Pueros

Princes

What Really Happened To The Princes In The Tower

Introduction

In 1483, 12 years old Edward, Prince of Wales and rightfully the new King, and his 9 years old brother Richard, Duke of York, were imprisoned in the Tower of London whilst their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne, becoming Richard III. The Princes, sons of the late monarch, Edward IV, later disappeared, presumed murdered by their uncle. This presumption seemed to have been proved by a discovery that was made during reconstruction work 191 years later in 1674. Workmen had been employed by Charles II to clear some ruined structures around the White Tower and, during the demolition of an old castellated tower, they found under the bottom step of a spiral staircase, at a depth of about ten feet, a wooden casket. In it were the skeletons of two children, the taller one lying on his back with the shorter on top face downwards.

King Charles subsequently commissioned Christopher Wren, architect of the new St. Paul's cathedral, to make a white urn with an inscription stating that it contained the bones of the Princes. The beautiful sarcophagus was placed in the chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey where it can still be seen. In 1933, the Abbey's Dean and Chapter gave permission for the bones to be examined by medical experts and they concluded that the remains were consistent with the theory that they were those of the Princes. It was noted that the older boy seemed to have suffered with a serious jaw complaint. The identity of the boys was seemingly confirmed by DNA testing conducted in the 1990s that indicated that the bones had characteristics linking them to the royal family of the time.

However, your author has read a number of contemporary 15th and 16th century sources, many postulating other explanations for the boys’ disappearance. This story presupposes a particular one of these to be correct.

Chapter 1
Murder

(Warwick Castle, English Midlands, August 1483)

Richard III was dining with his chief ally, the Duke of Buckingham, and his chief fixer, Sir James Tyrell. Richard had no deformity apart from having one shoulder slightly higher than the other. Talk of a hunchback was Tudor propaganda, propagated by Shakespeare and others. He was lean and of medium height. He was reserved but ruthlessly determined and his austerity was emphasised by the fact that he always wore black. Buckingham was almost an opposite, but perhaps that is why, along with similar ambitions and detestation of the Woodvilles, they got on well together, at least until a later falling out that cost the Duke his head. The man was imaginative but volatile, being easily provoked. Tyrrell was fawning and out to reward himself with as much as possible from his association with the usurper, to whom he was just a useful tool for the darkest tasks, of which there were many.

The king had become Lord Protector of England when his brother, Edward IV, had died of pneumonia at Westminster Palace on 9 April. The late King's will entrusted him with the protection of his son, now no longer Prince of Wales but Edward V, during the boy's minority. However, Edward IV's widow Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, and her faction were determined to prevent this happening as there was intense dislike and rivalry between them. Richard knew this and so set out to obtain a hold on the new boy king's person. He and Buckingham, with a small force of armed retainers, intercepted the King and his retinue at Stony Stratford in Northamptonshire as they made their way to London from Ludlow, where they had been staying. Most of the boy King's adult companions were arrested or dispersed, including Sir Thomas Vaughan who had affectionately looked after the child since he was a baby. Many, including Sir Thomas, were to be executed over the next few months. The young Edward burst into tears when he was presented with his sinister uncle's own choice of attendants.

The revised escorting party arrived in London to an enthusiastic reception on 4 May, the date originally set for the new King's coronation, and the boy was lodged initially with the Bishop of London. However, by 19 May, Edward had been transferred to the royal apartments in the Tower of London, where he was to be joined later by his younger sibling. Meanwhile, their mother fled into sanctuary. Edward's coronation was postponed to 24 June but, in the interim, Richard decided to go for the crown himself. He had some support for many in the country remembered the awful and long tribulations caused when another minor, Henry VI, had assumed the throne. It had led to the still inconclusive, in 1483, Wars of the Roses. Richard was seen by many as being a good soldier who would make a capable King. There were actually calls for him to assume kingship, especially from some church pulpits in the capital and eventually from a compliant Parliament itself. The pronouncement from the latter was made on 25 June. On the same day, the coup was completed when the two royal brothers were moved from the royal apartments to the Bloody Tower. It was then known as the ‘Garden Tower’ because of an adjacent garden where the boys were occasionally observed playing. However, they disappeared from view altogether shortly afterwards when they were relocated again, this time to the upper reaches of the White Tower, an altogether less pleasant facility.

“You must get rid them,” declared Buckingham, “whilst they live they will remain the focus for all dissenters, especially those supporting the Woodvilles. Your crown will never be safe until they are gone!” “I know,” replied Richard III, “I don’t mind what happens to my late brother's bastards but I refuse to kill his legitimate children. I have enough on my conscience already in taking the older boy's throne away without having his blood and thereby regicide on my hands too.”

“If you’re just looking for someone to do the deed,” said Tyrell, “I’m sure that I kind find some appropriate discrete people.” “Yes do that,” responded Richard, “but only for the two bastards. Dispose of the Princes some other way. I’m sure that you can find one.” Tyrell brooded over his chicken for a time whilst Richard and Buckingham debated the dangers posed by the exiled Henry Bolingbroke. He then made the suggestion for removing the Princes permanently from sight that was agreed upon, and which Richard granted his associated request to acquire the keys of the Tower of London for just one night from the Constable, John Brackenbury. Tyrell set off for London the following day, accompanied by his chief servant, a big broad strong knave by the name of John Dighton. Dighton happened to know one of the Tower jailers, a certain Miles Forest, already a murderer.

(Tower of London, a few days later)

In 1483, the Tower of London was at the very eastern edge of the city. In fact, the city walls came right up to it, ending at the Postern Gate, expecting the Tower itself to be the continuance of the fortification to the edge of the Thames, from which its final battlements with mounted cannon stood on huge white pillars. The western windows overlooked London's congested roofs over which rose the great landmark of the old St. Paul's Cathedral. The view from the eastern windows was over the adjacent St. Katherine's Dock and across the swans swimming in the clear aquamarine river towards water meadows and down-land stretching to the horizon. Barges regularly went past, propelled by sail or oar.

As well as providing little-used royal accommodation, the Tower was a secure place of detention for the country's most important prisoners, many of whom would be executed on nearby Tower Hill or on the pavement outside the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula. The Princes were now in the gruesome White Tower where many such captives had been held. Unlike in the pleasant royal apartments, their accommodation was now spartan and all of their attendants had been withdrawn. Miles Forest looked after their needs instead. The ugly bearded middle-aged man had even bought two bags of lime for them, although he neglected to appraise the boys of this for obvious reasons. However, he had reclaimed the cost in the normal manner for the record of the purchase of this material is still extant in Tower records.

Both boys were renowned for their similar slender good looks. They sported long golden hair and blue eyes. Edward was 12 years 9 months old. He was precocious and thoughtful, although the latter had recently turned to fatalistic melancholy, especially after he had bravely spoken up for his mother and her family in front of his uncle and been rewarded with the move to the White Tower. Richard, Duke of York, was about to celebrate his 10th birthday. He was usually playfully nimble and merry but had caught some of his brother's unhappiness and fear.

The clothing of the two Princes had substantially deteriorated in quality. Forest had taken away and sold their previous rich garments. He had received most for the blue robes with crimson mantle and matching ermine capes, although he still undersold them far below their real value. The boys now wore simple peasant dress of brown shirt and breeches, with matching underpants, although it was new and kept clean for Forest was wary that there might be unexpected important visitors who could admonish him for attiring the lads in dirty rags.

The large one-room accommodation was terrible by the Princes’ former standards, and even by that of the wider population. They could see nothing but sky out of the high narrow open windows. It was cold even now in the height of summer. Their crude beds with even cruder covers were hard and uncomfortable. Forest brought them almost uneatable food, and little of it. The boys had not been under the outside sky in weeks and had received no visitors. However, worst of all for such young boys, they had little to do. It was as if no-one cared for them anymore.

The Princes were trying to sleep despite their sorrow at the turn of events and longing for their living mother and dead father when, about midnight, Forest entered their quarters with the first visitors for a long time. The boys were never to know that their respectively slightly younger half-brothers, conceived by a young Westminster Palace servant girl whilst the Queen was not available for the matrimonial bed because of her confinements with the embryonic royalty, had resided in the room below them for several weeks. They were also never to learn that the two thugs entering their chamber had just smothered their half-kin in that room and then buried them deep below the stairwell of a nearby Tower, under the supervision of the more important third intruder. Only Forest appreciated that the now dead elder boy had suffered from a serious jaw disease.

The Princes were wakened by Forest. They did not recognise the well-dressed Tyrell and dowdy Dighton but said nothing. They had invariably been relocated previously at this time of night by strangers and accepted that this was happening again. They were to be proved right, but not in their wildest estimations could they anticipate by how far they were to be resituated.

The men took them silently down a myriad of stairwells into the dark deep innards of the Tower. They eventually emerged at Traitors’ Gate, through which many famous but condemned personages had passed since the construction of the fortress had been started by William the Conqueror over 400 years before. However, the boys were to make a very unusual journey for the condemned for they were to pass through the gateway, on a rowboat with the three men, in the opposite direction to that usually undertaken.

The boat went along the moonlit river to St. Katherine's Dock where there were a number of small ships anchored. They set to alongside one that was very similar to those in which, in just another 9 years, Columbus would set out for the New World, for it was Spanish. The captain was waiting to greet them on the quiet deck. All the crew were enjoying the taverns and bawdy houses of the city. The captain guided the small party down to his cabin.

“We sail on the morning tide,” he told Tyrell, with whom he had had a lucrative smuggling arrangement for many years. He confirmed, in good English for he had traded with the natives most of his adult life, “They will be kept, locked in my side cabin, away from view and where only I have access. They will not emerge until I reach Cadiz. There I shall sell them very quietly to the Moorish trader of whom I have spoken.” He handed Tyrell a small money bag and said “Your entitlement, I believe.” Tyrell peeked inside to make sure that the amount of gold was as agreed, but avoiding letting his compatriots in crime see what had been paid for they would receive a tiny fraction for their particular efforts. “Thank you” Tyrell responded. To him it was a nice bonus for he would receive more from the usurper. However, the captain inwardly chuckled. The Englishman obviously did not know the worth of the trade for the Moor would pay twenty times as much, in the expectation of even greater profits, for displaying two young beautiful virgin English noble boys in the slave markets of faraway Constantinople.

Chapter 2
Constantinople

The Spanish sea captain and Tyrell were deliberately speaking out of earshot of both Dighton and Forest, as well as the two Princes, for their conversation was of no concern to the manservants and of every concern to the boys. Tyrell asked the captain “Are you sure that you can guarantee that the boys will be transported to enslavement in the farthest regions of the known world and be castrated? It's essential that neither they nor any offspring return to haunt us.” The captain answered “Can you think of anywhere further than the Empire of the Ottomans, where is always great demand for eunuchs? They are inevitably young and pretty and either white Christians or black pagans because, I understand, Muslims are not permitted by their religion to emasculate fellow believers. Anyway, I have never known the Moor to renege on his promises. If he swears by Allah that something will be done, it is done!” “Good,” said Tyrell, “for, if anything went wrong, I’d pay for it with my head!” Tyrell then departed with his two companions to row back whence they came.

“Follow me,” the Princes’ new gaoler ordered and took the boys into his side-cabin, illuminated only by the light filtering in from a lantern in the main compartment. He informed the frightened lads “You are going on a long journey overseas for your own protection. You must stay in here, where you will be safe, throughout. You must also remain quiet at all times for none of my crew are to know that you’re on board. Many of them would like to have pretty young boys like you share their beds and might be tempted by your presence to comfort themselves with your bodies when my back was turned.” The innocent Princes, who had led very sheltered lives, did not fully understand what the man was talking about, although the elder had an idea.

