The Emperor

by Norman, John;

  “What greater cruelty could be concealed within so deceptive a wrapper of kindness?” said Ingeld. “Better the knives and needles, the feeding of filchen!”

  “The court,” said Otto, “accepts the view of the king of the Drisriaks.”

  “No!” cried Ingeld. “No!”

  “It is so, be it so,” said Titus Gelinus.

  “It is so, be it so,” said several in the chamber.

  “Remove the prisoner,” said Otto.

  Ingeld, raging and struggling, in the grasp of guards, was dragged from the room.

  “My thanks to the king of the Otungen, the chieftain of the Wolfungs, the emperor of Telnaria,” said Abrogastes.

  “Another prisoner is to be considered,” said Otto, “he before us, kneeling, chained, clad in the garb of a slave, the conspirator and traitor, Corelius of Telnar.”

  “Mercy!” begged Corelius.

  “He lacks noble blood and high station,” said Otto. “Thus, he qualifies as a common miscreant. Thus, tradition, custom, and propriety, not to speak of law, place before us a plethora of penalties, these widely ranging in degrees of severity.”

  “My crimes were nothing compared to those of Ingeld, the Drisriak!” cried Corelius.

  “What should be done with him?” inquired Otto.

  A number of suggestions were then forthcoming from the throng in the throne room. These need not be listed nor elaborated upon but Corelius more than once shuddered with fear, a reaction for which few, under the circumstances, could blame him.

  “His crimes were not only against Telnaria,” said Otto, “but also against others, not of Telnaria. He was generous in his treacheries, bestowing them liberally.”

  “Give him to me,” said Abrogastes. “Deliver him the justice of the Drisriaks.”

  “Do not!” wept Corelius.

  “One might consider delivering him to a male brothel,” said Otto, “but his left profile, which he might be expected to exhibit, would make him a bad investment.”

  There was laughter in the room.

  No free women were present.

  “Perhaps one could make him a slave in a woman’s prison,” said Otto.

  “Hooks, knives, fang fish!” cried several in the room.

  “Justice is often swayed by public preferences,” said Titus Gelinus. “What judge does not consider the public consequences of his decisions, including those to his future, irrelevant to the law as they may be.”

  “Many judges,” said Iaachus, “decide with an eye to their tenure and promotion, decide with an eye on the approval of their superiors, and, ultimately, of the emperor.”

  “I am the emperor,” said Otto.

  “The city wants the blood of Corelius,” said Julian, “for his facilitating and abetting the raid of Abrogastes.”

  “And Abrogastes,” said Rurik, “wants his blood for the treachery done to him, that leading to his capture and, subsequently, to the capture of his son, Ortog, prince of the Drisriaks, king of the Ortungen, putting both in mortal peril.”

  “Even an emperor,” said Titus Gelinus, “is well advised to attend to murmurs in the taverns, markets, theaters, and streets.”

  “Power is never absolute,” said Iaachus.

  “It cannot be, as long as the leader needs the led,” said Julian.

  “Or as long,” said Iaachus, “as a ring can contain poison or a folded handkerchief conceal a dagger.”

  “Abrogastes,” said Otto, “dear friend, mighty enemy, I have spared one life; I would that you might spare another.”

  “I understand,” said Abrogastes, “one life for another.”

  “I am Telnarian,” cried Corelius, “do not give me to a barbarian!”

  “I herewith deliver, as a gift, the wretch, Corelius of Telnar, to Abrogastes, king of the Drisriaks.”

  “No, no!” cried Corelius.

  “He will tend pigs on Tenguthaxichai,” said Abrogastes, “far from fine linen and gold, barefoot and in rags, wading amongst swill and mud.”

  “No!” cried Corelius, lifting his chained wrists to Otto.

  “It is so, be it so,” said Titus Gelinus.

  “It is so, be it so,” said others in the chamber.

  “Remove the prisoner,” said Otto.

  Corelius was led from the chamber.

  The seated scribes added a further notation to their records.

