the imperative to act once again came upon me. I rose up quickly from the bed, pulling out from between Maderşahi's legs. I felt wobbly and lightheaded on my feet. I was short on oxygen and would not have moved absent the external impulse that drove me. As I moved, the other tired women looked at me, their eyes confused and surprised at my rapid movements around to the far side of the bed. In a moment, I found myself standing at Maderşahi's desk chair. I turned it around, away from the desk and sat down, relieved. I spread my legs wide. My cock was still hard and it stuck up straight in the air, glistening with Maderşahi's juices and topped with a singly bead of pearly seed. I put my arms on the armrests and took have a second to catch my breath. But I already knew what I needed to do next.

"Kız," I said, "come over here and sit on my cock, facing out." Kız rose quickly on the far side of the bed, looking around a little surprised that she had heard her name. Her face was slick with her saliva and I knew the taste of my ass was still on her recently-squeezed tongue. I was glad that I could help her now, she had been the odd-woman out the first time around. She was apparently excited as well and no longer thought of her fatigue. Instead, she rushed quickly around the bed.

It was almost like Kız had the same vision in her mind that I had. Because as soon as she was standing in front of me on the chair, she turned around quickly and placed both of her hands on the armrests. I looked at her taut back and smelled the sweet scent of her tightly braided hair. Her muscular ass stuck out towards me and my mouth watered to look at it. I was no longer tired. I was just as ravenous as I had been before I'd cum the last time. I wanted more. 

Kız lifted herself up with her arms on the chair while she started to spread her legs. She pushed her hips back as she lifted and I shuddered deliciously when her thigh rubbed against my erect cock. Kız locked her elbows out now and she was essentially floating above me, her cunny levitating a few inches above my cock. Kız then slowly started to lower herself down on top of me. I moved one of my hands down, grasping the silky steel of my cock and holding it in place. After a few moments, Kız had lowered herself down onto my cock.

I felt the kiss of Kız's cunny lips against the raging tip of my cock at the same moment I heard her let out a loud, triumphant sigh. Kız's cunny lips split apart as she lowered herself still further, impaling herself on my hard cock. She was unbelievably wet, like I had punched inside of her and found a reservoir of liquid passion. Her juices dripped down the shaft of my cock as she pushed herself further and down onto me. Kız was unbelievably tight, even tight than her mother. If it had not been for her extreme wetness, I doubt I could have fit inside of her. I could feel ever ridge, ever variation on the inside of her cunny and they all caressed my throbbing cock. 

After a few careful moments of lowering herself down, Kız's ass settled down onto my laps, warm and heavy and she let out a soft moan. My cock was buried deep in her body and stretching her lips, causing her clitoris to protrude. As Kız settled, she swept her legs back, allowing them to slide back in the chair on either side of my hips. She arched her back as she did so, sinking deeper into my lap and pushed her round ass into my stomach. She took her hands on the armrests and her cunny to wrap more tightly around my cock. I reached my arms up around Kız's body, under her arms. I grasped at her breasts to hold her up, my hands felt her perky flesh and my fingers toyed at her nipples. Her body felt simultaneously hard and soft against me and I could feel her muscles and silky skin all around. Kız began to bounce gently on my cock, moving it in and out of her body. I clamped my elbows at her sides, holding her tightly and helping her to bounced, pulling her up and down.

"Maderşahi," I said, my voice coming out before I even realized I desired to speak, "Get on your knees in front of the chair. I need you to lick us!" I moaned as Kız's cunny squeezed and milked on my cock.

Maderşahi had been watching our movements unfold from her position on the bed, her eyes wide as my cock (so recently inside of her) sunk deep into her daughter's warm cunny. Now she rolled quickly off of the bed and dropped onto the floor. She landed on her knees and quickly crawled the distance that separated her from the chair. She kept her eyes on us as she moved and they flittered between watching my hands caress her daughter's breasts to watching my cock gently work in and out of her daughter's cunny.

After a few moments, Maderşahi was on her hands and knees on the floor in front of us. Maderşahi was close enough now to smell her daughter's cunny and to hear the sound of my balls as they smacked into her ass. There was no hesitation now, no question about what to do. Maderşahi made an alluring cooing noise in her throat and then leaned in. I felt her ponytail tickle the inside of my thigh and then I felt her breath against my balls. I could no longer see her now, her daughter blocked the view. But after a short time, I felt her. 

I felt the wet warmth of her tongue as it pressed into my scrotum. Her tongue grew broad and soft as she lapped at my balls. They were wet from her daughter's juices and she sucked them into her mouth. Her tongue then traveled up from the base of my balls, up the small piece of my shaft that was not inside of Kız's cunny. Maderşahi tickled this spot with her tongue, teasing it. Then I no longer felt Maderşahi's tongue, but I heard Kız moan more forcefully than before and I knew that her mother was licking her throbbing clit. After a few moments, Maderşahi's tongue returned to cock and balls and she continued to give both of us attention, alternating and keeping up with the steady increase of speed as I began to thrust harder and harder into Kız's cunny.

"Kardes," I said without knowing what I was going to say next, "Get behind Maderşahi. I want you fingers in both of her holes!" I pleaded. Maderşahi let out a whimpering noise but her tongue stayed where it was, lapping at the spot where my cock and Kız's cunny lips came together.

Kardes was even quicker into position than Maderşahi was, she had been given more time to catch her breath. In an instant she was on her knees behind Maderşahi's ass. I could barely see her around Kız's body but as I gazed around the young woman's breast, I saw Kardes dip all four of her fingers on her right hand into her mouth. Then I saw them drop down quickly between Maderşahi's legs. I heard Maderşahi gasp while she licked on my balls and I knew that Kardes was touching her wet cunny. I could not see what happened next, but I could feel without looking that Kardes slipped fingers tightly into Maderşahi wet, seed-filled hole; her middle finger, ring finger, and her pinkie finger. Her index finger, now dripping wet from Kardes' mouth and Maderşahi cunny slipped easily into Maderşahi's tight asshole. I could hear Maderşahi moaning while Kardes pushed her fingers in and out of Maderşahi's tight body.

Once again, we stayed in these positions for some time, exploring the pleasure it gave us. I sat on the chair with my legs spread and my hands grasping at Kız's breasts. Kız was wrapped around my body with her back arched, facing away from me. I could heard groaning and her hips bounced up and down manically. My cock bounced in and out of her tight cunny, stretching her tight lips and shoving her clit into her mother's face. Maderşahi was on her hands and knees, her tongue working wildly to lick at my cock and balls and also suck on her daughter's cunny lips and to lap at her daughter's clit. Her body was shaking and she was moaning into our bodies because Kardes was behind her, fucking her roughly and mercilessly with her fingers.

We did not stay like this long. We were all still far too excited by the events to last for very long. I admit that this time, I set things off. Kız's cunny was gripping me so tightly and her breasts felt so good in my hands. Perhaps most importantly, her back was now pressing against my breasts and her ass was shoved back hard into my stomach. The feel of her delicious body against me was more than I could take. 

The feeling just sort of snuck up on me. One moment, I was thrusting into Kız's cunny, breathing raggedly and curling my toes on the floor. The next, the entire world had melted away and was replaced by flashing lights in my eyes and a euphoric sense of pleasure all over my body. If anything, this orgasm was more intense than the first, leaving my limbs feeling cold and my mouth trembling. I squeezed hard on Kız's breasts and I heard myself moaning loudly against her back. And I sensed that my seed was filling up her body. I heard her groaning as it stretched her out.

If anything, I produced more seed this time than I had the first. The pressure on the vein on the underside of my cock was so great, I felt like I was spraying inside of Kız's cunny. My seed rapidly overwhelmed the young woman's tight body and I could feel it dripping out of her cunny, sliding down the length of my shaft even as my orgasm was just subsiding. 

Of course, that meant that the seed was rapidly coming into contact with Maderşahi. It dribbled out of Kız's in long, white strands. At first, I felt Maderşahi's tongue stop as she tried to figure out the source of this sudden change in flavor. She rapidly came to understand the exact cause of the flow and her tongue returned, only now with more force and excitement. She focused on the source of the seed, keeping her tongue right where my cock exited her daughter's body, lapping it up. This meant that her tongue was pressed hard against Kız's aching clit. 

Already nearing the end of her limit, Kız count not withstand this renewed assault. As her mother's tongue began to lick and suck the seed off of her clit, Kız's body went rigid. I could feel the muscles in her back and her ass contracting against me. I heard a loud screech emanate from her throat. I felt her go completely stiff and heard a croaking sound in throat. Finally, I heard a deep sigh well from inside of her and I felt her go limp against me. She was breathing rapidly, her orgasm stealing her wits. 

Kız was so limp that, as I moved my hands from her breasts, she pitched forward towards the ground. Maderşahi, recognizing the danger, moved her tongue away from my cock and sat back on her heels. Kardes could not keep up and her fingers slipped from Maderşahi's body. Kız reached her arms out forward and Maderşahi caught her in her arms. I gasped as Kız's cunny slipped wetly off of my cock. Mother and daughter collapsed, panting onto the floor.

Once again, there was no thought of waiting. Despite my two orgasms, I was more desperate than ever. If anything, I needed to cum more now that I had when we started. I was still breathing heavily, my cock still cool in the air after losing Kız's warm body, when I began to issue my next set of instructions.

"Kardes," I ordered, "Get on your hands and knees on the floor." Kardes quickly licked all four of her fingers (stopping for just an instant to savor the flavor) and then fell onto her knees on the rough surface beneath our feet. She turned away from me a few feet in front of my chair and away from the panting pile of Maderşahi and Kız. Kardes then sat her hands on the floor and put her ass up into the air. She turned and looked over her shoulder at me. Her eyes glistening and her lip caught between her teeth.

It is hard to describe what I was feeling at that time. Mostly because the overwhelming majority of my conscious mind seemed to be controlled by some sort of outside force and pushed me along and affected my thoughts. But beside those feelings I had my own thoughts still, I knew what I thought even if I was compelled to act. And in that moment, looking at my sister's round ass sticking in the air and seeing her large breasts hanging down under her body, I knew I would do the same thing even if I did not feel compelled. My sister...she was beautiful. I loved her. I needed her. There really wasn't anything else to it. 

I slipped quickly off the chair, watching where I stepped so that I would not land on top of Maderşahi or Kız. They watched me as I stepped over them, I saw their eyes watching my bouncing cock and my hard nipples. I could feel their eyes were still glassy and their bodies were still taut. Just like me, they were not done yet. And I already knew what we needed to do to close this out. I moved behind Kardes and she continued to stare and me as I moved. I dropped down on my knees between her feet and put my hand down softly on her ass. My fingers suck into her soft flesh and my palms felt warmed. I scooted my hips in towards Kardes body and my cock flopped side to side. I felt the tip rub against Kardes' thigh and I heard her moan.

Now I reached down and found my cock with my right hand. Karde' hips were somewhat low and I pulled them up with my left. Her knees pulled together out and she grew higher. The smell of her cunny was intense now, I could feel it emanating with heat off of her. Her scent actually reminded me of my own and it seemed that our musky, salty essence mixed together and filled my nose. It pulled me in towards her. With my right hand I carefully began to guide the tip of my cock into my sister's dripping cunny. Kardes' cunny was spread as wide as it would go and looked red, ready. 




The Sultanah Ch. 13



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 13 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl. In Chapter 8, Varis is briefly engaged and kills her fiancé for betraying her. In Chapter 9, Varis slept with a member of the harem, her half-sister, while her aunt watched. In Chapter 10, Varis wed her sister and consummated the marriage. In Chapter 11, Varis sleeps with two new hermaphrodite members of the harem. Chapter 12, Varis performs a sexual ceremony with three surprising women.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman); Maderşahi (the leader of Anaerki, an ally). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

Special Note: This chapter contains non-consensual themes and extreme sex acts. Beyond the sex, it is an exceptionally dark chapter. You have been warned.

*****

Part VII: The Final Crisis

Chapter 13: Disaster and Revenge

"No," I said simply and shook my head. There was an audible grumble in the room as my voice reverberated around the hall. It was bulging to capacity and, in fact, several lords were standing out in the hall, peeking through the open door and trying hear what was said.

"I do not believe you understood what I said. I was not asking Sultanah, I was explaining the historical situation," Duke Hain eyes were protruding out of his head and his mouth was opening and closing like his mother's legs, "Castle Inhanet was deeded to my ancestor, the fifth Duke of Bok Kafa nearly eight centuries ago, I have all of the documentation. And, under the Restoration Act of 1215, lands recovered by the Empire revert to their lawful owner or that lawful owner's heir. There is no question I am the rightful heir to the Inhanet estate and I demand to know when you intend to hand it over to me." Hain spoke with growing vehemence with each word and spit flicked from his lips. He looked around the room as if to ask the other barons assembled: can you believe I have to ask? There seemed to be some agreement with him. But I was unmoved.

"Duke Hain it has been apparent for months now that you believe me to be a particularly stupid woman. But I assure you, I understood you the first time. That is why I said 'no,'" I explained with even greater heat than Hain had brought. I could not believe that I was having this conversation here and now. Who exactly did Duke Hain believe he was and why did he believe he could speak to me in such an insolent manner. Nonetheless, my sharp manner had placed the room on edge. Everything had become extremely quiet and the barons were leaning forward, waiting to see what would happen next.

"That is against the law..." Hain began, nearly shaking with rage. 

"I am the law, in case you have forgotten Duke Hain. I may suspend or selectively enforce any Act passed by any deliberative body in the Empire at my sole discretion," This, of course, was true. Though most Sultans chose to tread lightly. But I had decided that today, I was going to make an example. And it felt good.

I guess I was feeling a bit confident. I had recently returned from my trip to Anaerki and the conclusion of my alliance there. Kardes and I had returned home and it seemed my Inner Council was more united and productive than ever. I had also shepherded several actions through the Executive Assembly to control bread prices, begin plans on widening several important canals, and modernization of city defenses. Perhaps most important, we were now well into campaign season and King Lider had not returned with the Dusman army. There was no evidence of the Temsilci either. I was beginning to think that the resilience the Empire had shown in the face of their previous invasion was giving them pause. Even if I could simply hold them off for another year, I believed I could be fully prepared for the defense of the Empire.

It was in that mood of confidence that I had met with the Peers. While most of the barons' business was now conducted by the Executive Assembly, I still liked to have the Peers around on occasion, to hear concerns that might not be raised by the Executive Assembly. But today, as soon as I called the meeting into Order, Duke Hain had immediately rose (without recognition) and demanded (as he had at every Executive Assembly meeting for weeks) the "return" of Castle Inhanet. 

I was not the same scared girl who had sat down on the throne nine months earlier. I was no longer willing to be cowed by this fool. I had looked to my right and I could see both Kardes and Cin wordlessly pleading with me to remain calm and to ignore the Duke's tone. But I had learned a valuable lesson (and I still consider it a valuable lesson, even in light of the events that would later befall me) that I had been too accommodating to my enemies and not nearly loyal enough to my friends. I had been trying to cultivate Duke Hain's good will for months now and the only thing that I had achieved was an emboldened foe. He had constantly tried to belittle and undermine my authority. I expected him of every treachery, included attempts at my life. He believed he could treat me infamously in my own chambers, before the Peers, and that I would simply take it. Perhaps he believed I would be embarrassed by the confrontation in front of everyone and that I would give in now, having blocked him several times at the Executive Assembly. Well Duke Hain was mistaken and Cin and Kardes were to be disappointed. 

After I shut him down, Duke Hain seemed nearly apoplectic. Now he was the one to be embarrassed in front of the Peers. They avoided looking at him, feeling uncomfortable in his disappointment. Even the loyalist avoided his eye. He sputtered for several minutes, before tactlessly addressing an issue that we all understood but consciously avoided discussing.

"I should expect nothing else, you have always played favorites. Certainly if Lord Sadik had requested the proper enfeoffment of Castle Inhanet he would be swiftly obliged. You have allowed our political differences to cloud your judgement. How can any Lord know that he will receive fair treatment at your hands?" he asked, looking around desperately. I saw several Collaborationist lords nodding. They may not have liked Hain's brash style, but they knew I did not favor them. Duke Hain was attempting, rather ham-handedly, to show me the limits of my power. Rather than tempering me, this pushed me farther.

"Your right hand, Lord Örnek, petitioned just three days ago for a six month extension in paying a military tax in lieu of providing the required 125 men for the defense of the city. I granted that request and also offered additional months of indulgence in the future as needed. I have extended this courtesy to several Lords disrupted by the war, regardless of their political affiliation. This has nothing to do with overall party politics. It is about you Duke Hain, and the manner in which you present yourself here, in my throne room. Do you believe yourself to be my co-Sultan? Is that why you behave in this boorish manner? Well let me disabuse of your notion. You are a Lord. You are surrounded by your Peers. I am the Sultanah. I sit above you. I have no Peers." I could sense Cin wincing without even seeing her. I was being heavy-handed. But I felt I had earned it. I had been demure and yielding for too long.

"I have never been anything but a loyal servant to you and your family..."he began trying to win sympathy from the crowd. He actually looked and sounded hurt, I half expected tears to well in his eyes. I didn't notice if any of the Lords were agreeing with him. I kept my eyes fixed on his ugly face.

"Good," I interrupted, "Then I expect you to loyally fulfill my following request. In light of your unstatesmanlike behavior at this meeting I ask that you resign your seat on the Executive Assembly effective immediately." The crowd actually gasped now. Lord Hain had essentially invented the Assembly. He was a leader of an entire court faction. I didn't care. I was trying to shake things up, to put foolish men in their place. 

Of course, there had been no plan for this. I had always hoped to remove Hain at some point in the future, if possible. I had been waiting for my political position to improve. And it had been improving. But I had not yet decided the time was right until just then. Duke Hain was still quite powerful and many men followed his every word. I wasn't really sure I was powerful enough to take him on yet. But the words came tumbling out and they felt very good on my lips. Whether or not I was truly ready politically, I was ready spiritually, and I let that guide me. Lord Hain simply stared at me for a long while. His face was incredibly red and he appeared to be trembling with rage.

"You cannot remove me..."he began.

"No I cannot, that is why I asked you to resign. But If I needed you removed, I could certainly find three votes on the Executive Assembly for your censure and impeachment, could I not? You would think a man who believes himself to be so intelligent would recognize that he is constantly outflanked" I said, cutting him off again. I had him routed. He should have recognized I was willing to make this threat without making me say it, but instead, he was forced to absorb another body blow. He stammered for several seconds before finally, being able to control himself.

"Give me my Castle and I will resign immediately," he said and I actually snorted.

"If you had come to me and discussed this with me in an appropriate venue you probably could have received that request. But you chose to make a scene here, in this venue, of all places. You have dishonored yourself and you have embarrassed me. I cannot now give you anything but my contempt," I said, savoring my ultimate triumph. How much had things changed in just a few months? Could I have even imagined to stand so firmly on my convictions just a few months ago. I felt power surging in my limbs and I knew that others could feel it as well. Hain did not even speak. Before I was even done with my remarks he was already turning towards the door.

"I do not need to stay here for this abuse," Hain said dramatically, "I am leaving, and anyone who wishes to follow me may come. We will return to the Sultanah when she is more willing to speak in a respectful manner." And soon, in a huff, Hain was out the door. A handful of hardcore Collaborationist followed him out. Loyalists looked pleased. Many others looked troubled by the discord, unsure what to do. I did not say a word, instead I sat down and I held the meeting I intended to hold the entire time.

* * * * *

"I am not saying he did not deserve it. By the Sun God's eyes I cannot even say that I did not enjoy seeing it happen. But that does not change the fact that it was a mistake," Cin was sitting next to me in the throne room and she was running her hands nervously through her hair. 

"What was I just telling you about your impulsiveness?" Kardes chirped in. She was pacing in front of me and shaking her head. The rest of my Inner Council were standing around the room, not sure of how to take this sudden assertiveness. We had waited here after the meeting with the barons concluded. They had filed out slowly, many still looking dazed by the encounter. Now, several hours later, we were going around and around the confrontation from every angle. I appeared to be the only person who believed I acted correctly. I sighed.

"I was being decisive. We can all agree that Hain has developed an exaggerated notion of his own importance. I was just demonstrating that today. Did you see how few lords followed him out? I think I made my point," I said, "There is no longer any question of who is the most powerful person at this court."

"Yes, but that does not mean that you can simply get rid of him. Not everyone who supports him left. You spoke in a manner that would worry all of the Lords, not just Collaborationists," Cin said wearily.