The captain had emptied the small side-cabin of the various items he had stored there, erected two hammocks and placed a leather bucket in the corner. He told the boys that the hammocks were to sleep in and the bucket was for their waste. The Prince's were shocked at the primitive accommodation but, full of bleak despondency, said nothing. The captain left briefly and returned with a jug of water, but no cups, and two tin plates with some plain bread, meat and cheese. “Don’t waste it,” he advised, “for rations are tight.” He then left, locking the door behind him and leaving the boys in darkness. He placed the bag of spare clothing brought by Tyrell's men for the youngsters in a corner of his own cabin, for he knew that he would probably need the contents sooner rather than later.

The dispirited and tired Princes never did eat the food for they were already becoming queasy because of the gentle rocking of the boat. Once their eyes had become accustomed to the gloom and they could just make out the layout of their tiny prison, Edward tried instead to help Richard into his hammock. However, he encountered difficulty with the swinging contraption and his brother fell off twice before the tricky manoeuvre was finally fulfilled. Edward managed to reach his own sleeping position only at the sixth attempt.

As Tyrell had been advised, the ship left on the morning tide, heading eastwards down the Thames towards the open sea. The Princes had never been on a ship before, their experiences on water being strictly limited to small riverboats, and the bucket in their cabin was soon full of vomit as seasickness overwhelmed their delicate constitutions. The captain kept discretely visiting as often as he could for he did not want to lose his valuable cargo, but all he could really do to help was to empty the bucket regularly and secretly through the porthole of his cabin.

The voyage took almost a month. The weather was poor at first, despite the fact that it was still late summer, and the traversing of both the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay were particularly unpleasant, especially for the ailing Princes. The Duke of York was certainly in no state or situation to celebrate his 10th birthday as the terrible days passed. However, the boys began to improve when better conditions were encountered as they sailed down the Spanish and Portuguese coasts and they became more accustomed to the now more gentle rolling of the vessel. They had even started to regain some of the weight lost by the time the busy port of Cadiz was reached.

The captain hoped that their delayed arrival had not caused him to miss the Moor who visited the port only at this time every year. He was therefore relieved to see the Moor's distinctive huge galley in the harbour. The captain had tried to keep his prize cargo as healthy and as clean as possible. He gave the boys good and regular rations. He encouraged them daily to wash from buckets of seawater and clean their teeth, using the powder that he always kept and which had protected his own well. He gave them combs to maintain their long silky hair. He also regularly gave them changes of clothes, washing and drying their soiled garb in his own cabin. However, he was no laundryman and their constant sickness had meant that they had not eaten well and were often too poorly to attend satisfactorily to their ablutions. Although there had been a recent improvement, the boys were still unnaturally white-faced, undoubtedly as much from lack of exposure to the outside as from their illness, and thin. Their attire now looked scrawny and their general sullenness, to be expected in the circumstances in which they found themselves, only added to their sorry physical and mental state. The captain was worried about the affect on their value if he presented the boys to the Moor in their present condition. He therefore decided to try to obtain some improvement.

Once the main cargo had been unloaded and the crew had set off to waste their wages in the town, the captain removed the Princes from the tiny side cabin for the first time in a month and took them up to the deck. The boys immediately cheered a little at seeing the sun and sky for the first time in four weeks, although they were also apprehensive about where they were for it was clearly not England. The captain recognised their anxiety and tried to placate it by saying “Cadiz, Spain. You’re safe here, although you’ll soon be moving on to somewhere even safer. We’re going ashore to get you tidied up.” He then guided the boys down a side gangplank to a small rowboat, left for the captain by the crew, and the threesome rowed to a quiet part of the pierside.

The captain had chosen this mooring for the rowboat because it was well away from the cheap inns and brothels that the crew would be enjoying. He proposed to use a much more costly and exclusive establishment and led the Princes through some quiet waterside alleyways to a wider tree-lined avenue, which climbed one of the hills behind the Spanish port. They eventually came to a magnificent villa, surrounded by beautiful gardens. It was the most expensive bordello in town, one of the captain's most pleasurable self-indulgences.

The captain was welcomed like a long-lost brother by the mistress, to whom he explained his requirements. The woman went briefly away, and returned with three brown haired, brown eyed young girls, one aged about 16 and the other two about 14, all dressed in skimpy translucent low-cut white silk-like dresses, through which their pretty sun-kissed bodies could just be made out if you looked carefully. Both boys did so and the elder felt his cock becoming bigger. Whilst the captain was cheerfully led by the oldest girl to one of the luxurious bedchambers, the Princes were led by the two youngest to a large magnificently-appointed bathroom, even more resplendent than those they had come across in the English royal palaces. However, the walls, ceilings and floors of this particular example were decorated with colourful tiled frescos depicting young naked very nubile nymphs being chased by men with very large erect members. Both boys blushed bright red when they saw the scenes. They blushed even more when the girls, by means of sign language, indicated that they should strip.

Richard was at first adamant that he would do no such thing but his elder brother was aware of how much good a luxuriant bath would do them both and persuaded him otherwise. They began to remove their shirts and footwear whilst the girls pushed some small gold-plated phallus-shaped levers that made warm water begin to fill the enormous bath and poured in some scented salts from a big adjacent jar, adorned with its own obscene artwork. The girls then removed their revealing frocks and, now completely naked and chuckling, returned to the two boys who were shyly delaying the removal of their breeches in the hope that the girls would be leaving. However, it was evident from what the girls had just done that they not only had no intention of leaving and were instead proposing to join them the lads in the bath.

The girls both had beautiful smooth bodies without pubic hair but with breasts clearly beginning to form. Despite his shock at the turn of events, Edward's cock now became harder at the sight. The giggling girls purposefully overcame the boy's bashful reluctance to disrobe and helped them to remove their trousers, leaving them standing in just their tight underbreeches, which clearly outlined the older boy's excitement. This view just increased the girls’ determination and they soon had these last covers off their latest and youngest-ever customers. Edward's whole body flushed as he tried to hide his erection under his cupped hands. Richard jumped into the now half-full bath, hoping that the suds would hide his own smaller embarrassment.

All four children were soon in the bath and, as the water continued to pour in, the Princes began to realise that they were not to wash themselves. The girls had collected some sponges, soaped them and, kneeling before the sitting boys, started to sponge the lads’ chests. Edward and Richard gradually overcame their shame and succumbed to the inevitable. They eventually relaxed to enjoy the experience, even standing when directed so that the girls could attend to certain other parts of their anatomy.

Edward, particularly, found the situation very erotic and could not prevent himself having a constant hard-on. This became especially intense when he was standing and the girl attending to him washed his bum and cheekily searched for his sphincter with a finger. The elder boy continued to try to hide his stimulation but eventually that was the only part of his body, apart from his hair, still requiring attention and the girl gently knocked his hands away. The Prince closed his eyes in shame as the sponge was applied to his excited genitals but this rapidly became ecstasy as the soft wet implement was wrapped round his hard cock and the girl began to pump. He was experiencing too much pleasure to stop her and soon his body shuddered and the sponge became damper, but not with water. At the same time, Richard, sitting again, was brought to his first drier climax by the ministrations of the other girl's right hand, placed under the water between the boy's legs. The girls just smiled at their successes and proceeded to shampoo the boys’ hair.

The captain and his two royal charges eventually emerged redressed, refreshed and reinvigorated from their experiences within the walls of the brothel. Their clothes had been washed and quickly dried under the hot sun whilst they were enjoying the company of the young prostitutes, an extra service provided by the high-class establishment. It had all cost a lot but the captain knew that he would recoup the amount if it encouraged the Moor to pay full price for the Princes. The captain was certainly pleased to see that some colour and chirpiness had returned to the boys’ faces.

They returned to the rowboat at the pierside but, instead of making for his own ship, the captain now rowed towards the Moor's galleon, hoping that the trader was home. He was and he came from below to greet the threesome on the deck. The captain took the Moor to one side and spoke to him for a while, out of earshot of everyone else. The Princes saw that the tall, distinguished, bearded man, in flowing white robes with a jewel-encrusted scabbard on his belt, regularly glanced at them during the conversation. They also, from their standing position, took in the magnificence of the ship, far bigger and grander than any they had encountered previously. A number of men were loading cargo from small boats alongside and others seemed to be performing maintenance work on the deck and above them in the sail rigging.

The captain's chat with the Moor eventually finished and the latter then escorted the Spaniard and his very special goods for sale below deck to his cabin, a much larger and more sumptuous facility than its equivalent on the other ship. The captain addressed the two boys “This gentleman has no English so I have to speak for him. He is the kind person who will take you to your final sanctuary. He is also a doctor and will make sure that you remain well. After the stresses of your voyage from England, he believes that it would be beneficial to perform a physical check now to ensure that there isn’t something that he should be tending immediately. Would you mind undressing for him?” The blushes returned to the boys’ faces and the Moor recognised their shamed reluctance. He therefore suggested that the captain went on deck whilst the inspection took place.

The coy Princes felt a little more relaxed now that there was only the doctor to view their naked bodies and disrobed, helped by their memory of being occasionally examined like this by royal physicians. They stood nude before the Moor with their hands initially in the usual protective positions but the man soon sensitively moved them to the boys’ sides and began his careful and thorough scrutiny of the lads’ young physiques. He noted that they were currently skinny and pale, presumably a consequence of their recent journey and previous experiences. However, he appreciated that some of his special medicines, good diet and plenty of joyful exercise under the warm Mediterranean sun, combined with pleasant accommodation and rosier future expectations, should quickly eradicate these defects. He also realised that, once this transformation had occurred, he would have very special goods that would attract very high prices in the market for which they would be destined. He was particularly happy with the way the boys’ ball sacs hung nicely, which would make their castration easier to perform, and with the lengths of their uncut penises, which were a little bigger than usual for their ages and would provide their bodies with pleasant ornamentation after their scrotums were emptied. The Moor believed that he knew who the likely purchaser would be for such superb but very expensive young white eunuchs.

At the conclusion of the physical check, the Moor opened a big cupboard, which contained a large array of new clothing kept just for these occasions, for one of the man's specialisms was trading young boys from north western Europe in Constantinople, where they were very rare and much prized. He selected some items that he believed were the boys’ sizes. He gave the Princes white underbriefs, even smaller than their original underbreeches, along with sleeveless white tunics, which had waist cords and reached down to half way between the boy's loins and knees. The quality of the garments was the best that the two Princes had worn for several months. Their new attire was finished off with open sandals. The Moor then led the boys to a nearby spacious cabin that had two bunk-beds located against the walls either side of the entrance door, as well as against the side walls, thereby providing sleeping facilities for sixteen. There were four square wooden tables, each with four chairs around them, fixed to the floor in front of each set of beds. Some open portholes were on the far wall, with sunlight streaming through. In front of these, bathed in the light, was an open space with an overflowing toy-box. The Moor smiled and signalled to the boys to play with the toys and left to conclude his business with the captain on deck. The Princes were never again to see the Spaniard, now considerably enriched by his latest transaction.

Edward and Robert had both noticed that the cabin showed no evidence of being lived in and wondered if there were to be any other occupants. They did not immediately play with the toys. Instead, they explored their new environment and peered out of the portholes for a while, watching the shipping pass by in the busy harbour. However, they eventually succumbed to the lure of the playthings, of which they found the small wooden soldiers to be the most attractive. The boys were just beginning to re-enact one of the more bloody battles of the Wars of the Roses when the door opened and a huge black man entered, carrying plates of food, jugs of juice and goblets. He placed them on the table nearest to the lads and, before leaving, gestured that they should eat, obviously sharing the Moor's ignorance of the English language. In fact, the Princes were never again to encounter anyone who shared their native tongue and they would become fluent in Turkish to compensate.