  At a nod from Otto, Titus Gelinus announced that the session of the court was concluded, after which most of the throng in attendance, including the scribes, then excused, withdrew from the chamber. A small number, however, mostly intimates of the emperor, were asked to remain.

  “A little business,” said Otto, “remains to be done.”

  Chapter Ninety-Five

  Viviana knelt before the throne, much as she had knelt earlier, some days ago, in the dining chamber, in the same brief, silken tunic, from Varick’s Market, though it had been washed the day before. The slave, too, her chains removed and then replaced, had been washed, and brushed, and combed this morning. Slaves are expected to be cleanly, and meticulous in their appearance. As owned animals, as with dogs and horses, their grooming is important. She, too, had been well fed and watered. The slave is expected to be well cared for, including being well rested and well exercised, as any other valuable animal. Too, of course, these attentions lead to the health, vitality, and attractiveness of the animal, and it is generally accepted, at least amongst free men, that the most attractive and desirable of all animals is the female slave. Certainly, they seek them out, fiercely, buy and sell them, raid for them and fight for them. The women of the enemy are always prize loot. What woman, in her heart, does not understand that she is booty?

  “We are going to call you ‘Viviana’, slave,” said Otto.

  “I am Viviana,” said the girl.

  “That is a slave name, of course,” said Otto, “as slaves, as other animals, have no name in their own right, merely a name put on you by the will of the free, and changeable at will.”

  “Yes, Master,” said Viviana.

  “It must be an interesting feeling for you,” said Otto, “to kneel before the throne, a slave, when you had often, on your own throne, near the emperor’s throne, attended state functions, audiences, and such.”

  “Yes, Master,” she said, “but I now belong where I am.”

  “And even before?” asked Otto.

  “Yes, Master,” said Viviana. “Even before.”

  “You are an attractive slave, Viviana,” said Otto. “You might bring several darins in a market.”

  “Thank you, Master,” said Viviana.

  “Free her,” said Aesilesius, angrily, standing near the arm of the throne.

  “No,” said Otto.

  “May I withdraw?” asked Aesilesius.

  “No,” said Otto.

  “I do not care to see my sister so,” said Aesilesius.

  “Legally,” said Titus Gelinus, “she is no longer your sister, but an animal, a slave.”

  “By blood,” said Aesilesius.

  There were not many in the throne room, certainly not compared to the throng which had filled the chamber earlier, but there were several, other than some guards. As indicated, Aesilesius and Titus Gelinus were present. Also in attendance were Iaachus, the Arbiter of Protocol; Julian, of the Aureliani; Tuvo Ausonius, originally from Miton; and Rurik, the Tenth Consul of Larial VII, of the Larial Farnichi. Interestingly, two barbarians, other than the emperor himself, if we dare to count him as a barbarian, were present, Abrogastes, the Far-Grasper, king of the Drisriaks, and Ortog, prince of the Drisriaks, and king of the Ortungen. There were no women present, other than the slave, either free or slave.

  “Look upon this slave, kneeling, in her tunic and chains,” said Otto.

  “I do not care to do so,” said Aesile
sius, looking away.

  “Do so,” said Otto.

  Aesilesius, angrily, turned to view the slave.

  “Does she look different, different from any other slave?” asked Otto.

  “No,” said Aesilesius.

  “You were not close to one another,” said Otto.

  “No,” said Aesilesius. “She despised me, as a cripple, a weakling, a timid, mindless fool.”

  “How you must have hated her,” said Otto.

  “As she did me,” said Aesilesius.

  “She is a slave,” said Otto. “You could now put her under the lash.”

  “I do not care to do so,” said Aesilesius.

  “I do not think you know your sister,” said Otto.

  “I know all I care to know,” said Aesilesius.

  “You know much of what it is to be a man,” said Otto, “but you may not know much of what it is to be a woman. Many men project what they know of men onto women. That is a mistake. Men and women are both precious and marvelous, but they are not the same. Women will strive to be like men if they fear and hate men, or will try to be like men to please men, thinking that is how men want them to be, more men, other men, but they are not truly more men, or other men. They are different, deeply and wonderfully so.”

