Topic: Harem Sisters

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:26 EST
August, 1617

Full summer had come to Valentia, and with it, the first fruits of the new king's reign. With rebellion held down for the time being, Nasir had begun to open schools in the capital of Iska - just one or two, to begin with, to start laying the foundation for the dream of a fully literate population. There were other celebrations to be had as well - word had spread across the land that the king's Teliran was with child, carrying what might be the first heir to the throne in her womb. The royal court had been peppered with marriages, wives loyal to the king and the queen-mother given to men loyal to Valentia from the harem itself. Life had grown a little lighter, a little happier, though they were still awaiting news of the friend who had not yet reached his homeland safely.

And in the midst of this lightness, Safiya was brimming with delight. As the head of the harem now at Shahista's command, she summoned her closest friend to her quarters, pacing excitedly back and forth as she waited.

Teres came when she was called, not because the queen had summoned her so much as her closest friend - one she considered a sister. Of course, all the women of the harem were considered sisters, but the bond between Safiya and Teres had always been a close one. Her hair was still damp, testament that she had been in the baths at the time she'd been summoned, but she made no complaint and came as quickly as she could.

Slightly out of breath even as she'd hurried, she stepped into the queen's chambers. "I came as soon as I could, Safi. What is wrong?"

"Oh, goodness, maymun, you did not need to cut short your bath!" Safiya laughed gently, reaching out to clasp Teres' hands in hers, dark eyes sparkling happily. "I have such good news, for both of us. I am sorry for summoning you so abruptly, but I am so eager to share it with you!"

"You saved me from becoming as wrinkled as a prune," Teres said, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes as her friend took her by the hands, relieved she'd been summoned to hear good news and not bad. There had been too much upheaval of late; they all deserved some good news.

"You would make an adorable prune," was Safi's near instant response as she drew her friend to the padded couch. "Teres, we are to be married. You and I. The king has decided that he wishes to make me his queen, and ....and Ezra has asked him for your hand."

Teres had been about to tease her friend by asking why she and Safi should marry each other when the other woman dropped a certain name that had her gasping in shock, her face flushing with color. The fact that Safi was to marry the king came as no surprise, but the mention of her own marriage did. She'd hoped for it for some time, but had never thought it would really come to pass.

"Ezra has asked for my hand?" she echoed, in a state of shock.

"Asked for, and been given permission to approach you," Safi confirmed excitedly. "He will be named the official Keeper of Secrets at the next court session, and ....Well, I believe he would very much like to be a married man before then." She hesitated, looking worriedly into her friend's eyes. "I thought the news would please you. Do you not like him any longer?"

"No, of course, I do! I just ..." Teres trailed off, dropping onto a cushion. "It's so sudden!" she said, not to mention unexpected. "It is more than I could have ever hoped for," she said, blinking back tears at the thought that she might leave the harem to be wed to her Ezra.

"Oh, do not cry, Teres!" Safi drew closer, stroking her hand against her friend's cheek fondly. "I asked Lady Shahista how things would change with marriage for both of us. She tells me that I will be moving into the queen's apartment - the closed rooms between the harem and the king's apartment. And you will be sharing your husband's apartment within the palace as well. We will still spend much of our time here in the harem, but we will not be a part of it any longer. We can start to create the ladies' court we were talking about."

"Yes, yes, of course," Teres said, sniffling and wiping the happy tears from her face. "And we will have children - families - of our own. Oh, Safi, did you ever think it could be this way' I always thought I would belong to the harem and the king. I will be Suraan no longer."

"No, you will be Lady Teres Turzic, and I will make you my companion because I cannot do this without my friend and sister," Safiya insisted softly, squeezing her hand. "We have never been apart. If you were to leave the palace, I do not know what I would do."

"No, as much as I love Ezra, I would be lost without my sister," Teres echoed the other woman's words. "Can you believe it, Safi" Did you ever imagine it in your wildest dreams?" she asked of their fates. So much had changed since Nasir had become king.

"I could never have imagined it," Safi murmured in delight. "I cannot help but wonder who our third is supposed to be. Everything else the diviner predicted seems to have come true; if it will all be true, then Nasir will have another friend come to his side, and that friend will be given a wife from the harem." She looked mischievous for a moment. "Should we decide who it should be now, so I may suggest her when the time comes?"

"Who is it you would welcome as a second sister?" Teres asked, smiling. While others might be too jealous and possessive to welcome another woman into their circle, the women of the harem had always been like sisters. It would be a privilege and a pleasure to be able to choose the queen's closest companions.

"Sasha, perhaps?" Safiya suggested. Sasha was the most foreign of the ladies in the harem, a former slave who had been bought from the black markets in the port city of Valens and brought to the harem when she was thirteen. She had been definitely unwilling to remain, but had slowly come to terms with her new life as Shahista made a point of keeping the girl safe. She was from a land far away, but had been a slave too long to recall who she had been before. Still, she was a fierce friend, and there was a sense of loyalty she clearly felt toward Teres and Safiya for befriending her to begin with.

"Perhaps, but do you think she would be willing to be wed to a man she has never met' It is a lot to ask of any woman," Teres reasoned, and yet, it might prove a better life than that of one spent in the harem.

"It is more than most of us were ever trained to expect," Safi mused. "And Sasha has adopted our customs very well. I am sure she doesn't mean it when she says she will stab the first man who touches her without her permission."

"Perhaps we should wait to see how she reacts to this other man. Do we even know who he is?" Teres asked, relaxing a little now that the shock of her friend's news had eased, replaced with joy and excitement. Their lives were changing quickly.

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:26 EST
"I believe the only one they are still waiting for is Idris el Bashir," Safi said thoughtfully. "He was last heard of boarding a ship in Edessa, but there has been nothing heard of that ship in a month."

"Idris el Bashir," Teres mused quietly, trying to put a face to that name. It was not often women of the harem were allowed to speak with any man who was not the king, but times had changed. Teres had not seen Ezra since they'd been children, and perhaps the same could be said for Idris. "I know the name, but I cannot recall the face," she confessed with a frown.