"I have never been in a stronger position. It was time to flex some muscle domestically," I explained my thinking.

"I agree that it was time for that. But you didn't flex your muscles, you put on a weight-lifting exhibition. And you lack the endurance to maintain the show! You are more secure than ever, but you will expose your still-weak position if you push too far too fast. You should have made a smaller demonstration and then built to removing Hain over time while simultaneously isolating him at court by picking off his followers," Kardes explained. That plan actually sounded pretty effective, but I was not yet ready to admit that my bold action was any sort of a mistake.

"I have spent months neutralizing domestic enemies. It was time to heighten the division and force them into submission. I did it," I said.

"You exposed the desperateness of their position. You are consolidating your power and you have gained a valuable time for the Empire to recover. That won't convert the Collaborationists to your side. It will make them reckless," Cin predicted. I was not in any position, at that time, to recognize the wisdom of her words.

"Good, their desperation will force them into further mistakes and I will exploit those too. I wasn't lying to Hain. He probably would have gotten what he wanted if he behaved liked a gentleman. Now I get everything and he gets nothing," I said.

"Don't be so sure that your actions have not been reckless. Maybe someone is plotting to exploit your mistake as we speak," Kardes replied, annoyed.

"Let them come," I said, "I am no longer afraid." At that moment, the world seemed to slow down. I will never forget that moment as long as I lived. For some time I almost believed that I had spoken some sort of magical words, that, in my hubris, I had summoned something into being that would not have been present otherwise. That my pride had risen and Gunes had to put me in my place. I still don't know. At best, it was a horrible coincidence. 

Regardless, as I spoke those fatal words the doors to the throne room were tossed open. I was not looking at them, but I could hear them swing wide and slam into the walls on either side. I heard a clanging thump as two armored bodies were tossed onto the floor in front of the door. They were my guards. But that sound was almost immediately drowned out by the sounds of swords slipping from scabbards, armor brushing together, and the roar of enraged men. 

Now I was able to turn around fully and see what was happening. It was all happening so fast I didn't really comprehend what was going on. But instinctively I knew that a disaster was about to occur. My skin prickled, my heart thudded, and my stomached tightened. I swung around in slow motion in time to see men beginning to pour into the throne room. The chairs that the peers had been sitting in were still strewn about the room and my Inner Council and I were on the far side. This slowed down the advance momentarily. But nonetheless it was clear that there were dozens of men throwing chairs to both sides and making their way in my direction. These men were heavily armed and expensively armored. There was no attempt to conceal their identity. In fact, in the front of the pack, with his visor set up so that he could stare directly into my eyes, was Duke Hain.

While I lacked the full time to fully work out all of the details of what was occurring, I already knew the broad strokes even before the front line of soldiers made their way halfway through the throne room. Of course, these were Collaborationists and their retainers. Duke Hain and his followers had been waiting for months for me slip up so that they could seize my power and destroy my dynasty. I had worked carefully and wisely and I had denied them any chance to do so. They had bided their time and come up with nothing. Then, today, they had seen me flex my muscles and they knew that the people, the other Peers, and the world as a whole were growing to accept my existence. Rather than strengthen with time, their hand was growing weaker. There were fewer Collaborationist than ever and they were certain to keep shrinking if they did nothing. 

And so Hain had quickly gathered his loyal followers. They had likely discussed this possibility many times in the past, waiting for the proper opportunity. They had already been in the city, no need to crash the gates. I had few guards in the palace (most were on the city walls, waiting for external threats) and they had quickly overpowered my household retainers. They planned to rush into the throne room and murder me. 

They would perform a coup, perhaps placing Hain on the throne or presenting the city to Dusman. Either way, with me dead they would present the situation as a fait accompli to the other Peers. With no choice, my dynasty would die and no one would say a word. They no longer believed they had anything to lose. It was a desperate plan, but the Collaborationists no longer believed they had any alternative. And, like my own boldness and decisiveness earlier, it seemed to be bearing fruit. They had breached the palace, found the throne room, and they were coming for me now.




The Sultanah Ch. 13



With little time to spare, my Inner Council swung into action. But we were so few against the tide. Saygili drew his sword and looked grim. He rapidly walked in front of me, shielding my body with his own and preparing for the onslaught. He had a short sword in his belt, an extra (largely ceremonial) weapon. I reached for it, but Saygili recognized it was there and he reached down and grabbed it.

"No Sultanah," he said, "Stay out of the way." And with that, he quickly handed the short sword to the closest person he could find, my sister Kardes. She took it uneasily but stepped forward in front of me. I tried to grab the sword from her hand.

"Varis stop," she said, her voice sounding somewhat panicked, "You are more important...stay out of the way!" As she moved in front of me. Arkadas, terrified, grabbed a chair and lifted it above her head, taking a spot in front of me. I tried to pull her back, to stand with me, but she shook me off. She would not look back at me. 

"I love you Varis," she said and I could hear that she had begun to cry. I felt choked and I tried again to throw my arms around my best friend. Saygili turned and shoved me backwards quickly, away from Arkadas and then turned to look in front of himself again. I lost my balance and tumbled into the ground, landing on my ass. I felt blood in the back of my throat and my eyes felt like they were bulging.

Cin, Agiz, and Got had carried ceremonial staves into the throne room and they took these in their hands. Soon, they had lined up in between my sword-bearing protectors, forming a tight semi-circle around me and penning me back towards my throne. 

However, not everyone performed with distinction. In fact, before anyone else had even started to move I had seen Soyguncu pull her knife from her belt, run to the nearest window, and throw herself outside. I knew had no idea where she was going, it was a long drop but I doubted she was killing herself. I didn't have time to think about it.

"Step aside and let us have that freak of nature!" Lord Hain cried out, rushing quickly to the front of the room, "You need not all die, we just want the usurper." The entire time he spoke, he looked directly in my eyes and I could feel fire shooting from them. I stared back at him, feeling scared but trying to appear calm. My protectors closed ranks closer, making their circle around me tighter.

"This is treason," I said loudly, hoping that my authority would carry the day. My voice sounded small, almost girlish. Hain and many other laughed.

"We owe you no loyalty!" He said and now I raised my hand in the traditional submission symbol, hoping to repeat my actions from my coronation. The laughter grew more raucous

"You pledged!" I said indignantly, dropping my arm.

"You pledged to restore our estates and you have not," Hain retorted. I knew this was just an excuse for what they were doing. A mere pretense to justify my death. Of course, I had not been above resorting to pretense.

Now Hain and his cadre had made it through the sea of chairs. He was just a few feet in front of Saygili, who was standing directly in front of me. Hain's followers were close behind and soon our little semi-circle was completely surrounded. The room was full of men, perhaps 120 soldiers in all. We were horribly outnumbered. 

"Step aside women," Hain said, "And you too, guard. We just want the Usurper!"

"You will not take the Sultanah," Saygili said and raised his blade to defend me. Hain made a move as to advance on Saygili. The other Collaborationists began to tighten up as well, closing in around my guardians.

"Stop!" Cin said and suddenly everyone stopped moving, "This is a mistake Duke Hain. Peers. I will not allow harm to befall my Sultanah," she said. As she spoke the top of her staff grew a dark, glowing red. Agiz and Got saw their staves to grow red as well, though they did not speak. The traitors backed up slightly, looking nervous.

"You know my power," Cin said coolly. There was a rumble of nervousness through the crowd and even Lord Hain briefly looked nervous. There was pure threat in Cin's eyes and I could feel the power of Gunes pulsing out of her. For a moment, I could feel my heartbeat slackening and I could breath. I sat up slightly on the floor, wondering what Cin would do next, how she would solve the crisis. It appeared as though Cin was about the speak again, when she was abruptly interrupted.

"She cannot kill you," A tiny, raspy voice stated somewhere in the back of the crowd, "Whatever power she has...she might be able to restrain you. Some of you. But there are too many. And she cannot kill. She has taken vows. Vows she will not break. Cannot break." The crowd seemed to part in the middle and slowly, the author of the statement came into view. I gasped as the creature stepped into the light.

It was more corpse than man. He was totally bald and his skin so white it was nearly translucent. All of the blood vessels in his eyes were broken, giving his a reddish, glowing whites. His mouth was wide open and I saw a few broken black teeth poking out. His skin hung loose on his face and he was impossibly thin. He was wearing no shirt, only a loin cloth around his waist. His ribs were clearly visible and this stomach was so thin I could nearly see his spine poking through his belly. He was all sharp angles with knobby knees, loose elbows, and all of his skin was covered in oozing sores.

"Cardinal Rahip?" I asked, knowing before he began to cackle that I was right. He had survived. Deep in the dungeon eating rats and drinking waste water. Hain had somehow dug him back out. To bring him here and boost the morale of his troops. From the look in Cin's eyes, the gambit would work. Rahip was calling Cin's bluff. 

"You cannot eliminate me any more than you can eliminate the true God. Tanri will have his revenge and I will be the tool of that revenge," Rahip gasped through his shattered mouth. I looked more closely into his red eyes and I could see no sense of human feeling there. His time in the dungeon had driven him insane. My skin crawled and my body recoiled against him. Even the peers that surrounded him pulled back and away from him. He was a vision of their desperation and they wanted desperately to leave him behind, triumphant.

"Rahip, you look as shattered and false as your God," Cin said, "Who here wants to risk their lives on the word of a shattered old man?" Cin spoke with such malevolence 

"If I lie, then strike me dead Cin!" he called out, "Come you whore. I give you my permission. Kill me now and prove that you will do the same to the rest!" He took a few steps forward towards us. Cin did not stand back, but instead lifted her staff above her head. She looked icily at Cardinal Rahip, staring into dead eyes and gruesome face. She stood for several seconds, staring while the red light of her staff pulsated. But nothing happened. Rahip began to cackle.

"Were you hoping I would just die on my own?" He asked sharply. It didn't seem like that bad of a bet. But it was now clear to everyone that Cin would not kill anyone. I felt bile in the back of my throat and I looked around for something, anything, to protect myself. The hesitation that had held the crowd back shattered. In fact, the men were now chomping at the bit to attack us. Duke Hain sensed this new found courage and decided to climb in front of it.

"They will not yield! Forward!" Hain called and the circle tightened rapidly around us. The living corpse of Rahip was nearly in the front of the press now. 

It is hard to explain what happened during the next few minutes. Hain came charging at Saygili and my general blocked the attack, shoving the Duke him back. But more men were coming. They closed on the priestesses and on my sisters. Their swords were swinging and their spears were stabbing. Nonetheless, our attackers moved cautiously. None of them wanted to die knowing how badly we were outnumbered. They believed they could kill us all without harm. Still, it was not long before we were swarmed.

I stood back, trying to figure out a way to help the situation. But I felt desperate, panicked, and unsure of myself. I knew already that I had brought this on to us and the guilt was already crushing me under its weight. I saw sword and knives flying, I saw blood splash high into the air. I could heard the screams of battle and cries of fright or surprise. Soon, my guardians were each surrounded and men began to pour through the line, heading straight for me. 

A number of things happened in the instant before the first of my enemies reached me. I can see each of these things so clearly in my mind, even as I grasp my quill. They all happened at the same time but I can see them separately. First, I saw the door to my left, the one leading to my private chambers burst open. Soyguncu was standing in the door but she quickly plunged inside. Behind her I saw familiar faces. Familiar uniforms. It was the legion I had formed many months ago. I had misjudged Soyguncu. She had jumped out the window, but she had swung herself into the floor below. She had raised the hue and cry, finding members of my army and sending them to the throne room. She told others to pass the word along and now they were pouring, one or two at a time, into the enemy's flank.

That was the only good news. More importantly, I saw Cin raise her staff over her head to block a blow. I saw a sword come down on the hard wood. Cin had misjudged the landing spot of the blow and the sword came down on her left hand, shearing off two of her fingers as if they were made of butter. I heard her scream and falter. To her side, I saw a blade pass through Got's eye and then pass out the back of her head. I saw Got fall to her knees, gasping on the ground before she died. I turned to find Arkadas, but I did not see her. Instead, I saw Saygili trip over something on the floor, landing on his back as Hain lifted his sword to his throat. I did not see what happened to Saygili. I turned away, afraid to look. 

But just in time to see a swinging blade slice into my sister's body. The sword moved with force and ease. I would have thought it had missed her except I saw a fountain of blood pour from her throat. The blade had traveled through her neck, severing her throat, and pulled out impossibly dark with imperial blood on the far side. Kardes did not even have time to scream. I watched, horrorstruck but uncomprehending, as her lifeless body fell to the ground. I did not have time to process what I had seen, to understand the full horror of it or to accept my fault, when I felt the club, from somewhere I did not even see, land on the top of my head and the world went mercifully blank.

* * * * *

"Easy, Easy," the voice said above me. I could see nothing but a flash of red light and my head felt like it was pulsating to the erratic rhythm of my heart. I groaned loudly and realized that I was trying to sit up. I did not know where I was or how I had gotten there. I didn't even really have a sense of the last thing I remembered.

"What?" I asked, my voice slurring and my tongue feeling fat. I could taste blood in my mouth. Slowly my eyes began to adjust.

"Sultanah, you must be careful. We have not been able to have you evaluated yet," a familiar voice stated. It had called me Sultanah, not usurper. I knew that was good, but I didn't really remember why, "You must lay down." Now my vision came back as the candle light, that had seemed so blinding, faded. I recognized my location, seeing that I was lying in my own bed with my head on my pillow. The shadow leaning over me came into focus.

"I thought you left me," I said and Soyguncu laughed.

"I thought you knew me better than that," she said. Then she explained the way she had gathered my legion and brought them into the throne room. 

She described the battle over my body after I had been knocked out. I remembered none of it. At first the enemy had outnumbered the legion because my troops were forced to enter one or two at a time. Many in my legion were picked off one by one as they entered. The enemy had taken advantage and my unconscious body was in the process of being pulled to the far door by my hair. Someone even suggested tossing me from the window. But each second, enemy troops were falling wounded and injured and more and more of my legionnaires began to enter the room. Soon the tide had turned. My body had been recovered after a blood encounter in the middle of the room. Dozens died as I was tossed back and forth like a rag doll. She explained that it was a miracle that no one had simply stabbed me in the melee, but everything was chaos. Eventually, Soyguncu captured my body and brought me to my room. 

With their quarry lost and their casualties mounting, the enemy had broken. They had abandoned one another as they had all tried to bolt, to get out of the palace before death found them. The legion chased them, hacking men down as they ran. All of them were dead or out of the palace now and the building was secure. The enemy was still being hunted through the city streets. Soyguncu was more subdued than was her normal, story-telling attitude and I heard her sigh several times as she told the story.

"Who survived?" I asked as soon as Soyguncu paused.

"Hain and Örnek both made it out. Rahip with them somehow. Several other smaller lords. But we got a lot of them. Saygili sent the legion out into the city to find known Collaborationist who were not here, to arrest them on treason charges," Soyguncu stated and began to tell that story as well. I felt a desperate sensation climbing up the back of my throat. I shook my aching head wildly.

"No...No," I interrupted, "Who among us survived." I said. Soyguncu dropped her head and sighed. I knew she had known the question I had really been asking. She had tried to dodge it. Whatever blades I had eluded in the throne room found me now, icily piercing my heart. I felt a lump in my throat and knew that whatever I was about hear would be...unbearable.

"Well you have, Sultanah. And I. And, as I said, Saygili. He was stabbed in the shoulder, but he should live" she gave a shuddering sigh now.

"Is that all?" I asked, my voice catching in my throat.

"Cin is alive. She has lost..."

"Fingers?"

"And a lot of blood. But she is strong. Her fellow priestesses have both fallen. Agiz died throwing her body on Cin, to protect her when she fell." There was a pregnant pause after that. I thought of Got. Of Agiz. I thought of our night together when I was first the Sultanah. But the pain I felt for them was dwarfed by a memory that flooded back to me in full horror. 

"My sister is dead, Kardes..." I said. I said it as a question in some ways. Hoping that I had hallucinated the image or that somehow, miraculously, she had survived her ordeal. Soyguncu nodded slowly. I saw tears in Soyguncu's eyes now, an unfamiliar and unnatural sight. Seeing them there made the world fell upside down.

"And Arkadas," she said barely audible. And that was all. It was confirmed. Both were dead. My elder sister. My best friend. I did not know in that instant who I missed more. That's too trite. I felt that way, but it was a larger feeling. A feeling that the world was no longer what it was and that nothing could ever be...I don't know. But as I struggled with that sensation, I felt an unrelenting hate for myself that surged from nowhere and coated me in a black shroud. My skin felt cold and clammy. My insides felt dead. Everything ceased to function. I heard myself make a choking sound and my head drooped. Guilt and shame were all I could recognize.

"Nislani?" I asked, suddenly realizing I did now know about my wife. I was no longer surprised to find that I felt real fear at the thought. She was my entire family now. That thought was more hateful than any of the others.

"She is alright. She was discussing the meals for the upcoming week with the cook downstairs. She didn't even know anything had happened. She wants to see you, but I have kept her out," Soyguncu said. I breathed slightly easier but my mind immediately returned to my older sister. And my friend. 

I tried desperately in that moment to focus my thoughts on the people that I loved. I wanted to simply sit and bed and think of them. Gunes be praised, even think of Got and Agiz, all night. I would have held Soyguncu's hands and hated myself more and more with each passing moment. But before I could even begin to formulate rational thoughts, my door pounded open. I jumped, half expecting the horde to have returned to finish me off. But I relaxed slightly as I saw Saygili standing in the doorway.

"Gunes be praised, Sultanah you are awake," he said, "The way they tossed you about..." he shook his head. I saw him wince then and look down at his bandaged arm.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, my voice sounding small and childish. I needed my general now more than ever. I had so few allies left.

"I will be fine Sultanah. I worry only for you," he said.

"What is happening out there?" Soyguncu said. She was a scout and a spy, desperate for information.

"The coup has collapsed. It had no popular support. The people don't even really know what happened yet. They just saw the legions chasing a handful of fugitives through the streets. They tore off their armor to move more quickly, they were barely recognizable. Anyway, they needed to kill you to make it stick," Saygili said, looking at me. I nodded. My popularity with the people was small consolation now.

"Have they been apprehended?" I asked now. Saygili shrugged.

"Most are dead, wounded, or captured. I cannot be certain about all of them. But, and I apologize Sultanah, the one you care about the most...Duke Hain has not been located. A guard saw a small group of riders heading away from the city into the moonlight. They were well-appointed. No one knows how they got out. We suspect it was him. Lord Örnek was captured in his home, trying to change into peasants clothing," Saygili said. I felt bitter tears in my eyes, knowing Hain was gone. He was the only person in the world I hated more than myself at that moment.

"I want Lord Örnek dead tonight. His head on the Duke's Gate as a warning. Anyone else who is caught as well. I want a forest of heads," I said coldly. I cannot describe the way I felt when I uttered those words. It did not feel like I said it. It felt reptilian, cold, alien. I did not consider any circumstances or mercy or anything else. I needed to see my own pain reflected in the lifeless eyes of my enemies. Nothing else would suffice.

"We are rounding up Collaborationists who were not involved in the coup as well..."Saygili said.

"Their heads too," I said, feeling even less than I felt before, "They knew this was coming whether they participated or not. No one told me. No trials. I want them dead before the sun is up." 

"Of course," Saygili responded. His eyes looked uncertain about the barbarity of my order. I felt no shame in my emotions and he sensed that. He dutifully complied, "We knew where most them lived. We have almost all of them now. We believe anyone we cannot find is likely already in hiding."

"Beg your pardon, Sultanah, but if you kill them...don't you want the details on the conspiracy?" Soyguncu asked. I thought of this for a moment, but my blackness overruled the idea. It tumbled over me and eradicated anything that could be misconstrued as mercy. It did not seem very fruitful anyway.

"We will speak with wives and children and learn what we can. Showing the world our resolve is more important now," I explained.

"That reminds me," Saygili said, "Lord Hain made arrangements for his own escape we believe. But we think he was pretty confident. We found his wife and daughter Kolza still at home. They are in custody."

"The fucking coward," I spat, "leaving his women to face the consequences while he runs off into the night like a thief."




The Sultanah Ch. 13



"Worse than a thief," Soyguncu protested.

"I must admit I was surprised to find them there," Saygili said, "I have known many of his men through the years. He is a bastard, but everyone has always said he is very devoted to his family. His daughter, in particular, is supposed to be the apple of his syphilitic eye."

