The Twilight Lord

by Bertrice Small

  Then he turned and departed.

  “We do not have the gold?” Lenya said nervously.

  “I will put today’s open auction in the hands of my son,” the slave master said. “You and I shall go immediately to the treasury, my friend, and collect our payment. I trust no one, especially not the emperor. The girl shall not leave this place until we have our coin.”

  Lenya nodded and together the two men hurried to the large treasury building, a new structure located just inside the gates of the Golden District. Showing the scrip with the emperor’s seal they were permitted entry. An officious clerk peered suspiciously at the paper and then without a word called for his superior who in turn called for the assistant treasurer who looked at the scrip.

  Then he said, “How do you wish this paid out, sir?”

  “In a lump sum,” the slave master said.

  “No,” Lenya interjected. “Pay him his seven thousand five hundred coins. The remainder you will transfer immediately to Avram the Goldsmith in my name.”

  “You bank with Avram?” The slave master was surprised.

  The assistant treasurer turned to the slave master. “Sir?”

  “Do as he says,” the slave master told him. “He is Lenya the Slaver. The merchandise was his. I will take my commission and go.”

  “Have my monies transferred now,” Lenya told the assistant treasurer. “I am going to Avram to get the coin I will need to pay my men.”

  “I am curious,” the slave master said while the paperwork for the transfer was prepared. “What do you pay your men?”

  “They will each get five percent of my profit,” Lenya answered. “It is usually two percent of our sales. But I have never before gotten such a sum for a bevy of slaves, let alone one girl. I’m not a greedy man. My men have all been loyal and with me a long time. I shall retire to a small villa in the Coastal Kingdom now and take a wife.”

  “Here is your record of the transfer of funds,” the assistant treasurer said, handing the papers to Lenya.

  “Good day to you then,” Lenya told them and he was gone from the treasury.

  “What did you sell for him?” the assistant treasurer asked the auctioneer, curious.

  “A slave girl—an extraordinarily beautiful slave girl. The emperor purchased her,” the slave master said. “Fifty thousand gold coins. Not even the legendary Lara earned that sum for Gaius Prospero.”

  The treasurer handed the slave master a heavy bag of coins. “You shall have an escort back to your establishment,” he said. “Courtesy of the emperor, sir.”

  “Thank you,” the slave master nodded. He must be quick. The slave girl Shifra must be delivered immediately now that she had been paid for in full. He hurried from the treasury with the two armed mercenaries. When he returned he discovered that a litter had been sent from the emperor for his new purchase. His assistant, afraid to refuse a royal transport, had already sent the girl along. The slave master did not chide the man. He was actually relieved to be rid of Shifra now. Someone that beautiful was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.

  Shifra watched curiously as the litter carrying her passed through the streets of The City. She had been created for loving, Prince Kaliq had told her. She was meant for only a great man. Certainly the emperor was a great man. Did he not rule all of Hetar? She smiled, remembering how she had awakened one day to find the Shadow Princes standing over her. They had tended her lovingly and taught her all about passion and pleasures without once disturbing her virginity, which they assured her was for a great man alone. Who was she, she asked them? An orphan, they told her, raised by her grandmother and when they told her that, her memories of Nona were suddenly there. She had become lost in the forest and they had found her and healed her. Now she must return to her grandmother and let her fate play out. And because she had trusted the princes she had done as they bid her. And now she was to be rewarded. Gaius Prospero, the princes told Shifra, was going to fall in love with her. She had but to follow her instincts with him.

  The litter bearers hurried through the gates of the Golden District. The girl within looked out and saw a beautiful park surrounding the great marble mansions that dotted the landscape. They passed through another set of gates guarded by men-at-arms in elegant dark-blue-and-gold uniforms. Shifra heard gravel crunching beneath the sandals of the bearers, and then they came to a stop. The litter was set down, the curtain was opened and a hand reached in to help her out.

  “I am Tania, Lady Shifra, and I have been assigned to care for you,” the owner of the hand said. “If you will please follow me I will take you to the quarters that have been arranged for you.” She moved quickly away and Shifra had to run to keep up.