"He wasn't raised in the harem," Safi told her friend. "I don't believe either of us have met him. His father was the Grand Commander of the Armies that King Clovis had accused of treason - I think, if he had not escaped into exile, he would have been killed too."

Teres gasped in horror. "King Clovis was a very bad man," she whispered, as if someone might overhear and punish her, even though the man was dead and could no longer hurt her or anyone else, for that matter.

Safiya nodded, though she did not dare say it aloud. She fully agreed with her friend, though - the only reason they had survived the last years of Clovis' rule was because Lady Shahista had gathered them to her as her own companions, and Clovis still held some affection for his half-sister. "But if he had not done as he did, we would not now be where we are."

"It is good Nasir is king," Teres said, in agreement with her friend, afraid to say much more about Clovis, though the man was dead, his supporters dead or exiled - or so she hoped. She needn't ask her friend if things would change now that Nasir was king, as they already had.

Safiya eyed her friend for a long moment. "Ezra is likely to wait upon you this afternoon," she warned Teres with a playful smile. "He does not seem to be a man prepared to practice patience."

The smile returned to Teres' face, along with a faint blush. "We will be married soon?" she asked, not only of herself and Ezra, but Safi and Nasir, as well. The sooner the king married his queen, the sooner she, too, could be married.

"I believe that you and Ezra may be married at any moment you wish, with however much or little ceremony you desire," Safi assured her warmly. "There is only one condition, and that is that we may attend your wedding. As for me ....I must wait while the banquet is prepared and the announcements are made. I will not be wed for another month, I believe."

"But if I was to marry before you, you would be alone here, until your own marriage," Teres pointed out. As eager as she was to marry her childhood love, she did not like the idea of leaving Safi alone. "Perhaps you could arrange to have Sasha take my place," she suggested.

"I want you to be happy, Teres," Safi told her. "You have devoted so much of your life to looking after me. You can never be replaced, but if you wish it, I will ask Sasha to join me here until my own wedding. But you will still visit with me, won't you?"

"Yes, of course!" Teres assured her friend. "You cannot get rid of me that easily, kardes," she teased, giving her friend's hands a gentle squeeze. "Life is good since Nasir returned, is it not?" she said, sighing happily and hopefully.

"It is wonderful." Safi let her hand fall to her middle, where a small bump was beginning to make itself known. "Oh, goodness ..." She laughed as she felt tears forming in her eyes. "I cry so easily these days, especially when I am happy."

"Can you feel it' Can you feel the baby?" Teres asked, eyes bright with excitement and her own happiness. She did not yet know what it was like to carry a child in her womb, but she was hoping she would soon find out.

"No, not yet. But he is growing." Safi wiped her eyes dry as she smiled. "At least, I hope it is a he. I would like very much to give Nasir the heir he needs before we have the daughter he desires."

Teres was relieved she did not have to worry about whether or not she produced a heir for the king. She could give Ezra children without worry or pressure for a boy or a girl. "The Goddess has been kind, Safi. I am sure She will give you what you desire."

"It would be nice if She would tell the Queen-Mother to stop fussing over me," Safi admitted with a guilty giggle. "Lady Shahista is truly lovely, but she will not even let me carry a pillow."

"Then you will have to visit me often. I will let you do whatever you wish!" Teres pointed out, grinning girlishly. There wasn't much in the way of work either woman needed to do, and yet, there was freedom in knowing they were no longer merely concubines to the king.

"I will very much enjoy seeing you as the head of your own little staff, as a lady of the court." Safiya let out a sudden burst of laughter as a thought occurred to her. "If you are wed before I am, you will outrank me for a while!"

Teres echoed her friend's laughter, amused at the thought of it, though it hardly mattered. "Nonsense, we will always be sisters, Safi," she insisted, though they were hardly equals now that Safi was to be queen, not merely a favored wife.

"Of course we will." Safiya reached over to embrace her fondly, cheek to cheek for a long moment. "Now ....will you wait to be summoned to see him, or will you come with me to the king's apartment, where I am certain Ezra is still in talks with Nasir?"

"Would it be too bold of me to go with you?" Teres asked, obviously eager to see the man to whom her hand was promised and to whom she had already given her heart, even if she had not told him so as yet.

"Be bold," was Safi's advice, squeezing her friend's hand as she rose to her feet. Nasir had already told her he did not wish to spend the entire afternoon talking in circles about things that could not be settled without a Commander in Chief, so she felt no guilt about proposing to interrupt.

"I shall try," Teres said, taking a breath as if to draw upon her courage. She was not afraid of Ezra, but he did make her nervous. It would a good kind of nervous though - a nervous excitement that came along with her obvious attraction to the man.

Arm in arm, Safiya drew her closest friend out into the hallway, past the open door of the harem proper and into the corridors of the palace.

"You will find it comes more easily the more you do it," she told Teres impishly, glancing into the queen's apartment as they passed it. Servants were bustling in and out, washing every inch in preparation for the new furnishings to be set in place.

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:27 EST
"I am not sure I can do it," Teres confessed. "I am not you, Safi." That was not necessarily a bad thing, though, as each woman had their own strengths and weaknesses. Then again, if she had shied away from Ezra, she might not be in the position to marry him, as unassuming as he was.

"I am not bold, Teres," Safiya assured her softly. "I am simply comfortable with the man I love, a man who talks to me, who knows me and lets me know him. You will find the same comfort with Ezra, I am certain of it. It will not feel like boldness to be yourself with him."

"Safi, I have never had a conversation with a man before," Teres confessed. At least, other than the ones she'd had with Nasir and Ezra. It simply wasn't done for a woman of the harem to speak with any man who was not the king, but she was no longer of the harem.

"Talk comes easily in the quiet of the night," was all Safi could tell her. "When you are sated with love but sleep is not yet with you. That is when I found myself learning to share all of myself with Nasir."