"Never underestimate a coward," Soyguncu said and Saygili whistled. But I focused on his words. I felt something growing inside of me. Something malevolent. Something I could not control. It came so quickly, I barely recognized it.

"So his daughter is his most beloved family member?" I asked and there was a tinny, otherworldly character to my voice. Both Soyguncu and Saygili looked at me strangely, hearing my voice.

"Yes, apparently. She is 24 and unwed because Duke Hain has yet to find a man suitable for her. She is said to be charming, beautiful, and arrogant," Saygili said, "Hopefully she will have good information, but I have not spoken to her yet."

"Well one of us should. Bring her here to me. Immediately," I said blankly. Saygili could tell from the quality of my voice that I did not want to hear more. He quickly turned and left.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Soyguncu had gone, at my request, to send my regards to Cin and to check in on her condition and I was by myself in my room. At first, when left alone, I had inspected myself to determine what damage I had suffered. My head ached and I was certain that I would have a bump the next day. My arms and legs had some bumps and bruises, but nothing particularly troublesome. It could have been much worse.

Of course, it was much worse. When I had taken the time to assess my body, I finally had a moment of quiet solitude in which I could reflect on what had happened. The shock and surprise of the moment was still on me, but I was able, briefly, to look outside of it. And all I felt there was guilt and pain. 

My first thoughts of were of Arkadas. As everything came into focus in my mind, I could see her face. Smiling. My companion and protector since childhood, my most trusted confidant, my most constant lover. There had been so many times in my life before the last year when I had been so very alone. My father hated me, my sister hated me, and my brothers barely noticed me. Arkadas had been my entire world. She had loved me when no one else had. She had led me into adulthood and protected me, the real me, deep inside the hardening body of the Sultanah. 

I had told her so many times that I loved her and that I would always love her. I had meant it every time. For months now, I had so little time for her. So little real time. I kept telling myself that when events began to cool, when time began to slow, I would find Arkadas again. I did not know how our relationship would change in that time, but I had always known that it would be the two of us. There would always be time and we would die old women together, maybe lying in the same sickbed and trading jokes about our nurse. Now there was no time. I hadn't even gotten around to the technicality of emancipating her. Temporarily on the backburner, and now forever into the void.

I thought of the last time that I had seen her. Her eyes welling with tears as she went to war. She placed her body in front of mine, shielded me. She had never wanted that kind of life, but she had taken on danger, she had walked into the jaws of death. For me. I thought of her last words as she looked at me, so simple and so honest to who she was, "I love you Varis." And I had not said anything back. I could not remember the last thing I said. I was sure that it had not meaning. And then she turned from me, never to speak to me again. Never to see her again.

Or could I? As my weary eyes closed I was struck by an image. I could not know then, and to this day I do not "know" now, but I know that I saw her. It was a vision sent by Gunes and I know it. The beautiful marble floor of the throne room. Arkadas lying on her back, her legs together and her hands clasped between her breasts, covering a wound that will never heal where her breastbone was shattered. Her skin, so beautifully pale all our lives, was the color of snow. Her lips purple. Her eyes open, but uncomprehending. Her beautiful, long hair crimson and matted against the floor. The golden locks dyed the Sun God's color with her own vital blood. 

I knew that this was how she had looked, the image was so clear and so horrible. It felt so real, so real that I wished nothing more than to reach forward into my mind's eye, to caress my friend and tell her that her worries were at an end. To promise I had always loved her as she had loved me. To let her know that I could never forget. But I could not. Even that little consolation was lost to us, whatever it would have been worth. Maybe nothing anyway. Unconsecrated ashes in from fire that consumed the purest thing in this life.

But the thought of Arkadas...body. The uncertainty I felt in not seeing her. It reminded me that perhaps there were worse things than not truly knowing. After all, I had seen Kardes fall. I could will the image into my mind at will. And I did. Over and over again, seeing it happen and each time being completely unable to stop it, to arrest the tide or even to scream out in agony. Too terrible to even comprehend, but for a time it was the only thing of my sister that I could truly remember. The indignity, the horror, and callousness of her death. She was so much and then, in that instant, she was nothing anymore.

"Varis stop. You are more important...stay out of the way!" My sister's final words to me. A keen understanding of politics and strategy to the end. Where would I have been without my sister Kardes? Without my Minister of State? She had taught me how to be a Sultanah in those first dark days, or at least shown me the path I needed to take. She had taught me how to search for advantage and to exploit it. And how to cover your tracks. Loyalty. Perhaps she had shown me that most of all.

But it is too little to simply explain what she had taught me, she was so much more than that. A lover too, of course. And not just the physical (though she had certainly been that). But a lover of life and of the opportunities it provided. Ambition. She had that, but in a manner I had never seen before. A desire for advancement without ruthlessness. A gentle desire to have what her intelligence deserved. It had certainly not been this. I had been wondering so much what my sister would be now that she finally had something of what she desired. Now the world would never know. She never received her chance to live what she had achieved.

Thoughts of both women jumbled in my mind as I sat and I waited. I sunk deeper and deeper into myself as I thought of them. So very different. So very much unlike one another. They didn't even really like one another. Seemingly the only thing that bound them together was the love they bore for me. I was the link that bound them together. That still bound them together in death.

And what was my role in all of this? This is where my thoughts became the most clouded. Though I knew that it was right to feel that way. In fact, the only thing I felt was shame and guilt. What else could I feel? I had antagonized Hain and I had failed to consider the consequences of my actions. I had acted impulsively. I had jumped right into the river, forcing my friends and lovers in after me. I swam to the other side, but they couldn't keep up. The two women who had most tried to control my passions had been dashed to pieces by them. 

"They would be alive if it was not for me" I said aloud, hearing the words echo in my empty room. I could almost see them in the room at that moment. Kardes, standing by the window and giving me advice. Or Arkadas in my bed next to me, in the afterglow of love making. I closed my mouth and dropped my head into my hands. I kept thinking that I would do anything to go back, to change my actions to undo what had happened. I thought of all the things I would say to them when they came back. And then I would shake the ghosts away, realizing that the fantasy was preventing me from accepting that they were dead and I was solely responsible. I hated myself as Sultanah and I hated myself as Varis. I had let them down. The knowledge that both would likely have forgiven me made the guilt so much heavier. 

In felt heavy, weighed down by the guilt. My breathing was slow, ponderous, and rasping. My brain flittered through a thousand different thoughts and had a hard time settling on anything for more than a few moments. I relished the pain in my hand and squeezed the growing bump in my fingers, savoring the pain I gave myself, knowing I deserved more. I wanted to cut off my hands or gouge out my eyes, I wanted something to relieve this pressure inside of me. This self-hatred that was growing and growing to the point that it was about to swallow me up already. I wanted to dive head first into it. To taste the oblivion.

"What on Earth do you think you are doing?" a voice called out. My head shot up instantly and I saw that the door to my room had been pushed open by guards and a woman had been shoved in. It was only then that I remembered my instructions to Saygili and the dark impulses that had placed them there. I felt those impulses flooding back, overwhelming my self-hatred and allowing me to breathe fire outwardly, "Oh it is you," the woman said as she adjusted to the light and looked over at me. The guards quickly closed the door, leaving me alone as per Saygili's instructions.

"Is that how you speak to me?" I said, feeling the same anger rising up inside of me. The anger directed inward was now pouring out. But it was more controlled now, and more focused. It was pure hate.

"I meant no offense, Sultanah," the woman said snottily, "But what is the meaning of this? By what right do you bring me here? Let me and my mother return home this instant. This is absolutely unheard of, though I suppose I should expect nothing less..." As she droned on with her complaints, she walked from the door in closer towards me. Slowly her form came into the light. Even in my state, I was surprised by how beautiful she was. It seemed so unlikely that a fleshy, unpleasant man and his wan, worn out wife had ever produced such an alluring creature. Of course, I did not think of it in just that way. I thought about a flower growing in a pile shit and wondered what it would feel like to stomp it into the ground.

She was petite and slim at around 5'1 and she looked younger than her 24 years. She had exceptionally long, black hair that hung down straight along her back. Her skin was a light olive color and very smooth and even looking. She had wide, innocent looking dark eyes, a small, slightly upturned celestial nose. Her lips were tight but pouty and her face had a look of intentional innocence. Her arms were thin and elegant, her breasts were perfectly proportional and sat up high on her chest. Her stomach was flat and her waist was very thin. Her hips were somewhat narrower than her breasts and her legs were similar to her arms, graceful and lean. 

She had clearly been roused from bed and she was wearing only a nightshirt that fell halfway down her thighs and had very short sleeves. However, her eyes did not look sleepy, instead, she was enraged. It was rippling below her barely controlled surface. I fed on that, feeling my own heat rising. Her reasons were so insignificant compared to mine. She had no right to feel anything.

"Silence," I said and Kolza reacted to the coldness in my voice. She stopped moving towards me and stumbled a little. She took a deep breath and seemed to collect herself.

"Sultanah," she said, making an effort to sound more respectful, "I do not understand why I was roused by armed men in my sleep, dragged through the streets with my mother, imprisoned in this palace, and then finally brought here to you. I believe it is totally unconscionable and outrageous. I believe that this is the actions of a despot and a tyrant and I do not intend to stand for it," despite her efforts to be submissive, she got angrier and angrier the more she spoke. I saw her cheeks flushing red and her eyes growing wild. An unbecoming petulance in one so physically lovely.

"It is not for you to know why I do anything I do," I said to her. I was still not certain what I was going to do with her. That's not true. I knew exactly how this would end and I wanted it. But I couldn't admit it to myself in that moment. I can rarely admit it to myself now. Something had taken hold of me. That's a lie. I was directing this, but I knew, even then, that I did not want the responsibility.

"You have no right to hold me here. This is not fair and it is not right," she spoke as a child who is used to getting her way. She truly was the pampered favorite of an indulgent father. I had a long and spite-filled history with just such a girl and I felt that baggage shifting onto her as well. Just a little more kindling to throw on the raging bonfire, "And when my father finds out..."

"Where is your father?" I interrupted her. After all, she was here ostensibly to be interrogated. She looked taken aback, as if I had no right to question her.

"Why ask me? I am sure you have him here somewhere," Kolza responded coolly. I wondered if she was play-acting her ignorance, though I admitted she seemed genuine. She did not appear intelligent enough to manage artifice.

"Tell me where he is and you can leave now," I lied. I sat up in the bed as I spoke (feeling a little lightheaded) and then draped my feet over the side of the bed. In a moment, I was standing on the cold floor next to my bed. I walked slowly, gaining my bearings, until I was standing in front of Kolza, just a few feet from her face. I wanted to look at her while she answered.

"Did you not hear me or something?" she asked shrugging, "I said I don't know. I assume you have him here."

"When was the last time you saw him," I asked quickly.

"I don't have to tell you that!" she spat back. I raised my hand quickly and brought my open palm crashing against Kolza's cheek. I heard her grunt slightly and then the room filled with the sound of my slap. My fingers hurt slightly and my whole hand felt tingly. But the power was incredible. I felt weight lifted from my chest. I had shot some of my hate out of my hand and had deposited it in Kolza's smug face. It felt good. I had to restrain myself from hitting her again for no reason. 

For her part, Kolza staggered slightly and remained on her feet. Her hands instinctively rose to her now reddened cheek, holding it closely. Her large, innocent eyes were staring at me in disbelief and she was whimpering slightly in pain. After a few moments, she mastered herself and stood up straight again. There were tears in the corners of her eyes but she spoke without sniffling. Ladies must always maintain their dignity. Though I planned to test that.

"You can't do that, you won't get away with it," she said pridefully.

"When was the last time you saw your raging prick of a father?" I asked. She hesitated a moment and I slowly raised my hand again. I wanted her not to speak, I wanted an excuse to hit her again, to feel that power over her grow. To feel the relief that it brought, the righteous release.

"I don't know," she finally mumbled, "It was likely this morning at breakfast." She was looking at me warily. I was beginning to believe that she didn't know anything useful. But she definitely did not trust me.

"Had he been acting strangely? Did he discuss any plans?" I asked.

"What?" she asked. I took this as an excuse. I quickly lifted my hand and slapped Kolza's face again. I swung harder this time and I felt the bones of her face hard against my palm. She screamed in pain and dropped to her knees. The physical sensation was more intense than before, but the spiritual gratification was somewhat lessened. I needed more than this to satisfy my rage. I could hear Kolza panting slightly and she rose to her feet again. Her cheek was very red and glistening with tears.

"Don't do that!" she begged, "Please, I don't understand. You can't do this..." I raised my hand again and she cowered slightly, "And I don't think so. I mean he doesn't talk about that kind of stuff with me. Or my mother."

"Where would he go if he fled the city?" I asked, but I was already nearly certain that she knew nothing.

"Where would he go?" she asked, then added quickly before I could react, "My father wouldn't leave. I don't know where he'd go if he did."

"Well he is gone," I said.

"No, he can't be," she said.

"Are you calling me a liar you shit? He is gone."

"I don't believe you! You cannot do this," she said. I raised my hand again, tired of that refrain. Kolza raised her hand in self-defense, "Please, I don't know what is going on." I felt now to that I needed to hit her in a different way. To cast down her idol and see her disillusionment.

"He burst into my palace an hour and a half ago and tried to murder me. He killed my sister Kardes, my closest advisor Arkadas, and two of my priestess. My army defeated his coup and he fled. Most of his co-conspirators will not live the night. He left you here because he doesn't care what happens to you," I spilled it all in a couple of long breaths. I saw Kolza's eyes go glassy and as I was speaking she was shaking her head.

"No..."she final said, "No, there is a mistake. Just bring him here and he will explain and it will all go back to normal. Don't kill anyone!"

"I didn't choose to kill anyone. He did. Things cannot go back where they were. And for the last fucking time, if I knew where he was he would be here. I cannot bring him here, he fled the city in the night and left you here."

"He wouldn't do that," she shot back but clearly she was growing nervous. Her breathing was shallower and she was glancing around, desperately, searching for some way out of this.

"Why not, because he is your daddy and you are his special little girl? He wouldn't leave you?"

"Stop!" she said and I knew that I was close to the truth. She felt abandoned.

"Is it tough to be the favorite and then find out that your daddy is a snake, a traitor, and a coward to boot?" I asked.

"He is not!"

"Then tell him to come here and save you!" I shot back. Kolza's eyes grew wide and her hand rubbed her cheek warily.

"Save me from what? What are you going to do to me?" As she spoke, she took a step back and her voice grew higher. It was clear we were building towards something. As my anger and my hatred began to rise to heights I had never felt before, I decided that it was time to let her know what that was. It was clear that she didn't have any information. Frankly, I hadn't expected or wanted any information. It wasn't about that.

"Your father could have found a way to just come for me. Maybe there were times that he tried. But he was a failure at that like he was a failure at everything else. And then today he burst into a meeting of my Inner Council. He killed my sister. He killed my friends. And he killed my priestesses. And he left me. And I have to live with that. But he was the one who decided to make it about family. About people we care about," I said, the words shooting from my lips like darts of ice. I saw the recognition come into Kolza's eyes. She almost turned to run, but seemed rooted in her spot. There was nowhere to go.

"I didn't have anything to do with this. I am sure it was an accident. He just wanted you!" she said. A light went off in my head.

"So you knew he wanted me dead?" I asked, it seemed she had admitted as much.

"Not dead. Just gone. I don't know all the details. I just knew he wanted you gone," she said desperately, "I didn't do anything about it. It was just...it was just an idea. Don't kill me." She was almost to the door now, looking at it desperately, her eyes panicked. I could see her large chest rising and falling in fear. I breathed that fear in. I loved it. I decided to leave that point hanging and address the first part of her statement.




The Sultanah Ch. 13



"What idea?" I asked.

"Just...Just he would get rid of you and I would marry Prince Lider..."

"The heir to Dusman? The son of my father's murderer? My wife's former fiancé?" I asked. This was a revelation. I had always suspected that Hain was collaborating with my enemies. In fact, I knew it even if I couldn't prove it. Now I heard it from his daughter's mouth. I also knew where he was even if she didn't. On the road, halfway to Dusman territory now. It explained why Kolza was not yet wed.

"I wasn't involved. I just heard about it. I didn't know anything more about the plan than that I would marry Lider. I thought we were moving there if things grew too bad here," she was pleading so pathetically that I knew she was telling the truth, "Please, don't hurt me. You can't kill me in cold blood. I am sorry about your sister and your friend..." She'd raised that issue a second time, clearly that is what she thought of me. But I had more imagination than that. I decided to address her point at last.

"Kill?" I asked and then snorted, "Oh no. No one said anything about killing. You are going to walk out of this room very much alive," I explained. I saw Kolza give a sigh of relief. Though she was still nervous, my exact intentions were unclear. She stopped by the door, panting.

"I thought you were saying..." Kolza began and then trailed off.

"No. I didn't say I was going to kill you. I was implying that I was going to punish your father. He punished me by killing my Arkadas and my Kardes. Whether he knew it or not, I valued those people as confidants and advisors. As friends and lovers. By killing them, he took that away from me. I can no longer have them to, to speak with them, to love them, and share in their lives. I don't have that," I said. My voice nearly cracked and I fought to keep the tears from my eyes.

"I am...sorry," she lied, her shoulders sagging. I ignored her worthless comment and forged ahead.

"I now understand why your father values you. You are an attractive young woman with a haughty, aristocratic attitude. A fine wife, you would make. Your father valued you as trading stock. Your cunny in exchange for some sort of political favor. My guess is he would retain the independence of the Empire temporarily by naming Lider's children as the heir. That way, his grandchildren would sit on my throne. Not an entirely stupid idea. Regardless, you were essential for that. A marriage prize, that is your value to your father. And I am going to take that from him."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking down between her legs. She sounded terrified and was rooted in her place on the floor. Perhaps she thought I was going to mutilate her or something.

"No one wants to marry a whore," I said simply. And, for the first time, I made it clear to Kolza and to myself what I was suggesting.

The shadow of the idea had come upon me the instant that the instant I had heard Saygili mention Kolza. It was no so much an idea as a need. A compulsion. Some, perhaps most of it, was simply pure hatred for Hain. He had destroyed two important people in my life and I was going to have my revenge. And I wanted to do it in a way that hurt the most. Both for him and for the people he loved. It was so elegant and beautiful because harming Kolza would give me relief in and of itself, but it was a means to harming Hain as well. Two birds with one stone.

But there was more to it than that. I could feel my self-hatred and my shame rising inside of me as I contemplated the events that led to the deaths of Kardes and Arkadas. I could feel myself slipping into a depression even as the emotions were raw. I knew that my true self, Varis, could never forgive myself for what had happened. I would take my shame and my guilt to the grave. My friends deserved that and so did I. I knew it. But there was a larger part of me now, something that had been slowly taking me over for months. It was the Sultanah. And, as much as it increased my shame and my self-disgust to think about it, the Sultanah could not afford to hold on to these things. The decisions I made, even the mistakes, were momentous. People died from my decisions with distressing frequency. If I began to feel that, even for a good reason, I knew that I would be lost. That I would lock up and fail to make any decisions of any kind. The shame and guilt that would be the only honorable option for a private person was not available to me. Too much depended on me to turn inward. And I hated myself more for these thoughts, increasing the need to neutralize them, hastening the cycle.

What I needed was to externalize that hatred. I hate to suck it out like poison and keep it from infecting me. The Sultanah needed to be protected from Varis' human emotions. I had to place the guilt and the shame that I had earned in the deaths of my lovers somewhere else. But I also knew that that that kind of hatred had to be directed somewhere. It could not be vented into the air or buried in the ground. If it did not attach to me, it had to adhere to another, guilty person. I had to turn my hatred onto someone else, to cast it away so that I could continue to function as the Sultanah. And Kolza was the perfect person. And now I have found the perfect way to give that hatred to her.

I crossed rapidly across the room towards Kolza. She remained stuck, frozen to her place on the floor. I reached forward now and grabbed the fabric on the front of Kolza's night shirt. I twisted the fabric in my hand and gave it a hard yank. Kolza let out a loud yip and I could see the panic in her eyes. She tried to turn and run. What my awkward attempt at grabbing had failed to do, Kolza's panicked motions completed. I heard a loud ripping sound and Kolza spun around twice. The seams of her shirt tore and soon the white cloth was balled in my fist. Kolza had lost her balance and had fallen naked onto her hands and knees on the floor. Her body was as lovely as it had seemed with perfectly shaped tear-drop breasts, large smooth pink nipples, and bare-shaven cunny with tight pink lips. I wanted it badly, I wanted to possess it in a way that would take it from her without killing her.