The now hungry Princes had not come across much of the food before but found it delicious. They had also not previously tasted anything like the juice but adored it, despite the fact that the Moor had secretly added some of his medicinal remedies. When the boys had finished the delectable feast, they noticed that the noise coming from the deck above had reduced considerably and, helped by observations from the portholes, concluded correctly that the loading of the holds had been completed. However, the galley remained quietly at anchor for another three days, apparently waiting for something as no more boats seemed to approach with cargo. During this time, the most valuable freight on the ship were well looked after, although they would not be allowed on deck until they were at sea. They enjoyed their food, play and sleep and their expressions and complexions quickly improved. Their bodies also began to fill out to their more natural immaculate proportions and were kept clean through daily baths in a large wooden tub brought by the black servant.

It was late afternoon on the third day when the last load, for which the Moor had been patiently waiting, arrived from the north on another ship. The Princes did not see the transfer take place but discovered what it was when the door to their cabin kept opening and, one by one over a period of a few hours, sixteen pretty boys, aged from about 6 to 14, entered, dressed in a similar manner to themselves. All the fair skinned newcomers seemed confused and disturbed about what was happening to them and were accordingly very quiet at first. However, as they sailed on the evening tide and a veritable banquet was brought in for them all to consume, most brightened, especially as they had now become accustomed to the rolling of ships.

Talk between the boy cargo was difficult because they spoke several different languages, for there were five Scandinavians, four Germans, four Lowlanders, two French boys and an Irish lad, who only spoke Gaelic, but all seemed pleasant enough. Indeed, as the galley spent the next three months progressing down the Mediterranean towards their ultimate destination and they learnt to communicate mainly by manual signals, they came to enjoy each other's company enormously, with only a few minor and quickly forgotten altercations. The four littlest also did not mind sleeping head to toe in the same bunks to compensate for the fact that there were two unexpected additions to their number.

The Princes’ new friends had been sold to the Moor's agents by poor peasant families, who had been led to believe that they were destined for a better life as some great lord's servants. They were never informed that the boys would be removed to the other side of the known world and the truthfulness of what they had been told depended on whether they considered being eunuch catamites represented improved existences. The Princes kept their own backgrounds to themselves, as they would do for the rest of their lives, for they knew that the information might endanger them further and, anyway, they did not think that anyone would believe them.

The boys quickly lost their inhibitions with each other after becoming acclimatised to the daily bathing the black servant insisted on and which was a new experience for all, even the Princes. As a result, most, including the Princes, walked round their cabin nude in the hottest weather. Best friends were made, usually from within the same age groups. Edward's was a Dane and Robert's was one of the French boys. They would often help each other. This developed first towards mutual bathing and later, amongst the older boys as they grew to like and recognise the feelings caused by physical contact, into occasional bed sharing and mutual masturbation during the darkness of night. Edward and his friend were not exceptions.

Apart from their sexual adventures, the boys most liked their time on deck, where the Moor allowed them to play to their hearts’ content as long as the weather permitted and their pink forms did not redden. There, the lads often wore just their briefs and many of the tempted sex-starved crew were only kept at bay by iron self-will and the strict discipline imposed by their employer. Especially popular amongst the boys was viewing the comings and goings in the various exotic ports they entered, which included Ceuta, Oran, Algiers, Triploli and Chania, although they never knew the place names or where in the world they had actually sailed. However, this idyll finally came to an end when the galley entered a huge harbour and the boys saw for the first time the city that was to become home to many. It was the most stunning skyline any of them had ever seen, even to the Princes who knew London. Beyond the high walls, the boys observed the many roofs and domes of the great metropolis, with the most splendid having a strange narrow pointed tower next to it.

The Moor visited the boys in their cabin that night. He was pleased to observe that all, including the two most precious, looked to be at the peak of boyish health and beauty and now possessed cheery dispositions, although he was aware that the latter would soon change. He announced to the young assemblage “We have arrived at our final destination for we are moored in the Golden Horn. You will all be disembarked tomorrow to be welcomed in the capital of the great Sultans!”

Chapter 3
Enslavement

(Constantinople, January 1484)

The assembled boys had not understood a word of what the Moor had said but recognised that they had reached the end of their voyage and that the morrow was likely to be an important day in their lives. Edward knew that sometime, somewhere, he had passed his thirteenth birthday, as well as Christmas and the new year of his own faith, whilst on the galley. The Prince wondered where he would be when he became fourteen. He was determined that, whatever now befell him and his brother, they would try their best to stay together, although it was probably too much to expect that their new friends, with whom they had experienced so much joy, would remain with them as well.

A heady mixture of worry and excitement meant that all the boys slept fitfully that night, even the older lads who shared bodily pleasures for one last time. They were happy when dawn arrived and they could have a final play before the arrival of the black servant to supervise their ablutions and redressing in pristine white briefs and tunics. The man was even more meticulous than usual and, unprecedentedly, the Moor came to closely examine the finished products. He was more than pleased by his observations, particularly of the young royal personages, and told the servant to proceed to take them ashore.

The boys were ferried, under a warm sun despite the fact that it was mid-winter, in two large rowboats across the clear blue waters of the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus at the entrance to the Sea of Marmara, to steps on the long busy quayside. A large covered wagon, drawn by two horses awaited them. After supervising the loading of the wagon with its precious young cargo, the black servant joined the driver at the front and the horses were encouraged to launch the party on its way. Some of the boys had never been to large villages, let alone a huge magnificent city such as Constantinople which, like Rome, was built on seven hills. The great metropolis was now more cosmopolitan than ever after its conquest by the Muslim Ottoman Turks, under Sultan Mehmet, thirty years before. The great ruler, known for his achievements as the �Conqueror�, had died only two years earlier, being replaced by one of his sons, Bayezid. Mehmet had wisely maintained many of the previous Byzantine administrators and their systems in place and also provided an environment in which much of the original Greek population felt that it could remain. As a result, the city had become the richest and busiest trading centre in the known world.

All the boys were therefore amazed at the exotic sights they observed through the opening at the rear of the wagon as it progressed along the narrow streets. They were particularly intrigued at the variety of skin colours and clothing, including peculiar headwear, they saw amidst the thronging masses through whom they passed and by the splendour of some of the buildings. The wagon eventually arrived at one of the city�s largest markets. However, it did not sell manufactured goods, produce or animals as its speciality was human beings, for slavery was not only a major feature of the Byzantine Empire but also its successor. This was where some of the lads� ignorance relating to their futures would be removed, along with much optimism they might have nurtured.

The boys� concerns were first increased when they were unloaded from the wagon by the black servant, helped by the wagon driver, and herded inside the building and along a couple of extensive passageways to a large room, empty except for a long wooden platform against the left wall. The eighteen lads were led, via steps on the lefthandside, onto the stage and stood in line about a pace apart, near to and facing the front with their hands at their sides. They had all been positioned above metal rings embedded in the stage floor in height order, which more or less approximated to their ages ranging from 6 to 14, with the shortest and youngest nearest the stairs. The exceptions were the young Princes who were located next to each other on the righthandside.

The black servant clearly indicated by hand signals that the boys should stay put and still, and remain quiet. He then left the room, leaving the boys in the driver�s care. The man was very tempted to have a private preview of what was under some of the tunics but decided that it was too dangerous. The Moor, despite his outward disposition, was not someone you wanted to displease.

The servant returned with the Moor and several of his crewmen, who had apparently spent some time on their personal grooming for this event. The crewmen assumed a guarding role at the back of the platform whilst the servant opened some double doors at the centre of the wall directly opposite the wooden structure. About forty men, in various garb and seemingly of several nationalities, both unfamiliar to the boys, entered and made for the front of the platform to have their first looks at the commodities on offer. The Moor�s annual auction of north-western European boys was an occasion eagerly anticipated by the slavetraders for his very rare goods never disappointed in quality. However, they knew that they would have to pay very high prices if they were to secure any, and then only after a certain person, who would easily outbid them all, had made his selection. They now had to await this man�s arrival before proceedings could progress further.

The wait lasted about a third of an hour, during which time the concerns of the boys intensified for the black servant removed their tunics and placed leather collars, with chain manacles, around their necks. The boys had always been treated well and with respect by both the servant and his master but this seemed to signify a sinister change of mood and attitude. This perception was significantly increased when their hands were attached behind them to the manacles, so that their wrists were half way up their backs, and further shackles were applied to their feet and the metal rings. However, it was noticeable that the bulges at the front of some of the older lads� small tight white briefs increased in size and, to his shame, Edward�s was one of these.

All the boys felt humiliated at having to stand in this manner in front of the assemblage, most of whom seemed to be discussing the lads� attributes with nearby colleagues. However, the crowd quietened when a small retinue of men appeared at the double doors. The clear leader was a distinguished-looking fair-haired, clean-shaven, middle-aged man, with striking blue eyes, who was dressed in flowing purple and blue robes embossed with rubies and sapphires. The Moor went to greet him and did so with a reverential bow. The man acknowledged the welcome but made purposefully for the platform, apparently wanting to acquit this business quickly so that he could go on to deal with more important matters. The Moor talked quietly to him as the small party progressed to the stairs of the stage, but the man proceeded up the steps alone.

The black servant awaited him at the top and bowed as the man reached it. He remained at the left of the platform as the man walked along the row of boys carefully examining each one in turn. The man ran his right hand through their hair and over their cheeks. He forced open their mouths to look inside, before running both hands over their chests, sides and stomachs, gently pinching their nipples on the way. Without exception, these administrations caused the boys, even the two 6 years olds, to become aroused and this humiliatingly showed through their briefs. The lads� shame increased when the man, with deliberation, felt the shape of their expanding bulges. He did not bother feeling the boys� legs, for that would have meant kneeling, but satisfied himself with a visual check before proceeding to their rears, where he ran his hands over their backs and the sumptuous curves of their backsides, intensifying their erections.

Robert and then Edward were the last to receive these degrading attentions and the man seemed to linger longest over their immaculate forms. After he had finished, the man nodded to the black servant who then finalised the boys� degradation by swiftly moving along the line from the left, pulling the blushing lads� briefs down to their ankles. Some of the younger boys who had received the man�s earliest attentions revealed re-softened penises but the latter older boys, including Robert and Edward, revealed hard-ons of some degree or other. Edward�s, in particular, was full and would become fuller as the man now proceeded, in reverse order down the line, to perform his inspection of the boys� loins and bottoms again but in their naked state and with the latter including a check with eye and finger of their virgin sphincters as they were made to bend over. The man seemed to pay particular notice to the shape and form of the lads� genitalia, causing the young Dane to shudder and cum over the very expensive robe. The red-faced 13 years old was so embarrassed and frightened that he began to cry but the man just ignored both reactions to his administrations and proceeded to the lad�s rear, although he did allow the black servant to use a cloth to wipe his robe clean of the evidence of the youngster�s over-excitement.

The boys had all traumatised by the sudden greatly demeaning change in their circumstances, being made to stand nude, some with obvious signs of sexual arousal, not only before the man fondling them but before more than forty others with lecherous looks. However, the man did not exhibit such a look himself for his eyes suggested that he was totally indifferent to the lovely attractions before him and was instead examining them as he would cattle.

