"Indeed." The Caliph licked his lips. "Bring him closer."
Jakez realized the fat man was surrounded by naked young men – a couple mere boys with no body hair. The Chamberlain pushed him forward so hard, he stumbled and fell into the Caliph's lap.
"Welcome to my harem." The fat man slid his hand inside the ripped tunic to touch his nipple.
"You're disgusting," Jakez said through clenched teeth. "Don't touch me!"
"And how are you going to stop me, mm?"
The Caliph grabbed his head and pulled him up to give him a long kiss, squeezing his buttock with his other hand. Jakez moaned, but the invading tongue gagged him.
***
They're preparing a party, and I haven't figured out how to open the main door, Marlen thought as the sun set. She knew there was a mechanism somewhere, but hadn't found it yet.
The shadows reached inside the walls, so she managed to cross the courtyard and enter the palace itself. She saw a lone guard, so she attacked him and managed to knock him out, dragging him into an empty room where she undressed him. She wore the local clothes over her own, hoping they would be enough to hide her true identity. Luckily for her, the local fashion meant the guards wore a turban and hid their face, showing only the eyes.
She quickly wrapped the turban, hiding her features, and went out again, falling into step with another guard headed for the great hall.
The Caliph sat on a dais-throne-bed. He was probably too fat to move around much and his slaves had collars that chained them to the dais. Marlen noticed her father and Jakez among the captives – both naked, collared and apparently drugged or dazed. Jakez had his head in the Caliph's lap and stared into space.
More than a party, it turned out to be a court of justice. Startled, Marlen recognized First Mate Julia as the criminal who had tried to kill His Mighty Lord The Caliph. She was bruised, but hadn't lost her Amazon pride, so she insulted the fat man until they cut off her head.
Horror set Marlen into motion. She killed the Chamberlain who was in the way and jumped on the dais, pointing the tip of her sword at the Caliph's throat.
"Free the slaves," she threatened. "Or you're dead too."
"Kill me, and you're dead too," he replied pleasantly.
Marlen pursed her lips. "I think it will take you some time to die," she said. Her blade scratched both his fat cheeks, making him bleed.
He screamed like a pig. "Kill her!"
She jumped around him and used him as a shield. "Kill him!" she suggested. "Aren't you sick of him?"
One of the young men pushed her away and put his chain around the thick neck, pulling with all his strength. Xavier snapped back to reality and got hold of a sword. The other slaves also rebelled, and Marlen pulled Jakez to his feet.
"Who has the keys?" she demanded.
A boy of maybe fourteen was struggling with the Caliph's clothes and triple belly. Finally he found what he was looking for and raised triumphantly a bundle of keys.
"Good, free each other!" Marlen nodded as the Caliph exhaled his last breath, choked to death by a hateful slave.
The slaves' revolt kept the guards busy, and Marlen and Xavier managed to drag away the still dazed Jakez.
"I know how to open the door." Xavier let go of Jakez and rushed to a small room to the right of the antechamber. Guards were rushing down the stairs, and Marlen slapped Jakez.
"Jak! Help the captain, now!"
She pushed him towards the little room and engaged with the first two guards. The main door opened slowly and the crew rushed in. Soon the palace was quiet again, the guards either dead or surrendered.
***
"Thank you," Jakez said, staring at Marlen. They were back on the Yasmine and he wore new clothes since his tunic was completely torn. She had discarded her borrowed clothes and had come to make sure he was fine.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked, worried. "You looked drugged."
"I was... hurt," he said, lowering his eyes. "He... used me. Well, he wasn't much of a man, but he enjoyed watching men going at each other, so he forced one of his slaves on me."
"Oh!" Her eyes widened in horror. So men could be raped too. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything earlier."
"You saved me." He looked at her again and caressed her cheek. "You're beautiful. I need you." He pulled her closer. "You're so..." he whispered in her ear.
Then he kissed her – her face, her eyes, her lips, and then down as his hands held her tight. Marlen didn't try to resist his passion. She'd wanted him from the moment she'd fist laid eyes on him – she knew it now. Mikis had figured it out before her.
