But then I had to wonder how many people had ever got to witness the softer side to her as I had. It may have been brief but for someone who obviously cared a great deal for my husband, then she had shown nothing but kindness to me. She’d tried to comfort me in her own way and even now she was doing everything to try and ensure my safety. I knew one thing for sure and that was I was definitely lucky to have her on my side in all of this.
“I want a word with the girl.” Ranka ordered as one of the servants tried to drag me away by the arms.
“Very well but if urgency is as you say then do not take long for I have much to do and no time in which to do it,” Parmida warned. I looked down at their hands as if silently telling them to let go of me but it was only when they received a nod from their mistress that they complied. I then walked back to my only friend in all this to no doubt hear her last few words of wisdom and if I was going to survive being in the harem, then I would need all the advice I could get.
“I must now leave you here and go and report to the King.” Just at the mention of him my heart rate spiked.
“What will you say?”
“I will answer whatever he asks of me,” she replied, giving nothing away.
“Yeah, but what is he likely to ask?”
“Knowing the King, he will want to question me further about when I found you. He will ask if I trust you and also most likely want to know my judgement on making you his next concubine.”
“What will you tell him?” I asked excited and nervous at the same time at the thought of him asking about me. She raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘well what do you think’.
“I will be as honest as I can be but I will also explain my concerns about your safety down here and hope he will agree with my recommendation of moving you to safer quarters.”
“Oh yes, that would be good, I like that idea.” I told her, even more grateful to have her at my back.
“I thought you would. But until something can be done you need to be careful and consider all in here your enemy.” I looked around seeing that all eyes were still on me and some looked on with outright hatred, but there were also those who looked on with pity, which had me wondering, could she be right, would everyone here be my enemy?
“The King waits for no man!” Parmida said clapping her hands to tell us that our time was up. Ranka frowned over my head and before the servants could drag me away again, she grabbed my arm and said,
“Remember, Chosen… trust no one.” I nodded and before I knew it I was being dragged away and the only reason I let this happen was because I knew all that Ranka had done to get me here. She truly believed this was the only way to get close to the King and whilst I wasn’t exactly in the safest place, at least it gave Ranka the time to find my friends like she said she would.
She had also made some pretty dire threats to the one in charge so fingers crossed my chances at survival had just gone up significantly…or at least one could hope. And whilst I was hoping, I also included Draven taking Ranka’s advice and moving me from this place sooner rather than later. I was in half a mind to ask if they didn’t have a tower around here they could lock me in until Draven asked for me. Well he had always joked about locking me in a tower, so maybe this would be his only opportunity to do so. I smiled at the thought of fun times with Draven, whom I was missing as if someone had chopped off a limb.
They took me down some steps into a separate room and I looked back over my shoulder to Ranka until I was pulled out of sight. I would never forget the look on Ranka’s face…she was obviously worried. Meanwhile my heart was beating wildly as I was quickly surrounded by so many slaves I couldn’t count them all for all the movement that was going on around me. From what I could see of the room it appeared to be a tiled treatment room for it had a sunken bath to one side and a stone table at the other. It had a vaulted ceiling and as I looked up I started to feel dizzy as all the paintings seemed to be merging into one.
“Hey, easy there,” I said as one of the brutish women tried to undress me, getting frustrated with the button on my jeans and bringing me back to my situation.
“Wait, just stop!” I shouted to another woman as she pulled at my T shirt as if she was trying to rip it from me.
“Get off me!”
“Now listen to me, girl!” Parmida suddenly came up in front of my face and shouted down at me as she was taller by a good few inches.
“This body no longer belongs to you it belongs to the King! And as the King’s property it has been entrusted to my care to see that it is fit for him to bed. Now I will do that anyway I can with or without your consent. But this will go a lot quicker and easier if you do not fight my slaves, for know this, we will do this by force if that is the way it is to be. Do you understand?” I took a deep breath and knew what she was saying was right. In their world I was no longer my own person but just another body to warm the King’s bed and being in this world I now had to act the part. So as much as it pained me to do so, I nodded my acceptance and let my hands drop.
“Very good. With an attitude like that you will make it far in this harem and you never know, one day you may find yourself head concubine,” Parmida said grinning, showing me a full set of yellowed teeth and when she took out a long wooden pipe to smoke I knew why.
“Okay but, but…just let me do it.” I told her pushing the slave’s hands away from my private girl parts. I just knew this was going to feel like one violating moment after another and that I had no choice but to let it all happen. The slave looked towards Parmida and she only let go of me when her mistress nodded. So slowly I began to undress under too many watchful eyes to count. It was one of the most humiliating things I had ever done in my life and because of it I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking.
I couldn’t look at the others as I started to pull each item of clothing off my body and when I was just down to my underwear I heard Parmida cluck her tongue, telling me she wanted it all off. I reached around to my back and unclipped my bra letting it fall on the pile next to my feet. Then I slipped my briefs from my legs and added them to what was left of my time.
