Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 14:20:42 +0000
From: Andrej Koymasky <andrejkoymasky@geocities.com>
Subject: golden-collar-02

-------------------------- 
I started writing gay stories in 1985 and to
now I wrote about 80 of them. Being Italian, of course I wrote them in
Italian. Now, many of my friends asked me to translate them in English.
But my English, also if understandable, is surely not a "literary" one:
I can't know all the nuances and literary tricks I can use in Italian. I
need somebody revising my translation. Now, I found a person that is
kindly helping me with my stories. But I can't ask to one single person
to help me with all of my stories. So, if amongst you there is somebody
(with a good English style) that thinks this unpaid work worthy, and
wants to help me, I would be really happy. If such a person exists, can
send me an e-mail at:

andrejkoymasky@geocities.com 
---------------------------- 
THE EIGHT BOOKS OF THE GOLDEN COLLAR

by Andrej Koymasky (C) 1998 
written the 10th of January, 1995 
translated by the author 
English text kindly revised 
by an Australian friend.

----------------------------- 
USUAL DISCLAIMER

"THE EIGHT BOOKS OF THE GOLDEN COLLAR" is a gay story, with some parts
containing graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land,
religion, family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be
better not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU
don't care, ore because you think yo really want to read it, please be
my welcomed guest.

----------------------------- 
SECOND BOOK 
Where is told how Friend loves
the Emperor, desires Sky and makes love with Finedear

Friend approaches the door of the School.

The doorkeeper summons the man in charge, who takes him into a room and
says: "Wait here."

Friend looks with great admiration upon the great stone structure he has
entered. The huge stones, perfectly laid upon each other, worked so as
to fit together without leaving the faintest cleft. What a difference
from his own village houses, made of wood and mud!  Everything gives an
impression of majesty, of power, of eternal solidity. Until the fifth
creation would last, Friend thinks, also this severe and majestic
building will last. His bundle at his feet, staff upon it, presentation
letter in his hand, Friend awaits.

A man, with a red skirt, woven with the sun symbol, a thin gold collar
with the jaguar symbol at its center and a small wooden box and some
sheets of paper in his hand, enters.

He asks Friend to be seated, reads the letter with care; putting it
under the sheets then says:

"Well, to be admitted, for this year, you also need to pass a test. Now,
I will ask you five questions: you will write them, one at the top of
each sheet, then you have to answer them. If you answer at least three
of them correctly, you will be admitted to the school. If not, you will
have to go back to your village."

Friend, who didn't know about the test, nods a little worried, but says
nothing. The man hands him the small wooden box, containing colors and
brushes; then, in the most elegant "flourish language" dictates to him,
some classics passages. The test is, in the continuation of those
passages, an explanation of which books they came from, then an
explanation of their meaning.

Friend, copying the dictation, uses just the black brush to be faster. 
He recognizes the passages that he learned at the temple. This test is
not at all difficult, he thinks, relaxing, as the man dictates. The
dictation ends.  While Friend applies the colors, he thinks about the
answers. Then he draws them with care, one sheet after the other. Just
one of the five passages, he doesn't know, but it has the shape and
structure of a speech of the civic ideals and so he defines it, even if
he cannot continue it. Then he hands the five sheets to the man.

Watching Friend in silence while the boy was writing, he takes the
sheets, closes the box of the inks, stands up and tells him to wait. Who
knows why; but as the man was leaving, Friends thinks of even better
answers, more beautiful than he wrote. He asks himself, if what he did
write, and how he wrote it, will be judged sufficient. But now, what's
done is done.

Another man, older, enters: he wears the same skirt as the other, but a
wider golden collar, with the fish symbol on it.