They were still naked, lying in each other's arms, when Rena entered the cabin without knocking.
"You have no rights leaving me out of this," she said, peeved, undressing as she came over to the bed.
Marlen rolled her eyes as Jakez gasped at the sight of Rena's naked body.
"Move, darling," Rena told him gently. "You'll be the center, like Mikis was."
"I'm not Mikis," he muttered.
"Aren't you happy to have two devoted and lovely women all for yourself?" Rena replied with her dazzling smile, touching his manhood.
Jakez embraced her, unable to resist.
"This is the last man we share, Rena," Marlen warned when Jakez fell asleep, exhausted. "The next one will be only mine."
"Why?" Rena protested. "Don't you love threesomes?"
"No. I will not share my next man with you," Marlen said, determined.
"You want to keep this one?" Rena asked, disappointed.
"I said next one. Mark my words."
10. DELTACITY
Two years went by. Marlen, Rena, Alexia and Jakez headed for the center of Deltacity to rest on dry land after so much time at sea, since the Yasmine would stay at least a week in the friendly harbor. They found an inn near the main marketplace and away from the waterfront that looked comfortable and quiet.
"And mostly not rolling like a ship!" Rena said, satisfied, as they sat in the main room to eat, next to a window opening on the market square.
"The food is delicious!" Alexia added, tasting a little bit of everything after so many months of ship food.
They were finished with their meal and were lingering at their table when a voice startled them.
"Gods, it's the prince!"
The man was outside the inn and was staring intently at Jakez who stiffened.
The plump merchant rushed inside and stood excited by their table. "Prince Jakez, you're alive!"
"Do you know him?" Rena asked bluntly.
"No," Jakez answered, staring at his now empty plate.
"You can't know all your subjects," the man said with a grin.
"Well, sit down and give me news," Jakez said at last, pouring wine in his goblet and offering it to the man who gladly obeyed, grabbing an empty stool at a nearby table.
"Ah, my lord, how we miss your good father King Lachlan!" The man sighed, then glanced at the three women. "Forgive me, my lord, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Gorgo Savalas and I catered the palace's kitchen until your father was in charge. Unfortunately the Council removed me, so I had to switch trades..."
"The Council obviously thought much of themselves," Jakez said flatly, his fingers drumming on the table.
"All of your father's supporters were dismissed from palace service," Gorgo said gloomily. "Your noble cousin has vanished in the prisons, although I've heard the rebels freed him..."
"Rebels?" Jakez's eyebrows shot up.
"Rebels against the new status quo, my lord. I'm sure you know we're an Amazon colony by now – thanks to a treacherous and useless Council. If the rebels knew that you're alive..."
"We might kill him when we get to Maadre," Rena said. "So don't sing victory just yet. Just because I gave him political asylum on behalf of the Queen, doesn't mean we're going to give him back his throne!"
The plump merchant gasped in shock and stared fearfully at the Queen's daughter. "Are you their prisone
r, my lord?" he asked, worried.
"No, I was a prisoner in Gyllymer – when the Council didn't bother paying my ransom," Jakez grumbled. "I'm now under Amazon protection. I didn't feel like going back to Noavaria, since they betrayed me."
"I understand." Gorgo looked puzzled. "So, will you go back to Noavaria or not?"
"I will, eventually. The Amazons have no use for me."
"Says who?" Rena protested.
"I'm your humble servant, Rena, but I was raised to be king." He looked her in the eyes. "One day I'll ask you to give me back what is rightfully mine. You made your point – you have no use for Outremer."
Rena frowned and looked away while the plump merchant downed the wine as if he couldn't take any more of the discussion.
"My lord, I will take your leave now," he said with a slurred voice, slowly rising from the stool. "Hoping to see you soon back where you belong."
He hiccuped and half-bowed, leaving the inn with an unsteady pace.
"Now I know why you kept your hood up every time we touched the coast of your home country," Marlen said. "Mikis and my father knew who you are."
"So your face is well known in your kingdom." Rena didn't dare call it Outremer anymore – she'd always known eventually he'd want it back.