"But I cannot do that until we are wed," Teres said, frowning. Perhaps Safi was right - the sooner she and Ezra were wed, the better. What was the point of waiting, after all" It was different for Safiya - she had been Teliran and now she would be queen and the king's only wife.

"I believe it is possible for you to be wedded today, if that is your wish," Safi said quietly, slowing as they reached the more public corridors. There was always a chance of meeting one of the council members in these halls, which was why she had had to learn to walk with a little more decorum here.

"Today?" Teres echoed in the surprised tone of voice again. She had not expected this when she'd awoken earlier that day, but it was not an unpleasant thought. "But ....what will I wear?" she asked, her first thought for her appearance and what Ezra might think of her.

Safi's smile softened in the face of her friend's immediate worry. "Not today, then," she said gently. "We will find you something beautiful to wear, maymun, don't worry so."

"I'm not worried," Teres pointed out. "I just ....I want our wedding day to be special, and I want to be beautiful for him." She paused a moment to consider. "Tomorrow," she said. "We can be married tomorrow."

"Don't forget to let him ask you," Safi reminded her friend in amusement, nodding to the guard on the door of Nasir's apartment. He slipped inside, and a moment later, they heard him announcing their presence to the king.

"How ..." Teres broke off, leaning toward her friend so she could lower her voice to a whisper. "How are we supposed to be married tomorrow if he doesn't ask me first?" she whispered. All of this waiting had her a little frustrated.

"Trust me." It was a little infuriating to be told just that, but Safiya had never lied to her or intentionally guided her wrongly.

Squeezing her friend's hand once again, she lead her into the king's apartment, easing into a shallow curtsey to Nasir before nodding to Ezra. In his own turn, Ezra bowed to the woman who would soon be his queen, his eyes straying with a strangely hopeful light toward the friend who stood with her.

Teres followed her friend's lead, curtseying to both the king and his companion, though her eyes lingered on the companion more than the king, daring to meet his gaze if only for a moment. Be bold, Safiya had told her, but she had also told her to give him a chance to ask. How could she be both bold and demure at the same time"

"If I may, your majesty," Ezra said suddenly, turning to Nasir for permission to speak, a half smile playing on his lips. The two men had half expected Safiya to bring Teres with her when she came to rescue the king from his work.

"Yes, of course," Nasir replied. "One moment, ladies," he told the pair of women before turning to confer with his friend.

The tiniest of crinkles appeared between Teres' brows, a small hint of annoyance. Did Ezra not have time to speak privately with the king before she and Safi had arrived" She had a feeling he was doing this just to annoy her.

It was only a moment, after which Ezra stepped back with a warm smile, bowing to his friend. Then he turned to Teres, offering her his hand. "Suraan, may I have the pleasure of your company in a turn around the inner garden?"

She was half-tempted to tell him no, but softened when she realized he had paused to ask the king's permission to take her for a stroll. Or so she assumed. "Yes, of course," she replied, holding herself back from telling him that it was about time. Perhaps she was a little anxious, a little impatient, but she was eager to be his as soon as possible. Just not today.

"Thank you." He took her hand into his, smiling into her eyes for a long moment before bowing once more to the king and his consort and moving to lead Teres from the apartment and down to the garden. Safiya waved to her friend with an excited smile as they slipped out of view.

Teres demurely followed his lead, smiling back at him and meeting his gaze with a hopeful expression of her own as he led her into the garden, barely aware of the friends they'd just left behind.

"You are well today, sweet rose?" Ezra asked as they passed out into the garden which was private for the king's use only. His hand covered hers on his arm, his eyes studying every line of her face rather than watching where he put his feet.

"I am well, my lord. And you?" she asked, trying to keep the tone of her voice as even as possible and keep her hands from shaking with him so close. She wanted to know what his lips tasted like, what it would be like to feel his arms around her, but propriety demanded demureness, at least to a certain extent.

"I must admit to a little ....a little discomfort?" He shook his head. "No, that is not the word. I am uncertain, Teres, and it is stealing my courage from me."

"Uncertain, my lord?" she asked, coming to a sudden stop and turning to face him. At least, they were far enough away that they wouldn't risk being seen or overheard. "If you are uncertain because of me, I can assure you there is no need. My feelings for you have not changed, but perhaps you are not sure of your own feelings?"

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:27 EST
He took her hands in his own, watching his thumbs stroking over her fingers for a moment as he spoke. "I am certain of my own feelings," he promised her. "I have been certain of them since I returned to Iska. I am not a patient man, sweet rose. If your answer is as I hope it will be, I cannot spend another week separate from you. Yet if I ask you now, it will take you away from the sister of your heart when she perhaps needs you most." He swallowed, lowering himself onto his knees in front of her, kissing her palms tenderly - the first kisses he had dared to give her. "Tell me what I should do, askim. I have no wish to wound you."

For just a moment, she was rendered speechless as he bared his heart to her, touched by his compassion and caring, not only for her but for Safi, as well - the sister of her heart. She couldn't help but smile though, as she and Safi had already discussed all these things and had reached a solution. "If I may be so bold, my lord - my love - I believe Safi and I may have a solution to your problem." But how could she tell him when he was on his knees" "Ezra, please, you do not need to kneel before me. My heart is already yours. I am just as eager to be wed."

His warm eyes lit up with hope and love as he looked up at her, refusing to rise just yet. "Then will you marry me, Teres?" he asked, his heart in every syllable. "Tonight' Tomorrow" Speak the word, name the day. I am yours."

"Yes, askim," she replied, though she had already told him as much. "I will marry you. Is tomorrow too soon' I need a day to - to get ready," she told him, reluctant to admit that she only wanted to delay the wedding so that she could look her best for him.

"My sweet rose, I would wed you now, this moment, if you would allow me," Ezra admitted, rising to his feet in a smooth motion. His hands left hers to curl to her back, drawing her close against his chest. "Tomorrow," he promised her. "Morning or night?"