The man left the stage and spoke to the Moor whilst pointing at some of the boys, including the Princes. The Moor bowed and the man and his retinue left. The black servant released six boys from their shackles, including Edward and Robert and the former�s Danish friend, his cock still leaking semen, but not the latter�s French one. The six was completed by another Scandinavian, this one aged 7, and a 9 years old German and 11 years old Lowlander, all blondes with blue eyes. The servant indicated to the sextet that they could cover themselves again with their briefs, the Dane soiling his with sperm as he did so whilst Edward stained his with precum for his penis remained embarrassingly hard. The servant and the wagon driver then escorted the six off the platform and out of the market, leaving the other twelve boys to be sold into slavery on the wider market. The six were never to see the other twelve again or, for that matter, the Moor who, as he observed the boys leaving, was very content for he believed that he had fulfilled his promise to the Spanish captain whilst, at the same time, making a substantial profit.

As the sextet, now attired just in briefs, were returned to the back of the wagon to be transported along more streets, they wondered where they were going and what destiny had in mind for them. They were particularly intrigued about the identity of the richly robed man. One of them would quickly discover that the man originated from his homeland and spoke his language. All of them would soon learn that he was also the second most powerful person in the Ottoman Empire, after the Sultan, for he controlled all access of both people and messages to the exalted ruler. The man was entitled 'Kapi Agha� or 'Chief White Eunuch�.

Chapter 4
Topkapi

(Constantinople, January 1484)

One of the magnificent structures the wagon passed was a huge domed edifice with a narrow but tall pointed brick tower in the south-eastern corner. The boys would later learn that the main structure was the Hagia Sophia, formerly a Byzantine Christian cathedral commissioned centuries before by the Emperor Justinian I, which at this time still retained frescoes and mosaics of Christian saints despite being converted to be a Moslem mosque, with its new apse and altar, or ‘mihrap’, facing Mecca. The tower was a minaret, the first of four that would eventually appear at each corner. The boys themselves would, over the next few years, occasionally spy the second tower gradually appear on the city skyline at the north-eastern corner as Sultan Bayezid repeated his father's earlier minaret construction.

The wagon eventually arrived at the gates of a huge complex of splendid buildings, which the boys were soon to discover was the ‘Saray’, Persian for ‘palace’, vast sumptuous home of the Sultan. It was known at the time to Europeans as the ‘Grand Seraglio’ but would later be called the ‘Topkapi Palace’. ‘Topkapi’ means ‘cannon gate’, a name derived from the two large cannons that guarded the Imperial water gate on the Bosphorus.

The sprawling pastiche of different architectural styles had been begun in 1453 by Mehmet II, the ‘Conqueror’, and additions would be made by his successors over subsequent centuries. The many thousands who dwelt within the walls were answerable only to the Sultan, who was answerable only to God. The complex, veritably a city within a city, comprised a large group of big beautiful buildings and lovely garden courtyards, connected by gates. There were three distinct areas, the Outer Palace, Inner Palace and the Forbidden Palace or Harem, also known as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Courts.

The Saray's many guards, gardeners and craftsmen dressed in distinctive colour-coded garb for identification and resided in dormitories within the Outer Palace, a busy colourful place that even possessed its own zoo, with bears, elephants and lions. The Inner Palace included accommodation for a large number of Imperial bureaucrats who conducted the central administration of the expanding Empire. The Forbidden Palace, or Harem, included the Sultan's private home. It comprised a series of luxurious suites, many elaborately tiled in blue, turquoise and aquamarine or lined with charming still-life frescoes, that housed the Imperial family. The running of the Imperial household would be typically organised by the Sultan's mother or the senior of his wives, of whom he was permitted up to four by Islamic law. The Imperial children and concubines, of both sexes, would also be housed within.

For the female members of the Imperial family and female and male concubines, the Forbidden Palace was actually a gilded cage because they led a completely cloistered life, guarded by a corps of black eunuchs who served as go-betweens with the outside world where they were not allowed to go. Privacy and silence were the main rules to be observed. The only entrance to this 3rd Court was called the ‘Gate of Felicity’, through which access was controlled by the Kapi Agha or Chief White Eunuch. He also oversaw the Palace School and commanded the Inner Palace services including, most importantly, all messages conveyed to the Sultan. Outsiders were granted permission to enter the Forbidden Palace only by invitation of the Sultan, conveyed via the Kapi Agha, and assignations were always ritualised and usually limited to a few officials. For other outsiders, the 3rd Court was strictly off-limits.

Nevertheless, the Forbidden Palace was still a busy place as it accommodated two other groups of people, both mainstays of the Ottoman Empire, besides the Imperial family and their black eunuchs. The corps of White Eunuchs and the Imperial Pages were both residents of the Courtyard of the White Eunuchs within the 3rd Court. The courtyard was small by palace standards and was located to the left of the Gate of Felicity. At its centre was a fountain where the eunuchs and their charges washed.

The responsibilities of the white eunuchs were twofold. First, they assisted their leader in the performance of his duties, especially by acting as the Sultan's personal guards. Second, they supervised the Imperial Pages, boys training for important posts within the Empire, usually in groups of ten youngsters. Palace eunuchs were invariably either Caucasian or black because it was against Islamic law to emasculate a Muslim. They would be castrated at an early age and some would spend time first as male concubines until they became too old to satisfy the Sultan's tastes. Most of the white eunuchs came from the Balkans and Greece, conquered by the Ottomans over the last century, although some, like the Kapi Agha himself, had been secured from more distant European lands and were therefore rare and highly prized.

At the north-eastern corner of the 3rd Court was the Treasury, which had formed the original palace and was perhaps still the most beautiful of its structures. The building was the Sultan's personal quarters. The exterior was rather simple and serene, giving little hint of its dazzling interior, which comprised four rooms, two porches, one facing the Sea of Marmara, and two basements. Each of the main rooms had a throne for the Sultan's comfort, each solid gold and inlaid with ebony and mother-of-pearl or set with emeralds and rubies. One had been made by melting down 80000 gold ducats. The rooms were decorated with many other rich splendours, such as jewelled armour and weapons and miniature paintings. The ‘Topkapi Dagger’ was to play a major role in a 20th century film. The basements formed the Sultan's depository for his personal immense fortune, enormous by any standards. The rooms were full of tributes and war booty, including the 5th largest diamond known to the world, even today.

This was the new world to which the six beautiful fair-skinned, blonde-haired, blue-eyed boys from north-western Europe, including the rightful King of England and his brother, were now destined.

Chapter 5
Eunuchs

The young sextet, wearing only their sparse white briefs, were unloaded from the wagon by the black servant and handed over to two large black men, who had been waiting at the gate for this expected delivery. The black eunuchs were dressed identically in rich and exotic baggy buttoned pink shirts with equally baggy dark red trousers. Their jewelled headgear and their footwear, with peculiar curved toes, were also ruby in colour. The boys would later discover that they would have to wear similar clothing, including turbans, but of different hues. The men, one in front and one behind, escorted the lads through the front gate of the palace, guarded by a number of Caucasian Janissary soldiers, into the amazing world inside. The black servant rode back in the wagon whence he came, and out of the boys’ lives for ever.

The tremulous but also amazed sextet were led across the huge and magnificent entrance courtyard, full of colourfully attired people who were scurrying from one place to another on business. Most took time to glance at the sparsely clad fair beauties as they knew that they were unlikely to see their marvellous young forms again for quite a while. The boys were taken through the massive arch that represented the main doorway to the innards of the palace and along wide opulent corridors, crowded with more gawkers, and through beautifully gardened courtyards, until they eventually came to quieter but even more spectacular buildings. Here more passageways and gardens eventually brought the small group to the Gate of Felicity, guarded by a number of white eunuchs, armed with jewelled scimitars and wearing garb similar to that of the black escorts but with blue shirts and purple trousers, turbans and shoes. The anticipated new arrivals were waved through into the splendour of the Forbidden Palace beyond, but only after the guards had taken the opportunity to cast their eyes over the gorgeous young forms of those who would soon be joining their ranks. It would be a long time before any of the youngsters re-emerged through this gate and, by then, they would be completely different characters, both mentally and physically.

The escorts guided the overwhelmed boys along several more ostentatious corridors to a large elaborately tiled room with an enormous bath and ten luxuriously padded divans, strangely fitted with vertical rails at one end. Attached to the top of each rail was a large leather carrier, full of soapy water, from underneath which trailed narrow leather tubes. Spare full water carriers were placed on the floor nearby. Another ten black eunuchs awaited the young newcomers. The bath had been filled with warm, sweetly perfumed water and the eunuchs wore only silky briefs, to hide their physical loss, in readiness to bathe their new charges. On seeing that the newcomers numbered only six, four of these eunuchs left with the escorts. The remaining six eunuchs paired themselves with a boy each and soon had the lads naked and in the bath. The eunuchs washed the rare and expensive goods with great care and precision, including paying appropriate attention to the boys’ lovely white teeth, using their fingers smeared with a fragrant colourless gel contained in a large jar adjacent to the bath. After drying and grooming their new charges, the eunuchs led the now pristine young nudes through an arched doorway into another imposing room, equally as impressively appointed in its own way as the bathroom.

The room, which had a large window overlooking a courtyard, was furnished with ten sumptuously draped beds and two sets of tables and chairs of fine craftsmanship. There was also a big ornate chamberpot adjacent to each bed. By use of hand signals, the boys were invited to choose a bed to lie on. A set of intricately decorated silver goblets and jugs had been neatly placed on one of the tables. Six of the goblets were filled with liquid from the jugs. Each boy was presented with one and, by gesture, bid to consume the contents. They did so eagerly for they were all thirsty and the orange liquid had a nice juicy flavour. However, the consequences of quenching their thirsts were not at all nice for the lads soon had to use their chamberpots as the purgative began to take affect.

It was mid-afternoon by the time the eunuchs were satisfied that the infusion had completed its work and the boys were returned to the bathroom, where the delights of experiencing the enema apparatus awaited them. It was only after subsequent further meticulous bathing that colour finally returned to the frightened and acutely humiliated youngsters’ faces. However, this was to disappear again when, at early evening, the still-naked but thoroughly cleansed, both inside and out, boys were transferred to another big but much more sinister tiled chamber. This had another ten divans, without rails, in front of a far window that overlooked the sea but what concerned the sextet was the room's other accoutrements. There was a marble plinth in the centre. It had strong leather ties at each corner and a small jewelled knife lying in the middle. A number of little golden bowls and urns had been tidily placed, with towels, dressings, needles, thread and leather items, on an ornate table about two paces away to the right of the plinth. A lit brazier, in which an iron was already red hot, was nearby. There were also a number of tall sturdy wooden posts running in a line about one pace apart and two paces from the left wall. All of the posts had adjustable shackles at the top and bottom. Each of the now terrified boys was quickly attached in order of size between two of the more central posts, chained spreadeagled and facing the plinth. However, their terror and shame did not prevent Edward and the Dane exhibiting firm erections. The black eunuchs, now fully attired, stood in line, each in front of a divan, apparently waiting for someone to appear.

The frightened boys had to wait half an hour for the entourage, which was a little late, to arrive. The black eunuchs immediately knelt and placed their foreheads on the tiled floor, a position that they would retain until the arrivals had finished their business. The boys recognised the man, who had so intimately examined them earlier in the day, amongst the group, which also comprised several white guards dressed and armed in the same way as those the lads had encountered at the Gate of Felicity. However, it was another personage, supremely attired in flowing green and white robes and turban, all adorned with many pearls, emeralds and diamonds, who was clearly the most important. The bearded man was small in physical stature, which belied his status for he was Sultan Bayezid, omnipotent potentate of the Ottoman Empire.