  “I understand nothing of this,” said Aesilesius.

  “Regard that woman, kneeling in her chains,” said Otto. “She is a slave.”

  “Legally,” said Aesilesius.

  “Legally, yes,” said Otto, “but far more so in her heart and mind.”

  “Surely not,” said Aesilesius.

  “Look upon her,” said Otto. “Women desire strong men and respond sexually to them. Why before strong men do they feel yielding and weak and their bodies burn with flaming need? They know in their heart they have been bred by nature to belong to masters. Why do they despise and strive to manipulate accommodating weaklings, and are all too often successful? They would punish them for not being the masters, dominant and confident, they crave.”

  “I understand nothing of this,” said Aesilesius.

  “Look upon her,” said Otto. “She is now wholly, and only, a slave, in her heart, mind, and belly. No longer does she have a place amongst free women. Let them not be shamed, and scandalized, by her presence. She has been at a man’s feet, and has discovered she belongs there.”

  “See her, dear Aesilesius,” said Julian. “It has been done to her.”

  “Once a slave always a slave,” said Iaachus.

  “Let her remain in chains,” said Julian. “It is where she belongs.”

  “Let the empire not be shamed,” said Iaachus.

  “If she is a slave, let her be a slave,” said Otto. “If she belongs in a collar, let her be in a collar.”

  “I do not care to see her so,” said Aesilesius. “She is shamed.”

  “Do you see all such women as shamed?” asked Otto.

  “Certainly not,” said Aesilesius, “not if they are slaves, and should be slaves, and it is right for them.”

  “I suspect,” said Abrogastes, “that young Aesilesius is concerned more with himself than the slave.”

  “She is shamed,” said Aesilesius.

  “She is not shamed,” said Otto. “She is fulfilled.”

  “Shamed!” said Aesilesius.

  “If so,” said Otto, “let her then rejoice in her shame, welcoming it, and loving it, for in it she finds her fulfillment.”

  “Do you not want she who was your sister to be happy?” asked Abrogastes.

  “Only if properly so,” said Aesilesius.

  “Who decides what is proper?” asked Abrogastes.

  “I do,” said Aesilesius.

  “You would impose your views, your values, upon her?” asked Abrogastes.

  “Of course,” said Aesilesius.

  “Have you so little feeling for her, care for her so little, have so little respect for her, have so little understanding of her wants and needs?” asked Abrogastes.

  “Free her,” said Aesilesius to Otto.

  “Freedom is precious,” said Otto.

  “So, too, is love, and being what one is in one’s heart,” said Viviana. “Let each woman be what she is and wants to be.”

  “No,” said Aesilesius.

  “I have never felt more real and more free than in my collar,” said Viviana. “The collar has liberated me to be myself. I am thankful.”

  “No!” cried Aesilesius.

  “Scorn me, if you wish!” said Viviana. “I am a slave! It is what I am, and want to be! How can one be more free than when one is oneself?”

  “Do you wish to be whipped?” asked Aesilesius.

  “No, Master,” said Viviana, “but I wish to be subject to the whip, and I wish to know that I will be whipped if I am not pleasing.”

  “And so you strive to be pleasing?” said Aesilesius.

  “A girl hopes to please her Master,” said Viviana.

  “I see,” said Aesilesius.

  “Yet,” said Viviana, “an occasional stroke, hopefully rare, is sometimes useful. It helps to remind a girl that she is a slave. It reassures her. Even the kindest and most loving of Masters should never let a girl forget that she is a slave.”

  “I see,” said Aesilesius.

  “The slave wants to know she is a slave,” said Viviana.

  “And the lash,” said Iaachus, “reminds her well.”

  “So you are a slave?” said Aesilesius.

  “Yes, Master,” said Viviana.

  “We shall see,” said Aesilesius. “Have her chains removed.”

  “Remove her chains,” said Otto to a guard.