I pounced on her quickly, shoving her down so that her breasts and cunny were face down onto the cold floor. I sat heavily on her ass and put my hands on her shoulders, holding her down. She was panicked and flailing wildly, but I was possessed by some sort of strength that I did not even understand. My hands essentially dug into Kolza's shoulders, holding her in place while she writhed.

Kolza knew what was happening now. She had been a little bit uncertain, I think, of my actual intentions before this point. But as she lay naked on the floor, there was no longer any room for delusion or denial. She was crying now and kicking her legs wildly. She was calling out for help even though she knew that it was never going to come. A year in the saddle and out in the wild world had made me stronger than this little aristocratic fool. She could not escape. I had her in my power and the more she struggled, the more tired she became and the stronger I felt. 

In fact, I was feeling a good deal of strange things. Things that I never expected. Perhaps more importantly, there were things that I didn't feel. I felt no compassion for this girl beneath me. I didn't even really think of her as a person. I thought of her as an object of Hain's affection and a symbol of his treason. I wanted to destroy it. As for what I felt, the most important and confusing sensation was...arousal. As Kolza's taut young body writhed under me and I felt the power I had over her, I felt my body begin to react. I knew that Kolza could feel my hardening cock pressing against her ass and I felt a chill at the sensation. Working one handed and keeping my other hand on Kolza, I rapidly began to pull my loose clothing off. The tears and rips that had occurred during the earlier melee made it easier and soon I was naked and holding Kolza down with two hands again. My cock was completely hard now and it rested between Kozla's warm asscheeks, rubbing against her small, pink anus.

"You are a woman!" she cried desperately, struggling with renewed effort on the cold floor beneath me, "You are a girl. How can you do this to me?" her voice came out in a choking gasp, more of a cry than a statement. Her body heaved in fear and disgust.

"Only one person truly knew me as a girl. Only two people ever counseled me to show compassion. Your father had them both killed. I am no girl. Any part of a girl I once was has been swept away. I feel no compassion. I do not know mercy. It is a pity for you that those restraints are gone. Your father sewed the wind and you will reap the whirlwind. I am only the Sultanah now. And whatever a Sultanah wants, she can take!" It felt so powerful to say those words and I felt the hate pouring out of my mouth and landing heavy on Kolza's body. There was nothing left to say now, just to do whatever I wanted. To give everything to Kolza, to leave it in her.

"Please," she begged and stopped struggling for a moment. She turned and looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes wide with terror, "I have...I have kept my purity for marriage." She said in a small voice. It was as though she had let me in on some momentous secret, like that fact would be enough to save her now. I snorted.

"Purity? You are pure because no one has been in your cunny?" I asked, "When you live with traitors and plot the end of the Empire. You are impure." She writhed some now and she screamed again, her voice growing hoarse, "But I won't take your cunny. You kept it 'pure' to your standards and I will leave it that way." I said. She relaxed some but remained largely tense.

"Thank you," she said nervously.

"But your asshole, that wasn't pure to begin with," I said. With that, I moved my cock slightly to the side, exposing Kolza's pink, crinkled anus. I bent my neck over it and let a large, wet blob of spit fall from between my lips. My aim was perfect and, despite the fact that Kolza was struggling again, it landed perfectly on her asshole, covering it in a thick layer of white saliva.

"No! No! No! No! No!" Kolza was chanting while she rocked on the ground. She was clearly exhausted now, but she still made an effort to fight me. I took my right hand and placed it between her shoulder blades now. Then I rose up off of Kolza's ass, sliding back into a kneeling position with my shins across her calves. She tried to rise up but I kept most of my weight on my hand, leaning forward. As a result, she was only able to raise her ass into the air. Exactly what I wanted. She moved her hips around as best she could, but it would grind her shins into the hard floor and eventually she stopped. I moved my hips into her, keeping her ass high in the air.

Now I took my left hand and spit into it. Then I dropped it down and wrapped it carefully around my hard cock. I worked my saliva around on my cock, getting it wet. I looked down at Kolza's asshole and I could see my spit starting to drip off of it. My cock felt almost unbearably hard in my hands. It was throbbing all over and the tip of my cock felt like hot, polished stone. I had never felt anything like it. I was so intensely excited. 

Some of it, of course, was because she was an alluring woman. The round fullness of her ass tapering down to her narrow waist, her proportional back, her long hair, it was all a beautiful sight. But some of it was just the awesome feeling of power I had in that moment. I had been stripped of my power by Hain, and by seizing this from his daughter, I was taking it back. I would give back some of the evil this family had given mine. I used my hand to position my cock at Kolza's tight anus. I felt the cool wetness of my saliva and then the folded warmth of Kolza's body as I pressed into her.

"No, oh, please no!" she begged, the tears choking her and her struggle intensifying. She could not have said anything that would have pushed me towards her with more desire. I grunted and then shoved my hips in towards her. Kolza screamed with surprise and discomfort. I looked down, watching, as the tip of my cock press against Kolza's asshole. She was struggling against me and I could see her skin stretching and resisting my cock's efforts to stretch her own. I felt intense pressure and even a little, pinching pain on my cock as I pushed harder and harder into her. I felt my hard cock bending painfully as I tried to push it into Kolza's asshole.

It was Kolza, rather than anything I did, that finally broke the painful stalemate. I had almost decided that it was not possible, that Kolza's clenching muscles would keep me out. But, Kolza, growing more and more uncomfortable by the second, had tried to buck me away, shaking her hips wildly and screaming. But her motion had the opposite effect from what she wanted. Rather than tossing me off, her wiggling worked her hips backwards. Her efforts caused her to slip up slightly and her muscles relaxed. All the built up tension was released and I felt the pressure massively dissipated and I felt the tip of my cock slip into her wet anus. In fact, it was more than the tip. I had been pushing so hard that when Kolza's resistance broke, the tip of my cock and another inch sunk deep inside of her.

"No, Oh Tanri's balls, fuck!" Kolza moaned loudly as I entered her. I could her sobbing and her hips stopped rocking. Her head pitched forward and she buried her face in her forearms, folded on the ground in front of her. She dared not move now, knowing that her movements had allowed me to enter her.

Kolza's body felt incredible. Both physically and, of course, something more. Physically, her asshole was incredibly tight and her fearful motions were making it contract tightly around me. Despite her resistance, her insides were wet with my saliva and her body was trying to suck me in deeper and deeper, massaging the underside of my cock. I groaned as I felt her body trembling around me. Beyond the pleasurable physical sensation of slipping my cock into Kolza asshole, there was a spiritual aspect to it as well. I could feel all the hatred inside of me concentrating, pouring down into my cock. Each movement of my hips poured it into her. I could sense the self-hatred leaving me a little bit at a time as I took revenge for the wrongs done to Kardes and Arkadas.

With a little more than the tip of my cock now inside of her, I moved my hand off of Kozla's back. I slide both of my hands back now, hooking them tightly around Kolza's thighs. Despite the discomfort, I kept my shins folded over the backs of Kozla's legs, locking her in place. Not that she was trying to move anyhow. I could hear her crying slightly, but she was no longer trying to move away. Her earlier struggles had only made things worse and now she was accepting it.

I started to pull on Kozla's thighs, bringing her back in towards me. At the same time, I pushed my hips forward. Kozla's asshole was incredibly tight and she was, by no means, helping me as I worked, but I had already breached her defenses now. It was not as easy as it could be, but slowly my cock, so rigid and hard, began to push deeper and deeper into the debutante's asshole. Her legs were shaking underneath of me and occasionally I would hear a low groan, but otherwise she simply allowed it to happen.

After several minutes of careful work (and a good deal of additional spit deposited onto the top of my cock) I felt my stomach push into Kozla's round asscheeks. I felt my balls pressing against her cunny. I knew that I was totally inside her now. All five inches completely inside of the resistant woman. I had taken it from her.

"I am inside of you, whore," I said, "Do you think Prince Lider will want you now?" She went rigid for a moment and made no noise. I thought that she was going to ignore the question. I reached down and smacked her ass with my open palm and a loud smacking sound filled the room. Kozla wailed as I put my hand back on her thigh, and then she spoke.

"No," she finally moaned and her shoulders began to shake. I loved the feeling of her despair. It covered up my own, made me forget about the desolation I felt. In response to her cries, I began to move my hips back and forth. She screamed loudly now and her knees almost gave way. I held her up with my arms as my cock rocked out of her and then slid back in. Her tightness was unbearable now, I could feel all of her insides rippling up and down along the length of my cock. She occasionally still squeezed me tight, especially when she screamed out on occasion and I felt her milking my hard cock.

"Please, I don't want this. My poor...ass...please, don't do it," she said on a few occasions, but this only pushed me further. Her cries and her quivering movements were all the encouragement I needed.

After a few minutes, I began to slip into a solid rhythm. Despite her tightness and her resistance, I began to stretch her asshole out. I began to pull my cock back out of her farther and to put it back in more forcefully, more quickly. I kept my hands on her thighs and my eyes down, watching my cock slip in and out of her ass. I breathed in the smell of her body, the fear and the sweat and everything else, and I felt soothed by it. Kardes and Arkadas moved into the background of my mind and I focused on the pleasure I felt and the total control I had over Kozla.

I began to move faster and faster and my cock started to slip in and out of Kozla's ass with more and more force. I felt my hips smash into Kozla's ass and I felt her body shake at the force of my movements. I noticed that my balls were very full and they were hanging low as I fucked Kozla. As my cock swung forward and my hips shuddered to a stop, my balls with shoot forward, slapping hard against Kozla's cunny and tapping her clit. I occasionally heard Kozla yelp while this happened. 

After a pretty long period of time, I began to notice something kind of strange. Where, in the beginning, I had to hold Kozla's legs tightly with my arms, reaching down low while I thrust my hips, I found that it was no longer necessary. Kozla no longer threatened to pitch forward if I dropped her. I didn't even hear her crying anymore. It was not that she was participating, she was not shoving her hips back into me. But she was passively taking my thrusts now. Her knees stayed solid and her ass stayed in the air as my cock moved in and out of it. 

I took advantage of the situation. I took my hands off of Kozla's thighs and immediately brought them up to my breasts. My nipples were aching terrible and my breasts were bouncing up and down on my chest. My fingers immediately began to knead and my nipples and sink into the taut flesh of my breast. I could feel the nerves sending messages from my aching nipples down to my hard cock, heightening the experience.

A short time later, I became aware of something else. Two things, actually. The first was a gentle noise. I could barely hear it over the sound of my skin slapping against Kozla's, but occasionally, it would rise high enough that I could hear it. It was coming from Kozla's lips. It was no longer pleas for me to stop or whimpers of pain. It was a gentle moaning sound, or perhaps a groan. This sound was more ambiguous than her previous noises. It was possible she was just tired and these small noises were all the protest she could muster. But, they didn't sound like that. They didn't sound like she was in pain or that she was scared or angry. They almost sounded like pleasure.

The other sensation I felt a few moments later seemed to confirm this supposition. I felt a slickness against my thigh as I thrust. I took my eye from Kozla's lips and looked down between our legs. I saw a small streak of wetness on the top of my thigh. I could feel liquid on my balls, more so on than on my leg. At first I thought my cunny was dripping down onto my cock, but I reached back and felt. I was wet, but not dripping. Besides, most of the liquid was on the parts of my scrotum that was smacking into Kozla's body. I thrust again, and now I was certain. Kozla's cunny had split open for me and she was drenching my balls with her juices.




The Sultanah Ch. 13



At first I could hardly understand what was going on. My thrusts grew slower, a bit more pensive. Was...was Kozla enjoying this? I felt a pinching feeling in my stomach and my head hurt more than it had since I'd stood up from the bed. If she was enjoying this...then what was the point? I felt my hatred grow even more intense and I didn't know what to do with it, I started to shove my cock harder and harder into Kozla, trying to make her feel the contempt I had for her and her entire family. And as I did so, I heard her shudder a bit, but I also felt her cunny get wetter and heard a sonorous moan escape from her lips.

"Oh fuck, I am betraying myself," I heard Kozla whisper, embarrassed under her breath.

My new burst of rage rapidly dissipated and a wide smile spread across my face. I realized now what was happening. It was not so much that Kozla was enjoying what was happening, in her heart she wanted me to stop. But it was also true that she had begun, despite herself, to feel physical pleasure at my touch. After all, she had kept herself 'pure,' she didn't know what she liked or wanted. Her mind and her spirit were rebelling against me, but her body was a traitor. Just as her father had betrayed me, her cunny and her tight asshole were betraying her. And that gave me more pleasure than I could possibly stand. I thrust into her again, watching the rebellion unfold.

In a few minutes, I could feel myself growing close. The tension was growing inside of me and my muscles were tightening up. I was panting and I could feel sweat standing out on my skin. But I could also sense something else. I was essentially crazed at that moment. My grief, my shame, and my rage had taken me over entirely. They were pushing me on to this and I was simply along for the delicious ride. But I knew that once I came, the spell would somehow be broken. I would not be able to keep doing this after I had finished. I would be released. But I wasn't done yet. There was more I needed to do. As a result, I stopped thrusting. The tension lessened slightly and I felt the orgasm begin to subside.

More importantly, I felt Kozla react to my sudden stop. I heard her whimper slightly and her legs shuddered, moving my cock inside of her body. I knew that if I did not stop now, she was going to push me over the edge despite myself. I moved my hands back down to Kozla's hips and slowly pulled my cock out of her ass. Her body was so tight, just the sensation of moving out of her was unbelievable. I noticed that Kozla let out a soft moan as I moved out as well. Now, as the tip of my cock slipped out of her body, I looked down and saw her cunny below her red, stretched asshole and saw that it was dripping wet. 

Kozla stayed on the ground with her ass up in the air. She was not moving. I slowly stood up behind her, my hard cock glistening with spit and her wetness towering over her. My shins were no longer keeping her knees in place, but still she did not move. I walked up in front of her, but she kept her head down. I could see her panting heavily. But I could not see her face. Now that my cock was no longer inside of her and the pleasure had ceased, the anger was rising up in me again. I knew what I wanted.

"Just what the fuck did you think you were doing?" I asked her sharply. Her shoulders hunched but she did not look up. I was glad. I reached down quickly, grabbed a large handful of her soft, smooth hair, and then wrenched it around in my hand. Kozla let out a loud screech and rose up quickly onto her knees.

"Ouch, oh fuck Sultanah," she moaned, her breasts jiggling lewdly as she nearly rose to her feet, "I was not doing anything. I was letting you do whatever you wanted!" She winced in pain when I twisted her hair. I felt that old, powerful feeling surge through me.

"Look at my cock!" I said loudly. Kozla's mouth dropped open but her innocent eyes remained fixed on my face. I yanked once harshly on her hair, "my cock!" I said. She screamed again and her eyes dropped to my throbbing member.

"What about it?" She asked desperately, squirming. She squirmed so much that she fell backwards onto the floor, I gave her a little slack so she fell onto her ass with her legs spread. I looked down at her wet pink cunny and could see from where I was standing that her little clit was hard and slick with juices.

"It is covered in spit and ass!" I said.

"You put it there!" Kozla said, "I am sorry I did it," she added quickly, realizing that fighting me had already gotten her into a lot of trouble, "I am sorry just me go!"

"No," I responded and without saying more I started to walk towards my bed. I kept my hands tangled in Kozla's hair and she let out a scream of pain. She started to move after me. I did not give her time to rise to her feet and she skittered along on her knees. After a moment, I came to my bed and sat down quickly, facing out. I spread my legs and quickly pulled Kozla in between them on her knees. She made a yelping sound as she fell into me. Her elbow bumped into my thigh and her breasts crashed warm and soft into my cock. I groaned, but I kept my hand in Kozla's hair, keeping her in place. She was looking up at me with her big, innocent eyes. I let her sit there for several seconds.

"Well?" I asked after a time. Kozla looked at me more confused than before.

"Well what...Sultanah. My lady," she quickly added, sounding more respectful now, not just pretending to be. I nodded.

"Clean my cock, what were we just talking about?" I asked exasperated. Kozla froze for a moment and then began to look around the room. I let her go for a while, but I kept a tight hold on her hair. "What are you searching for?" I asked.

"A towel or something..." she said. I snorted and shook my head.

"With your mouth and your tongue you idiot," I said sharply. Kozla's eyes grew wide and she shook her head. She put her hands up and tried to move back, but I reined her in easily by her hair.

"Please Sultanah, I don't want to..." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Your cunny says different," I said, using my free hand to point down to her wet cunny. She looked down and blushed deeply (where her face was not already red from my blows). I think that perhaps she did not believe that I could tell. That I thought that her body hated it as much as her mind. She was surprised and ashamed that I had found her out. With less vehemence now, she simply shook her head no.

"I...please don't make me. It is dirty," she said.

"That is the problem, it needs to be cleaned. Now do it!" I said. Without waiting for a response I pulled her in towards me quickly. She let out a yelp and in a moment, I felt her face pressing against my cock. Her chin was resting on my balls and her lips and nose were against the shaft. I could feel her breathing against it and she was struggling slightly. We stayed that way for several seconds.

"I won't do it!" she said finally, moving her head side to side. I tightened my grip on her hair and she squealed with pain. I loosed the grip again.

"You are going to do it or I am going to pull all the hairs out of your head in one giant fist," I said, "You will lick and suck my cock until it is clean. I have already fucked your ass, you are already a whore. This is the end of the line for you. You aren't going to be a princess or a queen now. That is for me. Your body already wants it, just get your mind right." 

Still for a few more seconds, she simply sat with her face pressed against my throbbing cock, sensing her ass on it. I saw her head droop slightly. Then I felt it. I hot, wetness against the base of my cock, probing against the vein running along the underside. A tongue. Kozla was licking, furtively, my cock. I moaned and threw my head back. But I kept her hair tightly in my hand.

"Good girl," I said soothingly, "I want you to get all of it." I felt Kozla's mouth open wider and I felt her hot, soft tongue roll out between her lips. I heard her whimper a bit, but I felt her tongue spread out along the base of my cock. It felt warm and wet and the taste buds gave a delectable roughness. I knew she was tasting the flavor of my cock, my spit, and her ass mixed together on it. 

For a few moments, she just held it there, coming to terms with what she was doing. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily. I gave her just the gentlest tug on her hair and that knocked her out of her complacency. I felt her tongue begin to move wetly around my cock. She slipped it up and down the shaft, tasting every bit of me. I felt her tongue go up to the tip of my cock and then slide back down it, wrapping up on the sides. She dropped all the way down and ran her tongue over my balls, licking her own juices and sinking into me. I moaned loudly and I could hear her panting.

After a couple of minutes she had licked the entire bottom half of my cock clean. My skin was tingling all over and I felt my muscles contracting. I knew that the taste of our bodies was in Kozla's mouth and I was somewhat jealous. Maybe more so because Kozla seemed to be enjoying it. She was humming slightly as she worked. 

More importantly, and without prompting, Kozla wrapped her hands around the base of my cock, pulling it down so that it pointed straight out away from my body. Kozla rose up highly on her knees and then bent over me. I felt the tip of my cock push into Kozla's neck as she got into position. I saw her mouth open and saw her long, pink tongue slip from her mouth. I gasped as it landed on the top of my cock. I felt her tongue moving around quickly in a soft, un-tensed mass. She moved more quickly now and her tongue took in more and more of me. She moaned somewhat louder as she worked. I could see her legs squeezing together despite herself, teasing her own cunny. 

Finally, she had cleaned my entire cock and sucked down our combined juices. But she kept her tongue on me, I knew she didn't want to stop, at least her body didn't.

"Put the tip in your mouth, it needs to be extra clean," I demanded. Kozla moved her head back and dropped down slightly on her knees. She kept my cock held gingerly in her hand and it was still pulled down, pointing towards her face. Her eyes were opened now and she was looking up at me. I could see a strange mixture of hatred and desire there. I knew that the hatred was turned in towards herself and I knew that I was giving it to her, this self-loathing. It was working out as I had planned.

Kozla's body had, by this time, clearly mastered her mind and she was enslaved by her desires. Despite the fact that I could tell she did not want to, she could no longer resist the need to act. Perhaps she'd convinced herself that I would hurt her worse if she stopped. She was probably right if she did. But it didn't come to that. Instead, she carefully opened her mouth and moved her head forward.