The middle-aged Sultan walked along the line of naked boys, visually inspecting each body with the exception of the genitalia, to which he added manual investigation. The Kapi Agha spoke to his master about each of the newcomers. Edward, being just the tallest of the sextet, was last to suffer the demeaning scrutiny, which almost caused him to repeat his Danish friend's earlier accident at the market. The Sultan walked round to Edward's rear and ran his hands over the boy's smooth peerless buttocks, causing the lad's hard cock to twitch vigorously, before moving further down the line examining the various posteriors. The potentate eventually returned to walk quickly past the boys’ naked fronts, issuing brief instructions to the Chief White Eunuch before each lad. He and his entourage then left and the black eunuchs regained their feet but stayed by the divans, apparently waiting for someone else to appear.

The boys did not have to wait long for the next entourage to enter the chamber and for the eunuchs to resume their prostrations. This group was of similar composition to the first for it included the Kapi Agha and several guards. However, this time the very important person in their midst was a thirteen years old richly garbed very pretty boy, with a light brown complexion that matched the colour of his eyes. Richard was to become well-acquainted with Selim for the 13 years old Ottoman Prince was now to select the 10 years old English Prince to be his new slave. Prince Selim would have preferred Edward but he, along with the Dane, had already been nominated by his father to play another role.

Selim re-performed Bayezid's intimate examinations of the physiques of the six nude boys and his attentions to Edward's still rigid cock caused the blushing boy to spasm uncontrollably, within the confines of his chains, and spurt semen over the young Turk's robes. The Kapi Agha quickly wiped the mess away with an elaborately embroidered handkerchief before saying something to the annoyed Ottoman Prince. The latter walked to Edward's rear to feel the boy's bum whilst the Chief White Eunuch left the chamber, returning quickly with a short narrow single-stranded whip. The Kapi Agha handed the implement to a now smiling Selim.

Edward was petrified for he had seen the whip and realised to what use it would imminently be put after his humiliating mishap. The young English Prince had never been beaten and did not want this to change. However, the boy soon felt the hard leather as Selim rubbed it up and down the lad's naked bottom before withdrawing it to a position above his own head. The young Turk landed the first blow with practised skill and Edward screamed as a nasty red stripe appeared on his previously unmolested behind. It was quickly joined by three others. Selim returned the whip to the Chief White Eunuch and fingered the still-warm handiwork displayed on his fellow 13 years old, before proceeding with his scrutiny of the other boys’ rears and announcing Richard as his choice from those available. The Ottoman Prince then departed the scene with his guards for what was to take place now in this room was not to be observed by his sensitive eyes.

The Kapi Agha remained and ordered the black eunuchs to their feet. He issued further commands and soon the youngest of the sextet of boys found himself splayed face-up on the plinth. One of the eunuchs had picked up the knife whilst another now applied a leather gag to the young Norwegian's mouth and tied a thin leather cord very tightly around the horrified blonde's scrotum, before picking up one of the bowls. The other five boys looked on aghast as the other eunuch with the knife proceeded to hold the 7 years old's little cock in his left hand whilst he made an incision in the small ball sac, just under the soft penis, with the very sharp blade held in his other hand. The man carefully increased the size of the cut by running the blade down the middle of the scrotum before, ignoring the blood spilling from the wound he was creating, expertly squeezing the organ to expose the tiny left testicle. A quick slice through a membrane soon left the severed miniature ball in his left hand and then in the proffered bowl. It was rapidly followed by its twin. Such a small wound did not require stitching or cauterising. Instead, a dressing, covered with salve from one of the urns, was applied and another black eunuch carried the traumatised new white eunuch over to one of the divans, after releasing the agonised boy from his restraints. This man would be responsible for the lad's full recovery so that the youngster could serve the Empire as one of the Sultan's emasculated male concubines. The 9 years old German was now brought struggling to the bloodied plinth, to be followed by 10 years old Robert.

Edward had to be gagged to stop the hysterical shouts that pleaded in vain for his younger brother's boyhood to be saved and, with excellent proficiency, the former Duke of York and English Prince was speedily emasculated so that he could serve as the Ottoman Prince's new eunuch. The only compensation for the 10 years old was that he experienced his first and last dry orgasm as the knife began its work. However, the resultant genital wound had to be cauterised. The 11 years old Lowlander was then successfully unmanned, accompanied by a similar bodily spasm. The 13 years old Dane and Edward remained but their deep dread of what was about to befall them could not prevent their cocks from regaining full rigidity.

Chapter 6
Koceks

Three of the black eunuchs came to collect the appalled and tremulous Dane but, after releasing him, they did not drag him to the plinth. One simply gripped the quaking boy firmly by the arm as the other two unchained Edward, who was also not forced to the bloody edifice. The two naked 13 years olds were instead led out of the terrible chamber, held by a black eunuch apiece, and along a couple of the ostentatious corridors to another large extravagantly appointed room with seaview. The boys now realised that the words said by the bearded man in front of them, which were different to those uttered before their four companions, including Robert, indicated different fates. The Moor's promise to the Spanish captain was to be only half fulfilled, at least for now.

Two other beautiful blonde-haired blue-eyed boys, both aged 14, were lounging on two of the four beds inside the chamber. The older lads were virtually nude for they only wore a tight leather harness. This comprised a narrow collar connected, by straps at the front and back, to a slim belt from which cords ran down either side of their buttocks to join underneath their loins before linking with a genital cover, attached to the front of the belt by another cord. There was a small lock at the rear conjunction of the belt. However, it was the genital cover that fascinated the newcomers, who were also experiencing a strange mixture of relief at avoiding the castration plinth and intense sadness that their companions had not been so lucky. Edward was particularly mournful at having seen his younger brother suffer so and be permanently damaged in such a terrible way. He wondered when he would be able to see his sibling again and what their futures now had in store for them.

The genital cover was made of toughened very hard leather and had been made to fit the wearer perfectly. It was very noticeable because the boys' cocks were encased in leather tubes, standing out vertically with its end open. The chastity harness was designed to prevent the wearer from playing with himself, for the genital casing was taut and could not be squeezed, whilst still allowing him to toilet.

The 14 years olds, a German and a Lowlander, were addressed by one of the black eunuchs for, after twelve months in the Harem, they now spoke fluent Turkish. They were told that they had to help induct the newcomers to their new lives, as they themselves had been a year earlier by their own predecessors. Both 14 years olds were deeply dismayed, not at the order but what it would probably soon imply. However, they knew that the best way to try to change their likely destinies was to remain obedient and continue, in particular, to please their master for as long as they were allowed.

Edward and the young Dane, who was called Christian, spent two months in their sumptuous quarters, gradually learning some of the Turkish language and all of their demeaning new duties. The latter was achieved by observing practical demonstrations and then attempting what they had seen. Their own made-to-measure leather harnesses were only removed by their assigned black eunuchs for their daily bathing, in the opulent bathroom adjacent to their bedroom, or when necessary for their training. When the newcomers were eventually ready to take over the roles that had been performed for a year by the German and Lowlander, they were, to their shame, very eager to start for they needed sexual relief badly, a state intensified by aphrodisiacs.

The day finally arrived for the first performance by Edward and Christian. As they were being prepared, their two older companions of the previous two months, who had generally displayed a brave fatalistic attitude throughout, as they helped their new friends whilst also continuing to serve their master, were taken to the castration chamber to become the latest white eunuchs. Their courageous composure broke as they proceeded to the awful room, scene of many thousands of geldings during the previous thirty years, and both were fruitlessly sobbing and crying for mercy as they passed through the entrance door. At the same time, the last four north-western European boys to have had the pleasure of lying on the plinth, including Robert, were being readied for their inaugural duties. They had recovered, as fully as is possible, from being castrated and had been well trained to fulfil their new tasks, Robert for Prince Selim and the other three for the Sultan. Their instruction had been shorter than that of Edward and Christian because their roles were less comprehensive. This had enabled them to be ready to start at the same time as the older neophytes, despite having to wait to commence their training as a consequence of their necessary recuperation.

Edward and Christian were dressed completely in expensive but thin translucent white silk. Tight minuscule briefs were covered by a very short taut skirt and both were topped by a flowing hooded dress. Their faces had been made up, their nipples gilded and their bodies lightly oiled. Both now displayed feminine appearances, enhanced by allowing their hair to grow even longer than it had been and be combed in a girlish way, and this impression was deliberate. At the time and until the appearance of ‘rakkase' or ‘belly dancers', public dancing by women was not allowed under Islamic law. The Sultan's female concubines only danced for their own entertainment. It was custom instead to have effeminate boys perform at weddings and other public events. The two 13 years olds were the new koceks, as such boys were called, of Bayezid's Harem and their duties, like those of the eunuch concubines, were to extend beyond the court to the Sultan's bedchamber.

Chapter 7
Performances

(Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, March 1484)

The new koceks, dressed in tight minuscule briefs, very short taut skirts and flowing hooded dresses, all made from translucent white silk, were escorted by their black eunuchs to the Treasury, the Sultan's personal quarters. Both thoroughly humiliated boys, faces made up, nipples gilded, bodies lightly oiled and long blonde hair combed in a feminine way, could not now be physically distinguished from young girls, especially as their erections were tightly constrained by the briefs. They were deeply ashamed at what they now had to do but this was mixed with guilty excitement, enhanced by aphrodisiacs and enforced recent chastity.

Bayezid, fully and splendidly robed, was in one of the Treasury's main chambers, seated on a solid gold throne inlaid with ebony and mother-of-pearl. The walls of the magnificent room were decorated with jewelled armour and weapons and miniature paintings. The throne surrounds were decorated with beautiful boy eunuch concubines, aged from 6 to 15 and attired only in tiny thongs. The sparse garments of the white catamites were purple and those of their black counterparts red. They were attending to the Sultan's every need.

Six of the boys stood in threesomes, either side of the throne. One on the left held a full goblet of juice, another held a bowl of fruit whilst the third held perfumed cloths to wipe, whenever necessary, his master's hands and brow. One on the right held a dish containing salad, cheese and cold meat morsels, another a dish of sweetmeats whilst the third wafted a big feather-shaped fan, taller than the boy himself, to stir the air around his master for it was a warm early spring evening. Another young eunuch lay curled on all fours in front of the throne to provide the Sultan with a footrest. Two kneeled either side of this boy, ready to open their master's lower robe to service in tandem the erection hidden underneath. Four more gelded catamites, sitting cross-legged in a corner, played four different musical instruments producing soothing melodies. Another four stood nearby, ready to obey any command from their master. The Sea of Marmara, delightfully revealed through the large window, reflected many specks of light from passing ships as well as the full moonlight.

Edward and Christian were led past the large contingent of ogling white eunuch guards into Bayezid's presence. The new koceks and their escorts immediately knelt and touched the tiled floor with their foreheads before the latter, maintaining their demeaning posture, crawled backwards out of the chamber. The music changed to signal to the 13 years olds that they could stand to perform their dance. They did so but could not prevent themselves blushing in acute embarrassment, which was increased when they saw that most of the eunuchs were smirking at them, including the three freshly emasculated younger concubines from north-western Europe. At the same moment, the fourth new gelding from that locale was being re-presented to his own new master in the latter's bedchamber.

Richard's wound had healed well, with his now permanently flaccid little cock providing a nice ornamentation to his ball-less loins. Selim ordered the 10 years old to remove the red thong so that he could check the skill of the castrater. The Ottoman Prince held the English Prince's penis whilst he looked underneath at the empty scrotum. 'Good work,' Selim announced before asking 'What's it like not to have balls any more, slave?' The redness of Richard's beautiful face intensified as he now had sufficient grasp of Turkish to understand the question and be able to answer. 'It feels no different from before, Highness,' the boy replied with a strong foreign lilt to the words and whilst his gorgeous blue eyes filled with tears. 'That's because you're probably too young to appreciate what you've lost,' responded Selim, 'so I'll demonstrate what that is now. Go and lie face down on my bed, slave, legs wide apart!'