  They walked through a beautiful rotunda. At its center was a rectangular fountain decorated with a boy riding a bronze dolphin that spouted water from its mouth. There were water hyacinths floating in the pool and benches upon which to sit. Shifra had never seen anything like it and thought it was wonderful.

  “It is a very big house,” she ventured softly.

  “It is,” Tania agreed. “And since the master became emperor it has gotten even bigger. The northern wing, which was once used for housing my master’s special merchandise, has been rebuilt and enlarged. There is now a throne room, a great room for entertaining, a new dining room for feeding guests and, of course, the emperor’s right hand, Lord Jonah, has his offices and living quarters there. Such a man for work, Lord Jonah! Nowadays he spends a several months a year in Terah as the emperor’s ambassador, as well. He is probably the only person in Hetar that our emperor trusts.”

  “Where are we going?” Shifra asked.

  “You are to be housed in the west wing,” Tania replied.

  “Does anyone else live there?” the girl queried.

  “Indeed. The emperor’s wives, Lady Vilia and Lady Anora, live in the west wing. I will be frank with you, Lady Shifra. Neither will be pleased to know you. They are most jealous of their positions and have squabbled ever since my master became emperor over who should be empress, for neither has been appointed to that position.”

  “Oh,” Shifra said. This was something she would consider carefully.

  Ahead of them were tall twin doors covered in gold leaf. On either side of the door stood a man-at-arms. As they reached them the two guards snapped to attention and the doors sprang magically open for the two women to pass through.

  “Come this way,” Tania said to Shifra, leading her down a corridor.

  “Tania! Stop!” an imperious voice called out.

  “Aye, do not go a step farther,” another voice said.

  “Be silent,” Tania hissed to Shifra as she turned about. “Yes, my ladies?”

  “Is this the slave girl Gaius paid such a ridiculous sum for this afternoon?” came the query.

  “Yes, my lady Vilia, it is,” Tania replied politely.

  “Turn around, girl!” Lady Vilia said. “What is your name?”

  Shifra turned slowly, her eyes lowered. She bowed servilely, and responded in a soft little voice, “My name is Shifra, great lady.” Her eyes remained lowered.

  “Let me see your face, girl,” the lady Vilia said sharply. Her hand yanked Shifra’s head up roughly. She stared, displeased, but then she said, “I see nothing special in this girl that would have caused Gaius to waste so much coin. He must surely be entering his dotage. What do you think, Anora?”

  The other woman, younger and more beautiful than the first, looked Shifra over slowly and carefully. “She has very fair skin, Vilia. I expect the merest cut of my whip would break it. But then I expect we shall soon see, for Gaius needs not only to be whipped, but to whip in order to raise his cock to perform.” She ran a nail down the side of Shifra’s cheek, laughing softly at the faint weal it raised. “Oh yes, she will mark nicely and easily. Have you ever been whipped, girl? Your master is an expert at it.”

  “He will not whip me,” Shifra startled them by answering. “And he will need no whip to coax his coc
k to perform with me.”

  Anora laughed. “Gracious, the little slave girl has a bit of spirit. How amusing, and how intriguing, eh, Vilia?”

  “You will speak to me with respect, girl,” Vilia said sharply.

  “Yes, my lady empress,” Shifra said softly.

  “I am not the empress,” Vilia replied. She was not certain whether the girl was insulting her or not.

  “You are the emperor’s first wife, my lady, are you not?” Shifra said.

  “I am,” Vilia answered slowly.

  “Then you should be the empress,” Shifra told Vilia.

  “Well, I am not,” Vilia answered. Now she was truly confused. Was the girl mocking her or was she attempting to ingratiate herself? She smiled at the sour look on Anora’s pretty face, and decided that Shifra was being polite. “Take her along to her rooms, Tania,” she said.

  “You are a bold thing,” Tania said softly as they went along.

  “Why isn’t she empress if she is his first wife?” Shifra wanted to know.