I felt her tongue touch against the sensitive, bulging tip of my cock and I moaned loudly. I felt a shiver run through my body. Kozla did not hesitate. Keeping her tongue soft and lip she slowly slid it along the underside of my cock. Her lips parted more and I watched as the tip moved in passed her teeth and into her mouth. Her lips now closed around me and her tongue sprang into action. No longer content to languidly massage the bottom of my cock, it quickly began to swirl around the entire tip. I felt her tongue probe at my foreskin and slip around the top of my cock. She sucked in gently, creating a vacuum and swirling her tongue more intensely.

"You're a natural cocksucker, I found your true calling," I groaned, thrusting my hips up. Kozla's eyes dropped for a moment, but she didn't stop acting. In fact, her motions became more rapid and the humming noise in her throat became louder. I saw that her legs were squeezing together more and more tightly. Her body was trembling again, but no longer with fear. I decided to fuck with her a little more. 

I reached my free hand down along Kozla's body, letting it snake down from her throat, over her chest, and down onto her breast. Her body became somewhat rigid but she did not even try to move. In fact, she breathed in deeply, rising her breast up to find my palm. I moved my hand down along her flesh, cupping her breast in my hand and feeling her nipple against my palm. She groaned around my cock and I squeezed a little harder.

"Do you want to play with that clit," I asked her in a soft voice. Her eyes, which had gazed down to look at my hand on her breast, instantly shot up and looked at my eyes. They looking at me pleadingly, begging me not to go further, "Do you want to flick that little clit? I see you squeezing your legs, I know that you are wet." I said. I saw tears form in Kozla's eyes and coming dripping down over her cheeks. She was still sucking wildly on my cock, but I could see her inner turmoil. Finally, her eyes registered deep, unknowable shame and she nodded twice, just small movements of her head. She wanted it. "Go ahead, do it," I ordered.

From her crouching position, Kozla's legs spread slightly. The smell of her cunny, barely noticeable before, suddenly filled my nostrils. It was a surprisingly powerful smell, musky and salty. I watched one of her hands tentatively glide over her thigh and then come to rest in the wet spot between her legs. I heard her gasp and her tongue moved more quickly over my cock as her fingers found her clit.

"You know what you're doing," I said, "You might be pure, but you aren't exactly untouched. You're daddy's little slut." I spat. Kozla nodded and kept her eyes on me. Her tongue continued to probe into my foreskin and her mouth sucked on my skin. The whole while her fingers began to flitter across her wet cunny. My body tensed against me as the pads of her fingers found her clit. I could see her hand moving rapidly, toying with her cunny lips and making her fingers slick. Her eyes remained on me and I could see deep shame in them. Tears were flowing more freely now than ever before. She did not like that she was enjoying this or that she needed, absolutely needed, to give herself relief. But she did and she knew it. 

We stayed like this for some time. I sat on the bed with my legs spread, my cock sticking up high and hard between them. I still had my hand wrapped tightly in Kozla's hair, but it was really no longer necessary. I didn't have to yank on it anymore, Kozla simply did what I willed. Part of her wanted it anyway. I could tell by the way she moved. 

Kozla mostly kept the tip of my cock in her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. But occasionally, she moved it out of her mouth, and drug her tongue along the length of my shaft, sometimes even finding my balls, sucking them into her mouth and moaning shamefully while she tasted them. She kept her hand between her legs and I could see her circling her fingertips over her wet clit and occasionally diving her fingers inside of her wet slit. She kept her eyes on me while she worked and I could see that inside she was begging me to tell her to stop, but she couldn't ask. Her body was pulling her along.

Kozla's actions felt wonderful, but it was abundantly clear that she had never sucked a cock before. She had no idea what she was doing. I needed more. She moved her lips back to the tip of my cock, swirling her tongue around it. I decided to show her what she needed. Without warning, I took the hand on the back of Kozla's head and rapidly shoved it forward, in towards my lap. Kozla let out a surprised yelp and stumbled forward. My cock pressed firmly into her mouth. Luckily for me, her teeth gave way quickly as she opened her mouth to yell. 

In an instant, Kozla's body was shuddering and tensing as she gagged around my cock. It had slipped all the way into her, buried deep into her throat. Her eyes were still open and they bulged pleadingly as her throat contracted around my cock. I moaned at the sensation and then once again grabbed into Kozla's hair, pulling her back off of my cock. Kozla was panting deeply and spit was dripping from her chin. Her eyes were red and she looked up at me confused. I did not give her time to get her bearings. I quickly pushed her head back down into my lap, my cock pressing through her lips, across her tongue, and then down into the depths of her tight throat. Again she gagged and her throat squeezed my cock, milking it. 

Again I pulled her away from me and I could feel her body trembling. My cock popped out of her mouth and she sat panting again. I held her out for a while and I saw her eyes looking at my cock. I could see her self-hatred then, I could her twisting her body and trying not to react. But she was still furiously playing with her clit. Eventually, her humiliated eyes glanced up at me once again. In a small voice, sounding somewhat watery and hoarse she said, "More."

I didn't need to be told twice. I was absolutely reveling in the power I had over her now. What would Duke Hain think about this if he saw his daughter now? Begging for more? Even the thought of that made my body ache and my fingers quickly sunk into Kozla's hair once again. I began to shove her down, but she was too quick for me. In a moment, my cock was once again buried in her throat and she was gagging and shaking against me. She was doing all the work now, shoving her cock deep into her throat, holding it, then letting it slide out before going again. Soon my cock was bouncing in an out of her throat rapidly and she was no longer even gagging, she was simply letting my cock pound into her, bruising her throat. But the whole time she was moaning and writhing against me, her fingers pleasuring herself without the slightest slackening in pace.

Kozla was essentially in a frenzy now, her motions so rapid and reckless that I could tell she was hardly in control of herself. I enjoyed that sensation but, at the same time, I recognized that she was becoming too successful. Once again, I feel the tension rising inside of me, I felt my joints locking, and I felt my lungs tightening. As my cock slid in and out of Kozla's welcoming throat, I knew that I was about to experience an orgasm. And, once again, something pulled me up short. This was not done yet. Once again without warning, I grabbed Kozla's hair and pulled her back. She yelped as my cock slipped out of her lips and she looked up at me shocked. She was panting desperately and she seemed a bit unfocused, like she'd been in a trace. I caught my breath for a second and then smiled down at her.

"You like having that cock down your throat, don't you my little whore?" I asked, looking down now at Kozla. She was panting, her eyes were red, and there were thick ropes of spit connecting her lips to my red cock. She was staring at my cock intently. She heard what I asked and I could tell she did not want to answer. But she also knew there would be a punishment if she didn't. She sighed.

"Yes, Sultanah Varis...I...I love to have your hard cock in my throat," Kozla admitted, her breath hitching as she spoke.

"But not as much as you liked it buried in your nasty little asshole?" I asked. There was a long pause now. Kozla kept her eyes open, kept them on me, but looked sort of black.

"No..." she admitted again, "I miss having your cock in my asshole. I want it again, I need you to fuck me in my nasty asshole." She was repeating back the same sort of words I was using. She was acknowledging my complete control over her. Saying what she knew I wanted her hear. The feeling of power I had before swelled in me again. I decided to give her a hard time about her word choice. Without even thinking, a plan came to me and I ran with it.

"What are you Kozla? Are you your Daddy's girl? Are you a princess? Do you belong in the same conversations as kings and princes?" I asked now. There was no question about I wanted to hear. 

"No. I am a whore Sultanah, your whore," she admitted now. She looked ashamed but I saw her cheeks go red as she spoke and her eyes glistened. Her nipples grew harder and her body leaned into mine. She liked that she was admitting it. It turned her on further, even if the shame in her eyes grew deeper.




The Sultanah Ch. 14



Dear Reader, thank you so much for reading this story. It has taken nearly a year of my writing life to get the whole thing finished. This is Chapter 14 of 14 chapters and the total is over 250,000 words. It is my Dirk Diggler/Jack Horner act of hubris: my attempt to write an erotic adventure story that pulls you in with a story you want to read, even when there isn't any sex going on (though there is a lot of sex. Crazy, weird, fun sex). It is the most ambitious piece of erotic fiction I have ever attempted. So I hope you enjoy it.

With that said, this book is not for everyone. It will be too long for many people (no shame in that, it is a big time investment). Some of the sex scenes are intense and include themes like hermaphroditism, non-consensual activity, incest, etc. For some people, that will likely be the appeal. In fact, while this story is definitely not for everyone, I think for a select group of people this story will essentially have everything you could ever ask for. So if that is you, congratulations, you found that thing you have been searching for. You can skip ahead to the sex and I won't be offended, but I think this story is more than the sum of its parts. If you read this whole story, you will not be disappointed. 

In Chapter 1, our main character, Princess Varis, finds that her father has died and that, by virtue of the fact that she is a hermaphrodite and can father a child, she is now the Sultanah. In Chapter 2, Varis unearthed a conspiracy to destroy her Empire led by Rahip, the Cardinal of the "New Religion" and later she received her coronation. In Chapter 3, Varis humiliated the New Religion and raised the morale of her besieged people. In Chapter 4, Varis lifted the siege through a daring midnight raid. In Chapter 5, Varis survived an assassination attempt and visited her harem. In Chapter 6, Varis faced a challenge to her authority and seduced a noblewoman to maintain it. In Chapter 7, Varis defeats the raiders and comforts a peasant girl. In Chapter 8, Varis is briefly engaged and kills her fiancé for betraying her. In Chapter 9, Varis slept with a member of the harem, her half-sister, while her aunt watched. In Chapter 10, Varis wed her sister and consummated the marriage. In Chapter 11, Varis sleeps with two new hermaphrodite members of the harem. Chapter 12, Varis performs a sexual ceremony with three surprising women. In Chapter 13, Kardes and Arkadas are murdered and Varis gets revenge on Hain's daughter.

Some recurring characters you might want by name are Varis (the Sultanah and narrator), Cin (the head priestess of Gunes), Arkadas (Varis' friend and servant), Kardes (Varis' older sister), Nislani (Varis' younger sister), Rahip (a Cardinal of the 'new religion'), Duke Hain (an important lord opposing Varis), Lord Sadik (a minor lord who has spoken in support of Varis); King Sican (the leader of Dusman, a rival kingdom), Prince Lider (Sican's son); King Köylü (the leader of Temsilci, a rival kingdom); Agiz and Got (Subordinate Sun Priestesses); Saygili (Varis' guard); Soyguncu (a pickpocket and spy for Varis); Tutuklu (the head concubine of the harem); Kukla (a noblewoman); Maderşahi (the leader of Anaerki, an ally). Further, Gunes is the name of the Sun God, Tanri is the name of the 'new god.' The city where the story is set is Şehir in the country of Ülke and the Empire of Bütün Dünya. If you need more...reread the earlier chapters.

Please, please, please, please, please tell me what you think after you read this. I put an embarrassing amount of work into this and I want to know what you think. Especially if it is good things.

*****

Chapter 14: Renewal

I didn't hear the door open; I was completely oblivious to the world around me. It was the morning after the failed coup attempt and I had awoken feeling totally unsettled. I was thinking a lot about Arkadas, Kardes, Got, and Agiz. I was even thinking about Saygili and Cin, who had been injured on my behalf. I didn't know what I felt about it anymore. I was so numb. I just knew, despite the fact that I had just woken up, that I was tired. So, unbelievably tired. All of my joints seemed to ache and my head was foggy. Without really planning anything, I had gotten up from my bed naked and started writing. I didn't even know what I would be writing, but the words started to come. And the more I wrote, the more defeated I felt. My head was practically laying on the desk when the door opened.

"Varis..." a small voice said. Nonetheless, I was so completely on edge and so engrossed in my writing that my shoulders jumped and I turned quickly in my chair. For a moment I had an image of the throne room the night before, the doors busting open and the traitors piling in. But I relaxed as I saw Nislani standing just a few feet away from me. She was wearing her nightgown and her hair was slightly messy. I wondered briefly where she'd slept. She hadn't come in. Thank Gunes.

"Hello Nislani," I said flatly. Then I turned and began writing again. It was like I'd never left. There was a long silence where the only noise was my pen moving across the paper. I could sense that Nislani did not move. She just looked at the back of my head.

"I am sorry," she said eventually and I barely heard it. There was another paused, "About Arkadas...and Kardes..." even as she spoke the names I could hear tears well in her eyes. I set down my pen and turned to her. My sister was crying, her head drooped and her shoulders slouched. She shook her head.

"You don't need to apologize," I said, still sounding unnecessarily cold. I was surprised by the sound of my voice. I hadn't intended any anger at Nislani. I realized that whatever emotion I used to call hate and attach to Nislani was nothing of the sort. A minor emotion by comparison to real hate. I knew that now. Nonetheless, I let the cold words hang. Part of me wanted to comfort her, she looked so pitiful. But I lacked the will to do it. I lacked the warm feelings necessary to comfort someone else.

"But I do..." she said, looking up behind red eyes, "I have so much to apologize for..."

"Not for Kardes and Arkadas," I responded, "Or anything else that happened last night. Anything you have to apologize for pales in comparison to that anyway."

"That isn't true," she said, "That isn't true at all and you know it."

"Well what is it then?" I asked sharply. I felt so very weary. Nislani, for the first time in her life, did not respond to my anger. She grew quiet for a moment and then spoke.

"I need to apologize for being childish," she said.

"You are only 18, that happens," I said, hoping that was the end of it.

"No! Not like that. I have behaved like a spoiled brat...well forever. But in a way that I cannot justify since you became the Sultanah. I don't know if I was jealous of you or...what. But I was wrong. And I am sorry."

"Why now? Why are you apologizing? Because you feel bad that my lover and our sister have died?" I asked, sounding more annoyed than angry. Nislani shook her head vehemently. I wanted to tell her not to bother to explain, that I didn't really care. But I lacked the will to speak. I just sat, defeated, while my sister struggled to explain her un-relatable feelings.

"No, not that at all! Well, yes it is. But not like you think. I am not apologizing because I feel bad. But the fact that they...died. It change the way I thought about everything. I don't know...I know there has been a war going on. I mean I saw it. But it...didn't feel real before. I just...I didn't recognize it," she was clearly struggling with her explanation. I found it wanting.

"You know our father and our brothers were killed in this war," I replied sharply.

"I am sure I cried far more tears for Father and our brothers than you ever did," Nislani stated without malice, "It was not that. They were men. That is what men do. They fight in wars and sometimes die. It was horrible, but it was expected. This with Kardes and Arkadas...they were women. And gentle. And sweet. And they killed them," she was crying again now.

"Nislani..." I said, trying to calm her, but she raised her hand and continued.

"I didn't understand the stakes Varis. I really didn't. I just thought you were using your throne to lord over me because you could. Like we were playing games. It seems so stupid now. What a small part of all this I was, but I felt so much like...Like I was in the center. Now I know. You were hard on me and you were mean. But most of the time, in the last few months, you had to be. The margin for error was so small. You were balancing so many lives...I am so sorry I didn't help. This is as much my fault as anyone else."

Perhaps in another time or another place, I would have felt vindicated. I don't know. She had just admitted to me all of the things that I had accused her of or at least suspected. But my empty feeling stayed with me. I kept looking at her and I shrugged my shoulders. What did any of this matter anyway?

"Well don't worry about it," I said, "It is all over now anyway." Nislani's brow furrowed and she tilted her head to the side.

"What do you mean? Because the collaborationist are all dead? But Dusman is still out there. Surgun and Temsilci too..." Nislani's brow was furrowed and she tilted her head to the side. 

"Not like that," I said, "I cannot do this Nislani. I tried. I am not cut out for it. This will take care of it." As I spoke I lifted up the paper I had been writing on. It felt so heavy in my hands. I hadn't even admitted to myself yet what I was writing. I had just let the words pour out of me and onto the page. But I felt strangely light when I said those words to my sister.

"What is it?" she asked, sounding nervous. I looked at it for a long while and then sighed.

"It is the end of all of this," I said. Nislani took a few steps closer to me and shrugged.

"I don't know what that means Varis, what does it say?" She replied. I sighed again and looked at the paper. Well, I was going to need to explain it a lot anyway, I might as well do it now. After all, it concerned Nislani.

"It is a letter to King Sican. I apologize in it for attacking his troops. I lament the war. I ask for forgiveness. I beg for a truce. I offer to annul our marriage. I offer your hand to Lider in marriage. I further offer to resign as Sultanah so that Lider can now take his throne," I said coldly. Nislani's jaw dropped.

"No!" she said, sounding surprised and angry at the same time. I shrugged and nodded. It was absolutely true. That, more or less, was what I had been working on since I woke up that morning. I guess I had come to the same realization that Nislani had. This was not a game. I was not dealing with domestic, womanly issues and gossipy tiffs. I was in the middle of a war. I was a leader in that war. And my mistakes reverberated throughout society. Every mistake I made cost lives. Other people's lives. Kardes and Arkadas for sure, but they had simply brought the issue home to me. But scores of others had died as a result of my actions. And what was I doing? Simply flailing around, doing whatever felt right in the moment. I had no idea what I was doing and I was hardly in a position to take responsibility for my actions. 

These ideas seemed to have come fully formed in my mind when I awoke and it was only a matter of automatically putting them to paper. I didn't even feel bad about it. No, when I woke up my self-hatred and guilt may have been gone and but I hadn't forgiven myself for what had happened. I had simply stopped feeling anything about. I accepted that there was nothing I could do that my mistakes were inevitable. But only because I recognized my limitations as a leader and as a woman. And I resolved that no one else would die to vindicate my pride and my ego. I would take the full brunt of dishonor on myself. I would quit. I would let the men have their sphere and I would return, chastened, to mine. 

"You can't do that!" Nislani said, she almost seemed like she would say more, but held up.

"Nislani, I can't not do it!" I said, sounding desperate. For the first time that morning, I was really feeling something. I didn't really understand why I felt so strongly about this, but I followed my emotions. I knew that I would find my reasons there.

"After you've been through so much...why quit now?" she asked, sounding more angry than incredulous. I began to speak then, the words pouring out of me without thought. The motivation for my abdication came out of me easily, as though I had not avoided thinking about it all morning.

"What am I becoming Nislani?" I asked, but did not stop to hear her response, "You don't understand the evil that is taking root in me, that is corrupting me from the inside. You don't know the things I've done. I have killed people Nislani! I had ordered actions that have resulted in still greater deaths. And I don't feel anything about it. I caused my friend...my sister...to die. I did that with my actions, and I cannot even make myself feel anything about it. Last night...I can't even describe what I did last night. Or what I tried to do. I tried to...crush a woman's soul, to extinguish it. I felt...good about it. But these are not games, I am not play acting. There are consequences that I cannot even fathom to the actions I take. And I can do it, I know that I can. But, who am I Nislani? Are these things that I can live with as a person? Everything I do, I do from necessity. This is what it takes to be on the throne. This is what the Sultanah does. Is that what I want? Can Varis survive this? I don't think so anymore, I am eating up the part of me that exists outside of this office. Burning it up to become... What? Miserable. I need it stop." Nislani looked at me in stony silence and then responded as though she had not even heard my concern. 

"You have no right to abandon your throne. It belongs to our family and you are the only one who can sit in it!"

"I don't belong in it any more than any other person, it is a man's chair and I am a woman. I have tried to do what men do, but I don't have the stomach for it. Or I don't have the stomach for the fact that I have the stomach for it. I am going to stop before I kill someone else," I explained, I could feel tears coming to my eyes as well. I was surprised. I didn't know I could feel anything, not even frustration. It was so much bitterer to say all of this aloud. I shook my head. It had all been an illusion. It was like being with Kozla the night before. The power had seemed so present, so awe inspiring in the moment when I was acting as Sultanah, but once the pleasure faded I was left feeling empty. Powerless.

"Well of course you've failed if you definition of success is 'acting like a man,' Varis. Regardless of what is between your legs, you are a woman. And you will succeed by acting like a woman."

"Succeed like I have to this point? With a trail of blood and the bodies of loved ones in my wake?" I asked.

"If necessary, yes," Nislani said, "That is what you must do. Just like I must be by your side," she said, moving slightly closer to me. I felt so frustrated, it was as if she was purposefully not listening to me.

"Nislani, no one on Earth wants me in that throne. It is not right. I don't know how to do it!"

"That is a lie!' Nislani shot back, "Think of all you have achieved! You seized the throne, you established your church, you drove off our invaders, you gained control of the government, you protected the countryside, you made allies, you ensured the continuation of our dynasty, and you resisted a coup. A man didn't do those things. Father could not have. And you didn't do them as any man would. You did them as Varis would do it. As a woman would do it."

"No!" I shot back, "There is a difference between the Sultanah and Varis. I was playing a role as the Sultanah, but I am just Varis..."