"I'm the prince heir," he replied. "At twenty I started having a very public life. Everybody in Noavaria knows my face. Much like most Amazons recognize you on sight, Princess."
"Do you want to go back now?" Marlen asked.
"It's been almost four years since my father was murdered and I was sold to Jonik Gyllymer so the Council could usurp my father's place. The war with the neighboring kingdom was just an excuse to cover the coup."
"Which was ruined by our intervention," Alexia smiled. "Do you think the rebels are led by the Assassins Guild?"
"No, Ritchie would have told me two years ago." Marlen shook her head. "Although they might have started it later..."
"I need to know what's really going on," Jakez said, determined. "Let's talk to the Queen and see if she supports my claim or not."
"Jakez, it's not Queen Julianna who conquered Noavaria, it's Rena," Alexia said, amused. "You don't need to go to Maadre, the princess has the same power as her mother."
Jakez pursed his lips and pondered.
"People still love you over there," Marlen said. "Didn't you hear Gorgo Savalas? Don't consider Mikis, who never cared for nobility, but my father also holds you in high esteem. You should go back and sit on your father's throne."
"I will." He sighed. "But I'm not ready yet."
"What's missing?" Rena asked, puzzled.
"I don't know. Maybe a final push."
"If I were you, I'd go back, if only to kick the Council's asses!"
"It's not that easy," he said with a weak smile. "Not easy at all."
There was a secret lingering in the air, but Jakez kept it to himself. Marlen gave up asking questions and waited until they retired to sleep. Rena and Alexia slept together, so she shared a room with Jakez who was still brooding.
"You're living in the past," she told him as they lay side by side.
He stopped staring at the ceiling to look at her. "You're right," he admitted. "Meeting Gorgo Savalas brought back lots of memories. I need to make up my mind, but I can't do it right now."
"I know you're deeply involved emotionally at the moment, so I'm thinking I should distract you to keep your mind off the topic until you can see it more clearly, what do you think?"
"Good idea." He smiled, caressing her cheek. "And how do you propose to keep my mind busy?"
"Mind and body, Jakez," she said with an impish smile. "In the oldest way of the world."
He chuckled. "Thank you, Marlen," he said before kissing her passionately, finally relaxing.
***
They were still in Deltacity when Marlen also caught up with her past. Her first love, Lucas, found her at the inn she was still staying at, and her heart missed a beat when she saw him.
"I met Mikis," he said with a sheepish smile. "He gave me news of you, including the fact that you seduced our prince heir..."
"I didn't seduce anyone," she snapped, jarred. "Mikis is jealous and wanted an excuse to break up with me."
"Sorry," he apologized. "So, no man?"
"Not yet. What about you, did you get married?" They were both twenty-three now, most people their age had already started families. She hadn't yet because she didn't feel she'd found the place to call home and the man she wanted to father her children, but maybe it was time to make some serious attempts at building something.
"I..." Lucas blushed. "I consider myself married, even if no priest would sanctify the union."
"Oh! Congratulations! Do I know her?"
"No, you don't know him." He averted his eyes. "Mikis told me you had a crush on me."
"True," she admitted, puzzled. "But you left before I could tell you."
"I'd have disappointed you. My father took me away because I was madly in love with Mikis's brother."
She gaped at him. That's what Mikis had kept from her about her precious first love! He prefers men, like Rena prefers women! It hurt less than expected, though. It had been seven years since she'd last seen him.
"My father tried to re-educate me," Lucas continued. "Until I got away from him. I ran away from the Kingdom of Noavaria before it became an Amazon colony. I jumped on a ship mere days before the Amazon fleet attacked. But I'm not very smart or even a good sailor, so I put myself in trouble. And then he saved me and I stuck to him. Mikis told me that you, being an Amazon, can understand me."
"Half-Amazon," she corrected absentmindedly. "Who is he?"
"He's an adventurer, he says he has no country, he's a citizen of the world. He is strong but sweet and nobody ever cared for me as much as he does. He's very smart, but he loves me and I adore him."
"You're not stupid, just... different," she said, thoughtful.