Despite their apprehensive nervousness, Edward and Christian proceeded well with their co-ordinated erotic routine. Having gradually removed the outer dress and then skirt, both boys were now dancing in just their briefs. The outlines of their hard cocks were clearly noticeable through the tight translucent material. Bayezid had become sufficiently aroused himself at the sight of his two new koceks that the heads of the eunuchs kneeling next to the throne were nuzzled in his lap.

The time eventually came for the briefs to be removed and, as they were lowered, the mouth of one of the kneeling catamites filled with white liquid, which was swallowed with practised ease. Edward and Christian danced nude for almost a quarter of an hour, during which time their own cocks became harder and harder. The musical tones then changed to announce the koceks' second act. Edward lay on the floor whilst his friend positioned himself on all fours above. Christian's mouth was located vertically above Edward's throbbing erection whilst his own rigid vibrating penis pointed invitingly straight down towards the English Prince's eager lips. A classic but quick demonstration of ‘69' sex then followed.

Selim disrobed, revealing a hard cock surprisingly big for a 13 years old. Richard's anus had already been greased by his black eunuch and so the Ottoman Prince just had to kneel between the English Prince's legs and lean forward to begin the removal of the 10 years old's virginity. Selim's erection probed between the horrified Richard's bumcrack searching for its target. Once found, the Ottoman wasted no time in deflowering the Yorkist. Richard screamed as his pink sphincter was agonisingly penetrated and the invading shaft filled his rectum. Tears soiled the rich bedclothes as the 13 years old began to thrust his intensely excited cock in and out of the 10 years old for ten minutes until finally exquisite orgasm was achieved.

Selim required Richard to use his English lips and tongue to clean and reactivate the tired Turkish penis before, after an hour of such attention, the boy's oral orifice was impregnated in the same manner as the anal one. The Ottoman Prince now ordered his sore new slave to redress in the tiny red thong and go to collect his supper.

Meanwhile, Bayezid had relocated from the throne-room to his own nearby bedchamber, where he had been undressed by some of his retinue of boy eunuchs. The naked Edward and Christian already awaited him on the vast bed.

Chapter 8
Threesome

(Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, March 1484)

Both Edward and Christian were terrified, although their re-hardened cocks might have suggested otherwise. The two 13 years olds, one the true King of England, now expected to lose their virginity and they had been told to expect pain as their innocence was taken away. Bayezid approached his huge richly draped bed with the two new naked koceks lying face-up on either side leaving, as instructed, a wide space for the Sultan to recline in the middle. The potentate's hairy penis, exceptionally large for a man of his short height, was only semi-erect, having been recently serviced by a couple of his eunuch concubines as he sat in the throne-room watching the latest additions to his inner household perform their highly demeaning erotic dance. With the eunuchs now departed from the bedchamber, the threesome was alone.

Bayezid took his place on the bed and the two new koceks began their disagreeable duties according to their training. Edward, lying on the left, started to lick and suck the Sultan's nearest nipple whilst Christian did the same to the potentate's cock. Both boys had practised on life-sized wooden dolls and themselves but this was the first time that either tasted an adult male and it disgusted them, especially as the man's body pervaded a natural sweaty stink despite his frequent perfumed bathing. However, the koceks had been too well versed in their tasks, as well as suitably frightened about the consequences of under-performance, to proceed inefficiently.

At the appropriate moment, Christian moved to pay attention to Bayezid's right nipple whilst Edward transferred to the Sultan's balls. The man's cock had already grown hard again. The young Dane eventually moved his mouth down the hirsute body to the navel whilst his English companion tongued all sides of the penis, which was now dribbling precum.

After a while, Bayezid turned over to allow his new slaves to use their oral orifices to pleasure his hairy back and buttocks, before running the tips of their tongues up and down the cleft in the middle of the latter, each in turn successfully lingering at the fetid sphincter despite the strong urge to be sick. The Sultan eventually returned to his former position so that the boys could resume their original work until he was ready to destroy the virginity of the first of them. The man signalled whose it was to be by tapping his hand on his initial choice's head, which was that of Edward, of whose royal status he was fully aware.

Bayezid was gaining much pleasure from observing the Prince's degradation for most Turks and their neighbours had never forgiven what English Kings and their allies had been responsible for during the various Crusades of earlier centuries. The thought that his son, Selim, was almost certainly subjecting the other younger emasculated Prince to similar indignities further pleased him, as did the notion that the older sibling's balls, or possibly even more, would also be removed whenever he chose. Meanwhile, the Sultan had elected to play with the possessor of the endangered royal testicles.

Edward reluctantly assumed the required position, back against the ornate headboard, legs wide apart in the air, wrapped in position by his elbows. Bayezid had always liked male virgins to adopt this stance so that he could enjoy the sight of their tears and agonised expressions as he buggered away their innocence, and this occasion was to be no different. The Sultan had deprived several thousand of their anal purity over the years, ever since he was boy, and now had at least one a week brought to him to supplement the delicious fare provided by his various concubines. After honouring the pretty male slaves by debauching their young bodies, they would be found work somewhere in the outer courts. The potentate was pleased to see his oldest son was now maintaining the family tradition and had already decided to reward him by allowing him access to the new koceks.

Bayezid knelt before the quivering Edward, relishing the sight of the beautiful but frightened young face and the delightful upturned orbs of his smooth scrotum with the rigid cock pointing upwards towards his navel. The boy's penis seemed to throb in rhythm with the winking of the exposed lips of the pink virgin anal entrance below. The Sultan moved himself and his erection towards the target until his large drooling cockhead pressed gently against it. The English boy immediately shuddered and white liquid flowed up his belly, forming a pool around his navel. The potentate responded to the effrontery by driving himself forward to take away the 13 years old's virginity to accompanying crying and tears from the victim and groans of pleasure from the perpetrator. Meanwhile, Christian had returned to licking the man's vile bumcrack, but with some difficulty because of the now fast and frequent thrusts his new master was making in and out of his friend's freshly violated rectum.

It took the Sultan half an hour to impregnate the true English King, having slowed his action to enjoy the experience of deflowering him more fully. Edward's own cock gradually and humiliatingly rose again from its flaccid condition as his prostrate's pleasure overwhelmed his anus' agony until, when he felt Bayezid begin to fill his insides with hot thick sperm, he produced more of his own.

By the time the potentate withdrew and lay down on his back again, Christian's tongue was as dry and numb as his friend's rectum was wet and raw. The young Dane was accordingly pleased not to have to undertake the cleaning of the man's bloody, cum-covered rapidly softening penis, despite his sorrow at seeing the clear distress of his friend, who was now required to discharge this particular onerous task.

Whilst a tearful Edward performed his distasteful work, Christian attended again to the hairy nipples, hoping that Bayezid would now be too tired to deflower him. However, the boy was disillusioned within the hour and he too could not prevent himself from cumming as his virginity was agonisingly taken away.

Having literally had his fill of his two new koceks for now, Bayezid rose from the bed. The two nude boys, semen spilling from their ravaged rectums and bellies, immediately followed, despite their very sore behinds, and prostrated themselves before their debaucher. They did not raise their brows from the tiled floor until they were sure that the Sultan had been cleansed and redressed by the recalled young eunuchs and had left the bedchamber to return to the throne-room.

The 13 years olds, speechless in trauma, waited kneeling, as instructed, for their black eunuchs to arrive to collect them. They then expected to go back to their quarters. However, their expectation was not to be immediately fulfilled for they had to pay for their unauthorised ejaculations and the Turks gave far more imagination to their punishments than other civilisations. Edward and Christopher were not to suffer beatings but something far more discomforting and very appropriate for displeasing their new master in the way they had.

Robert, however, was due to receive a thrashing, his first ever. The boy had also suffered an accident but not from his genitals, which were sexually lifeless. The trembling 10 years old, fearful of his own new 13 years old master, had dropped the supper tray on his return to Selim's chambers.

Chapter 9
Displeasure

(Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, March 1484)

Black eunuchs did not arrive to collect the naked Edward and Christian from their demeaning positions, quietly kneeling in front of the bed on which they had just been debauched, semen, mixed with a little blood, dribbling down the insides of their legs from their painful rectums. Two of Bayezid's young emasculated catamites, bearing broad smiles on their faces, eventually came instead to return the 13 years olds to the throne-room next door.

The koceks were faced with a scene similar to previously, when they had performed their degrading erotic dance for their new master. The Sultan was sat on the throne, being attended as before by nine boy eunuchs whilst sweet musical tones flowed around. However, two box chairs had been placed next to each other on the tiled floor, facing the throne. The escorting duo had been half of the foursome who had been standing in reserve near the musicians and the other half were now sitting crosslegged, one behind each chair, holding a handle apiece.

The deeply apprehensive Edward and Christian were soon to discover the purpose of these handles after they were instructed by their escorts to sit on the chairs, positioning their sphincters against a small round protuberance in the centre of the seat. The two young eunuchs then tightly strapped the nude boys' limbs to the front edges and the arms of the chair, securing them immovably in place, and gagged their mouths. Bayezid nodded to their crosslegged counterparts, who began to turn their handles slowly. The two koceks both blushed vividly and uttered muffled surprised groans as their already sore anuses were invaded by dildos sized to fill their rear orifices to the full. Each escort whispered the same sentences in an ear of each agonised boy. 'For displeasing your Almighty Master,' they said, 'by not being able to control your penises. You will remain here until you cum again, with the last to do so staying in his chair until he cums a second time!' Both penitents immediately developed goosepimples.

The four spare eunuchs took turns to revolve the handles remorselessly, initially to accompanying stifled moans and sobbing. However, the seated boys' flaccid cocks, fully exposed between splayed legs, gradually began to rise as the pain from the dildos' regular thrusts into their insides slowly transmuted into pleasure as their prostrates started to appreciate the attention afforded by the contraptions.

The chairs had been brought to entertain the new koceks from the Forbidden Palace's punishment chamber, very well equipped to inflict a wide range of chastisements and to which, in return for dropping the supper tray, Selim had decided to take his latest young eunuch. A black eunuch, ingeniously expert in the art of inflicting pain, presided over the establishment. After suffering the usual prolonged prostration from the man, the Ottoman Prince ordered that the petrified Richard be manacled and suspended off the floor, whilst he went to inspect the array of paddles, canes and whips.

The smirks on the faces of Bayezid's eunuch concubines were not as full as might have been expected as they observed the facial and genital contortions of Edward and Christian. They found the koceks' predicament amusing but this was tempered by the realisation that they themselves were literally incapable of rising to the challenge facing the 13 years olds.

Edward and Christian had spent over half an hour on the chairs when their cockheads, drooling precum, almost simultaneously emerged from under the foreskin cover of their uncut throbbing vertical penises. The spectators realised that the boys were very close but most changed their minds several times about who would achieve first climax. Those who finally chose the young Dane were to be proved correct as white fluid oozed gently out of his penile slit and ran down his engorged member. Disappointingly for the watchers, there was no spurting of semen as the lad had spent most of his reserves during his earlier two orgasms of this balmy spring night. However, this initial lack of spectacle was compensated for soon afterwards as the former English Prince produced a little white fountain, resulting in his scrotum being fulsomely smeared with his own seed. For his efforts, he was rewarded with the delights of the dildo for a further hour before he was capable of another, much less dramatic ejaculation.