  “Because he is afraid to make a choice between them,” Tania said. “The lady Vilia rarely graces his bed any longer but she is the mother of his children. He will not publicly show her any disrespect for while he has managed to make himself emperor, he still fears the common people. The lady Vilia is well liked for her many charities. The lady Anora, however, gives him relief as no other has been able to for several years since he was cursed by a faerie woman. He no longer enjoys pleasures.” She flung open the door at the end of the corridor they had been traversing. “Here we are,” she said.

  “You know a great deal about this house,” Shifra said low.

  “I have been a slave here for many, many years,” Tania answered. “I serve only Gaius Prospero and my allegiance has never wavered. It never will. I have his trust because I have earned his trust. If I speak candidly to you, my child, it is so you will successfully make your way here. He obviously saw something in you that caused him to spend more money than he has ever expended on anything. And he put you in my charge. It is therefore up to me to see you do not disappoint the emperor. Do you understand me, Shifra? I will guide you and you will follow.”

  Their eyes met and Shifra nodded slowly. “You will lead me, and I will follow you, Tania. I would be a fool not to and you will find I am not a fool.”

  Tania smiled. “I did not think you were, my child,” she said. “Now tell me when you last were bathed? The emperor will visit you later tonight and you will want to make every effort to please him at your first private meeting.”

  “They bathed me this morning in the slave merchant’s house before I was displayed for sale,” Shifra answered.

  “It will have been a hurried affair and the luxuries lacking,” Tania told her young companion. “We will begin again.” And for the next several hours she personally worked with the bath mistress and her assistants to perfect Shifra’s beauty. There was something about the girl, Tania thought, that reminded her of the fabled Lara and yet what it was she could not quite put her finger on. Because she knew him well, she suspected that something was what had caused Gaius Prospero to purchase the slave girl.

  Tania questioned Shifra gently as she worked. It was important that she know everything about the girl that she could if she was to help her succeed with the emperor and Tania realized that she wanted the girl to succeed. Her master needed a beautiful young wife to present to the people as his empress. And as she had told Shifra, Gaius Prospero could not choose between Vilia and Anora.

  Lady Vilia was intelligent, attractive, the mother of the emperor’s children, but ambitious. The empress should not aspire to have her own power. And Tania knew that once Vilia held that kind of power, she would compete with her husband. As for the lady Anora, she was a venal woman whose excesses were beginning to show upon her pretty face. Because she could sexually gratify Gaius Prospero now, when no other woman could, she believed she was superior to other women and considered herself the lady Vilia’s equal. What one had, the other wanted. And Anora might have overcome Vilia’s influence except that she had been unable to have children.

  The emperor had not visited the Pleasure Houses of The City for several years now. He did not want his inability to perform as a man publicly known. There were several houses that specialized in pain, but Gaius Prospero was a proud man. An emperor should show no weakness. So Tania was amazed that her master had bought a slave girl for such an outrageous sum. Why had he done it? Shifra’s confidence in her own sensuality was also surprising given her youth and the certificate of virginity she had carried with her. Something exciting, something different, was about to happen. Tania sensed it. If this girl could indeed pleasure the emperor and keep his favor, he might, induced by his humble and long-time slave, make Shifra his empress. Tania secretly loved Gaius Prospero, and always had. She would always seek to further his best interests.

  After several hours, she led Shifra from the baths. The girl’s skin was like the finest white silk. Her tiny hands and dainty feet had not a rough patch on them. Her long, thick red-gold hair fell in rippling waves down her back. Her plump mons was plucked and as smooth as marble, its slit faintly shadowed. Her small round breasts would just fit in a man’s hand. Could she pleasure the emperor without resorting to pain? Tonight would tell the tale, Tania thought.

  Shifra was fed a light but nourishing meal. Her teeth and mouth were cleansed and then she was put to bed to rest until her master was ready to avail himself of her. Tania left the new slave sleeping and hurried to find her master in his own quarters. Entering, she knelt before the emperor and said, “Shifra is ready to receive you, my lord. She but awaits your convenience.”