"Are you disappointed?" he asked, worried.
"I guess I didn't really know you." She sighed. "I'm glad you found the love of your life."
He brightened. "Thank you! Mikis was so mean... He must hate me!"
She smiled. "He was jealous of you. Besides, if you drooled over his precious brother..."
"True." Lucas sighed. "So, have you tried women in the Queendom of Maadre?"
"No, although Rena has been trying to seduce me since she met me," she answered, amused.
"What about the prince, what is he like?"
"A brooding beau with lots of secrets. He's not going back to Noavaria yet."
"Well, I'm not going back either." Lucas scrunched his nose. "Nobody would accept my beloved."
"So, where do you live?"
"Everywhere. We have a nomadic life – and it's bliss!"
She grinned. "Hope to meet him one day..."
Then Lucas was gone and so was the memory of her first love. Who preferred men. Life was strange. She'd been quite nomadic too, since she'd left Noavaria, and now she wasn't sure where she belonged. She didn't think the Queendom was home and she didn't know where her heart was.
Home will be with the man I love, the father of my children. And she hoped to meet him soon, so she could start that family she wanted more and more every passing day.
Part Three
11. PIRATE
Queen Julianne had sent a message – her daughter should stop wandering and come home. Thus Captain Xavier had said good-bye to his daughter, the princess, and Alexia and Jakez, and they'd embarked on a ship headed home. And then the lookout warned of a pirate ship fast approaching. It was an old carrack that looked patched together from different ships.
"Floating trash," Rena said with contempt as they prepared for the assault.
The pirates displayed a black sail, as if to mock the Amazon vessel.
"Bastards!" Rena said through clenched teeth.
"It's a threat," Marlen told Jakez. "They intend to destroy us like they did the ship from which they took that sai
l."
"Wonderful," he said. "Nice of them to issue a warning. Pity our princess took it as a challenge instead!"
Marlen smiled.
"Shut up and get ready for the battle!" Rena snapped. She wasn't really the captain of the ship, but since she was an army commander and the Queen's daughter, the Amazon captain gladly let her lead the defense.
The two ships got close enough to have a full battle on both decks. The crew was defeated, its passengers captured, its goods taken and the empty shell was left behind not far from the Amazon coast. Marlen, Jakez, Rena and Alexia discovered that the captain was a young man who had looked vicious during the battle, but unfit to command. He must have hidden qualities if his men followed him.
Strange, blue, cat-like eyes stared at the prisoners. "Gareth Angell at your service." He introduced himself with a smile. He had black curly hair and a colorful patchwork tunic that made him look like a beggar more than a pirate captain. "Actually, I'm afraid you're going to serve me. Amazons sell well on the slave marketplace."
"Bastard!" Rena exclaimed. "You don't know who I am!"
"And who are you?" he asked, mildly curious.
Alexia and Marlen wanted to hit the princess so she'd shut up, but their hands were tied behind their backs. Sometimes Rena was really dumb. Did she really think revealing who she was would save her ass? Of course her mother would ransom her, but she'd have to pay a much higher price if the pirate knew Rena's real worth.
"I'm the Queen's daughter!" the blonde said proudly.
"That's great, Princess, you're worth a princely ransom, then," he replied with a scoff. "I'm sure your mother would pay any price to have you back."
"Bastard!"
"Well, of course, I'm a pirate," he retorted. "Now calm down, sweetheart, if you don't want me to teach you some good manners."
"Don't call me sweetheart and you've nothing to teach me!" Rena snapped venomously.
"Really?" He grinned. "Let's go to my cabin to talk about it." He grabbed her arm. "I've got an empty bed, my pretty Amazon," he told her as she tried to free herself, finally aware of the danger she'd put herself into.
"Wait!" Marlen said. "Take me instead."
Gareth Angell hesitated and stared at her.
"Well, of course, we'd better not ruin our richest hostage," he said, letting go of Rena. "Lock them up, and nobody touches the blonde," he ordered to his men. "You, come with me." He grabbed Marlen's arm and yanked her towards the lower decks and the cabins.
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