She let him gather her close, curling into him, liking the way it felt to be near him, to feel the warmth of his body so close, the beat of his heart close to hers. "Night," she said, though it would seem like forever until then. "I-I want to look my best," she admitted quietly and a little bit shyly. And she needed time to arrange for Sasha to take her place and to pack her things.

Despite their back and forth teasing, he was no weedy scholar, and finally she was in a position to appreciate that his broad chest and shoulders were hard with trained muscle. Ezra dipped his head, touching his nose to hers.

"You will never look less than wonderful to my eyes, askim," he promised her. "But I can be patient that long."

"I want our wedding to be special, askim," she told him, though, of course, it would be whether they waited another day or not. There might not be a feast or a big celebration, but that didn't matter. Teres was sure it would be the happiest day of her life.

"My sweet rose, it will be special," Ezra was quick to assure her, stroking his fingers against her back. "And you are certain you wish to wed" I know it is a change you were not expecting so soon."

She lifted her face to his, all the love she felt for him reflected in her eyes, all the hope and the yearning clear to see. "Yes, love. I wish it with all my heart. Safi is going to ask Sasha to take my place, so you see, it is all arranged. We are free to do as we please," she said, smiling happily up at him.

A slow smile spread across his face, his hands tightening on her instinctively as he chuckled at this information. "Ah, so our soon to be queen has a gently interfering streak," he mused teasingly. "Good to know." He lowered his head again, pressing his brow to Teres' with a low sigh. "I dare not kiss you, askim," he murmured. "I do not know if I could stop."

She remained smiling, her expression radiating adoration for this shy, gentle man. "Would it hurt to share one little kiss?" she asked, daring to touch her fingers to his face, to trace his bearded jaw line, her gaze drifting to his very kissable mouth.

"My bold little rose," he murmured, unable to resist her soft request. One hand left her back, gently tucking strong fingers tenderly to her neck, tilting her chin until his lips covered hers, contrasting with softness against the ticklish prickle of his beard.

She surrendered herself happily to his kiss, tasting at last the sweetness of his lips. She sighed as she leaned into him, melting a little into his embrace, enjoying each and every sensation that kiss enticed, even the prickle of his beard. There was a feeling of warmth somewhere deep inside her, from the core of her being, that she recognized as desire and she pressed her body closer to his, as though that might help. Safi had encouraged her to be bold, and she had been rewarded for the boldness with this kiss, it seemed, and all the strange sensations that accompanied it. How tempting it would be to give in to that kiss and marry him tonight.

Ezra's arms tightened about her, drawing her closer, lips gently teasing, coaxing, until she opened to him, letting him taste her as he deepened that kiss, all too aware it was her first. He was determined to make this kiss one worth remembering, forcing himself to keep just a little distant so he did not get carried away and frighten her with passion.

She opened to him, like a flower, trusting him as she savored that first taste of his lips, knowing there would be many more to come. She would have married him then and there, but she was going to need that night to ask Safi everything she needed to know about bedding a man, so that she could please him.

But it did not seem that her lack of experience was a hindrance to Ezra. He lingered for a long time in that kiss, slow and tender, languidly tasting her before gently parting with a last kiss or three against her swollen lips.

"Askim, you would try the patience of the Goddess," he whispered, smiling down at her.

She sighed, pouting a little as their lips parted, but knowing there was more to come after tomorrow. "Askim, it is the Goddess who gave me to you," she reminded him. Or who would be giving her to him the very next day. "It is going to be a long night and day," she quietly grumbled. Long but busy.

"But tomorrow night will be longer," he teased her, kissing the tip of her nose before forcing himself to draw back and release her from his arms. "You must remember to sleep tonight, sweet rose."

"I shall try, my strong and solemn scholar," she teased back, eyes sparkling with mischief. "All my dreams will be of you," she assured him with a mischievous grin, though she did not doubt that would be true. It wouldn't be the first time she had dreamed of him, but now that she had kissed him, the kisses of her dreams paled in comparison to the real thing.

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:27 EST
He laughed, raising her hand to his lips to press a heated kiss to her knuckles. "Come, I should return you to the harem before I defile you in the king's gardens," he told her, wrapping her arm through his. "Unless you would like to join me in informing the king of our decision?"

"I would, if you do not mind," Teres replied, clinging to his arm as though she would never let him go. It was that more than anything else that had her reluctant to leave him just yet. The harem, once a place of safety and sisterhood, felt empty to her now. All she wanted was to be by his side. "Ezra," she said, tugging him to a halt again before they left the solitude and privacy of the garden. "Forgive my boldness, but I can hold my tongue no longer. I wish you to know before we are wed that I love you, with all my heart and mind and soul, and I will do my best to be a good and faithful wife."

"Teres." Turning back to her, he drew his knuckles gently over the high curve of her cheek. "When I returned, I did not think to find love so soon. I am blessed that the woman I love, loves me in return. And I have no intention of taking any other wife, any concubine, any mistress. My heart is yours, Teres. I have no room for anyone but you within me."

Though she had hoped he would return her feelings, she had not expected a promise of fidelity, even if she had hoped for one. His words brought tears to her eyes, her heart swelling with love and affection. "Truly?" she asked. "Am I truly the only woman you will ever love?"

"I am not a man who will make a vow lightly," he told her. "When I swear to be true, I will hold to it until the day I die." From the folds of his tunic, he produced his handkerchief, gently drying her eyes. "There is no need to cry, askim. We will be happy together. Yes?"

She beamed a smile up at him, wondering if Safi was half as happy as she was in this moment. "They are happy tears, sevgili. Your words have made me so happy," she said, daring to touch the soft whisper of a kiss to his lips.

"You are going to be bad for my self-control, I can tell," he murmured with a low chuckle, pressing a firmer kiss to her lips in answer before hastily pulling away. "Temptress."

She couldn't help but giggle a little at that. "You will no longer need your self-control after tomorrow," she reminded him, with a playful little tweak of his nose.

"Unless you want to be debauched in the hallways, I think you will want me to have a little self-control," he laughed, tucking her arm through his as he drew her back into the palace and to the king's apartment.