Selim decided to be merciful as the beating would undoubtedly be the first of many of the 10 years old eunuch's life. He selected a hard wooden paddle, this one kindly without perforations, which would have caused far worse wheals. The Ottoman Prince stood behind the former English Prince, now nothing more than a miserable emasculated miscreant slave. Richard, attired in his tiny thong, was already crying quietly in terror before he felt the paddle rub teasingly against his bare rump. The tremulous boy became much louder when his 13 years old master delivered the first blow that reddened the left bumcheek. A second strike quickly followed, adding symmetry to the crimson marking.

The suspended and screaming Richard, face awash with tears, swayed gently as a rain of hits were applied to his bottom, already very sore because of his earlier deflowerment. The boy's worst suffering occurred when the paddle straddled the bumcrack or landed on the very sensitive areas between upper leg and buttock. However, Selim became bored and a little tired after inflicting sixteen blows and threw the implement to the floor. A 13 years old hand felt the now purple 10 years old backside, the fingers relishing in the heat that had been created and the agonised winces their touch induced from the victim.

Selim, always wanting to experiment, asked the fawning black eunuch whether he had any new devices of torment that could now be tried on Richard.

Chapter 10
War

(Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, March 1484)

13 years old Edward was brought before the similarly aged Selim, who was lying naked on his huge, richly draped bed. Next to him, equally nude, was his latest gelded catamite, just 10 years old. 'I have just enjoyed buggering my eunuch,' the heir to the Ottoman throne kindly informed the rightful King of England, 'so I want you to strip and join us. You may have the pleasure of cleaning your younger brother's juices from my member before I enjoy your anal orifice as well.'

Edward, like his younger sibling, deeply ashamed at the circumstances in which he found himself but fully knowing the likely excruciating consequences of disobedience, having seen the Forbidden Palace's well-equipped punishment facility, meekly complied.

(South-east Anatolia, June 1484)

Bayezid had grown impatient of his generals' lack of progress in the conquest of Syria and had therefore made a rare foray from the luxuries of life at his Constantinople home to visit his main Asian army. The Sultan wanted to emulate, if not surpass, the conquests of his father, Mehmet II, and thought that his presence amongst the troops would speed victory.

Bayezid had taken Selim with him so that his heir could experience war for the first time. The Sultan had also decided to be accompanied by a couple of bed companions. It was unacceptable to be seen outside the Forbidden Palace with eunuch catamites, but koceks were a different matter altogether. Edward and Christian therefore emerged from the 3rd Court, after six months of gilded incarceration, to pass through the palace's outer water gate, guarded by two massive cannons, to join the illustrious duo on a resplendent galleon anchored in the Bosphorus. The potentate had enjoyed the still-whole bodies of young English royalty and Danish peasantry so much that he had decided not to castrate the boys until the Moor could provide adequate replacements later in the year.

The ship sailed, under the protection of a large fleet of similar vessels, to the current southern edge of the Ottoman Empire. The koceks did not enjoy the voyage as, without their eunuchs, the Imperial father and son shared the boys so that their every minor requirement could be constantly instantly attended to, including certain voracious needs within the boat's magnificent state bedchambers.

Bayezid and Selim had been received in great splendour at the port of Iskenderun, not far from the scene of the great battle of Issus in which Alexander the Great had first defeated Darius and his Persian host 1817 years previously. The Imperial party, escorted by many Janissaries, then made its way inland to the army's main encampment. As the road was treacherous for wagons, all rode on splendid Arabian steeds, including the koceks, who were dressed in silken baggy shirts and trousers, jewelled turbans and shoes curled at the toes, with the predominant colour being purple.

Edward had been accustomed to horses since his earliest years but Christian had never ridden and so his friend had had to introduce him to the basics of the skill. The young Dane's bottom felt very sore after he had dismounted, as dusk approached on the first day of the journey and night camp was being arranged. However, Selim, to whom Christian had been allocated to serve that day, wanted to go to a nearby hilltop to see what lay beyond. Edward, appreciating his fellow kocek's discomfort, swapped duties and rode with the Ottoman Prince and a few guards up the escarpment.

As the small group approached the summit, a large band of heavily armed cavalry appeared from the other side. There was immediate alarm as the enemy contingent, which had been furtively shadowing the Sultan's cavalcade, rained arrows at their Turkish foe as the latter tried to turn to flee. The arrows were cleverly and skilfully aimed not at the riders but at their mounts and soon all of the animals had collapsed to the ground, wounded or dying.

The Arabs and their Persian allies quickly surrounded the prone group but knew that they did not have much time to act. The even larger force of fierce Janissaries below had been alerted to their attack and were already on their way to rescue their precious Prince. The Turkish guards were rapidly despatched and Selim, trapped under his horse, swiftly extricated from his predicament. The valuable-looking young blonde-haired blue-eyed servant was also taken prisoner, a very large price for such a lovely boy in a slave market somewhere already being anticipated by his captors.

Selim and Edward found themselves sitting on horses in front of two cavalrymen who, with their fellow raiders, rode with great speed into the gathering gloom. Both 13 years olds felt knives pressing against their sides and the whiter boy also recognised another blunter, more human, implement seemingly trying to escape its covering to impale his bumcrack.

The Janissaries were too late to prevent their enemy's departure and there was insufficient light for successful pursuit. The heir to the Ottoman throne and the rightful King of England disappeared into the darkness and into the clutches of the Sultan's bitter enemies.

Chapter 11
Teheran

(August 1484)

Teheran did not become the capital of Persia until 1788 but it was the relatively unimportant town in which Selim and Edward found themselves within two months of their capture. The main city of the short-lived Turkuman Ak-Koyunlu (‘White Sheep') dynasty of Persia of the time was Tabriz. However, this grand metropolis was considered too vulnerable to Turkish rescue attempts for comfort and so the hostage Ottoman Prince was sent further east.

The Arab Emir of Aleppo had purchased both 13 years old captives from the mercenary cavalry, having listened to Selim's entreaties to keep his young personal servant. The ruler did not mind the additional large outlay to the original huge cost of acquiring the heir to the Ottoman throne. After all, he would receive much more from Tabriz for sending the precious prisoner to that city and he had to be looked after by someone on the way. He also had to consider his situation if the Turks did conquer his lands. Looking after the captured Prince's welfare might enable him to keep his exalted position.

Selim, with his servant, was eventually incarcerated in heavily guarded but luxurious quarters in the Governor of Teheran's palace, waiting to hear the result of the negotiations for his release between the Ak-Koyunlu and Ottoman dynasties. Unfortunately, when news filtered through to the town, it was not good. Bayezid had told his Persian counterpart that he could do what he wanted with Selim as he had other sons who could take his place.

As a result of this communication, Selim lost the little finger of his left hand, returned to Bayezid with the threat, despite Muslim conventions that forbade emasculating others of their faith, of an even more important part of the Prince to follow if the Sultan did not stop his attempted invasion of Syria. However, the boy's father remained unflinchingly stubborn. The Governor of Teheran therefore received instruction to have his important prisoner nullified, the severed genitalia to be conveyed initially back to Tabriz. He was additionally told that he could do whatever he wanted with the unimportant young servant, who was merely an infidel Christian. The local ruler thought that the latter would probably just lose his testicles, a young eunuch with his very rare features being more valuable than a boy still with his full masculinity.

The Turkish Prince became very depressed after the loss of his digit, not being able to understand his father's attitude. After all, surely Selim was more important than Syria. In his terror after being taken prisoner, the heir to the Ottoman throne had been desperate to retain at least one face that he knew near him and was glad that he had retained the rightful English King's services, as the latter was now gently nursing the former through his misery.

In his need since their capture, Selim had treated Edward much more respectfully, now performing many of his own menial chores and not forcing himself sexually on his fellow 13 years old. Their relationship grew into more equal companionship, given lives now forcibly spent living closely together and in mutual peril. Lovemaking eventually resumed, stimulated not just by sexual passion but also by awakening desire for intimate friendship. The Ottoman Prince had also allowed the previously unthinkable when he permitted the English Prince to deflower him. Having overcome initial reluctance and pain, the young Turk came to enjoy the experience.

The Governor did not consider his home to be an appropriate place in which to profane Muslim doctrine and so sent Selim, with his servant, to the local slave market, where the former could be nullified and returned whilst the latter was sold and probably subsequently gelded. The frightened boys were not told what was going to happen but feared the worst when they were packed one morning into the back of a covered horse-drawn wagon, escorted by a number of gubernatorial servants and soldiers. The vehicle conveyed them through the narrow busy streets of Teheran to the large building where their genitals were to be in great danger.

The scared Princes were unloaded from the wagon by the servants and taken through the front entrance to a large hall where there were many other boys, all naked. It was the day of the month when pretty young males were sold. Travelling castrators had set up their stalls in adjacent smaller rooms to accommodate the wishes of purchasers. Most of the boys for sale were in groups, supervised by adult slaves and their trader masters. All had their hands and feet chained together. Many were non-Muslim captives, including some white Christians from the Caucasus, slightly darker Zoroastrians from Persia itself, brown Buddhists and Hindus from the east and black spiritualists who had come from the south via Arabia.

Many buyers and voyeurs helped to fill the hall almost to capacity. Deals were struck with the traders and the boys who had achieved the required price were led away by their new owners, some to the rooms where the castrators practised their expertise. The risk of unmanning new young acquisitions successfully always fell on the purchasers, although this was usually minimal as, at this place and time, the skills required had been honed almost to an art form.

To their undisguised shock and shame, Selim and Edward quickly joined the other boys in nudity, although not in chains. Both, like many of the others, displayed unwanted erections. The Ottoman Prince was led to a side doorway where he was kept outside as the craftsman inside, the acknowledged local master of nullification, was busy attending to a 12 years old black. The English Prince was taken to the middle of the hall where he was immediately surrounded by men eager to examine the rare delicacy.

Many hands prodded and probed the aghast and deeply humiliated Edward. The various careful attentions included his mouth being checked, genitals fondled and weighed, buttocks rubbed and anus inspected for previous usage. A very substantial tender from an ugly squat fat brothel-keeper was eventually accepted, not as much as the boy could have attracted if he had still been virginal but nevertheless a worthwhile addition to the Governor's coffers. The appalled and tremulous 13 years old was then escorted to a different side door, inside which the talented craftsman specialised in removing testes.

The doors to Selim's and Edward's rooms of destiny were opened almost simultaneously. Both could see inside previous young victims lying on mattresses, loins swathed in bloodied bandages, and the bloodstained tables to which the new eunuchs had previously been strapped. Both Princes now guessed what type of fate imminently awaited them as they were dragged, struggling uselessly, towards the respective entrances.

Chapter 12
Rewards

(Teheran, Persia, August 1484)

As the terrified Edward was being dragged towards his destiny on the castration table by two of the Governor of Teheran's servants, he struggled mightily but uselessly to avoid his fate. Uselessly that is until he suddenly decided to bring his mind back from unrestrained panic to careful calculation in the midst of strife, the latter being an invaluable innate skill henceforth. The naked boy, cock still rigid, stopped his wriggling, as if he was resigned to what was about to happen. His adult escorts accordingly relaxed slightly. It was literally a fatal mistake on their part.

Edward stamped his right foot hard on top of the toes of one of the feet, covered only by a soft slipper, of the servant holding his right arm. He immediately followed this up with a vicious backward swing of his heel into the groin of the man holding his left arm. Both yelped and let go of their charge, who quickly disappeared amongst the throng filling the hall of the slave market.

The unguarded back exit was nearby but Edward did not make for it. The English Prince instead went in search of the Ottoman Prince and luckily speedily found him. A trader standing nearby was deprived of a sharp curved knife, resting in a scabbard attached to his waist, and the weapon was soon thrust into the side of one of Selim's two escorts, who immediately screamed and released his charge to grasp the knife protruding from his agonising wound. The other also removed his hands from the lad, not through pain but in terror. "Follow me!" commanded the rightful occupier of the English throne to the heir of the Ottoman equivalent. The latter, very surprised but immensely happy at the turn of events, unhesitatingly complied.