"You are the Sultanah, Varis. There has never been another Sultanah. Those two things are one in the same."

"Arkadas understood. She knew the real me. She was the only one. She knew that the public Sultanah and the private Varis were different. And the private me, that is the only one that is real," I explained, "I just want to go back to that." The frustration was building now. I knew I sounded childish and petulant now. The things I said...they sounded absurd and inconsequential. But I could feel the truth of them anyway. I was split in two and I always had been. There were Varis, the girl who loved her friend and had romantic dreams about her future. And there was the Sultanh, the man who ran the country with an iron fist. These were two separate sides of me and one of them was an Act. And I was tired of maintaining the fiction. It was breaking down. Or collapsing into the fiction and losing my real self.

"Arkadas is dead. If she was the only one who knew the 'real you' then the 'real you' is dead as well," Nislani said, her voice not sounding as heartless as her words, "You are the Sultanah and your achievements are your own. And you have no right to stop now."

"I just don't want this anymore..." I said.

"Did you ever?" she asked. But before I could respond, "And what about what I want? I do not want to marry Lider. I do not want our marriage annulled."

"That is not what you said when our father's body was still warm," I said cruelly. I saw Nislani's eyes grow dark and she moved closer to me. I knew I had provoked her. I wanted it. I wanted to get us fighting, I was tired of her harangue. I had made up my mind, I was quitting. If she would just fight me and get pissed and leave, maybe she would realize it was for the best. Nislani's hands were balled in fists and she leaned down towards. Me I was ready for her to hit me. I wanted it. And then I felt it.

A kiss. I didn't expect that. Not in the slightest. I was suddenly thrown; I didn't know how to react. Nislani took advantage of my confusion. Her lips parted and her tongue played across mine. Instinctively, my lips opened and our tongues poured together between our mouths. Nislani's hand rose and caressed my cheek gently as she kissed me. She placed her remaining hand on my knees so she could lean down towards me, closer. But for a brief moment, she broke the kiss and pulled back. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Nislani looking at me with round, innocent eyes. I looked back.

"I love you Varis," she said, her voice sounding even and calm. My mouth opened and then closed. She continued, "I love you as my sister. I love you as my Sultanah. And I love you as my wife. I am sorry I didn't recognize it before." And then her eyes closed and she leaned in to kiss me. I felt her words, and more importantly the feelings behind those words, wash over me. For a moment, they took my thoughts away. Words came anyway.

"I love you too," I said, feeling the honesty in that expression. I hadn't expected to say that either. I didn't even know I meant it. Everything that had been happening before seemed to fade into the past. Nislani had diffused the frustration, changed it all around. 

Nislani smiled as her lips pressed once again into mine. Our lips parted and my tongue explored the wet, warm cavern of her mouth. I felt her teeth and her gums and the taste of her saliva. Her tongue met mine and the soft bumps of our taste buds moved together. There was a wet sound of our tongue moving together and I felt the defeated feeling inside of me recede, slightly. After a long minute, Nislani once again broke our kiss. But she stayed close, her lips still almost touching mine and our eyes close together.

"It wasn't only Kardes and Arkadas," Nislani said, and her eyes dropped for a moment, "I mean that was the final straw, but it was something else. Something else that brought me here this morning," She whispered.

"What?" I asked, more confused than ever. Without speaking, Nislani reached down to my side and took my hand. She lifted it and then gingerly placed it against the fabric covering her stomach. She looked up at me, he eyes once again shining with tears. Somehow, I still did not know what she was going to say.




The Sultanah Ch. 14



"I am pregnant Varis," she said and still it did not register with me, "Yesterday, before...everything. I went to Cin because I had been getting sick. In the mornings. She inspected me. She says it is going to be a girl. But like you Varis. A girl like you, another Gunes." Now, suddenly the meaning of my sister's words came to me. My jaw literally dropped and my heart fluttered.

"Pregnant?" I asked. Nislani smiled and then nodded. She had said that I had secured the future for the dynasty. I guess I didn't think of what that meant. 

"How?" I asked dumbly. All of my previous thoughts were sort of wiped away. I felt a sort of vibration inside of my chest and all of my frustrations felt like they were rapidly slipping out of me, replaced by something else. My previous concerns seemed so abstract. Suddenly, there was this very real, very present thing. A child. I didn't even know what to think about it. But I felt my lips curling up at the corners. A child!

"It had to be our wedding night. That was the only time. My only time," she said and then shrugged. I laughed a little. Nislani laughed as well. Now her sudden urge to 'grow up' made a lot more sense. Even if nothing else in the world made sense. Me. A sire? I looked at Nislani, saw her glowing and smiling.

"I really do love you Nislani," I said again and I saw her smile grow wider.

"I love you too, Sultanah," she said in response. And then she kissed me once on the lips, just very briefly. Before I could respond or react to her use of my abdicated title, I felt her kissing me again. She lifted my chin up so she could kiss the underside and then trail down my throat to my chest. Her kisses were small and light and they tickled me as she moved. Soon, Nislani's lips were trailing down the top of my left breast and her lips were sinking into my flesh. Her long, straight hair trailed over my body, tickling my skin. I had nearly forgotten that I was naked, it felt so natural now.

In a moment, her lips came to rest on my left nipple. I felt it pop gingerly into Nislani's mouth. Her eyes were still open and she looked up at me coyly while she began to gently suck on my nipple, swirling her tongue around on me and tasting me. I felt my nipple grow harder in Nislani's mouth. I moaned and arched my back. Nislani smiled around my nipple and flicked her tongue against it. But she didn't want to wait there.

She continued to kiss down my body, planting another kiss on my nipple before moving down to the underside of my breast. She acted more slowly now, but was always moving. I could hear my own breath rasping through my nose and I felt like I could see my heart beating through my chest. For some reason, it felt like the first time. Perhaps it was because this was the first time we had chosen to do something like this.

She moved down across my stomach, placing a kiss above my bellybutton. She kept her eyes on my face as she worked her way down my body, but she seemed to know exactly where her body was lying. My cock had grown hard in response to Nislani's careful attentions but she avoided touching it. She leaned around to the side in order to kiss her way down my body, my cock stuck up hard, but just inches from rubbing her shoulder. Nonetheless, her long hair brushed across my cock and tickled it while she moved.  

I felt it twitch with excitement. Nislani kissed down stomach from my bellybutton, down towards my aching cock. She shifted her head slightly to the left and moved to the side of my cock. She continued to kiss down between my legs. Eventually, I felt her cheek brush again my balls and the shaft of my cock as she kissed the spot where my thigh met my torso. I moaned loudly, but stayed seated immobile in my chair with my legs spread.

Now Nislani settled more easily between my legs on the floor. She was kneeling now; my cock was at her eye level. Carefully, she began to kiss to her right, moving closer towards the center of my body. I groaned loudly and squeezed on the arms of my chair as I felt her lips press into my scrotum. My balls moved against her lips, but she was persistent, planting her lips against me until her face was centered against my cock, her lips in my scrotum and her nose against my shaft. She looked up at me sharply and smiled. I nodded.

Slowly, Nislani began to kiss up the length of my shaft, moving her soft, full lips just the slightest amount each time. Carefully she climbed the length of my cock, her kisses tickling me and making my body tremble. My cock ached worse than it had the previous night and I moaned so loudly I wondered if the guard was worried. Eventually, Nislani's lips climbed to the tip of my cock. A small drop of clear seed had formed at the opening and a thin string of it connected to Nislani's lips after she kissed me there. 

Nislani looked at me for a moment, with her lips against my cock. She raised her eyebrows and then she stuck her tongue out slightly. The hard, wet bead of her tongue pressed against my cock and I groaned from the hot sensation. Then, in a rapid motion, Nislani dropped her head, letting her tongue press wetly down the length of my cock. Her tongue skittered down the vein at the base of my cock, pressing into it and massaging me. Nislani's tongue felt so good and her actions so fast and surprising, I did not know how to react. I grunted and squeezed harder on my chair.

Once again, Nislani's lips were against my scrotum and she tucked her tongue back into her mouth. Now she started to kiss again. She began to kiss down. I felt her nose slide down my wet shaft as she began to kiss down lower and lower. For the first time, her hands became involved and I felt her gingerly take my scrotum between her thumb and her fingers and pull up. She pulled gently and there was no pain. I felt my heavy, full balls lift up from my body. I felt a coolness as my wet cunny was exposed to the air. Nislani continued kiss down my scrotum, lifting it higher so that she could get every last spec of my flesh.

Now Nislani came to my cunny. I took a deep breath, unsure of what would happen. My cunny ached and I could feel the wetness on it. I realized then that I often had this sensation when I was making love, this need for attention for my cunny. But I rarely heeded it. It did not seem proper. Only long ago with my priestesses and in the limited, fantasy experience with my new hermaphrodite harem-members had I ever indulged it at all. But it had been there all along. I needed it worse now than ever before.

Whether Nislani knew that or not, I could not say. But she did not hesitate. As her lips slipped from my scrotum, they pressed directly against my cunny. I groaned loudly as I felt Nislani's lips press against mine. I was so wet that Nislani's mouth just sort of sank into me. I heard her groaned and I felt her tongue stick out slightly, to take me. It was warm and dense against my cunny lips. Nislani groaned at the taste and her tongue moved around slightly more. Then she continued kissing me. Down and down her lips moved across my cunny, coating her lips in my thick, clear juices. I moaned on my chair, holding on for dear life.

Eventually, Nislani reached the bottom of my cunny, planting one last kiss on the small patch of flesh separating my cunny from my asshole. Then, just as she had done with my cock, her tongue poked just the slightest bit, hard, out of her mouth. She tickled the little spec of flesh for a moment and then ran her tongue up the length of my cunny. She let her tongue go out a little farther this time and it sank into my aching slit. I gasped at the sensation. My body closed around her tongue, trying to squeeze it and I could feel the bumps on her tongue as she slid it up through me. But she moved very quickly and I couldn't hold her in place. 

Her tongue kept zipping up and soon it was passed my cunny and move up over my scrotum. Then it started to move up my shaft with the same speed, somehow maintain a delicate and delicious balance of moisture and friction. While she was moving up the last inch or two of my cock, Nislani's hands suddenly became involved. Her left hand rose quickly, wrapping around the base of my cock, so far down that her fingers and hands were sunk slightly into my scrotum. Her other hand reached underneath of my heavy balls and I felt her fingers tickling the sopping opening of my warm cunny. In a moment, her lips were against the tip of my cock and she looked up at me intently. She stopped moving.

"You are both of these things, Varis," she said, barely above a whisper. Her breath felt cool against the wet tip of my cock. I didn't at first, know what she meant. But then, in one rapid movement, she removed all doubt. Her head rose up and her mouth opened. She pushed down quickly and I felt the tip of my cock slip into Nislani's warm mouth. Not just the tip, she moved quickly and I felt the bottom of my cock dragging across Nislani's thick, delicate tongue and the tip of my cock pressing against the rough roof of her mouth. In a moment, most of my cock was buried in Nislani's mouth and her lips were pressing against her fingers wrapped around my cock.

But that wasn't all. Nislani's other hand had jumped into action at the same instant. Her fingers had been playing around at the wet opening of my cunny for several seconds before and she had coated her fingers in my sticky juices. Now, they were properly lubricated and as Nislani began to attack my cock, her fingers began to probe my cunny. Nislani was not gentle, she was going for full effect. Just as my cock plunged into her throat, three of her wet fingers charged into my cunny. I nearly screamed at the unfamiliar sensation, but I instantly fell in love with it. I could feel Nislani's digits twisting and shaking inside of me and she began to work them in and out of my cunny.

There was really no role for me to act even if I had wanted to, which I did not. I was completely mesmerized by Nislani's actions. All of it was so unbearably intense. I just sat in my chair, dumbfounded and enjoyed the sensations as I felt them.

Nislani had moved her hand off of my cock, no longer needing to hold me in place. Now my cock had slipped all the way into my wife's throat and she was gagging around it. But she did not pull the cock out. She let it stay there while her throat expanded and contracted around my flesh. She stuck her tongue out slightly, driving the cock deeper into her throat and allowing her to rub her tongue against my scrotum. She was making a moaning noise in her throat and it sent wonderful vibrations through my cock, reverberating through my whole body.

If anything, Nislani's actions lower down were even more intense. Nislani clearly had more experience with her own cunny that with cock (though she was doing an excellent job with my cock) and despite the fact that I had no clitoris (I guess I had a cock instead), she knew exactly what to do. Her fingers hooked inside of me rubbing forcefully and gently on the ridged flesh inside of my cunny. She essentially made a 'come hither' motion with her fingers, rubbing the most sensitive spot inside of my cunny. Occasionally, she would twist her fingers inside of me, giving me a strange twirling sensation that made my head weak, before returning to her steady motions. My cunny had never had this kind of attention before, I could barely understand what was happening.

In fact, my entire experience was absolute, lovely, confusion. I was completely immobile on the chair, just staring down at Nislani while she did her work. My nipples ached and I wanted to reach up and pinch my breasts, to feel them, but I lacked the will to act. Instead, I just felt my nipples grow harder and harder and ache in the cool air of my room. My breasts jiggled slightly, giving some relief, as I was breathing desperately, trying keep my head. I heard myself moan on occasion but mostly the room was filled with the slurping sound of Nislani's mouth and the wet noise of her hand moving into my cunny. The room was filled with the scent of cunny, my own familiar scent mixed with the scent of Nislani, which I remembered vividly form my wedding night.

After a brief period of time gaining her bearings, Nislani slipped into a steady rhythm. For the most part, she would bounce my cock in and out of her mouth with a steady back and forth, letting it go into her throat and then slip backwards, over her tongue, between her teeth, and out of her mouth, before shoving it back into her body. Her eyes were watering from choking but she never slowed. At the same time this action was going on, Nislani's fingers were moving inside of my wet cunny, rubbing my insides gently and making me drip with desire. Her fingers moved to the same pace as her throat as it coasted over my cock. 

Then, every tenth beat or so, Nislani would change this up. She would shove my cock hard down into her throat, deeper than usual. Rather than pulling it out immediately like she did most of the time, she would simply allow my cock to stay buried in her throat. She would gag and her throat would contract tightly around my hard cock. She would rub her tongue wildly against the bottom of my cock, pressing the vein along the bottom with gentle pressure. At the same time, she would begin to spin her hand left and right inside of my aching cunny. She put all three of her fingers together and then just rotated her wrist back and forth rapidly. The ridges of her fingers moved against my cunny walls, stimulating them and making my eyes roll back in my head. Then, after a couple of beats, she would move back to her earlier actions.

Nislani's attentions were so powerful and so pleasurable that I knew that I could not go on for long. My muscles had begun tensing even before she had settled into her rhythm. I had been expecting an orgasm for some time. Nonetheless, when it finally came, there was still something incredibly surprising about it.

I heard myself groan incredibly loudly and I threw my head back. My hands squeezed tight on the armrests of my chair. I felt every inch of my body grow rigid and I clenched my teeth. I didn't breath out anymore, just sucked more and more air into my aching lungs through my gritted teeth. Finally, I felt the tension become absolutely unbearable, I heard a loud sigh from deep in my throat, and suddenly I burst the through the barrier, deep into the other side.

From the very first instant, I knew something was different. Something felt different. I felt the sudden burst of warmth at the center of my body and I felt the dot of pleasure in the center, so intense that it felt almost like pain. And I felt that dot explode, expanding out across me and shooting through ever nerve in my body, coating every part of me that could feel anything in a sensation of pure physical pleasure. 

But it was subtly different in a way I could not explain. Not that I wanted to, the pleasure was so great I just wanted to savor it. But, somewhere deep in my mind I came to understand one aspect of the different. My cock was buried in my sister's throat, and it felt lovely, but I did not feel it expanding or contracting in her throat. I did not feel my seed pouring out of my body and entering hers. As the pleasure I felt slowly began to subside, my cock remained hard, it remained desperate for attention. I realized what had happened. My cunny had produced the orgasm. My cock had not been involved. It was the first time in my life I had truly cum as a woman. But as I made this realization, my orgasm subsided completely and I collapsed back against my chair, panting and smiling.

Nislani knew that something had happened, even though her mouth was not filled with seed. Slowly and carefully she stopped her actions. Her fingers slipped out of my cunny, which was now wetter than it had ever been in my life, almost dripping onto the floor. At the same time, she pulled her head back, slipping my cock out of her throat. It glistened with saliva and still sat 

"What happened?" she asked after a moment, I saw that she was panting too. I smiled and waved my hand.

"I came Nislani, wasn't it obvious?" I asked. Nislani's eyes furrowed and she sat back on her ass on the floor, breathing and thinking.

"Really?" she asked, "I didn't feel anything," as she spoke, she rubbed her throat. I laughed at her for a moment and then shook my head.

"Not there," I said and then I pointed down low, between my legs and beneath my cock, "There," I said. Nislani smiled brightly.

"You see! I knew it!" she said, "You are special Varis. For 21 years every tried to make you into a woman and it wasn't quite right. Then for almost a year they tried to make you into a man and that was even less right. You are what you are Varis. You are both completely and fully. And it is beautiful," she said. Her eyes were red and her face was covered in saliva, but she looked totally innocent and beautiful. I had never had my younger sister admire me before. It felt nice.

"Thank you Nislani," I said. Nislani had caught her breath now and she rose up to a standing position in front of me (I noted that her hard nipples were pointing through her thin shirt and I knew my cock was definitely not yet satisfied). She leaned in towards me rapidly and I felt her arms wrap around the back of my neck. Her breasts pressed into my own and her thighs pushed into my knees.

"Don't give up on your family, that's how you thank me," she said sweetly into my ear. I smiled at this and I felt her hand, accidentally, graze my hard cock. I groaned a little and then turned my head and whispered into her ear.

"Oh Nislani, I am not even close to done yet." And with that I rose very quickly onto my feet. Nislani yelled out in surprise and started to stumble backwards. She kept her arms around my neck and I now wrapped my arms around her waist. As she began to stumble backwards, I began to rush forward into her. I held her up slightly as she stumbled backwards and she made an additional surprised noise. After a few feet of running, the backs of her legs pushed against the mattress on the bed and she tilted backward onto the bed with another yelp. I was so closely wrapped up in her that I fell forward on top of her, my hard cock pressing into her thigh.

We were now lying on top of one another on the bed, only my legs below my knees and Nislani's feet dangling over the sides. Instinctively, Nislani spread her legs on the bed and I sunk down between them. My cock pressed down into the mattress and my breasts sat heavily against Nislani's stomach. My head was leaning against Nislani's breasts. I could feel the soft sensation of her skin and I could sense her heart fluttering in her chest.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Nislani's hard nipple poking through her shirt. I felt mouth grow wet and I lick my lips. Without speaking, I lifted my hands up and found the fabric of Nislani's shirt on either side of her body. Without taking my weight off of my wife, I began to pull the fabric up. I felt it slide between our bodies, tickling my nipples as it moved. Nislani sensed what I was doing and after she grabbed the fabric as well, pulling it up and then throwing it off over her hand. She dropped her hands back down, landing on my hair. The smell of Nislani's cunny became more intense now, it was no longer caged in her nightshirt. I breathed it in a moaned.

But now Nislani's cute, hard nipples were totally exposed and it reminded me of why I had been removing her shirt in the first place. I turned my head slightly, move my face into Nislani's body. She continued to move her hands through my hair as I centered my mouth over Nislani's nipple. I was so desperate to taste her that my mouth was overflowing. A thin line of drool dripped down from my lips and landed on Nislani's nipple. She moaned as the liquid warmed and then slowly cooled her skin. I looked up at her. Nislani raised her eyebrows and smiled, not in the least disgusted. 




The Sultanah Ch. 14



I dropped my head now, letting Nislani's nipple push past my lips and enter into my mouth. The instant I felt her hard, dense skin coated in my saliva enter my mouth, I moved my tongue against it, flicking it and swirling around it. Nislani cooed and arched her back, pressing her silky breast against my face, warming my chin, and driving her nipple more deeply into my mouth. I sucked on her nipple harder, drawing it into me even more forcefully. Nislani gasped.

I wanted to give her more and I quickly moved my hand up towards her free breast. My hand slid along her side, up her stomach, and over the underside of her breast. Nislani squealed as my soft hands moved over the tops of her breasts. Her other nipple was just as hard as the one that was in my mouth and Nislani's body shook as I touched it. Rather than grasp her breast (as I wanted to do), I held my hand palm down over her nipple, letting it just barely graze my skin. I circled my palm around slowly, letting Nislani's hard nipple trace against it. Nislani moaned and arched her back further, trying to push her nipple hard against my palm. I moved my hand back, keeping the teasing distance and trying not to grind my cock too hard into the mattress. I sucked harder on her nipple to compensate for my teasing.