"That would be deliciously scandalous," she agreed, grinning and waggling her brows at him. "But at least, there will be no gossip of unfaithfulness." She wrapped both her hands around his arm, as if claiming him for her own for all to see as they returned to the palace.

"None whatsoever," he promised in amusement, letting her hug his arm as he escorted her back through the halls. There was no question of their being allowed in to see the king, even though he was now alone with his Teliran.

"Majesty." He bowed to Nasir once again, reluctantly relinquishing Teres' touch to do so. "I wish to ask for your permission to wed."

Beside Ezra, her hands still hugging his arm, Teres curtseyed briefly, tossing a wink to her friend before turning her attention back to the king.

Nasir grinned at his friend's request. They all knew asking his permission was a mere formality. He intended to make Safi his queen and his only wife, which freed Teres from the harem to wed his closest friend. It freed all the women of the harem, and arrangements were being made all over Valentia and beyond to make good matches.

"You already know how I will answer that, my friend," he said, drawing Safi close. He was glad their friends had found each other and had found as much happiness as they had.

Ezra conceded this with a flicker of a grin. "I had to ask," he said, in a decidedly less formal tone of voice. "We intend to be wed tomorrow, in the latter part of the day."

Safiya positively beamed with delight, turning her bright smile onto Teres. "Then we shall have a busy day preparing you for your nuptials."

"Of course, you did," Nasir replied, still grinning at the other couple.

"I suppose we will," Teres replied to Safi's remark, beaming up at her intended. "I want to look my best for you," she told Ezra, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze.

"You could never look less than your best, askim," Ezra responded fondly, stroking her hand where it lay on his arm.

Safiya giggled softly. "Well then," she said curiously. "Does this mean a separation of men and women tonight in preparation for the delights of tomorrow?"

"It would seem so, beloved," Nasir replied, only pouting a little. "Just for one night," he promised, touching a kiss to her cheek. He almost envied the other couple, who didn't have to wait for anyone to arrange a big celebration before they could be wed.

"I will miss you, but after tomorrow, we will have the rest of our lives together," Teres assured her intended in a soothing voice.

"Well, two," Safi corrected Nasir playfully. "The night before our wedding will not be spent together either." She smiled, leaning close to kiss him, drawing his hand to the gentle swell at her waist for a moment longer.

"Two then," Nasir agreed, a smile upon his lips. "How will I endure it?" he teased, that smile softening as his hand came to rest against the gentle swell that was their child growing inside her. Was there anything more beautiful than a woman carrying a man's child? He thought not.

For his part, Ezra raised Teres' hand to his lips, his dark eyes fixed on hers with unspoken, passionate promises. "Until tomorrow, sweet rose."

"Until tomorrow, sevgili," Teres whispered in return, her eyes meeting his, even as the blush crept into her face at his unspoken promises.

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:27 EST
"Good night then, beloved," Safi murmured, braving her blush to press a soft kiss to Nasir's lips. "Until tomorrow for us, too." Then she stepped back, dropping a teasing curtsy to him before reaching to steal Teres away from Ezra's side.

Nasir returned that all-too-brief kiss with one of his own, reluctant to let her go, though he knew he must. "Good night, askim," he told her softly, her fingers sliding through his as she slipped away.

Teres seemed reluctant, too, dark eyes shining with happiness as she reached up to touch a quick but bold kiss to his lips. "Until tomorrow, my love," she told him, as she, too, slipped away.

"It cannot come soon enough," Ezra promised her, certain he could only let her go into Safiya's hands at this moment, and after tomorrow, might not even do that. He inclined his head to the two women as Safi gently ushered Teres from the room, looking hopelessly over at Nasir. "If I get drunk, will that stop me from missing her so much?"

"If you get drunk, you will regret it in the morning," Nasir told his friend with a grin. "It seems you are stuck with me tonight," he added, moving over to a cabinet to fetch them something strong to drink, despite his warning.

As the men settled in to at least pass the time until they could reasonably settle to bed, Safiya and Teres giggled their way through the halls and back to the concubine's quarters beside the harem proper.

"Now then, I know just what we should do at this moment," Safiya declared, calling for Hatice even as she opened one of her clothing chests to produce a white satin gown and lace kaftan of ivory. "Try these on."

"Oh!" Teres exclaimed as her friend produced the loveliest gown she had ever seen. "Safi, I can't wear that! It is too lovely. You should wear it for your own wedding," she urged her friend, sure she could find something of her own suitable for a wedding.

Safi gave her a secretive smile. "I have my own being made," she told her friend. "This, I had made for you." As she spoke, Hatice entered the room, curtsying to them both. "Hatice, could you ask Sasha to join us, please?" Safi asked, laying the garments aside to help Teres unlace her gown.

"Of course," Hatice agreed, smiling at the two young women before slipping away.

"Oh, Safi, it is lovely," Teres said, clearly touched by her friend's kindness and generosity. She moved closer, not to take up the gown just yet, but to give her friend a hug. "Thank you so much, kiz kardesim," she whispered, calling her sister.

Safiya embraced her fondly, stroking her hair for a moment before pulling back. "There is nothing I would not do for you, maymun," she promised affectionately. "And I have known where Ezra's attentions were heading for quite some time. Now, off with the dress - let us see what needs adjusting."

"He is terribly handsome, isn't he?" Teres gushed, obviously enamored of the man. "Do you know, he told me he loves me and that his heart belongs only to me and that he will never love another?" she said, sighing with happiness as she undressed. "I cannot hardly believe it. It's like a dream."

"He is very handsome, yes," Safi agreed with a quiet giggle, pulling the laces open on her friend's kaftan to slip it from her shoulders. "And of course he loves only you. I am beginning to believe it is more natural for a man to love but one woman than it is for him to have to service an entire harem."

A snort of laughter from the doorway drew their attention to Sasha, tall and blonde, closing the door behind her. "Did he propose then?" she asked, brown eyes bright with teasing cheerfulness.