“Good. Very good, now into the bath with you!” she said clapping twice. I did as I was told and was at least thankful to find it warm as I slipped my leg under the water, followed by the rest of my reluctant body. I let my head fall back against the side as the flurry of hands started working around me.
“Add the salts and oils. You two work on the legs, you two on the arms and you and Mika on her hair, bring that bucket! And oils, where are my oils?” Parmida started barking her orders around me whilst I tried to drown it all out by looking up at the ceiling. Whereas the images had once merged into one when I was standing, now they were starting to tell a story.
I would wince and jump when my limbs were stretched out to be washed by hands I didn’t know. The feeling made me feel sick to my stomach and the only way to get past it was to concentrate on those pictures above me. It took me a while to decipher exactly what I was looking at and as soon as I did I decided it was better to just close my eyes and start my mantra of ‘there’s no place like home’. It was that or look at the Persian version of porn painted on the ceiling.
“You must be wrong, get out of my way and let me see!” Hearing Parmida’s agitated voice made me open my eyes to see everyone was suddenly backing away from me.
“Now show me!” she snapped at the servant next to her but looking down at me.
“There see, she has no hair on her legs or under her arms and she has hardly any hair between her legs.” The servant said holding out one of my legs and I had to squash down the urge to kick out with my other one. Seriously, could this get any more embarrassing? I almost wished I hadn’t shaved ready for my wedding now. Which made me wonder, if they didn’t have razors then by the time I got back I could end up having legs and pits like Chewbacca! That wasn’t a sexy thought at all.
“You have no hair, why?” Parmida asked obviously now convinced that she wasn’t being l
ied to.
“I don’t remember.” I said deciding this was safer than saying a woman name Gillette shaved it all off. She raised a sceptical eyebrow at me but said nothing.
“The Gods have blessed you with the softest, palest skin I have ever seen and the King will be pleased. Now wash her hair and let us hope it too is in as good a condition as her skin.” Parmida declared, then clicked her fingers to the two who had been brushing my hair for what felt like an hour now. I was just thankful that whatever oil they had put on it was making it easier to brush through the knots, as I hardly felt a thing.
In the end I don’t know how long it was that I was manhandled for but it felt like a whole day by the time they were finished with me. I was exhausted and emotionally drained thanks to having nothing to do other than lose myself in my own mind. As it turned out my thoughts were more torturous than anything all those rough hands had done to my body because now all I felt was more alone than I ever had before. Even now, sat in a room full of people who all looked as though they belonged here, all I felt like was a sitting duck with a target on my back just waiting for that first knife to be thrown.
They had cleaned every inch of me over and over again until it felt as though I had lost layers of skin. Even my hair had been washed again and again until it felt stripped of any natural oils. After this and feeling more prune like than ever before I was allowed out of the bath and dried off. Then I was placed on the table and the beauty treatments began. Oils and salts were rubbed into my skin and then removed again, leaving softer skin underneath. My hair also received a citrus and olive smelling oil that tickled my nose.
The only time Parmida got involved and did anything herself was when she attended to my bruises. She plastered on a thick layer of pungent smelling paste, placed large green leaves on top and then wrapped my ribs in long sheets of hemp. She also rubbed a white sandy paste onto my bruised cheek and left it on for a few hours before the other servants were allowed to wipe it clean. I had no idea what was in any of this stuff but was surprised to find that it seemed to be working as it was taking a lot of the soreness away.
Which brought me to now and how I had been dressed in the finest red silks with a gold paisley pattern bordering the edges. I had on wide floaty trousers that were split up the sides but tight to my ankles and waist with bands of stiff gold that looked like shackles. Matching this was a little cropped top that was shaped like something you would wear to work out in and one so tight it acted like a push up bra, being very exposed with a deep V at the front. Thankfully though this wasn’t the whole outfit as to cover up my wounds they had wrapped lengths of the same silk around one shoulder first and then tied it loosely at the waist, giving me back some of my modesty.
My hair was now dry and I was happy to report it looked like spun gold and was pinned to one side hanging down in perfect waves. I don’t know what that hair oil was called but I could make a fortune back home if I got the ingredients before I left. All in all, I looked a lot better than I felt as I was now sat propped up against a mountain of pillows once the servants had come along and ushered everyone out of the space. Well if I wanted to alienate myself and add to my list of enemies then I was doing a bang up job without even trying.
“Can I sit here?” A small quiet voice spoke and in response came the sound of clashing metal as two guards blocked her path with their spears crossing over.
“It’s fine, she can sit with me,” I said hoping they would let her through as I was slowly going crazy sat here on my own, wallowing away in my depressing thoughts.
“We have our orders,” they snapped back and the young beauty shrugged her shoulders and gave me a sympathetic look before leaving. My own shoulders dropped and I let myself fall back against the cushions with a sigh. Lay like this I could see the top of the room and all around was a stone balcony with a carved trellis that carefully hid anyone behind it, which was precisely what it was doing now.
I could see a large shadow of a man stood there as if silently watching the room below. No, I had that wrong, because it wasn’t just the room below he was watching but more specifically…it was me.