"Friend of Resonant, I've read your tests: the calligraphy can improve,
but it is fairly good, you didn't make any language mistakes, even if
you used a very plain style, and the answers are right, so you are
admitted to the Imperial School. The letter of introduction gives you
honor. If you commit yourself, we will make you a good student. Now you
will be shown your cell, you will receive the white skirt of the
postulants and writing tools. The Courses start in five days: if you
like, you can use this time to visit the Capital. I presume it is the
first time you are here. The important thing is that you have to be back
before sunset, or else you risk sleeping on the street. For food, you
can eat here in the School, or outside, if you have money. Anyway, the
School will not give you money." he says, then adds other explanations,
and takes him to the person responsible for the dormitories and leaves
him there.

He, first shows Friend his cell: a small room on the second floor,
looking out on the wide courtyard, with a stone platform where his bed
is, a small table and a stool, and a wooden hanging closet for his
belongings. Then he shows him where are the toilets, the bath room and
explains to him how to use them.  He shows him the refectory, the five
wide classrooms, finally, the supply room, here gives him his white
skirt, a box of colored ink, a bundle of sheets, and a lamp with an oil
jar. Then, after the boy brings everything back to his cell and wears
his white skirt, the man takes him into the other cells already occupied
and introduces him to his fellows students, some postulants like him,
other of the first, second and third year.

Those of the first year have embroidered on the white skirt a yellow sun
with eyes and mouth closed, those of the second year an orange sun with
eyes open but the mouth still closed, those of the third year a red sun
with eyes and mouth open. A fellow of the third year explains him the
symbology:

"Those like you have still to be born, they are nothing. Then, at the
first year, they must just listen, without speaking. At the second, you
may ask, that is see, but not yet speak, not express opinions. At the
third, you can start to express your opinions, you can talk. After the
third year, the final test and a destination." Then the boy asks him:
"Do you have a Protector?"

"A protector? What's that?"

"Who, not what, animal! An aristocrat giving you money, taking care of
you, protecting you, in one word. Without a protector, as good as you
might be, you will never be successful in your career."

"And how does one manage, to get a Protector?"

"Every year, we students are invited to the four Sun Festivals. If
somebody takes a liking to you, he will offer to be your protector. Do
you see this armband? There is the Falcon symbol, because my protector
is the grand priest of the Falcon God."

"And what does a student do for his protector?"

"That depends on the protector:  escort him to the festivals, serve him,
flatter him, compose poems or speeches for him, be ready to do what he
is requesting, in your free time from School. And to give him honor at
the competitions at the year's end."

Friend nods.

The other says: "The first Festival will be in a few days, the Festival
of the Growing Day, that is the Spring Equinox, also called the New
Year. Try to be noticed by some aristocrat or priest, to be appreciated,
if you can. Without a protector, you will always be a subject to
everybody, here in the School, and I don't wish that, even on the most
disagreeable of the students; and you seems to me, to be a likable boy."

Friend start to go out. First he visits the great Sun Temple, the
Imperial temple par excellence. On the top, he turns admiringly, between
other visitors, looking a little at the stone multicolored bas-relief, a
little at the panorama. From here, there is a complete vision of the
Imperial Palace, with its gardens, and of all the town sloping down to
the port.

Suddenly a young aristocrat, wearing a red skirt woven with the eagle
symbol, a golden collar and a feathered headgear, approaches him,
brushes his chest and asks with a smile:

"Ah, a postulant. What's your name?"

"I'm Friend-Of-The-Moon, lord." Friend answers, astounded: he is the
young aristocrats that by a hair's breadth had almost killed him in the
forest, and now is practically caressing him in front of everybody.

Friend feels pleasure at the contact and blushes. The other withdraws
his hand, but continues to look at him with a curious mix of desire,
satisfaction and humor. Then looks at him from head to toe and says:

"I've the faint impression, I've already met you." Friend asks himself,
if the other is pulling his leg: is it possible that he didn't remember
their meeting in the forest, just five days before?

Without knowing the reason, Friend answers: "It is my first day here in
the Capital..."

"Ah, then for sure I'm wrong. It has been a pleasure meeting you,
Friend. I don't think you are called Moon, right? You are a very
attractive boy. Good-bye." and he leaves, rapidly going down the flight
of steps.

Friend quivers, feeling a sense of regret, and asks himself, why he
didn't tell the young man of their first encounter?  But then, he tells
himself that probably he did right: perhaps the aristocrat doesn't want
to remember it. He looks around, afraid all the people's eyes are on
him, but with relief he notices that nobody is looking at him. He ends
his visit, then goes down to the city.

Five days later, there is the Festival of the Growing Day. The school
courtyard is crowded with all the students, the teachers, and
aristocrats, warriors and priests. All around, on a dais, a profusion of
food and drinks. After the ceremony, everybody starts to eat and to
chat. Friend, apart from a few other students, doesn't know anybody and
feels quite a stranger, an intruder in that place. He feels a light
sense of embarrassment, of shame. But he decides to go get something to
eat. When he turns, with food in his hands, in front of him is that
beautiful young man, with the wide shoulders and the narrow waist, with
the eagle woven on his skirt and inserted in the center of his collar.

"Friend!" the youth greets him, with a wide smile, and the boy is
pleased to see that the other remembers his name. "Come, come with me, I
want to introduce you to some friends of mine." and he takes the boy by
an arm and leads him through the crowd.

"See, Gazelle, this is Friend, the boy I met on the top of the Sun
Temple." then he turns towards Friend, and says: "I've missed you these
five days. I was near coming to look for you here in the school."

He continues to hold him by his arm, with a quite possessive grasp, that
Friend is not sure he likes, but which feels he cannot resist.

"Control yourself, Sky!" Gazelle scolds the young man, then addresses
Friend: "You just cannot guess the impression you made on Sky: all these
days, he did nothing but fancy about you."

Friend, with a shy smile, answers to the girl: "I can say the same about
myself, even if we met just for a moment."

Another young woman nearby, says cheerfully: "Normally, a moment is
enough, no?" then adds: "Anyway I am Flower, Radiant-Flower-Of-Winter.
Happy to meet you, Friend. And he..." she says pointing to another young
man, rather sturdy, with a frowning air, "... is Morning.
First-Morning-Of-The-Cock-Month. He is of the lesser aristocracy, as you
can see, he has the lightning as an emblem."

Morning simply says: "Hello."

"He is elsewhere, take no account of him."

"Elsewhere? What do you mean?" Friend confused asks.

"He has been cheated on by his lover, and he thinks of nothing else. We
had to drag him by force here to the Festival, to make him amuse
himself, but it seems that we are not able. If you want to try..."
Gazelle says.

"No, Friend is a postulant, and he needs protection himself. Don't you
see that he still hasn't an arm band?" Sky says noticing the lost look
of the boy.

"Right! Why don't you offer him to become his protector?" Gazelle asks.

"I don't know if he wants that, he possibly, can find a more important
protector, beautiful as he is." Sky says caressing the boy with his
eyes.

Friend feels excited: sure he would like to have this splendid young
aristocrat man as a protector.

Gazelle asks him: "Friend, would you like to have Calm-Sky-Of-Autumn as
your protector? Would you like to have the eagle on your arm band?"

"Such a direct question, you embarrass him!" Flower says.

Then Friend says: "I will be deeply honored. What do I have to do to
earn such precious attention?"

"Listen, how nicely he speaks! So, Sky, what has he to do to please
you?" Gazelle asks.

Sky looks Friend in his eyes: "Nothing. Being my friend, as his name
says."

"Do you accept, Friend?"

"With immense pleasure and gratitude." the boy says, feeling a knot in
his throat

"Then soon, I will come to bring you the arm band with the eagle,
Friend." Sky says in a low and warm tone that arouses quivers in the
boy.

The courses start. Writing, reading, diction and etiquette. Then the
thorough study of the Five Books. Really each book is composed of
several volumes.

The Book Of Gods, with the cosmogony, the mythology, the divination
calendar, and the stories of the Five Creations.

The Book Of Chronicles, with the history of the various populations of
the Empire, then the Sun People Annals with the history, from the first
Emperor to the actual one: Powerful-Hymn-Sung-To-The-Eternal-Sun-God,
Sixty Third Descendant Of The Sun, Light Of The World And Of The
Peoples, Inebriating Flower Never Withering.

The Book Of Hymns, with the texts of the religious ceremonies, the texts
for the songs and the music with the sacred drums, and the prescriptions
for the civil and religious festivals.

The Book Of Poetry, with the war songs, the flower songs, the nuptial
songs, the love songs, the mourning songs and so on.

The Book Of Speeches, with the civil speeches, the moral speeches, the
book of proverbs, the book of advises, the speeches of the ancients, and
the book of the eloquence contests.

Friend follows with a passion, the various lessons, and spends all his
free time practicing, both calligraphy and memorizing all the texts;
learning to give the explanations of them in a clear, exhaustive and
pleasant way. He also practices composition and diction. But now and
then he also finds the time to stroll downtown. He met a colors miller,
who likes Friend, and gave him a nice writing box, rich in the purest
colors and refined brushes.

One evening, Sky comes to fetch him at School and invites him to follow
him. Friends objects that soon it will be sunset and that they wouldn't
have much time.

"You will sleep out, I will talk to the doorkeeper. And tomorrow
morning, I will bring you back here to school in time for your first
lesson. Now, out there are our friends waiting for you." Sky resolute
says.

Friend happily nods at the idea and, obtaining the authorization,
follows Sky. Out there are Gazelle, Flower and Morning. The two girls
take Friend between them and all together go toward the high town.

"Here, this is my home." Gazelle says pointing at a small but beautiful
stone building. "It is comfortable: as you see in front, we have the
cooked turkey seller, so I don't have even to pay a servant to cook."

"About food," Sky says cheerfully, "you go inside, while I buy some
food. You come with me, Friend."

The other three agree, and enter the house. Sky takes Friend into the
shop, where there are delicious aromas. The boy watches the women, busy
cooking on wide hearths, while Sky orders from the owner. The man
carefully puts the food on big leaves, which he folds and carefully
ties. Sky pays; hands some of the warm bundles to Friend, taking the
rest, they go to Gazelle's house. A slave greets them at the door. Sky
leads Friend through rooms, each lit by a lantern, until they reach the
room where the three friends are waiting for them; sitting on soft wide
blue cushions, all around a low table. In that room, there are five
lanterns, so the light is bright.

Gazelle is orating a love poem. Sky, without interrupting her, puts the
food bundles on the table. Morning stands up, and in a while, is back
with some amphorae. Friend notices that one of these has a bent tree for
an handle; under which leans a naked man, whose enormous erect penis
acts as a spout.

Gazelle, interrupts and laughs: "Morning, I have to give you that
amphora. I see that you like it very much. You know, Friend, he doesn't
drink from it like everybody... he is a really lewd man, our dear
Morning!"

"He takes comfort, as he can." Flower says laughing too, "show Friend
how you drink from it!"

Morning smiles, puts his lips on the big ceramic penis and sucks a sip
of liqueur. All the others laugh again.

"Do you want to try too, Friend?" Morning proposes.

"What does it contain?"

"Maize beer, of course."

"We can't drink it; students are forbidden."

"But here, nobody sees you." Morning says.

"No thank you." Friend insists, with a smile.

The two girls, open the bundles from which soon comes a perfumed and
inviting steam, and start to serve the food. They all start to eat,
merrily, chatting, laughing, and drinking, Sky, Morning and Flower, the
Maize beer; Gazelle and Friend water or mata.

"Your home is spacious, Gazelle, full of rooms. Where do you intend that
we sleep?" Sky asks.

"Each of you, is free to choose the room, he prefers. Flower and I,
anyway, will use the room here in the back, as always. We two alone."

Friend then has the intuition that the two women must be lovers. At
first, he thought that one of them, probably Flower, could be Sky's
girlfriend.

Morning says: "I'll sleep in the room near the larder. And you two? In
the room near the bath?" he then asks Sky with a cunning smile.

"Morning is always shrewd, Friend, take no account of his innuendoes,
pretend not to understand."

"I don't need to pretend, I really don't understand." Friend says in
confusion, asking himself what hidden meaning there could be in
Morning's question.

"So much better, innocence is the best defense, Friend." Gazelle says
with satisfaction.

"But what are you talking about?" Flower asks with an air of false
innocence.

And suddenly all becomes clear to Friend: he recalls a love poem, where
is written: "after love nothing is sweet as sinking in the perfumed
bath's waters..." so he quotes the first lines of that poem:

"When the night is so deep that even white is black, when silence all
wraps of mystery..."

Sky looks at him, with a satisfied smile, put down the food he is
eating, nods and continues:

"... in my chest gentle a song resounds and deep echoes excites in my
beloved one..."

"You see that, Friend is not an artless boy. Yes, give me your arm,
Friend, here is the arm band I promised to you..." Sky says and girds
the boy's arm with the band with the eagle insignia.

"Thank you, Sky."

"Thank you for having accepted it." Sky says with a shy smile, that
surprises the boy: normally Sky seems very self confident, he didn't
expect that slight embarrassed expression in the young man.

After eating, a slave brings warm water for washing their hands, and
clears the leftovers from the table. Then Gazelle orders the beds to be
spread. She decides that Sky and Friend will sleep in the room opening
onto the small internal garden. Sky doesn't object. Later, Morning is
the first to say good night and goes off to sleep, slightly drunk,
bringing with him the amphora that Gazelle gave to him. Then Sky stand
up and takes Friend to the room assigned to them.

Here two mattress are laid down, one next to the other, in front of the
wide door opening onto the moonlit garden. Sky puts out the lantern,
pulls off his collar, his headgear and his skirt.  Friend pulls off his
skirt, while he admires the beautiful body of his protector. Sky lays on
one of the mattress and Friend on the other.

"I'm happy." Sky says after a while.

Friend waits for him to say more, but Sky is silent. It is too late to
say: I too, so Friend prefers to keep silent. He feels terribly
attracted by the man's body, there next to him, at hand's reach. But he
can't move, he quite can't breath. Excited, he waits, hoping that Sky
will make the first move. For a long while, nothing happens, he just
hears the light breath of the young man. He would like to turn on his
side, to admire him, but he doesn't dare.

Then he feels Sky's hand lying on his chest, light, without moving. He
waits.

"Now sleep, Friend. And your dreams be beautiful." Sky whispers.

Friend, slightly disappointed, murmurs: "They will certainly be..."

"Yes, sure." Sky answers.

Friend feels the desire to caress that hand, still lying on his chest,
to bring it at his lips, to kiss it; but the fact that the young man
doesn't move, doesn't caress him, makes him think that to Sky, that
light contact is enough, so he does nothing.

The following morning, very early, while everybody still sleeps, Sky
accompanies him to School. At the door, they say good-bye.

"We will meet soon. Thank you, Friend."

"Thank you, Sky."

They don't need to say more, Friend feels that perfectly. He waves a
greeting and goes rapidly to his cell, to fetch everything he needs for
his morning lessons, while the other students are also preparing.

The day of the announced Emperor's visit to the school arrives. The
students line up in the courtyard, early in the morning, in course
order, each formation perfectly ordered, sided by the teachers and by
the instructors, wearing their formal attires. The students receive a
band to put on their head, with the short colored feathers, showing the
prizes each won in the annual competitions. Friend and his fellows, not
having yet participated at the competitions, wear just a white band
without feathers.

In front of them, has been prepared the Imperial stand, completely
covered in flowers, composing the Sun symbol, and surmounted by a
feather curtain covering the small wooden throne plated with gold
leaves. A drum roll announces the young Emperor's entrance. All
prostrate themselves on the ground, without looking at the stand. Friend
is excited: at last he could see the Emperor, he could hear his voice.
It was said that, notwithstanding his twenty four years of age, he was
one of the most accomplished poets ever born.

At the dean's order, everybody stands up on his knees, then prostrate
again three times. Friend has a quick glimpse of the Emperor, a slender
young man, strong, fiercely straight, with the tall feather crown and
the spring feathers mantle, a wide golden collar, the white and gold
skirt, gold armbands and ankle bands and the feather sandals. And Friend
is completely fascinated.

The Emperor makes a slight and elegant gesture with his hand, that means
to be at ease, and all stand up in the position of respectful listening.
Then the Emperor stands up from the throne, a dignitary unties his
mantle, the Emperor comes forward one step, in a sign of kind regard,
then starts his speech.

He uses the flowery language with elegance, modulating his voice, using
appropriate terms, with sentences short but full of poetry. He speaks
about the Empire's future: "The Empire", he says, "is defended by its
weapons, but is built upon its culture. It is consolidated, with
reciprocal solidarity and fidelity. You, who will be the culture
depositories, are called to stand by me, to built an Empire shining like
the Sun that we worship. I count on you..."  he says with a clear voice
and with a captivating smile, then, to everybody amazement, he recites
the full names of all the students, without reading them. When he starts
to say: "... on you, Last-Friend-Of-The-Moon," Friend feels an
incredibly strong emotion, and feels to be totally in love with the
Emperor. His beauty, his voice, his eyes, the aura emanating from him,
completely conquers the boy.

Inside his heart, Friend swears: "You can certainly count on me,
Powerful-Hymn-Sung To-The-Eternal-God-Sun, Sun-God-On-Earth." With
difficulty, he holds back emotional tears, while the Emperor ends
reciting the almost two hundred names of the students. A long shout of
joy, spontaneously burst out from all the throats, when the Emperor
takes a step back and the dignitary puts again on his shoulders the
feather mantle. Everybody deeply prostrates while the Emperors leaves.

All are deeply impressed by the fact that the Emperor recited by heart,
all their names; but Friend, more than that, broods in his heart on that
sentence: "I count on you". In the following days, Friend commits
himself to his studies even more. With doubled eagerness, so that at a
certain point, the warden has to insist that he go outside, to take some
rest.

Friend goes down towards the port, he strolls in the warm summer
afternoon, rehearsing in his mind the days lessons, when he hears his
name called. He turns back and sees in front of him, Finedear. He had
quite forgotten him. The youth wears the light blue skirt of the
soldiers, has a sword on his side and a bright copper breast band.

"Friend! I didn't hope to see you again. You never came to look for me."
he says to Friend in a reproaching tone.

"You neither." Friend quickly retorts, "...and studies take all my time
and energies."

"Yes, for me too, our training. But I already have become a foreman. You
too are free, on the mouse day afternoons?"

"Yes."

"Very good, so we can meet. But come, now, let's go to the tavern. It's
on me, I just got paid."

"But we students are forbidden to drink alcohol." Friend defends
himself. He feels terribly attracted by the soldier. Just being near the
youth, arouses the boy terribly; and yet he knows that he is not the
right man for him.

"I'll drink alone. Come. There they have a room I can rent. Or better, I
will book it for all the mouse day afternoons, so I will just wait for
you there, all the time."

"I don't know if I'll be able to came always." Friend says, following
him.

"Sure you can!" the other says, self confidently.

Finedear talks briefly to the innkeeper, then, a decanter of beer in his
hand, he takes Friend upstairs. They enter a small room, where there is
just a bed, filling it almost completely. He put down the decanter,
quickly put away his sword, breast band, his skirt and embraces Friend,
clasping with both hands, his buttocks. The boy is terribly aroused.
Finedear notices, and unties the boy's skirt and the loincloth that slip
to the ground.

"Pull off my loincloth." He orders.

Friend promptly obeys: he feels hungry, thirsty for that sensual and
strong body. It's more than a month, that he has had no sex, he needs
it. Finedear lifts him bodily and deposes him on the bed, then climbs on
top of him:

"I like you too much. You are the hottest boy I ever met, and I had lots
of boys. You adore making love, right?"

Friend finds the youth particularly loquacious, evidently happy to have
met him again, to be able to enjoy him again. The soldier swings and
rocks on him, with passion, and that sets Friend on fire; who, without
thinking, reciprocates with the same passion. Finedear grasps the boy's
legs, and pulls them to his shoulders; then, with strong and skilled
moves, sticks inside him, and starts to move inside him, with powerful
strokes. Friend moans, prey to his strong pleasure, and answers his
companion's pushes; making his ass oscillate, and his sphincter throb.
The soldier smiles satisfied, and increases the rhythm of his powerful
thrusts. It is a long, strong embrace, culminating in a violent orgasm
that leaves them both worn out but sated. Finedear seems to recall his
beer, and picking up the decanter, he let some jets spring into his
throat.

Friend suddenly feels a very strong urge to leave. Now that all is over,
he again feels Finedear as a stranger. With whom, it is really
pleasurable to have sex; but with whom, he will never have anything in
common.

"I... have to go..."

"I want to offer you something to eat. Now, we go downstairs, the food
is very good here. It's on me, as I said. I know that you students don't
have any money. I've had the occasion to bring some of your fellows
here." he says with pride, underlining that he had had other students in
his bed.

They put back on their clothes. Go downstairs, and Finedear orders the
food. While they eat, Finedear, puts his hand under the table, and
touches the boy intimately, arousing his excitation again.

"Hey, why we don't go upstairs again? I'm ready for an encore." the
soldier says, with an excited voice.

"No, really, I have to go." Friend says.

"Never mind! So, we meet here next mouse day, in the afternoon. I'll
wait for you, here." Finedear answers, and says good-bye, as if nothing
were the matter.

Friend is grateful he doesn't insist, because he knows that he wouldn't
be able to tell him no. He rapidly goes back to the school, just in time
for supper. Even if he had just eaten with Finedear, he wolfs it down
with a great appetite, quite as if, eating, he could forget about
Finedear. "No", he tells himself, "I will not go with him another
time... If rather... if rather Sky would decide... I'm sure he likes me,
he feels attracted towards me. Who knows, why does he never make the
slightest move?"

When he is in his cell, after studying for a while, he lies down to
sleep. Putting out the lantern, he looks at the silvery rectangle that
the moon light projects on the wall and thinks. The Emperor's image, his
words, come back to his mind while he grows drowsy, like in a dream. But
in the dream, there is the Emperor, and he is prostrate in front of him,
and in the courtyard they are alone. And when the Emperor lets his rich
multicolored feather mantle slip away from him, he remains completely
naked, and his beauty is dazzling like the sun light, so that Friend has
to close his eyes, and then he feels the Emperor's hand on him,
caressing his hair, and his voice tells him: "Friend, I count on you."

He wakes up suddenly, excited and trembling, his heart drumming like a
mad horse at full gallop. Almost disappointed, realizing it was just a
dream, the vision has vanished. Just the moon light, now has moved, and
laps his body making his skin the color of gold. He falls asleep again,
thinking that, for his Emperor, he would become the best student of the
school: yes the Emperor can really count on him, one hundred per cent.
----------------------------- 
CONTINUES IN BOOK 2
----------------------------- 
In my home page I've put some of my
stories. If someone wants to read them, the URL is

http://www.geocities.com/~andrejkoymasky/ 
---------------------------