Teres squeaked as Sasha joined them, but it was a happy squeak. "He did!" she confirmed and would have rushed over to hug her other friend, if Safi wasn't busy undressing her. "I know I'm gushing, but I'm so happy, Sasha!"

"I am happy for you!" Sasha responded, cupping her friend's cheeks to kiss her forehead. "Even if you are both midgets."

Safiya laughed, pulling the last of the laces free.

"I am not a midget!" Teres insisted, giving Sasha a friendly swat. "I am just the right size for Ezra. We fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle. So, there!" she added, playfully sticking her tongue out at her friend.

"Now how would you know that, Teres?" Sasha asked playfully. "I didn't think any man was allowed to do that with a Suraan until the king said he could." She ducked as Safi threw Teres' dress at her, laughing.

"I just know, that's all," Teres said, a playful smile at her lips, her eyes sparkling with a secret only she and Ezra shared - a first kiss and then another. He'd held her in his arms, like she belonged there, and she'd known in that moment that he was the only man she'd ever love.

"Arms up," Safi ordered, lifting the white satin gown up and over Teres' head. "She's right, Sasha. You just know. Before he takes your clothes off."

Sasha made a rude noise. "I can see I am going to have to teach your daughters to be less romantic in mind than you two," she predicted cheerfully, moving to help settle the soft fabric at Teres' hips. It was a strange thing, but Sasha never seemed to consider herself marriage material for anyone. "So how do you know, Teres?"

Teres turned quiet while the other two fussed over her and helped her into the gown. It was a lovely thing, but it was thoughts of Ezra that filled her mind at the moment.

"I don't know," she said, furrowing her pretty brows in thought. "I just do. I've known him since he was a silly boy. At least, I did before he was sent away. I always thought him too serious, even now. But when he smiles, he smiles with his whole heart. It is like the sun shining through the clouds. And when he holds me, I feel safe and warm and like I am right where I belong."

"I envy both of you, knowing your loves from childhood," Sasha murmured, smiling as she helped settle the sparkling lace kaftan in place over the gown. "But I thought Ezra was supposed to be a skinny boy who didn't know how to smile?"

"He isn't anymore," Teres pointed out. Maybe he never was. Not skinny. He had been skinny, but maybe he had never smiled much simply because he hadn't had much to smile about. She hoped she had changed that for him, at least. "I want to make him happy. I want him to give him a reason to smile."

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:28 EST
"I think we can safely say that you are the reason he is smiling so much, maymun," Safi pointed out, stepping back to take a good look at her friend. "How does that feel?"

"Do you think so?" Teres asked, beaming a smile of her own at her friend's statement. She blinked out of her thoughts of Ezra as Safi reminded her of the gown and she turned to look in a mirror, hardly recognizing herself. "Oh!" she gasped, turning this way and that. "Is that really me?"

"Yes, that is really you." Sasha moved in behind her, gently lifting her dark hair back from her face, holding it half up and half down. "Is there a veil, Safi?"

Safiya peeked around the two taller women to catch Teres' gaze in the reflection of the mirror. "There is, and a tiara to hold it in place," she confirmed. "Teres, you look beautiful. You will be such a beautiful bride tomorrow."

"Do you think so?" Teres asked, giving her reflection a hard look in the mirror. The face was hers - the dark hair and eyes, which offset the creamy ivory of the dress - and the lips still warm with his kisses. She touched a finger to her lips, remembering that kiss. "Safi, you must tell me everything about lovemaking. Everything."

"Oh, now, this I have to hear," Sasha murmured, hugging Teres from behind as she grinned.

Safi stuck her tongue out at the taller, younger woman before answering Teres. "I cannot tell you exactly what will happen," she pointed out. "But I can at least make sure you are not surprised the way I was."

Teres nodded eagerly. "Yes, I want to know everything. I want to know how to-to make him happy," she said, frowning at a thought. "The others in the harem say it hurts the first time. Is that true?" she asked, eager for knowledge of how to please her future husband.

"It did for me," Safiya admitted with a gentle smile, moving to help Teres out of the beautiful kaftan and gown with Sasha's help. "But only the first time, and only very briefly. There was blood, too - not much, spits and spots. Ezra loves you, Teres - he will do everything in his power to make the pain as fleeting as possible."

"I suppose he will know a thing or two more than me," Teres said, frowning a little again at the thought of Ezra with anyone other than her, but he was a man, and it was what men did. No matter. He had promised to be hers and only hers for the rest of their days, and she believed him. It didn't really matter what, if anything, had happened before.

"The past is the past," Safi said firmly. "He has given you his heart. Men are expected to know a thing or two by their wedding night, and the man who loves you will want you to enjoy his bed as much as he will. Trust me, maymun. What Ezra already knows, he will use to give you pleasure. I am sure of it."

"Yes, but ..." Teres faltered, a worried frown on her pretty face. "I do not know how to please him," she pointed out. She had never been with a man before and though she knew what to expect in theory, she had no experience and she wanted very much to please him.

"And I do not know how to please him, either," Safiya pointed out, gently removing the beautiful gown and kaftan. As she turned to set it back in the chest, Sasha quietly helped Teres back into her own gown. "Making love is not something you can ever be truly prepared for, maymun. But you will learn what he enjoys, just as he will learn what you enjoy."

Teres sighed resignedly and a little worriedly. "How did you know how to please Nas-the king?" she asked, not wanting particulars of her friend's love life so much as good advice.

"Some of it was the lessons we had when we were deemed old enough," Safi explained, sitting down. "Do you remember" The older concubines teaching us what they had learned, how they knew their touches were welcomed and enjoyed, that sort of thing. But ....most of it was instinct. He allowed me to take the lead, and when I faltered, he took it back. I am still learning, I think I always will be."

"I remember," Teres replied, as she finished getting back into her everyday gown, with Sasha's help. She was eager to see the expression on Ezra's face when he saw her in the lovely cream gown and kaftan, a mix of excitement and trepidation about what came after. "He does not seem worried."