After several minutes of playing with Nislani's breasts, it was clear that she could not take any more. She was writhing wildly on the bed and her hands had sunk deeply into my hair. She was pulling on it slightly. The scent of her cunny had grown so intense that it made the whole room feel hotter, more humid. Every time I breathed it in my body trembled. In fact, it was affecting me more than my touch was affecting Nislani. My tongue was moving more feverishly over her breast, sucking harder. My palm was closer to her breast now, grazing the soft, weighty flesh. We both needed more, but Nislani was the one who finally put a point on it.

"Fuck me Varis. Fuck me Sultanah," She groaned closely into my ear, "I love you and I want you so bad." I didn't realize that I had been waiting for these words, but it was clear to me now that I was. With the word 'bad' still ringing in my ears I began to move. With reluctance, I let Nislani's nipple pop from my mouth and I moved both of my hands onto the bed next to her head. Using my arms, I pulled myself up so that my head was no longer level with Nislani's chest. My hair glided across Nislani's breasts, neck, and face as I rose up higher. She moaned at the sensation. In a moment, I felt my hips slide into place between Nislani's. 

As if she was afraid that I would somehow try to leave her, Nislani's legs reached around my, locking around my back. My breast mashed against Nislani's and I could feel my own saliva wet against my skin as her nipples dug into me. My hair was now forming a cone around Nislani's face and we felt totally alone together now. We looked into each other's eyes and I know that I cannot describe what we felt. But we both knew we were feeling the same thing. The heat of our bodies mixed together and I could sense the closeness of all of Nislani's most intimate parts. 

Gazing at her innocent beauty, I was suddenly struck by a surprising thought. "Nislani, I am so proud that you are my wife. I don't know what I would have done without you today," I said, my voice sounding ragged but honest. I saw a tear well in Nislani's eye and it rolled down her cheek.

"I am your wife Varis, and I love you. It is my job to support you when you cannot go on. Just as you would do for me. Have done for me, really. Even if I didn't know it," she said. My heart ached for her and I closed my eyes again, leaning in towards her. I felt her chin bend backwards and, after a moment, my lips contacted hers, ever so gently. Just the barest whisper of a touch at first. And then we pressed further, our lips coming together. And then splitting, our tongues finding each other wet in the middle. 

We kissed now with absolute abandon, our motions coming desperate and wild. I felt Nislani's tongue probing all throughout my mouth. I felt it flitter across my lips, my teeth, and my gums. I felt our tongues press hard together and I taste Nislani's sweet saliva in my mouth. She was panting now and her hips were grinding up. I heard her moaning slightly and I knew what she needed.

"Fuck me Varis...Fuck me," she chanted for a moment before her mouth plunged against mine again. I loved the feeling of teasing Nislani but I couldn't hold out any longer. I needed it now as much as she did. With a quick movement of my hips, I felt my cock slide against the sopping wet opening of Nislani's cunny. My sister gasped and her arms wrapped tightly around the back of my neck. Now she was completely draped around me and I could feel her heart thundering against my chest.

"Put it in now, Varis, please!" she moaned now. I guess I had just been waiting to hear that and I rapidly thrust my hips forward, driving them into Nislani's body. My cock had been perfectly lined up and Nislani's cunny was so unbelievably wet that there was no doubt what would happen, despite my rapid movement. I felt Nislani's body split open and I felt my cock press inside of her. The walls of her wet cunny closed around me, her tissue squeezed and massaged me as I passed inside. But it happened so quickly, in an instant, I was buried as deep as I could go inside of Nislani's cunny. Nislani grunted and threw her head back onto the bed, her mouth open.

I decided to give her no respite. While she was still soaking in the sensation of having my cock drive hard into her cunny, I pulled it back out, only to slide it back in again. I did not slam into her; I did not force myself at her. Instead, my cock slid out in a steady motion and then slipped back inside of her on the same beat. I did not move particularly slowly, but I did not move too fast either, I achieved a delicate balance. I saw Nislani's eyes flash open and she looked at me lewdly. It was clear I struck the correct chord.

Perhaps part of it was how closely Nislani had pulled me into her body. As I rocked my hips, thrusting my cock in and out of her body, I could feel the hard nub of her clit pressing against my lower stomach. Each movement I made reverberated through her clitoris, sending pleasure throughout her body. She moaned and groaned as I manipulated her body. She was getting twice the attention she would have expected as my cock massaged her insides and my stomach pleasured her clit.

We stayed that way for some time; I was surprised by both of our stamina. My cock ached so badly and Nislani's cunny was so wet that I figured it would be over in no time. But we continued to move together, my cock slipping in and out of Nislani's cunny while her body engulfed me. Our breasts were pressed together, our nipples teasing one another. My hair still encapsulated our faces and we kissed often, though perhaps more often, we simply gazed into each other's eyes, feeling this power of our connection. Maybe that is what kept us going, neither one of us wanted to break the lock we had on one another at that moment. It felt right, more right than any sexual experience I had ever had. I am sure Nislani felt the same, even if she was considerably less experienced.

Maybe it was this lack of experience that sent her over the edge first. Maybe it was simply that I had experienced an orgasm already and she was building towards one for a long time. Whatever it was, after a particularly deep thrust, I felt Nislani's body go rigid underneath of me. I saw her eyes close and her mouth opened. She began to squeeze me tighter with her arms and legs, so tight I could barely breathe. She pulled my cock into her further and she would not let me pull out. I heard a low groaning sound coming from deep in her throat and I could feel her body trembling. Finally, I heard her sigh loudly and I felt her cunny contracting around my swollen cock.

That was more than I could bear. As her cunny milked my cock hard and without relent, I felt the tension rising inside of me as well. Now it was my turn to freeze on top of Nislani's body. My toes curled off the edge of the bed and I thrust my hips hard into her. I made a croaking sound and then a loud screech. But the tension didn't break. Not as I expected. It kept building and my eyes slammed shut and my teeth gritted so hard that my head began to swim. My throat locked up and I couldn't even scream. I couldn't breathe. I became aware of the depth and breadth of my tension, nearly a year's worth of built up angst that was transferred into my muscles and joints and held there as my body pressed against my wife. My mind went blank, consumed entirely by the desire, no the need, for relief. I believe that for a brief moment, I must have lost my mind. Everything inside of me broke.

And then, just when it seemed that there was nothing left, when everything was darkest, a pinpoint of light appeared in my center. I perceived it in an animal sort of way, but only for the briefest moment. Because after that time, it exploded. Not like a normal orgasm. I did not feel an emanation of pleasure pouring in waves over me. I didn't notice seed pouring from my cock. Instead, I...I became pleasure. Everything had become tension and insanity and then, in an instant, it all flipped around. It became the opposite. I cannot say it any clearer than that and to this day I cannot even really fathom or recreate the notion of that feeling. But I was converted in a moment into pure energy and that energy was the force of pleasure. I touched the face of God and became like a god. The only image I kept in my mind was that of my dream, so long ago. The dream of a flaming missile piercing my eye, melting me down into nothing, only to build me up again with fire for an eye and an arrow for a backbone. It had been a premonition, and it was happening now.

Slowly, my mind began to return to me. I know became aware of the normal, still pleasurable, orgasm feelings. The sense of pleasuring rippling through my body (though already beginning to decline), the sensation of my seed pouring into my sister's tight cunny. Even the feel of my body, and Nislani's, on the bed. I could feel that again too. As the last of my seed entered and overwhelmed Nislani's cunny, I became aware that I was unbearably tired. I sighed deeply, felt lightheaded, and then collapsed onto my side next to Nislani. Still wrapped around me, she rolled with me as my cock popped out of her body and we lay panting on the bed. I felt cooled as my sweat settled on my body. 

Eventually, Nislani's body loosened its grip on mine, though she stayed lying across my body, her hand fiddling in my hair and her head resting on my bare breast. She sighed contentedly and I could feel a wet spot on the bed where my excess seed dribbled out of her body. My breathing became slower and I simply lay with wife and with no thoughts. Just a sensation of contentment. A peace I had not felt in...ever.

It could not last forever and I suppose I would not want it to, it was better just being a brief period of time. Slowly, my troubles began to return to me. The fraught political situation. My lost friends and lovers. Those things were still fresh and raw. I still felt shame, sadness, and anger. But I felt different about them as well. The problems were just as enormous as before, just as daunting. 

But somehow, I felt differently about myself. I no longer felt like my problems had engulfed me, like I was no longer up to the task. Maybe I had just felt so terribly alone and didn't see any way out of it. Nislani had showed me differently. Or I had seen something I hadn't understood before. 

Slowly, I began to recognize the source of my new-found equilibrium. I considered myself, and I no longer felt the division inside of me. There was no longer Varis and the Sultanah. I could not discern the spot where they were separated. But, unlike my fear, I did not feel the absence of either half. I felt like they had been fused together as one, a complete whole. And I knew both halves were still there because, deep inside of me, I could feel the spot where they'd melded together. I felt the key that connected the seemingly irreconcilable parts of myself. 

My family. Always abstract, theoretical before. It was so real to me now. I could feel the weight of the blood in my veins.

Nislani, of course, was a major part of that. She was a member of my dynasty. She was my sister. She was my wife. And finally, the emotions I felt for her connected, both to my role as a private woman and to my role as a Sultanah. She was my support, both politically and privately, a source of refuge and pleasure. She knew how to protect me here, in our sanctuary, and treat me like the woman I was and, at the same time, defend and protect me in the field of politics, where men held sway. She could keep these two halves together in one person, just as she pleasured both halves of my sexuality on our bed.

And, perhaps more importantly, my child. That was the key, the connection between the private Varis and the public Sultanah. She would be my child and the source of my private love and joy. But she would be an heir and the receptacle of the Hanedan blood. And I felt the importance of both of my child's roles and the need to protect them both. I recognized that they were inextricably linked and that, it proved that my two halves were linked as well. I recognized that her existence showed the duality of her role, and mine as well. Mother and Sultanah in one. Woman and man. This child seemed to represent some unrecognized harmony within these roles. It tied my two halves together in a way I couldn't understand. I didn't really know how to express it. I could barely contain the idea as it was, but I could feel its truth.

Whatever uncertainty or crisis of faith had conquered me before, I had moved past it now, re-forged as I was by the crisis. My problems had hardened me rather than broken me. My back was arrow straight and my eye was flame. I knew what I was going to do instantly, as though the plan was already fully formed in my mind and I simply uncovered it now. Maybe I had been working on it subconsciously. All I knew was that everything became clear to me.

I gently extricated myself from my sister's grasp. She let me go easily, not protesting. She likely knew that I had business to attend to and did not want to stop me. She was there to support me now. I felt it and leaned on it. I would repay her in kind when the opportunity came. I rose from the bed after a while and went to my desk. I looked at all the papers, the failed attempts at letters scattered about. I picked up the one that I describe to Nislani, the final draft of my abdication.

"Are you going to get rid of it?" she asked. I turned towards the bed and saw that she was lying on her side looking towards me. The covers were wrapped around her waist but her breasts were exposed, lying seductively against one another and draped in her long hair. She was smiling contentedly, her face unlined and beautiful. I looked at the papers again.

"No," I said and Nislani looked at me surprised.

"I thought..." Nislani began, almost rising and sounding alarmed. 

"I know what you think. But I am not done writing this letter. And when I am done, I have more writing to go," I said, "Correspondence is woman's work, after all," I smiled at Nislani easily and she furrowed her brow. But I ignored her. She needed rest, after all, she was carrying my child. I turned back to my desk and got back to work.

* * * * *

"I think I see them, yes you can see the vanguard's banner in the distance," Cin said. She was lifting her hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun. Her hand was heavily bandaged, but it still looked strange. It would be stranger still when the bandage came off in a few days. She'd been wearing it for four weeks. Four weeks since the failed coup and so much had changed.

For one thing, King Sican and the legions of Dusman were once again camped in front of my walls. Closer, in fact, than they had been at the end of last summer, when they had killed my father. My soldiers were, once again, manning the walls. There were more of us now, though not nearly as many as I would have liked. More importantly, they were not all were as loyal as I might have liked, having pressed the former retainers of the Collaborationist lords into my legions. I looked to my left, towards the Duke's gate. I saw their rotten heads still on display there and smiled. It gave me strength. I would need it.

Not that there was any indication of that now. Despite the presence of Sican and his army, the atmosphere was far different than it had been during the previous siege. And well that it should be. After all, Dusman was here upon my invitation. I had sent the letter I had read to Nislani after all. Everything I had written remained intact, expanded even. I apologized, I claimed ignorance as a woman, I lamented my weakness and my foolhardiness, I begged for aid, and I offered my sister's cunny to Lider. And a payoff as well. The imperial jewels as the price for my 'pardon.' I had caved entirely, just as a woman should. It is what my enemies had been expecting of me from the beginning.

Of course, I had added more than that as well. I had explained to King Sican that I had found papers in Duke Hain's possession after the failed coup that indicated he was in league with King Köylü of Temsilci, the King's most powerful rival and erstwhile ally. This much was true, documents to that effect were found. Similar documents were found regarding King Sican himself. That did not make it into the letter. Instead, I gave a date for the wedding and asked King Sican to arrive a week in advance. He had come three days ago and was waiting for the proper day. I had not received him yet, but I could see him strutting confidently in camp.

The people of Şehir did not understand what was happening. They heard rumors of the letter and there were surprisingly accurate accounts of the content floating through the streets. Soyguncu had heard it on lips all over town. The entire city seemed in mourning and there were bitter lamentations about the fall of the Empire and the inevitable sack that would follow. More than anything else, there was disillusionment with me. The people had placed all their trust in the Sultanah. She had led so bravely, and now she had simply given up.

And they would have been right. I had been so close to that ultimate betrayal, that night with Nislani. But that seemed like so long ago now, four weeks later. It hardly made sense anymore. I was like I had been a different person, mad with grief. The grief was still there, but I drew strength from it. I understood the stakes better now. My shame and my anger were a part of my growth as the Sultanah. It was my final lesson, the final welding of my person into a whole. I understood that now. The people were wrong, of course, I had no intention of quitting now.

"Yes, I see them as well," I said. I could see Gunes' sun, the sun that had chosen me for my current task, blinking off of the shields of the vanguard. This was the fruit of my second letter.

This letter was largely the same as the first. The same apologizes, self-deprecation, and defeat. It included the same offer of payment and the discovery of Duke Hain's treachery, this time naming King Sican and Dusman. It event included an offer of Nislani's hand to a prince of the recipient's choice. That recipient was King Köylü of Temsilci. I had given him an exact day to arrive for the wedding. That day was today. And it appeared that he was just on time.

I should note that both letters contained something else. A warning. I explained to King Sican that King Köylü's aggression was the impetus that had finally shown me that I was not equal to the task of government. I begged King Sican to come to rescue me and, in exchange, I would give him everything he wanted. He would be my champion. I said that my spies indicated King Köylü would be attempting a siege soon, in contravention of his alliance with King Sican. I begged King Sican to come armed and ready, in case King Köylü's army was to arrive before the wedding had occurred. Lo and Behold, my warning appeared prescient. Of course, the letter to King Köylü had contained nearly identical information. Two knights in shining armor, but only one damsel in distress.




The Sultanah Ch. 14



"I must admit," Cin said, "this is clever, even by your high standards." I smiled. It felt good to have Cin back by my side, though I had noticed a change in her as well. She had, of course, conducted the ritual mourning that any Sun Priestess must abide by when her partners died. But, I got the sense that Cin truly mourned for Agiz and Got, that she was not simply going through the motions. She had returned to me, but I still felt the grief and melancholy on her, thick as my own.

This led me to a somewhat shocking realization. All this time, I had relied so heavily on Cin. She was my primary advisor, the person that I expected to have all the answers. But she had no foreseen all the dangers that lay ahead. And she had been brought low by the same forces that had nearly swallowed me up. I wondered to what extent Cin had come to the same conclusion that I had, that we were not playing a game and that we were meddling in forces far beyond our control? It felt to me that Cin had grown up in some ways, even if she had never seemed particularly childish before. But there was a hardness about her now that had not been there before and I felt it as a reflection of my own rising callousness. 

And I was growing more callous. I could sense that now. I no longer felt the need to protect the "womanly" parts of myself, to try to ensure that I maintained some semblance of "soft" feelings. I knew that part of me was in no danger, that it was locked deep inside of me where I could find it. Where Nislani could find it. Where my child would be able to find it. If anything, the callousness I cultivated on the outside served to better protect that half of myself. I embraced the nature of being Sultanah and with it my own sense of cunning and ruthlessness. 

"It is going to be a tight thing no matter what," I said, gazing out at the field ahead of me.

"Yes, I have foreseen much of today, but much of it is still cloudy. But beyond prophecy, I have a good feeling."

"It appears that the letters placed them in the right frame of mind," I said and looked over at Cin. She smiled bitterly and I could sense word 'revenge' throbbing behind her smile.

"You have dangled a damsel in distress. Two really counting Nislani. How can chivalrous gentleman refuse? Throw in a chance to humiliate a rival and there is really nothing better. It was a trap they were born to fall into," Cin explained. Her reference to my wife made me think of her briefly, hiding deep in the depths of the palace, waiting nervously for the results of the day's action. I thought of our child and hoped that everything would go off as I planned. But I shut those feelings out. There was no time for them now.

The plan itself was the fruit of months of preparation. The girl who ran through the narrow streets to ring a bell all those nights ago could never have even suggested a portion of this plan. But I had learned so much in so short a time. I had learned to trust in Gunes, to rely on myself, to value my friends, to control the government, to consider my dynasty, to believe in my people, to enjoy my role, and, most importantly now, to punish my enemies. And I learned how to do all of that as a woman. And all of that would come into play now.

"They expect a woman and so I gave that to them to rely upon. They wanted to believe so badly that I could not handle it that they took any excuse to believe it. How easy to turn boys against one another over a pretty girl, like this city. Why fight so hard to be considered a man when being a woman can be so much easier?" I asked. Cin laughed coldly. But at that moment, we heard a voice down below. A scout had come running up to the walls of the castle. His face was red and he was out of breath. He was one of Sican't men.

"Lady Varis!" the man said, careful not to refer to me as Sultanah, "Your reports were correct, the enemy has arrived on the field."

"Oh dear!" I said, "Whatever shall we do!" I tried to sound as though I was on the verge of panic.

"King Sican is hardly afraid my lady and I advise you to follow his lead," he said.

"He is so brave, I will rely on him greatly," I said and Cin suppressed a smile.

"He is drawing his men up into formation and will repel the attack. He asks that you provide your legions for his use. Your Colonel Saygili may lead your troops, but he needs them," the soldier replied. Saygili had been demoted when he was inducted into the Dusman army. He didn't complain. He was one of the few people, and perhaps the only man, who knew all that would follow his induction.

"Of course, of course, I should have thought. No I shouldn't have, it is not my place. Thank Tanri for King Sican," I said and Cin sighed now, concealing a laugh, "I will collect them immediately." With that I made a signal with my hands. Soldiers at the palace had been waiting for that mark. As I did so, they unfurled a giant banner that fell down over the sides of the palace, covering several floors in thick fabric. A giant field of yellow with a fiery yellow sun planted in the center. 

King Sican had been told that this was my signal for my legions to assemble and prepare to fight. King Köylü believed that it was a signal to my legion to prepare to sally forth, to attack King Sican who was besieging my city. My legions, already assembled inside of the Duke's gate, stood silent and waited for a different signal. 

Regardless, the soldier clipped a quick salute and then immediately ran back towards his camp. King Sican was out in the camp now, looking calm as he roused his troops and moved them into position facing away from my walls, to protect Şehir from invasion. I saw his son as well, Lider running around, somewhat panicked and trying copy his father's cool. On the other side, I saw the legions of Temsilci rapidly filing into the valley outside of my city. They wanted to get the jump on Sican, to strike before the Dusman army, which was slightly larger, could get into position (though even Temsilci's army was several times larger than my own). Just as I had hoped. The armies moved quickly, expertly. They were clearly better trained than my own legions, though the gap was shrinking.

I am no military historian and I feel no need to recount in minute detail The Battle of Şehir. If you require all of the back and forth of the battle and to feel like your hands are in other men's guts, I commend you to the history written by Tarihçi or the famous play by Yazar. I believe a rough sketch will suffice for our purposes.