  “What do you think of her, Tania?” Gaius Prospero asked. “Is she not exquisite?”

  “She is indeed, my lord. Your eye was flawless and had Shifra been purchased by a Pleasure House she would have surely become famous. Should she please you well, my lord, a virgin of such great beauty would certainly be eligible for higher rank eventually, would she not? Or do I speak out of turn?” Tania’s eyes were lowered.

  “As always, Tania, you look to my best interests,” Gaius Prospero chuckled. “I think of all my servants, you are the most loyal to me, no matter I sometimes speak harshly to you. You are a perfect example of fidelity.”

  “I am the most loyal to you of any in Hetar,” Tania replied boldly. “I will never leave your side, my lord, though I be but a woman and your slave.”

  “I should free you,” the emperor said softly. “You are worthy of freedom like my good right hand, Jonah.”

  “Do not, I beg you!” Tania answered him. “I am content as I am.”

  “I could make you Jonah’s wife, Tania. Then I should have both my most faithful servants always by my side,” Gaius Prospero said.

  “I am more loyal to you than any,” Tania repeated. “And if you would reward me then allow me to always be your slave. I want no other master but you and a husband is master of his wife. I could not divide my loyalties, my lord, and surely Jonah is worthy of a wife whose sole interests were for him and not another.”

  Gaius Prospero reached out and patted Tania’s bowed head as he would a dog’s. “You shall have what you desire, my good Tania,” he told her. And then, “Tania, tell me, do you think I can be a real man with Shifra? Without the whip?”

  “My lord, I am no soothsayer, but you must try. I know that the faerie woman Lara cursed you, but since then you have not even tried one of your women without the whip. Shifra is a virgin but she has a look about her that tells me she knows how to pleasure a man. Let her try and if she cannot then you may resort to the whip. But I believe that lovely girl will pleasure you well.”

  “I do, too!” Gaius Prospero said excitedly. “It is a feeling I got the moment I looked at her, which is why I bid such a ridiculous sum. I did not want to lose her, Tania.”

  “You were wise to act as you did, my lord. Now you have had a long day. Eat, then go and bathe so you may come to Sh
ifra. Shall I ask your wives to remain in their own apartments tonight?”

  “Yes! And they are not to go near Shifra. I do not want her spoiled and it would be like Anora to do so out of spite. She is such a jealous creature. It is no wonder she needs regular whipping,” the emperor said, licking his lips.

  Tania arose from her knees. “I will deliver your message, my lord, and then I shall sleep by Shifra’s bed until you are ready to join her.” She bowed her way from the chamber, hurrying back to the women’s section of the emperor’s house.

  The lady Vilia nodded wearily in response to her husband’s message.

  “Of course. He will want to play with his new toy,” she said. “Perhaps I shall visit my villa in the Outlands for a few days. Do you think he would mind, Tania?”

  “I think, my lady, you are as always gracious and understanding,” Tania murmured. “I am certain our good lord would fully approve your decision.”

  Vilia smiled at the response. She was more than aware of how devoted the slave woman was to the emperor. And with luck Jonah would join her for a few nights. It was perfect. He had been spending so much time in Terah of late and she was eager for his talented cock. Gaius rarely, if ever, visited her bed any longer, and Jonah was a far better lover than Gaius had ever been. It amazed Vilia that she had been able to keep the secret of their illicit affair for several years now. But then, they were always careful.

  The lady Anora was not as understanding of the emperor’s decision. “What do you mean I am to remain in my apartments and away from the slave girl? He will need me to ply my whip on his fat bottom if he is to have any success with her. And this Shifra will need a taste of discipline, too, if she is to pleasure him.”

  “He says you are to remain here and away from Shifra, lady. I am but the bearer of the emperor’s message. The lady Vilia is going to her villa for a few days. Perhaps you would enjoy visiting yours. The Outlands are lovely this time of year, I am told.”

  “I will remain. When he finds he cannot perform he will want me to come and assist him,” Anora said stubbornly.