"I think he will be almost as nervous as you," Safi predicted with a low laugh, gesturing for the others to come and sit with her. "He loves you, Teres. He will want you to find pleasure in his arms, and he will be worried that you may not."

"I am sure I will!" Teres insisted, as she settled herself near her two friends. "When he kisses me ..." she started, closing her eyes at the memory of it, a smile on her face. "It feels wonderful," she said, unable to put the feeling into words.

"It can't really be such an experience, can it?" Sasha asked, both disbelieving and curious. "Just mouths touching. It does not seem so very wonderful from the outside."

Safiya snorted with laughter. "One day, the right man will kiss you, Sasha."

"Oh, but it is, Sasha! It is not like kissing your brother. It is ....It makes you all warm and tingly inside from your head to your toes," Teres tried to explain, still at a loss for words.

"A feeling I could get from a strong cup of coffee, or a glass of cherry liqueur," Sasha countered. It wasn't that she didn't believe in romance, or in love; it was more that she had spent several years denying that it could ever exist for her in a place where love was an art form and not an emotion. The sudden injection of emotional attachments into her idea of romance was very strange to her.

"Oh, no, Sasha! It is nothing like that at all. It is ..." Teres trailed off, closing her eyes and trying to find the right words. "It is like nothing I have ever felt before." She opened her eyes, smiling at her friends. "Tell her, Safi," she urged, as she had never experienced more than a kiss and an embrace.

Safiya smiled, as much at a loss for words as Teres. "It is everything it could possibly be," she said quietly. "But it is more than just a touch. It is ....it is to feel as though you truly belong, exactly where you are."

"You will understand one day, Sasha," Teres assured her friend, even if her friend wasn't so quick to believe it. "Do you not dream of love" Of a man who would love you completely?" she asked.

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:28 EST
Sasha laughed, shaking her head. "What I remember of my life was spent on a pirate ship," she reminded her friends cheerfully. "They taught me to fight, taught me to trust no man who uses smooth words to charm me. For all that I have learned here, I still heed their lessons. They may have been pirates, but they were my family for a long time."

"Do you miss them?" Teres asked, curling her feet beneath her as she lounged upon the cushions. Sasha had often shared stories of her days on the pirate ship, and Teres had always enjoyed hearing them and imagining what it might be like to live life at sea, but she had never wished it for herself.

"Sometimes," Sasha admitted with a smile, settling on a cushion at the other girls' feet as they talked. "They were all men, they smelled terrible, but they looked after me. They called me their pirate princess, and ....they were so angry when I was sold into slavery by our captors. I think, if they could, they would have torn Valens apart to find me before I was sold on."

"What do you think happened to them?" Teres asked, hugging a pillow against her chest. She had asked this question before, and Sasha's answer had never changed, but she could not help asking it again.

Sasha drew in a slow breath, forcing a smile for their sake. "I would like to believe they won their freedom, and are still out there on the seas, causing mayhem in their own way," she said. "But I think they are dead, or slaves. I do not believe I shall ever meet any of them again. It has been seven years; I do not think it would take that long for them to find me, if they still lived."

"I am sorry, Sasha," Teres said, frowning sympathetically. "But at least, we have each other. We are sisters, yes?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood. Each of them came from very different backgrounds, very different pasts, but their lives had crossed and been linked by the harem, making them sisters in heart, if not in blood.

"We are," Sasha agreed, resting her head against Teres' knee. "Even if the two of you are soon to leave the harem to be with your husbands."

Safi smiled, squeezing Teres' hand. "We will be in the harem every day, Sasha. You are not going to be abandoned."

"The king is determined to find husbands for all the women of the harem, doesn't he, Safi" That includes you, Sasha," Teres told her friend. "But I do not think he would force you into a marriage you do not want. He does not seem like that kind of a king," she reasoned. She remembered Nasir when he'd been a boy, just as she remembered Ezra, and he had never known either of them to be cruel. Not like the former king.

"I do not think anyone will be forced into marriage," Safi mused softly. "But ....would you refuse, if you were offered a marriage, Sasha?"

The tall woman shrugged. "I do not think there is any man in Valentia who would accept me for a wife."

"What if the king found you a pirate for a husband?" Teres asked, though it was highly unlikely. She had a feeling her friend didn't want the kind of man that would please most women of the harem. She wanted someone rugged and wild and full of adventure. What she wanted was a pirate. But there were no pirates in Valentia.

Sasha laughed, lifting her head to meet Teres' eyes. "And what advantage would the king gain in giving one of his harem to a pirate?" she asked cheerfully. "I am content, Teres. I will stay in the harem, and teach all your children - both of you - to fight like pirates."

"Even if our children are daughters and not sons?" Teres asked, eyes wide at her friend's assurance. Why would a girl-child need to know how to fight like a pirate, she wondered. It had not helped Sasha escape her captors; she had been sold into slavery anyway.

"Of course," Sasha insisted with a smile. "It has not done me any harm to know how to defend myself, and I do not think that women should have to rely on men to keep them safe all the time. You have stories of warrior queens from other countries; why can't women here be warriors, too?"

"I do not wish to be a warrior," Teres said, though her friend was likely not referring to her. Then again, she wasn't a queen either. All she wanted was to be a wife to Ezra and the mother of his children. It wasn't very ambitious, but it was more than she could have ever hoped for.

"I am not saying that every woman must be a warrior," Sasha countered. "I am saying that every woman should know how to defend herself by force. Is that so very strange?"

Safi glanced at Teres, feeling just a little awkward at the topic of conversation. "I do not think I could harm anyone, even in self-defense."

"I could, I think," Teres admitted, though she wasn't really sure. "But I hope I will never have to," she said, pausing a moment in thought. "We are safe in the harem. I know the king is hoping to change things, but will it be dangerous outside the harem?"

"The world is a dangerous place, Teres," Sasha said gently. "But I am sure the king will make certain the palace is far safer than the world outside its walls. You will not be in danger simply living outside the harem proper, just as Safi will not."