I braved looking straight back at him as if daring him to move to one of the open parts of the design in the wooden panels and show himself. I could tell the man was hooded and obviously taking steps to conceal himself, not just behind the beautiful trellis, but also probably in getting there as well. So this meant he was someone who wasn’t allowed to be there or someone that was but didn’t want anyone knowing.
I only broke away what I believed was eye contact when Parmida clapped her hands, making me jump.
“Time for rest, come with me King’s Lamb,” she said but my eyes quickly shot back to the balcony only to find the man was gone.
“Now!” she added when I obviously wasn’t moving quickly enough. I pushed myself up from the cushions, wincing when the burn in my ribs came back and I was left hoping that I hadn’t cracked one as I’d first suspected. Once up I followed Parmida through one of the arches that framed what I called the open communal room and soon found that each arch was a separate sleeping space. I couldn’t help but notice that mine was further back from the rest and the guards that followed us situated themselves outside without any orders.
They didn’t have doors but sheer blue curtains that cast a calming glow on the small room. They were only big enough to sleep in and not much else as they were about the size of a double bed. Large square cushions filled the space in the same calming blue and purple tones as the curtains that covered the walls and high domed ceiling. It reminded me of sleeping in a little one-man Arabian tent for the night and I quickly wished I wasn’t alone, knowing there was only one man who I wanted to share this little space with.
“Now you will sleep for no less than twelve hours as your body needs to heal quickly.”
“Yeah but twelve hours…!” I started to moan when she clapped her hands again, which seemed to be her favourite way of communicating.
“You will do as I say or I will drug you to make you sleep, it is your choice,” she said folding her arms making her baggy shirt sleeves hang down past her big belly. I sighed and knew that her threats were as real as the threats on my life were back out there and I knew both could find me dead quicker than I would like, because being drugged was not an option for me.
“Fine, I will sleep.” I conceded and she nodded once and grinned that yellow grin before walking out. Well at least I could see the silhouette of the guards still standing watch outside of the little bed space. But even knowing they were there it still took me forever to get to sleep and it was only when I could hear the others being herded off to their own rooms that I finally started to relax. It had been a long and traumatic day so in the end I wasn’t surprised that when the communal room beyond mine lost most of its warm glow from lit torches, was when my eyes finally started to close.
But even through my exhaustion there must have been something in the back of my mind that told me to keep alert because my eyes opened the second I heard the sound of weapons being drawn from outside my door. I didn’t move like I wanted to as I didn’t want whoever was out there to know I was awake just yet. So I lay perfectly still holding my breath as I watched the two guards outside being approached by a large figure. Well, with someone of that size I could at least rule out it being one of the other girls.
I was expecting the guards to cross over their weapons like they did last time but I was shocked to see that this didn’t happen. Actually it was the complete opposite, because the second the figure spoke they not only lowered their weapons but actually lowered their bodies to the ground. Suddenly my nerves shot through the roof and I had to grip onto the cushions with my fists just to steady my hands.
I wanted to sit up and face the man about to walk through that doorway, finally getting my chance to say what I wanted to say. But then my mind thought things through and I realised that I just couldn’t do it. How could I tell him the things I had been dreaming of saying mos
t of the day. It just wasn’t possible.
So in the end I knew it was better not saying anything and let him believe I was asleep. Because as soon as I saw those two men bow to the hooded figure that’s when I knew who it was that had come to see me…
The King.
Chapter 41
Dreams of the Past
As I waited for the faint whoosh of the curtains to be pulled back I held myself perfectly still whilst trying to appear asleep. I had to remind myself to breathe as I felt his presence enter the small space and for a moment I wondered what he would do first. Would he wake me? Would he touch me? Or would he simply look at me to see if I was worth all this fuss after all? I had no answers because like any other smart person I had my eyes closed as I feigned sleep.
It felt like an eternity before he actually moved and I was almost tempted to look as the suspense grew too much for me to bear. Thankfully though I felt his knee dip into the pillows next to me, so I knew he was getting closer. I took this as a good sign for if he hadn’t liked what he saw then surely he would have left by now.
I braced myself for his touch so that when I felt it I wouldn’t jump and react to it. But that didn’t mean when I felt his fingertips push my hair back on my forehead that my heart wasn’t beating wildly in my chest. It felt like when we first met and Draven used to come to my bedroom when I was asleep. Of course back then he used to make me believe it was all a dream, but now I knew better. Although I had to wonder what would happen if I opened my eyes right now, would he do the same?
His fingertips felt so gentle against my cheek, as if he was scared of not only waking me but also breaking me. I don’t know why but every small breath felt like my chest was heaving up, straining against the tight top I wore underneath the layers of silk. I was certainly on the bustier side of most the woman here as I guessed a lot of them came from backgrounds where food wasn’t as easy to come by, as it was usually in abundance for the rich and wealthy. In fact, that was another way you could tell who had been here longer, as on one side their bellies were rounder and hips wider and on the other side they were obviously much skinnier not yet having the time to fatten up.
Sacrifice of the Septimus: Part 2 (Afterlife saga Book 7) Page 5