The armies moved quickly into place. They both wanted to strike before the other gained an advantage. Further they were both fired by the supposed betrayal perpetrated by the other. Sican had prepared some shallow trenches for his men (not really expecting an assault) and his men filed into these. King Köylü was no put off by this maneuver, despite the differences in numbers. In fact, he opted to counter it with a rather unimaginative frontal assault. He simply moved his men in place in a line and then pounced on Sican's center.

It was mid-afternoon when the battle started and there was still a great deal of time before dark. The evenly matched armies ensured that this was butchery. Twelve times, King Köylü's forces charged into the trenches held by their enemies, hacking into them and trying to dislodge them, to make a breach in the line. Each time King Sican's forces pushes them back with great losses. Sometimes the Dusman lines wavered or even cracked. But the trenches were then filled with new troops and the enemy was repulsed. The more vicious the fighting, the angrier the participants became, fueling still more vicious fighting. Soon, it had spiraled out of all proportion to rationality and scores of men fell dead as the price began to outweigh the prize.

After Temsilci's eleventh assault, the scout who had spoken to me before, returned to the ground below the Duke's gate. Cin and I had watched the battle develop directly below us with mounting horror. We did not speak, but simply watching thousands upon thousands of men hack themselves to death before our eyes. I felt pity for the individual men involved. But, like me, they were trapped by their fates. I had made the best I could with mine, I hoped they could say the same.

Regardless, the scout arrived, drenched in blood with his left arm hanging limp at his side, "Lady Varis, King Sican begs to ask the location of your legions. The fighting, as you can see, has been hot. We are holding on, but they are giving us everything they have. Your men could turn the tide!"

"Oh yes, of course!" I said fluttering my hands in front of my face, "I just...I am so scared. There is so much blood."

"Please my lady!" the man begged.

"Of course, of course, I will have it done!" I said. The man saluted and then quickly rushed down to the battle. I looked at my men, standing solemnly and listening to the sounds of battle. I could also see townspeople in the streets, listening to the carnage with confused and terrified faces. It would be some time before everything became clear. Even for me. Nonetheless, I said nothing to my soldiers. They waited.

Temsilci's soldiers came again, one more attempt to break through Dusman's lines. Soldiers on both sides were exhausted and bloody. There were no reserves left. They had thrown everything they had at one another. Temilsci's soldiers made a small breach in the Dusman lines. King Sican himself saw the breach and bravely rushed into it, striking down common soldiers and willing his men to victory. Heartened by the display, Sican's soldiers rallied, plugging the gap and throwing Temsilci's soldiers back. However, this time, rather than allowing Temsilci to retire in good order, Sican pushed the action. He rose out of the trench and began to pursue his enemies. His men followed his lead, driving Temsilci back.

King Köylü's men, exhausted by the battle and responding to a rumor (later proven true) that the King himself had died in the assault, crumbled into a mass. They dropped their weapons, turned tail, and ran. Armor and weaponry fell by the wayside as Temsilci's army ceased to exist. Exhausted, King Sican and his men broke off their assault, they cheered and laughed, the battle won. Horns began to sound as Temsilci's men made their way rapidly back to the woods in the distance.

"There you bitch!" I heard a voice say, I looked down and saw that King Sican had moved his way back through the camp and come down near the wall itself. He was standing just a few hundred feet from me, looking directly at me, "You were too cowardly to fight. The Empire missed its last chance at a victory! Tomorrow, my son marries your slut and we end this thing!" I placed a shocked look on my face. But I loved every moment of it, I drank in his hatred and used it to fuel my fire.

"How dare you speak to me in such a manner," I said, making it sound good. Cin also placed a shocked look on her face.

"What will you do about it? You are afraid to lift a finger!" he said. My eyes darted up towards the woods where the Temsilci army was retreating. I strained in the distance and, after a moment, I saw what I prayed I would see. I smiled and then carefully placed my hand out in front of me, lifting my finger and pointing towards the woods.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, my voice coming out icy cold, no longer a little girl's voice. It was Sulatnah Varis' voice, in all its commanding terror. Sican furrowed his brow and then turned around quickly. He could hear a murmur from his troops. He looked back at me once angrily and then dashed off towards the front again. When he got there, he saw what I saw. The soldiers of Temsilci, streaming back towards his lines. But not in an orderly army as before. They were running, as they had once been running in the other directions. Their arms were flailing, their eyes panicked, they were unarmed. Behind them, were the recipients of my third and final letter.

The horsewomen of Anaerki had come pounding out of the woods even before the Temsilci army had reached the shadows of the trees. They had been waiting for this moment since morning, hiding away from the road that Temsilci had arrived upon, but otherwise fanning out. I had told them to be here. I told them that two great armies would fight each other to exhaustion and then, when one side faltered and their advantage in numbers was least effective, they were to burst from the trees and create havoc. I saw Maderşahi in the front of the pack, her daughter Kız right next to her. Both were armed and brought death with them from the shadows. It spread out along the width of the plain, shepherding all of the Temsilci soldiers in one direction, back towards my walls. It seemed I had learned the importance of alliances as well.

In a few moments, the disordered soldiers of Temsilci crashed into the Dusman lines once again. No longer attacking, simply in a blind panic and attempting to escape from the armed, fresh riders. Dusman's troops had become slightly disorganized by their victory. Now the return of Temsilci's troops deepened that chaos. The Dusman soldiers attempted to kill some of the fleeing Temsilci troops, but many were unsure of what to do. Soon, rather than two armies, there was one large, disorganized mass. King Sican began to scream at his soldiers and even those of Temsilci, trying to get them to form into new lines to repulse the mounted troops. But the Anaerkis were hot on the Temsilci heels. In just a few moments, they would crash into Dusman's disordered lines.

I turned my head and looked down at my legions massed at the Duke's gate. I saw Saygili in the front, looking up at me. My soldiers were in ordered lines. They knew what to expect. Saygili looked up at me and nodded. I turned to Cin, "Now." I said calmly. Cin relayed a message to the men in the gatehouse. They cut the line and the door to the gate collapsed. 

"Forward!" I heard Saygili's voice cry and I watched as my legions poured forth from the city, into the enemy's rear. With our allies, we surrounded our disorganized foe, despite their still apparent advantage in number. 

What remained was not a battle. It was a slaughter. The Anaerkis smashed into the enemy mass, sending them reeling in confusion and pushing them directly into the organized ranks of my legions as they poured out of the city. Panic infected the Dusman soldiers and they melted into confusion. The ground was soon red with their blood. The sights I witnessed that day went beyond all legend and myth in terms of carnage. Bodies were rent apart like rag dolls and the screams of the slaughtered filled the air like the chorus of Hell. I kept my eyes focused on it, felt my lips curl in a snarl. I felt only one thing as I watched the carnage. Pleasure. 

Anaerki lost two women in the attack. My legions lost four men. A handful were wounded, only one greatly enough to earn a pension. The enemy armies had ceased to exist as fighting forces.

* * * * *

Not an hour later, having climbed down from the tower, I was walking with Cin through the shattered remains of the Dusman camp. My soldiers and the horsewomen of Anaerki were still rounding up stragglers and killing any that resisted. I felt totally and completely safe walking on the battlefield without armor, trodding on ground where men had just minutes before been fighting and dying. Cin and I did not speak. We simply looked at the butchery. And smiled. Everything had worked out according to plan. Better, in fact, as I was about to learn.

"Sultanah," a small voice said to one side. I turned quickly and saw Soyguncu standing just a few yards away. She had been out on the field during the course of the battle and she was covered in blood. I knew that she had not been directly involved in the fighting, but even acting as a scout and spy had brought her in contact with untold amounts of death. Her skin looked pale and her eyes were slightly wild. It seemed she was ready to make her contribution to the bloodbath, if I was willing. To that end, there were two men on their knees on either side of her, she had knives at their throats, "I protected these two, I figured you would want them." She said, her voice shaky with emotion. I looked at the dirty men at Soyguncu's side. A feeling of warmth filled my heart and I smiled more broadly.

"Traitor Hain, False Prophet Rahip. It is a rare pleasure," I said, my voice sounding thick, almost velvety. Four weary eyes rose and glared at me. Both men had, apparently, been involved in the fighting. I assumed Hain was more closely involved in the action. His face was coated in blood and his expensive armor was in tatters. I was not sure which army he had fought for, but it didn't matter now. Rahip was simply covered in dirt and shit. He looked even more like a corpse than the last time I had seen him. I was not even sure if he was actually aware of what was happening around him. Nor did I particularly care.

"You filthy bitch," Hain said. Soyguncu moved silently, slicing off part of the Duke's ear. He screamed in pain and writhed on the ground. Soyguncu smiled. I laughed.

"It seems you will never learn manners," I said coldly, "That is what got you in trouble last time."

"I told Köylü not to trust you letter," he hissed, not responded to my gibe, "I told him that you were slippery as an eel and clever as a rat. I knew this was a trap."

"And yet, dumb as a rock, you walked right into it," I said.

"I would never miss my opportunity to end you, you whore! I would die a thousand times to kill you once," he said, more defiant than ever. Our games and plots were clearly at an end. Everything was out here in public now, there was no more room for maneuvering. Hain, it seemed, recognized that he was totally lost, at last. I felt oddly cold about it.

"I do not need a thousand revenges," I said, "just one."

"Be done with it," Duke Hain said in a tired voice, "I have no money for a ransom. Kill me now and end this charade," he said. I smiled at him now and considered my options. 

As I thought about it, about the events of the day and then further, back into the past, I felt so strange. These two men, especially Hain, had been such an important part in my evolution to the Sultanah. They were my initial adversaries. The furnace that heated my metal and burned out my impurities. The final coup, their last attempt to violently pull me from this world, had been the impetus for my final transformation, the communion of my spirit with that of the Sultanah. But now, seeing them covered in mud and shit...they seemed so small. Next to the size of my ambitions, they were nothing. Compared to me, they were less than nothing. They had been tools, a means to an end. They had served their purpose in making me capable of rebuilding the Empire. Now there were such...little things. Broken items to be cast aside. So far beneath my notice that I suddenly felt embarrassed speaking to them. Killing them would almost feel petty, like holding a grudge against an animal. Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do to maintain my dignity.

"No..." I said, "No, I do not think that is appropriate. I would not want your death on my conscience. Rahip was once a man of some sort of god. And Traitor Hain, how could I look your daughter in the eye while I fuck her, knowing that I put her father to death?" I asked. Hain's eyes grew wide with rage and he began to rise. Soyguncu's knife bit into his throat and he sank again.

"You lie!"

"I suppose I do. I often can't see your daughter's eyes, the way I fuck her," I shot back. Then, before Hain had a chance to respond again, I spoke quickly, "gouge out their eyes in the old imperial fashion," I told Soyguncu. Then I looked at my enemies again, saw the despair in their temporary eyes, "And...cut off their cocks too. Only a Sultanah really needs one of those. Make sure you burn the wound so they don't bleed out, I want them wandering the world. Hang their bloody cocks around their necks." I grabbed two guards and sent them over to Soyguncu, to help her with her now squealing charges. I didn't bother to look. 




The Sultanah Ch. 14



I felt the weight of my decision and the flame inside of me was stoked higher. I suddenly felt the true depths of my power and the extent of my destiny. After shoving these two, inconsequential items into the past with other childish things, I could suddenly see the distances ahead of me. I felt no fear, only joy in the tasks ahead and excitement that I could start so soon. The day's business was still far from finished. 

* * * * *

It was dusk and Cin, Saygili, Maderşahi and I were walking through the battlefield together. It smelled of blood and shit and we could hear the screams of the wounded. The towns people were out, picking the pockets of the dead and searching for valuables. Some soldiers were with them, but Saygili generally kept discipline intact. I didn't really care, I had more important matters at hand. I ignored the gore and misery and headed towards the living prisoners. There were many. No one alive had escaped. As I walked, Saygili debriefed me on the results of the battle.

"Nearly half the lords of Temsilci were killed in the battle. Not half of the ones present. Half of them total," Saygili explained, "Dusman faired better, a third of those present died. But we have taken over half the total prisoner. There were around 20,000 common prisoners."

"Take me to the nobles," I said coolly. We picked our way through the dead until we came to a circle of horsewomen. They had dismounted but we found them using their horses as a fence. There were almost five hundred noblemen in the circle. They looked exhausted. Angry. The circle of horses parted and my small party crossed through the lines and entered. 

We just happened to enter near the spot where King Sican himself sat with his hands above his head. His cool features were coated in blood and he looked near exhaustion. However, he still appeared formidable and I could sense his hate emanating off of him. I already knew that his son had fallen in battle. As he saw me, he rose quickly.

"You deceitful bitch!" he began. I suppose that I could have pointed out his hypocrisy, or note that he was hardly in a place to call names, or simply protest that I deserved greater respect. But I did not have time for that. My realization regarding the nature of my fate had cast the "King" in an entirely new light as well. Besides, there were optics to consider.

"Maderşahi, kill him now," I said.

"Wha..." King Sican began but a sword sliced through his throat instantly and he dropped a corpse on the ground. I didn't even look at him again. He was beneath notice. Although his men noticed. Eyes grew wide and a hushed conversation passed back and forth between the assembled armies. No one killed Kings. Now one killed the most powerful King in the known world. Men looked at me as though I had lost my mind. But everything came naturally to me now, I knew exactly what I was doing.

"That was a rather large ransom you decided to forego," Saygili said with awe, looking at the corpse. He was, of course, correct.

"Some messages are more important than money," I said. Then I spoke louder, so that all of the lords and the horsewomen, my legions, and even the captured common soldiers beyond in the field could hear me more clearly, "The region known as Dusman has been in rebellion from the Empire for centuries. This man, the Outlaw Sican, has claimed to be the 'King.' As he openly professed his treason, there was no need for trial. Bütün Dünya does not recognize underkings and so the outlaw was killed." This point had come home to me so clearly when I had seen Sican arrive a few days before. I could not conceive of why the Empire had ever tacitly offered legitimacy to the descended of raiders and pirates. I decided that I would revoke that legitimacy, as was my right as the only true Empress in the known world. However, there was more than just this. I had other rights to the other men standing and sitting around me.

"Further, I do not have the troops necessary to taken prisoners at this time. To the common soldiers. You have been misled in your treason. By rights, as soldiers, you belong in my legions. Join me now and accept your full pardon and a role ensuring the continued glory of our empire. The legions today are reborn. Your presence in the army will ensure the safety of your families at home," This was for practical, rather than magnanimous reasons. Of course, I truly believe that the common soldiers surrounding me were simply doing what they had been told. And I felt for them in their awkward position. But I would have disposed of them easily if I believed it was in my best interest. As things stood, I had large ambitions and insufficient means to make them a reality. By offering a chance to serve to my enemies, I bound them to me in gratitude and would swell the ranks of my own army.

"To the so-called vassals of the Outlaw Sican. Your treason was as great as his. I cannot trust you. Whatever land you held for him is forfeit and belongs to me. I will appoint governors and maintain ownership on my own terms. These will not be feudal territories. The true Empire is reborn this day. You are lucky that you get to die on such a momentous day. I feel for you no personal animosity. Nonetheless, good bye," And with that, I snapped my fingers. The Anaerkis did not hesitate. The Lords were unarmed but still attempted to run and fight. They were exhausted and overwhelmed, the struggle did not last very long. Hemmed in and panicked again, they died like their king. 

I have thought about that moment many times. Wondering often why I was not, as I suspected I would be, haunted by my actions. I ordered the death of the rebel nobles in cold blood. Perhaps it was a crime. I know I lost even more money on ransoms for those men all together than on Sican himself. I honestly could not hold 500 prisoners, not with the plans that I had. But such transactional consideration would be cold comfort for a "moral" woman, for the private woman I once was. 

Maybe it all boils down to this: I was the Sultanah, the actions that would be moral for a normal person were no longer moral for me. Sometimes, in defense of a monarchy, in defense of absolute power, personal immorality is a virtue. It had taken me a long time to learn that, it was the final lesson necessary to make me fit not just for my throne, but for re-conquest. And I had taken that lesson to heart and applied it well. Time and time again I was asked to do what I believed was both right for my Empire and wrong for my soul. I always chose duty over self. And I was always, in the long run, successful. If a Sultanah's actions can be judge by results rather than by some arbitrary moral standard, my decision was a success. All 20,000 commons joined the legions

* * * * *

The rest of the campaign developed quickly. Without even waiting for a night's sleep, I quickly organized all of my new troops into legions under trusted subordinates. Saygili remained in overall control. I appointed Loyalist lords to other posts. From this point forward, appointment to official government posts, not the possession of private honors, would be the mark of distinction, as it was in the old days before the Empire began to crumble.

The heads of society in Dusman and Temsilci had been decapitated in the Battle of Şehir. More importantly, my legions moved faster than the news. Within a few days march, we had arrived outside of the capital of Dusman. There were few soldiers guarding the walls (which were not nearly as formidable as Şehir) and none of the important nobles were left to lead them anyway. We assaulted the walls easily, carrying them within an afternoon. All minor lords found were put to the sword. The commons were pressed again into service. Actually, they joined willingly, seeing their mates and knowing there was a chance for plunder in far off lands. They had no loyalty to any false King who became rich on their toil and they would follow whoever led them properly. We left Dusman with more soldiers than we'd arrived with. And we went straight for Temsilci. Again we arrived before the new and captured the capital there as well, even more easily. Again, the legions blossomed. 

Finally, news reached Surgun and they sued for peace. I reluctantly agreed, knowing that it would take time to consolidate my gains. I did not recognize Surgun and their 'king' referred to me as 'Sultanah and Empress,' in my letter. I would deal with him later. In the meantime, I took the land for myself and gave the riches to my allies, the Anaerki. In a lightning campaign, the Empire was back, ballooning to several times its size. I felt little elation in the conquests. Instead, I felt a deep, calm satisfaction. I was putting things to right and I could feel the rays of Gunes support shining down on me, approving everything I'd done.

* * * * *

Just a few short months later I was standing in palace, preparing to walk out onto my balcony. Through the curtains, I could hear the people in the streets below, I could sense their excitement. They had come from all over the empire, from the farthest reaches of the old 'kingdoms' of Temsilci and Dusman to show their affection and submission. I was excited as well. After all, I held my first born child in my hands. Ilişki had been born just a few days earlier and she was as beautiful as her mother, who was on her way to a full recovery from a harrowing pregnancy (Nislani was nothing if not dramatic). An heir to the Hanedan dynasty. And today was the day when I would introduce her to her adoring subjects. She was, as Cin predicted, a woman just like me. And one day she would be their Sultanah. And the Sultanah of more lands not yet re-conquered.

Beyond the curtain, I could hear Cin speaking to the crowd, "All rise for Varis, Sultanah of Ülke and first of her name since the founding of the Hanedan dynasty, Emperor of Bütün Dünya, Lord-Mayor of Şehir, Conqueror of Dusman and Temsilci, restorer of Imperial dignity, living representative of Gunes on Earth, Defender of the Faith, and scourge of the Earth!" A smiled crossed my lips as I pushed through the curtains, holding my daughter. I did not smile from joy. That was no longer a public emotion that I was capable of feeling. It was something else, something that would surely terrify my enemies. I smiled because every word of Cin's address was true. And I wasn't nearly done yet. 

The End

So that is it. I appreciate everyone who read the story (or will read the story in the future). I hope that it kept your interest through all this time and was more than just a quick porn story (but I also hope it was still hot). I am unlikely to return to Varis' life, or even to Şehir. That was a ton of work and I think I have said everything I wanted to say. But I still want to know what you think about this story (either this chapter or the whole thing). I am going to keep writing for you, so I want to know what works and what doesn't. And if someone comes up with a truly excellent idea for a sequel or a side-story, I am totally willing to re-think my decision.

To the people who asked about the inspiration for this story, it was simply a desire to write about a medieval fantasy world in a Near Eastern locale. I guess a lot of it is very loosely-based on what happened to the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), except there was no revival there. Also, good eye to the person who cracked the code on the names. English words translated on Google into Turkish (and then sometimes scrambled up a bit to ensure code wasn't broken for really important names).

*****

Note: I honestly write so that I can hear the comments you all give. So please just tell me what you think. Even if it is just a sentence or two (though I always prefer more). Consider that your payment for a free story. And if you like this, I beg you to read my other stories and comment on them too. I know who my loyal readers are and I really appreciate you. Thanks!

YKN

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN