Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 19:18:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: B Chapel <merdement@yahoo.com>
Subject: Empire Chapter 5

Dear reader,

This story, and those that may follow, involve a
place, time and people that never were. There will be
a healthy dose of lesbian erotica; plus some BD/SM,
non-consensual, adult-youth and possibly some (gasp)
hetero as the plot progresses. Any comments -- good and
especially bad -- are very welcome and encouraged via
the e-mail address at the bottom. One cannot progress
without feedback.

THE LEGAL THING: This is a work of fiction. Any
similarities to real persons, living or dead, is
purely coincidental. Any similarities to characters in
other fictional works, other than those pulled from
classical mythology (and therefore within the public
domain), are also coincidental. If individuals feel
that this story impinges on their person or work
should take no offense, as none is meant or was
intended. They should also relax and obsess less.

Remember, if we stopped writing when we ran out of
original themes, literature would have died with the
Greeks.

Enjoy,

The Author


********

Chapter 5

Yassine followed the page through the halls of the
palace of Donai toward the Great Hall. The howling of
the crowds outside had not died any since the last of
the army returned to the city and the echoes of their
ecstatic cries bounced off the high ceilings loud
enough to drown out the conversations she heard on the
way.
The palace was gripped in hive-like activity. Maids
and servants scurried along the corridors carrying
loads of bedding alongside carts overflowing with
extra furniture and serving platters. Pages, running
as if the infernal forces were on their very heels,
worked feverishly to hang new standards beneath the
wyvvern standard of the Empress. The new banners they
hung in their places was a black on green image of a
winged wolf; the Emperor's sign, she thought.
She turned along the main corridor that connected the
wing of the palace where she was staying to the main
body of the building. Choura was there, she too had
decided to turn out in full battle gear. The larger
woman flipped up her faceplate to greet her.
"Princess," her bow was slight but correct. "I hear
that the army has returned from the northlands."
Yassine didn't break stride, "I understand that
everyone was taken off guard by this. I was told that
they were to be in the field for another three
months."
"But we were to meet with them north of the barbarian
lands," Choura said, peevishly. "How are we to gauge
their strength now?"
"Their strength is lined up in columns below us as we
speak. Were you aware that they ride hippogriffs in
battle?"
Choura didn't bother to hide her amazement, "All of
them?"
"Just a portion of them, fewer than a full battalion.
I saw some interesting things," Yassine said.
"You had a better view than I did," Choura said. "All
I heard was the noise."
Yassine slowed a bit, "They did not hide the fact that
a number of their force did not return. In fact, they
made a show of presenting the belongings of the
deceased."
"Perhaps they need the arms and armor for future
battles. Perhaps they aren't as rich as they seem."
"Horseshit," Yassine said. "The statuary in my
chambers could pay to put armor on ten horses."
Choura got a sly smile on her face, "What else did you
find in your room last night?"
Yassine didn't answer, she thought of Pari and the
scent of her dense hair pattered through her mind like
a melody that couldn't be shaken off. Choura went on
without noticing, "I'll give these people one thing,
they know how to entertain a guest. They sent me this
little Eastlander who just didn't quit."
Yassine knew her lieutenant, "That's saying
something."
"I hear there's more, I'm looking forward to seeing
what else is on the menu."
As they reached the high vaulted doors of the Great
Hall, tall armored guards hauled them open with great
effort. Yassine's eyes were distant, "I hadn't given
that any thought."

*******

Luxia stepped out of her bath and stood for a second
in the cold morning air. She stretched her long body,
feeling the final kinks work their way out from the
night's exertions. She flipped her head from side to
side and looked back onto the pool. The two girls
there clung to the sides, panting for breath as they
tried to rise out of the bubbly pit. Both looked worse
for the wear.
She decided to be kind, "That was a good effort," she
said. "But you've got a lot to learn. The Empress is a
harder mistress than I, and doesn't brook weakness.
Both of you need a lot more time in the Gymnasium."
The taller, pale-skinned girl began to weep abjectly.
Her soaking brown hair covered her face like a shroud,
"It's not fair," she sobbed. "I've worked so hard."
Her companion lifted herself out of the pool and sat
with her feet in the water, her tanned, wide face was
impassive. "I don't understand. You had the rains and
thunders, I felt them. How did we fail?"
Luxia wrung the water out of her braids, then whisked
the moisture off her torso before picking up a towel,
"You've both missed the point. If I need to tell you,
I've got nothing to say to either of you."
She pulled on her leather harness, arranging the front
straps so that her breasts jutted out at right angles
to her body. "It's not about what I felt. Come here,
Glayen, tighten the back."
The weeping girl pulled herself out of the bath and
laced the strap connecting the bottom of the neck of
her mistress' harness to the top of the leather thong
at her waist. She connected the strap to the buckle
and set her knee against the small of Luxia's back to
cinch it tight. She pulled until the buckle fit into
the final notch, holding the woman's spine in a tight
arch.
Luxia ran her hands along her chest, taking a second
to toy with the steel rings run through her nipples.
She turned and pinched Glayen's labia fiercely,
eliciting a sharp cry from the girl.
"You've failed because you merely participated," she
said with a voice full of menace. "You have to be
involved! You have to be committed!"


*******

As before, the herald announced the two Amazons
entrance into the hall with all of the titles and
fanfare that, Yassine thought, made her feel smaller
rather than exalted her. It was enough for her to be
recognized as an Amazon emissary and the
representative of her nation. Being singled out as the
future of every Amazon on the island and the future of
her people hung around her shoulders like a burden.
She'd rather be herself, not the avatar of an entire
way of life.
The hall was different now. Before it was conspicuous
because of its emptiness. Now, the room thronged with
people. All of the courtiers, the useless and plumed
population of the palace were arrayed around the room
in bright colors; dripping with gold and jewels. They
hissed and gossiped amongst themselves, giddy with the
atmosphere of the Great Hall. Some of them leered at
the two Amazons. Whether it was avarice or lust,
Yassine couldn't tell.
But there were others. The room was now lined with
very serious looking soldiers in sparkling green
armor. They were all tall, obviously powerful and
hideously armed. Their eyes, staring blankly outward
through their helmets, carried the quiet, implied
threat of those who meant deadly business.
Kaleda was perched on the Amber Throne. She wore a
dress of pure white decked with diamonds and pearls
that fanned out at the bottom to cover most of the
steps leading up to that famous seat. She was
listening intently to Roquan, still dressed in his
insanely garish motley, who was whispering into her
ear. She saw Yassine and waved the Mage away.
"Good morning, Amazonia," she said with a smile. "It
seems that events have gone differently than planned.
Our armies have returned, albeit joyously, earlier
than we expected."
Yassine wanted to wince at the royal attachment to her
person and successfully suppressed it, "I hope nothing
is amiss, Empress."
"We don't believe so," she said smoothly. "The Emperor
shall be amongst us presently. Please, attend us."
Kaleda gestured to a spot on her right. Yassine and
Choura walked to the foot of the throne dais and came
to a stop when a page across from them made an almost
imperceptible nod of his head. Both removed their
helmets and placed them under the crooks of their
elbows. The Empress made a few quick orders to her
herald and turned to Yassine, "I trust you had a
pleasant rest in our home?"
"Yes, your majesty," Yassine said with a slight bow.
"Everything was perfect."
Choura knew better to address the monarch, especially
after her behavior the day before. She nodded her
agreement.
"Splendid," Kaleda said. "We knew that Pari would be a
good choice for you. She's such a happy creature."
Yassine's eyebrows raised in a moment of unguarded
surprise. The Empress made an offhand gesture, "There
were others who were considered but she seemed best.
We are glad that we've chosen correctly again. We have
made the corrections to the translation spell that
caused you consternation last night, that can be such
an inconvenience. Really, we've been assured that...Oh,
it's my husband."
All eyes turned to the end of the Great Hall as a
column of soldiers streamed in quickly. At the front
of the column was a man who could only be their
leader. He was tall with long arms and legs. His head
was covered with a brutally-trimmed mane of thick,
black hair circled by a leather band.
His face was different than what Yassine was
expecting. She had seen men before, what Amazon
hadn't, and this wasn't the best looking one she had
seen. The mouth was a bit too wide and his cheeks bore
scars from battle. The nose had obviously been broken
more than once. His eyes were small and dark, almost
hiding beneath a brow that hung over them like a
tombstone. In a very pedestrian way, the Emperor of
Donai was a homily man.
Immediately apparent was the palpable aura of command.
His lieutenants followed him as if they were connected
by an invisible tether, they even affected his gait as
they entered the hall. Even in their unconscious
moments they were following his lead with exactitude.
Her mother has it, Yassine knew she was developing it
-- the unspoken authority of leadership.
The herald had begun to intone the proper words,
"Presenting his most Imperial Majesty, Lord Commander
of the Royal Army of Donai, the Emperor Atraeon I."
The column of soldiers came to a smart halt at an
invisible line even as the Emperor continued toward
the throne. Kaleda rose, stepped off the dais and
stood before her husband, her smile was subdued.
"You've returned early, My lord."
Atraeon nodded, and his face changed as if the bones
beneath it reshuffled themselves to a new
configuration. His eyes glittered as the wide mouth
opened into an expansive smile. He took Kaleda's hands
in his and guided her into a long, warm embrace. The
two kissed openly, softly, then broke to beam into
each others' eyes. The Emperor's voice was gravelly
and deep, as if worn from years of shouting commands,
"I bring strange news from the Northlands."
Kaleda made a moue, "Strange news?"
"Yes," he said as he led her back to the throne.
Sometime during his approach a page had placed a
simple, cloth and wood chair at the right side of the
magnificent Amber Throne which Atraeon sat in. He
pulled the leather circlet off his head and riffled
his fingers through his hair, "We ran out of
Northlands."
Kaleda sat on her throne and thought hard for a few
seconds, "We thought the stories about the edge of the
world were disproven. Our brother will be so
disheartened when he finds out about this."
Atraeon shook his head as he took a flagon of wine
from a waiting handmaiden, "Not like that, Yevtana!"
One of the soldiers who walked into the hall with the
Emperor came forward and doffed his helmet, revealing
to Yassine and Choura's surprise that the soldier was
a woman with tightly braided white hair and equally
white skin. She knelt before the Amber Throne.
"Rise, Vice Commander," the Empress said.
"Your Majesty," she said as a pair of boys in leather
armor ran to her side and hastily erected an easel.
She reached into a pack at her side and removed a
scroll which she spread across the frame. Yassine
noticed that the woman had blood-red eyes: An albino,
"After traveling some three thousand five hundred
miles across the northern continent we encountered a
chain of high mountains at the far border of the
Dilexian territories. After assaying the range our
scouts discovered an icefield stretching for several
hundred miles."
"An icefield?" Kaleda rested her chin on her fist.
"Whatever is an icefield?"
"An unbroken expanse of ice," Yevtana said without
emotion. "Hippogriff reconnaissance patrols report
that the field goes on for several hundred miles."
"Ahh, We understand," she said. "How much territory
has Our army covered?"
Yevtana stretched a second scroll across the easel
that indicated outposts with the wyvvern standard in
green, "All major Dilexian, Claima and K'Thuh capitals
from the Archipelago to the icefield are under your
control. Pockets of resistance remain but they are
hamstrung by their isolation from their bases of
resupply. Garrisons have been placed in the centers
and reinforcements are en route to meet with them."
Kaleda nodded her approval and patted Atraeon's hand,
"We are most pleased. Convey our heartfelt gratitude
to the armies."
Atraeon's face shifted, once again hard and cold.
"Many of my soldiers are injured, they must be
attended to immediately."
"Of course," the Empress said. "Before you leave, you
must meet Our newest friends." She stood and gestured
to Yassine and Choura as she led the Emperor toward
the two Amazons. "This is Our Royal Niece Princess
Yassine of Amazonia and her second, Choura. They've
come to form a fellowship with Us."
Yassine bowed her head to the royal couple,
"Congratulations on your successful campaign."
Atraeon held out his hand. Yassine grasped it at the
elbow, familiar with the custom of the Donai. The
Emperor's face was somewhere between the two aspects
he had shown before, "I've met your mother, her feint
at Marn Lavis was masterful."
The Amazon was surprised. Marn Lavis was an obscure
conflict between an Amazonian landing party and a
group of armed raiders on an outpost island. Hippolyta
had convinced a party of pirates that a full company
of Amazon warriors were just twenty soldiers. The
action was chapter and verse subterfuge in the war
college on Amazonia, but Yassine was sure that no one
else knew what happened there.
She decided not to make much of the mention, "Thank
you. This is Choura, my chief aid de camp."
Atraeon grasped her arm and looked upward at the
Amazon, "I'm interested to hear your assessment of our
forces." He nodded to them and kissed Kaleda's hand,
"Forgive me, I have to see to my troops. Commander
Yevtana!"
Immediately, the pale woman appeared behind Atraeon.
She regarded the Amazon's coolly, "My lord?"
"Princess Yassine and her aid will be wanting an
overview of the army," Atraeon said. "You will provide
them with whatever they need and answer any questions
they have."
"Understood, my lord."
With that, the Emperor of Donai walked swiftly from
the Great Hall, his lieutenants following closely
behind him. Kaleda left the three with a smile, taking
their hasty bows as a matter of course. When she was
gone, Yevtana stood at rest before the Amazons, "We
can begin the tour at your pleasure."

*******

Luxia stalked through the corridors of the Gymnasium
like a feral thing. As the headmistress of the
palace's special servants, she wielded near-absolute
power over everything that went on within those walls.
The only ones who could contradict her orders were the
Empress and Emperor themselves, and they trusted her
judgment implicitly. The two trainees, Glayen and
Rouelle, followed a few short paces behind her.
Her body was toned to near distraction. Every muscle
in her long limbs crawled against each other as she
moved down the hall. When she came to a stop, a clear
triangle of light could be seen between the tops of
her inner thighs. Her tanned skin was flawless, the
product of healthy living and regular treatments by
the palace's royal physician. When angered, the
smooth, taut planes of her perfect form rippled with
powerful, wiry muscles. Some had remarked, far behind
her back, that she could teach human musculature to
medical students merely by posing nude for classes.
Her eyes, like her hair, were dark and framed by
sculpted eyebrows. Long fingers topped in short nails
hung idly at her sides.
"The point is not your subservience," she said in her
soft contralto. "We have that already. The point is
not your expertise. Anyone can be given the training
you have. The point is to transcend service and become
the pure expression of your talents. It is the key to
everything we do here."
"We don't understand," Rouelle said. "Tell us what
that means."
Luxia shook her head, "That's not the way we do it
here. The pure lesson is taught every day, if you're
not learning it you aren't paying attention."
She crossed the threshold into the main servants'
quarters. She surveyed the scores of nude and
semi-nude women lounging about on couches, pillows and
benches. Some were engaged in conversations, others
read from bundles of scrolls. Some slept, some bathed.
Slowly, the attention of the entire room turned on her
and conversations came to a slithering halt.
"Pay no mind," she said to the throng. "This is an
instructional visit."
Immediately, all of the women went back to their own
business, as if nothing at all had happened. Luxia
turned to the two trainees, "These fine examples
understand what you merely parrot. If you're ever
going to join this elite group you had better start
thinking correctly."
Glayen's eyes began to stray toward the floor when a
quiet creak from Luxia's harness told her she had
turned her way. She kept her eyes forward, carefully.
The headmistress was watchful, she demanded the same
from her students.
"D'Anya!" she called out to the crowd. "I need you
here."
>From the side of one of the many pools in the room the
redhead rose and came to her side. The long mane of
her hair lay flat against her back, still wet from the
bath. She wore a simple red wrap around her hips and
nothing else, "Yes, mistress?"
"A kiss, D'Anya."
The girl laced her fingers together behind her back
and stood on her toes to reach Luxia's mouth. The
headmistress turned her head away, "Not me, child.
Glayen."
With a tilt of her head she turned away from Luxia and
approached the pale girl. She was slightly taller than
the student and bent her head to connect with the
girl's lips. Slowly, she pushed her tongue between her
lips and worked it around her mouth. Glayen, not
wanting to disappoint twice in the same day, returned
the kiss ardently. Rouelle looked on carefully. If
there was a lesson here, she would learn it as quickly
as possible.
Luxia tapped her foot, "Hmm, interesting. D'Anya, use
your fingers on her. I want to see how quickly you can
bring her about."
Not breaking the kiss, the girl's hands drifted down
Glayen's torso and nestled between her thighs front
and back. One hand started rolling the girl's clit in
slow circles while the other pushed inward to slip
into her sex. Glayen's eyes bulged and she let out a
muffled squeak. Several of the women in the room
turned to watch the display with interest.
Glayen's hands settled on D'Anya's shoulders for
stability as she began to rock back and forth under
the onslaught. The hand in front quickened as the one
behind pushed in deeper, tickling the ridge of her
pelvic bone. Glayen's pulled her right leg upward to
give D'Anya better access to her. Her moans rose as
the room let out a collective giggle.
Luxia glared at the servants, but her eyes held a
mischievous glint that carried no anger. She wrapped
an arm around Rouelle's shoulders and rolled the
girl's nipple around idly as she watched, "You seem a
bit smarter than she does," Luxia said quietly. "I
hope you'll understand this lesson. I know she won't."
D'Anya tried to keep her mouth clamped around
Glayen's, but the girl's moans turned to cries and the
kiss was hard to hold. She bucked her hips back and
forth against the redhead's hands; her orgasm
imminent.
"D'Anya," Luxia said. "Teach the lesson."
With that, D'Anya broke the kiss and stepped away from
Glayen. As the surprised girl fell to the floor with a
slap, the redhead returned to Luxia's side. Dazed, the
girl cried out in disappointment and started to crawl
over to them. The headmistress' voice came sharply,
"Stay where you are!"
The girl stopped, eyes wide with disbelief as her
yearning sex ached for release. She knew better than
to finish the job herself and parted her thighs to
remove the suspicion that she might try to accomplish
her orgasm through friction.
Luxia stroked D'Anya's hair and smiled, "How well you
serve me."
"I don't serve you," D'Anya said. There was no
defiance, no insubordination in her voice.
"Do what I would want you to," she said.
D'Anya knelt at the headmistress' feet and laid kisses
up and down her firm thighs. Lightly, carefully
avoiding the woman's exposed and livid nether lips,
she ran her tongue up and down the flawless skin of
her abdomen and hips. Luxia's eyes fluttered and she
pinched Rouelle's nipple slightly, eliciting a cry.
"Child," Luxia stroked D'Anya's head as she started to
shiver, "teach the lesson."
Again, the redhead stopped immediately what she was
doing and stood before the headmistress. Luxia
shuddered and pecked the girl lightly on the forehead,
"Excellent. Accompany me. These two need a lot of
help."
D'Anya smiled, "Shall I change?"
Luxia let go of Rouelle and hauled the delirious
Glayen to her feet, "Yes, get rid of that. I hate that
color on you."
D'Anya removed the wrap and let it flutter to the
floor.

*******

 Yevtana slapped the flank of the Hippogriff, just
behind the right wing, causing the strange animal to
shake the newly-set saddle into place. She cinched up
the bottom belt a little tighter, "We lost a few brave
souls in the early days before we figured out that
they knew best how to settle the extra weight."
Yassine walked around the fantastic beast and patted
its muscled rear haunches. The fanned tail slapped her
back reflexively, but not hard. She shook her head,
"How long have you taken them into battle?"
"Only the past few years," the albino said. "It's
taken that long to find the best riders and integrate
them into assault plans."
Choura looked dubiously at the creature's eagle head,
the Hippogriff returned the same expression. "Did the
Mage summon these from another plane?"
"No, they live in the Coral Mountains west of here,"
Yevtana said. "Lord Roquan made the arrangements with
their rulers to bring some of them to us for a set
time."
"What was the arrangement?"
"To stay out of the Coral Mountains," she said. "So
far it's been an amicable relationship. If you'd like,
I could arrange to take you up later."
Yassine wanted to ride one of the magnificent beasts
so much she wasn't able to put the desire into words
before Choura changed the subject, "How many soldiers
are under your command?"
"Currently, none," Yevtana said. "The army of the
Northlands has been all but disbanded, the only ones
still carrying that distinction are being sent to the
garrison points. At this time there are no other
expeditionary forces on the move other than the Great
Mapping Expedition, but there's no way to know when
they will return."
"Where are they," Yassine asked.
"No one knows. The charter of that expedition isn't
satisfied until there is no more of the world to map.
The instructions were quite explicit."
"Map the world?" Choura was aghast, "Who would order
such a campaign?"
"The previous Emperor, Magda III."
"But the Empress' father was Magda II," Yassine said.
"Who was Magda III?"
Yevtana started to walk along toward the palace's
staging area, the Amazons followed behind, "That was
Kaleda I's elder brother. He assumed the Amber Throne
upon his father's death. Shortly afterward he
commissioned the building of a great fleet of warships
and exploration vessels for the express purpose of
mapping the entire globe."
She crossed into the large courtyard where thousands
of soldiers were milling about; yelling, pushing,
shoving, enjoying each other's company for the last
time for a while. Yassine surveyed the area, "So what
happened to him?"
"He appointed a man, Silas Verik II, to be the leader
of the voyage and gave him absolute imperial authority
to lead the mission," Yevtana said. "He then changed
his name to Silas Verik II and abdicated the throne to
his sister, the Empress Kaleda I."
She could see that neither Amazon made the connection
with the name, she shook her head. "Silas Verik was
the first man to give Donai a working seagoing fleet
600 years ago. Quite a revolutionary in the naval
field."
"He gave up the throne, willingly?" Choura couldn't
understand how anyone could give up such a position,
at least not without being at knifepoint.
"Magda II hated the idea of being Emperor, absolutely
dreaded it," Yevtana said. "He wore black for six
months after his father's death."
"More than a suitable period of mourning," Yassine
said.
"That's what everyone thought, the traditionalists
were very touched. But now, I think it was more his
mourning of his life," the albino said. "Magda III saw
the Amber Throne as a prison, not a position of power.
By taking another name, Silas Verik II, and renouncing
his formal name, he released himself from that
position. Magda III was a sad and lonely man, but when
Silas Verik II left for the shipyards his feet barely
touched the ground."
"So he abdicated the throne and left it to his
sister," Choura said. "And no one questioned a female
ruler?"
Yevtana laughed, "How could they? Magda I cleared out
the major noble families early in his reign and a
succession fight would have split the country.
Besides, no one who knew Kaleda I could honestly say
that she wasn't perfectly suited for the throne, she
is every bit her father's daughter. And her ascension
couldn't be challenged anyway because she had already
married Atraeon; there was a ready made royal couple."
Choura chewed on the facts, this was more information
than she and Yassine were given in the entire six
months they prepared for their voyage to Donai. "So
the Emperor is the true ruler of Donai?"
Yevtana laughed, "I have no troops to command because
there is no army. The Emperor has only one soldier
now, me."
A voice rang out from the far end of the courtyard,
"Pale one! Since I love you I must kill you."
The three women turned to see the ocean of soldiers
part before one of the rangers. The man raised his
bow, knocked an arrow and sent it screaming toward the
albino. Before Yassine and Choura could get over their
shock, Yevtana yanked the missile out of the air. She
repeated the feat three more times before the man
stopped firing and bowed, the crowd erupted in cheers.
The man ran halfway across the courtyard, jumped
through the fountain at the center and stood on the
back of one of the horses drinking there. He doffed
his cap, releasing long blond strands that cascaded
down his back. His accent was thick, from a region
Yassine couldn't recognize, "You shame me, mistress. I
was aiming for your heart and missed."
Yevtana looked critically at the handful of arrows she
held, "They were awfully thin, quite disappointing."
The man vaulted off the horse and walked swiftly
toward her, "You would have felt me."
They met in the center and embraced. As they kissed, a
loud howl arose from the crowds as they turned in each
other's arms. They broke the embrace and Yevtana led
the man back toward the Amazons.
"This is Manolo, one of the Emperor's rangers," she
said. "Manolo, this is Princess Yassine of Amazonia
and her lieutenant, Choura."
The ranger bowed before the two warriors and extended
his hand to Yassine. She was quite surprised when he
kissed it, "Honored am I to make your royal
acquaintance." He attempted the same with Choura and
veered away after seeing the look on her face, his
expression was stilted, but he rolled with it. "I
regret that my love and commander has not introduced
me properly; I am the Emperor's only true ranger,
there are others that follow me and hope to live in my
expansive shadow. I hope that someday I might have
companions."
"That's an interesting way of greeting a loved one,"
Yassine said. "Is that the accepted way where you come
from?"
"No," he said with a smile. "Which is why I had to
come to Donai to find someone worthy of my love. Is
that why you came too?"
Yassine blanched, before she could say anything a
piercing whistle came from the crowd. A soldier took
off helmet and infantry breastplate to reveal an ample
woman with her hair set in ornate braids, "Lucky for
you commander, I had to travel all the way to the
fucking frozen plains of Dilexia to find him!"
The throngs howled again with lust and laughter.
Manolo made a dismissive wave, "Don't be vain, I
waited in line like the rest of them."
Laughter filled the courtyard and the troops went back
to congratulating themselves. Yevtana ruffled Manolo's
hair, "I must ask the two of you to come to my home
tonight for supper. It's not the palace, but I've a
wonderful cook and fine wines to pass the evening
with."
"That would be wonderful," Yassine said. "Can I bring
a guest?"


*******
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