"What is it like outside the palace, Sasha" I have lived my whole life here," Teres said, frowning a little. She had never questioned it, never wondered what she might have missed, until now.

"Louder, dirtier, busier." Sasha smiled up at her friend from where she sat. "If you are not dressed richly, you are all but invisible, just another face in the crowd. Everyone has their own business; very few people will pay much attention to others around them. Soldiers patrol the city, I know that much, and out in the wider country, there are smaller communities where, if you are an outsider, everyone will watch you, no matter what you look like. It is difficult to describe," she added with a half-shrug. "After the harem, it would be exhausting to live out there."

"Do you miss it' Do you miss your home?" Teres asked. These were questions she'd asked over the years, but she always wondered if her friend's answers would change with time.

"I don't remember my home, or my family," was the quiet answer. "How can you miss what you have no knowledge of? I miss the pirates; I miss the ship where I did so much of my growing. To me, that was home."

Safiya reached out to both of them. "To me, you are my family," she said softly. "My sisters. I know it is not much compared with a home beyond these walls, but it is what I feel."

Teres

Date: 2019-05-25 12:28 EST
Teres reached for each of her friend's hands, linking the three of them together, a warm smile for them both. "This is home, and you are my family. I love Ezra, but it does not change the way I feel about you. You will always be my sisters."

Gathered into the trio, Sasha's smile was bittersweet. "Both of you are the only reason I found any kind of happiness here," she admitted quietly. "I am going to miss you both so much when you leave the harem."

"We will never be far from the harem, Sasha," Teres assured her friend, an almost amused smile touching her face. "Perhaps the king will find a husband for you, too," she suggested, though she had a feeling Sasha would not settle for just anyone.

"If that husband meant that I could be closer to you both, and have the freedom to visit the city, I would not object," Sasha admitted reluctantly. "But what man would have me" I am too tall, too outspoken, too foreign, and too skilled in arms to appeal to any man of Valentia."

Safi shook her head. "You are also too hard on yourself," she said mildly.

"Perhaps a man who is just as tall, outspoken, foreign, and skilled at arms?" Teres countered. "You are also beautiful, kind, and smart. Any man would be lucky to call her wife," she assured her friend, nodding in agreement with Safi.

Sasha laughed, shaking her own head. "Perhaps I should be married off to an ambassador in a different country, then," she said, "but then I should miss you both so terribly."

"No!" Teres was quick to disagree, clasping her friend's hand tightly. "We will just have to find you a husband here in Valentia. Someone who will be willing to keep you here with us!"

"But before any of that happens, did Teres happen to mention that she is being wedded to Ezra tomorrow?" Safiya asked, breezily changing the subject before anyone could get too upset.

Sasha's brows rose high as she looked up at Teres. "That was fast," she said, impressed. "Is that why you keep asking about sex?"

A faint blush colored Teres' cheeks guiltily at Sasha's question. "Would you think me a silly girl if I said yes?" she asked, eyes downcast with embarrassment. She had never been with a man, after all, and was still a little worried about pleasing her soon-to-be husband.

"Of course not, kardes," Sasha assured her fondly. "You love him, of course you want to please him. I did not think that a wedding could take place so fast, that is all. After all, it is taking several weeks for Safi's wedding to happen."

"Yes, well, Safi is marrying the king. I am only marrying his chancellor," Teres pointed out. And she was glad it was only going to be a small, private affair. She didn't think she would be able to get through a big celebration in front of a lot of people.

"May I come?" Sasha asked hesitantly. "Unless you wish it to be a very small gathering. I do not want to cause undue difficulties by being present if it is not what you wish for, Teres."

"Oh, Sasha," Teres said, uncurling her legs from under her to move closer. "You are my sister. Of course, I want you there," she said, leaning close to give her friend a hug, leaving room for Safi to join them.

From her seat on the floor, Sasha wrapped her arms about Teres' waist, pressing her face into her dear friend's lap as Safi eased closer to stroke her hair.

"You are our darling little sister, Sasha," the Teliran murmured. "You will stand with Teres, and you will stand with me."

"Our darling little tall sister," Teres corrected, teasing her friend just a little. "We will always be sisters," she reiterated again. "And tomorrow I will be a married woman," she whispered, hardly believing it herself.

"You will," Safi agreed, kissing her cheek affectionately. "Married to a man you love, who loves you, and staying close to home and family as well."

"It seems like a dream," Teres said, still having a hard time believing it. "It's all happening so fast." And yet, she wouldn't change a thing. She was absolutely sure she was doing the right thing. All Ezra had to do was kiss her and she was sure he was the one she was meant to spend her life with.

Sasha giggled, raising her head. "Not quite as fast as Safi," she pointed out. "You at least had the patience to wait a couple of months before being certain you were in love."

Teres shrugged, in Safi's defense as well as her own. "What is the point in waiting?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. She hoped Sasha would find love someday, too. Then she would understand.

"Perhaps I'll understand someday," Sasha mused, almost as though reading Teres' mind. But Safiya was there to prevent anyone getting maudlin.

"You will both sleep in here with me tonight," she declared, "and we will fuss over you, maymun, all day tomorrow until your wedding moment. But for now" We need food, and wine, and I will try to tell you exactly what happens in the wedding bed."

"Yes!" Teres grinned at the prospect, just barely restraining herself from clapping her hands in delight. It was a bittersweet end to her days in the harem, happy at the prospect of her new life, but sad at leaving her friends. Then again, she was not really leaving them; just leaving the harem - like a baby chick who's grown old enough to leave the nest.

Sasha chuckled, rising to her feet to go to the door and see about food and drink for the Teliran and her chosen companions for the evening. Tomorrow there would be plenty of time for teasing and perhaps a few tears, but tonight both Safi and Sasha would do their best to calm their friend so that she could sleep well in preparation for the day ahead. After all, it wasn't every day a girl from the harem found a husband in the palace. That was something worth celebrating, together.