There was much shouting and confusion within the bustling crowd and this enabled the two nude, now unarmed, boys to rush through the unattended rear door into a quiet alleyway outside. Both ran for their lives. However, as they had departed the hall, their escape had been noticed by two men. A soldier, who had come into the slave market to view the young beauties being offered for sale, started in pursuit, followed by a civilian.

The morning was very hot, with not a cloud in the sky to prevent the sun from beating down mercilessly. The young naked escapees soon became sweaty and tired but the possessors of the adult feet that they could hear running behind them appeared to be unaffected, seemingly remorselessly coming closer and closer. The 13 years old nudes turned a corner and advanced a number of paces down the empty alley until they realised that it was a dead end, with high walls on all sides. They stopped and looked behind to see the soldier, sword in one hand and knife in the other, come round the corner, closely followed by the civilian, also armed with a knife.

Edward and Selim tried some of the doors that backed onto the narrow thoroughfare but all were locked. They eventually found themselves up against the wall marking the end of the alley with the soldier almost on top of them.

The terrified boys, now fearing for more than their balls, stood frozen, awaiting inevitable recapture and probable later horrible punishment if not execution. The soldier slowed to complete his mission. He smirked as he knew that the reward for preventing the loss of the two prisoners would be substantial. Unfortunately for him, the only reward that he actually received was a knife between his shoulder blades. The soldier fell dead to the ground and the two amazed and puzzled Princes looked at the civilian with the bloodstained blade. He immediately answered the question quite clearly displayed in their beautiful young eyes.

The response was in excellent Turkish for it was the man's native tongue. "I am one of the Sultan's spies, please follow me your Highness. I shall lead you and your servant to safety!"

The man was as good as his word, although it would take many months to return to Constantinople. Meanwhile, the servants who had carelessly allowed the boys to escape were beheaded for their incompetence, as was the Governor of Teheran.

The furtive journey back to the Ottoman capital was truly epic. The boys were smuggled out of the safe house of the spy, ostensibly a carpet trader, when the search for them in Teheran had become less frantic. They were wrapped amongst two of many rugs loaded into a horse-drawn wagon and which were supposed to be destined for markets in towns and villages to the north. However, their journey took them much further north than those communities. The threesome crossed the Elburz Mountains to a small port on the Caspian Sea. A long boat trip saw them advance up the whole length of the vast lake to Astrakhan, then controlled by Mongols, who took no interest in a trader apparently accompanied by two young slaves.

Another long dangerous wagon ride, this time towards the west, finally saw the trio reach territory controlled by the Ottomans. Officials in the Crim Tartary, conquered by Selim's grandfather, and now called southern Ukraine and the Crimea, took some persuading before they appreciated that the Sultan's heir had truly arrived in their land. The boy's dishevelled appearance had not helped his cause at first. However, after finally realising the error of their ways, the officials treated the threesome like Princes, which of course two were, before providing a galley to cross the Black Sea.

(Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, March 1485)

14 years old Edward was brought before the similarly aged Selim, who was lying naked on his huge, richly draped bed. Next to him, equally nude, was his latest gelded catamite, just 11 years old. "I have just enjoyed buggering my eunuch," the heir to the Ottoman throne kindly informed the rightful King of England, "so I want you to strip and join us. You may have the pleasure of cleaning your younger brother's juices from my member before I enjoy your anal orifice as well."

Edward, like his younger sibling, was deeply ashamed at the circumstances in which he found himself but, fully knowing the likely excruciating consequences of disobedience, having seen the Forbidden Palace's well-equipped punishment facility, meekly complied.

Edward disrobed and walked to the bed, cock just as rampant as that of Selim. The English Prince smiled at his grinning Turkish counterpart and said "Liar!" before leaning over to give his young lover a lingering kiss. He was, in the past, deeply ashamed at the circumstances in which he found himself but not anymore. His brother Richard, rightful Duke of York, was also no longer Selim's bedboy but was present only to perform one function.

"Turn over and splay your legs," commanded Edward to the young Ottoman, "so that my brother can grease you and I can enjoy your anal orifice as my reward for saving the life of the next Sultan!" Selim's grin widened as he meekly complied. He had gained much exquisite pleasure from the delightful and now skilful attentions his friend regularly afforded to his sublime rear.

The Princely duo had been back in the palace for a few days but this was the first time that they had spent privately together since their return. Edward had been granted several requests in return for his part in saving Selim from nullification and probably much worse. As a result, he and Christian were no longer koceks but had been given other roles, as had Richard, and an envoy had been despatched with some very valuable luggage to find the Moor trader. The spy had become an immensely rich man.

Bayezid had been happy to provide appropriate rewards for Selim's salvation, even if he had not been prepared to sacrifice Syria for his son's return. The boy never forgave his father for this stance, or forgot the lesson that he had gleaned from the keen willingness that his younger brother had apparently exhibited at being appointed, albeit temporarily, the new heir to the throne. His new English friend's influence would not extend to preventing the Ottoman Prince from ultimately rewarding his parent and sibling with exquisite revenge.

(Paris, France, June 1485)

Henry Bolingbroke had had to leave Brittany for Paris quickly the previous year, afraid of being arrested by the local Duke and returned to almost certain execution by Richard III. Henry had been promoting a tenuous claim to the English throne and the current incumbent wanted his rival eliminated.

Henry was now under the protection of the King of France but had been very frustrated at his inability to raise sufficient funds to take an army to England to reclaim the throne for the Lancastrian cause from the Yorkist regicide. He was beginning to believe that he would be forced to remain in exile for life, leaving Richard with his ill-gotten crown.

Henry was intrigued to be asked for an audience by a rich Moorish trader and had therefore granted the man his wish. His decision was rewarded in a manner that would change history as the Moor had brought with him a huge chest, which had originated in a faraway land. The chest was full of gold coin, on top of which was a letter written in English.

(Bosworth, England, August 1485)

"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" was quoted by Shakespeare in his 'Richard III' (V. iv. 7) as being amongst the eponymous monarch's last words before he was rewarded for his usurpation of the English throne by being slain at the battle of Bosworth, although such a plea was probably hyperbolical. However, the importance of Henry Bolingbroke's victory cannot be underestimated. It brought an end to the Wars of the Roses and, although the new monarch, the first of the Tudors, was to be troubled by some impostors posing as the elder of the 'Princes in the Tower', his reign brought much-needed general tranquillity and prosperity. The King, largely unheralded but arguably the greatest in English history, left a peaceful and strengthened country, firmly in the control of the monarchy and with a full treasury, for his son, Henry VIII, to play with.

Henry VII now appreciated from the letter, the contents of which only he and the 14 years old sender knew about, where his young relations were located and why they did not want to return to their homeland to reclaim their inheritance. On his deathbed, he believed that he had rewarded the Princes for their largesse by not letting them down over his custodianship of the kingdom. He had married the boys' sister, Elizabeth of York, helping to resolve the English dynastic dispute that had caused the Wars that had lasted for three decades. By so doing, he also ensured that the Princes' blood flowed in the veins of his successors. Elizabeth I had many of the virtues of her great uncles within her character.

Henry VII had additionally ensured that a certain personage, who had been even more responsible for the boys' fate than Richard III, had also received his due reward. In 1502, the King had lured Sir James Tyrell, by now governor of the fortress of Guisnes in France, from his stronghold by a ruse and had him executed, appropriately, in the Tower of London.

(Constantinople, 1512)

Bayezid had not been particularly successful in adding lands to the Ottoman dominions during his reign and, believing as a result that he had somehow displeased Allah, became something of a religious mystic. The Sultan's inability to conquer much territory and his increasing disinterest in state affairs caused disaffection amongst many of the country's senior civilian and military officers. Selim therefore successfully took the opportunity to reward his father and brother for what had happened 28 years earlier. He usurped the throne and murdered his younger brother, along with his other male siblings and all their sons to ensure that no dangerous opposition to his coup, or rivals to his position, remained within his family.

Selim's English friend was on the Empire's northern borders and could do nothing to discourage the new Sultan from fratricide. Nevertheless, Edward remained loyal, despite his distaste for what had occurred, and both he and Richard were both promoted in reward for their previous services for the new master of the Ottoman Empire.

Richard, now known by a Turkish name and having been for many years the senior eunuch administrator who had looked after Selim's Princely affairs, became the Kapi Agha or Chief White Eunuch, basically the head of the Imperial Civil Service.

Edward, also now with a Turkish name and having been for many years a senior Janissary, became the supreme commander of Selim's Asian army, with Christian his principal lieutenant. They and their Sultan were to enjoy much glory over the next eight years as the Arab lands were conquered, doubling the size of the Empire. Syria, Mesopotamia, including modern-day Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and most of Arabia were all brought under Ottoman control.

At Mecca, location of the principal shrine of Islam, Selim, at Richard's suggestion, assumed the title of Caliph. Ottoman Sultans were for centuries thereafter considered to be the spiritual leaders of all Muslims, displacing the Caliphate of Baghdad and thus cementing their position as their faith's most powerful rulers.

The absorption of the Arab world into the Ottoman dominions led to many Arab intellectuals, artists, artisans and administrators flocking to Constantinople, making the Empire a much more sophisticated state, although tinged with greater devotion to Islam. An additional affect of total control of the Middle East trade routes by the Turks was to compel European states to seek alternative ways round Africa to China and India, thereby encouraging a golden age of exploration. The western European nations also looked more to the west, promoting a more rapid development of the Americas than would otherwise have occurred. It is a strange fact that the United States of America might not be the great country that it undoubtedly now is if Selim and his friends had not enjoyed such success.

(Vienna, Austria, 1529)

Suleyman inherited an enviable position when he succeeded his father, Selim, after the latter had died of natural causes in 1520, mourned in particular by two English friends. The new Sultan's reign was to be long and brilliant, augmented initially by his sensible decision to retain his father's chief eunuch and general in their prominent positions.

The Empire reached the height of political power and came close to its maximum geographical extent during Suleyman the Magnificent's 46 years on the throne. The new Sultan started the adornment, at his Kapi Agha's suggestion and with his expert administrative assistance, of many of the principal cities of Islam with splendid mosques, aqueducts, bridges and other works. His Chief White Eunuch also devised wise new regulations relating to land tenure that earned his master the title of 'Kanuni' or 'Lawgiver'. His chief general helped him to launch the conquest of those parts of the Balkans not already under Ottoman control, as well as Tabriz, Aden, Rhodes and much of north Africa as far as Algiers. For his achievements, the potentate was regarded everywhere as the most significant ruler in the world.

In 1529, the Ottoman European army, under Edward's command, had just broken the power of Hungary and was now besieging Vienna. If the city fell, the whole of Christian Europe would be in great peril from Muslim conquest and the loyal general was on the brink of success when he was fatally wounded. On his deathbed, the 58 years old, who, in traditional Janissary fashion, had retained his Christianity, saw his imminent demise as a sign from Heaven. He therefore persuaded his distraught Imperial master to be satisfied with his existing territorial gains in the north. The Sultan accepted the wisdom of the person who had served him and his father so well as both man and boy. The former English Prince, who had never bothered to bed a female, therefore performed one final service for his faith and made yet another major contribution to the history of the world.

Just before he closed his eyes for the last time, with his beloved Dane, Christian, holding his hands, Edward wondered at God's ways. He finally realised that the Lord, who was about to receive him, had never meant him to be a King of England, or his now eunuch brother a royal Duke of that realm, but instead people far more significant.

The End