  The slave’s chains were removed. The slave remained kneeling, not having been given permission to rise.

  “Now,” said Aesilesius, “crawl to that other guard, he farther off, not he holding the chains, and beg to lick and kiss his feet.”

  Viviana went to all fours and crawled to the other guard. She put her head down, humbly.

  “I beg to lick and kiss your feet,” she said.

  The guard looked to Otto. “Permit it,” said Otto.

  “You may do so,” said the guard.

  Viviana put her head down, her hair like a loose, blonde shower about the guard’s feet. In a few moments Aesilesius cried out, angrily, “Enough! Return!” Then he said to the guard who was near, he who held the chains. “Put her in chains. She belongs in chains.”

  “Chain her,” said Otto.

  Shortly then, Viviana knelt again, as she had before, half naked, helpless, a slave, chained before the throne.

  “How dared you obey such a command?” asked Aesilesius.

  “How would I dare not obey?” asked Viviana.

  “Were you not horrified to obey such a command?” asked Aesilesius.

  “It does not horrify a slave to be a slave,” said Viviana. “It fulfills and pleases her.”

  “It pleased you?” asked Aesilesius, angrily.

  “It pleased me to obey the command of a free man,” she said. “It pleases me to be the slave I am, and want to be. It pleases me to be humble and grateful, and please the free. It pleases me to be owned, to be willingly and joyfully choiceless, to be marked, collared, and mastered.”

  “No!” said Aesilesius.

  “Do not torment her,” said Otto.

  “Take this slave away,” said Aesilesius.

  “A moment,” said Otto. “Slave,” he said.

  “Master?” asked Viviana.

  “As a slave,” said Otto, “it would doubtless be wise to keep you in ignorance. There seems little need to inform animals of the doing of Masters. Who would explain things to a dog or horse? Yet, in this case, I am prepared to make an exception.”

  “Master in his kindness,” said Viviana
, “would explain to me the fate of Master Ingeld, prince of the Drisriaks.”

  “You know of it?” asked Otto.

  “The news coursed through the corridors of the palace like the flash of light,” said Viviana. “Lord Ingeld is to be sent to a far world, a rude, primitive world, one far from the lanes of commerce, one as of now uncharted. Too, he has been denied followers, men, cohorts.”

  “Does this sentence seem too cruel?” asked Otto.

  “It is far less cruel than what I, in great fear, had anticipated,” she said. “I feared not only execution, but an execution of prolonged horror. I thank Master for sparing his life.”

  “You are interested in the matter?” asked Otto.

  “Desperately, profoundly,” she said.

  “I surmised so,” said Otto.

  “While I waited in the corridor, crouching in a slave cage, waiting to be brought before the imperial throne, an unbelievable thing for a slave, Lord Ingeld, wild in his chains, in fury, was hastened past me. I cried out to him, at the risk of a whipping, and extended my hand through the bars, but he paid me no attention.”

  “Perhaps he did not recognize you,” said Otto.

  “No,” said Viviana, tears in her eyes, “he knew me. He merely scorned me as the worthless slave I am.”

  “It seems,” said Iaachus, “that Prince Ingeld would have preferred an execution, even one lengthy and decidedly unpleasant, to years of isolation, futility, and loneliness on a remote world, one possibly uninhabited, even without life, or, it may be, one roamed by savage and dangerous life forms, rational or irrational, say, hostile, isolated tribes, far from civilization, or strange, predatory animals.”

  “I read Ingeld differently,” said Otto. “Once his rage passes, I think he will cling to life with tenacity, vowing vengeance and return.”

  “I trust that no records are to be kept,” said Iaachus, “indicating on which of the thousands of such remote and uncharted worlds Ingeld is to be marooned.”

  “Correct,” said Otto.

  “Then,” said Iaachus, “let him storm, rage, and howl as he will. He could not be rescued, even if some mad faction should desire to do so.”

  “I think we have little to fear in that respect, such a desire on the part of dissident factions,” said Otto.