Topic: The Companion's Duty

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:10 EST
((Contains material of an adult nature.))

June, 1617

Felipe's enquiries in the city of Iska had taken effect by noon of the next day, and in accordance with the swift brutality of the legal system in Valentia, seven of the higher-ranked government ministers were arrested in short order, accused of inciting rebellion by means of neglect and cruelty to the people. But even Felipe was surprised by the speed with which the loyal men of Nasir's new government moved to deal with the traitors. By early evening, word had been spread, and a solemn crowd had gathered outside the gates of the palace in Iska for the public executions. The gates were opened to allow the people to see the seven men, stripped of their finery, standing in a line, hands bound, waiting in varying degrees of fear for the beheadings that were their punishment.

The herald opened his lungs to declare the arrival of the king as the palace doors opened. "All reverence to Nasir, first of his name, King of Valentia!"

Nasir stepped out, flanked by a royal retinue of guards and Horse Lords, and raised a hand to the crowd of people hoping to get their first look at their new king. He then settled himself on a couch that had been provided for him, and gestured for Felipe to sit with him. Everyone else was seated or stood nearby. Though he appeared rested, the king had a grave expression on his face at the unpleasant business they were about to witness. While his heart urged him to give these men mercy, he knew that he needed to make an example of them so that others would think twice before doing the same.

The Chief Justice - newly appointed that afternoon, and grim-faced - held up his hands for silence and began to intone the crimes of the men who stood before their king.

Felipe, his hand still anxiously on his sword hilt, spoke without moving his lips. "Is public beheading without trial really necessary?" he asked as quietly as possible. This wasn't the way things were done in Pomerania ....but then, it was quite close to the way things were done in Carib up until a year ago.

"I do not like it any more than you, cousin, but it is the way of things here. What would you have me do' Throw them in prison until they rot' Exile them so that they can conspire with our enemies and incite war" I cannot appear weak, not with our enemies circling, like vultures. Do not forget what they did to the women and children of the harem, who were under the king's protection. Did they show them any mercy' No, it is a harsh punishment, but others will think twice before attempting to do the same," Nasir explained.

"I do not mean to criticize," Felipe demurred quietly. "It is simply ....out of my experience."

There were a good forty or fifty men in the prison, too, though it seemed likely that many of them would be released with hefty fines and all property confiscated. This would be an abject lesson in the price of betrayal against the secular state. The men who were found guilty of heresy would be burned, by Church law. In comparison, a quick beheading was nothing.

"If it is any comfort, I take no pleasure in it," Nasir assured his cousin quietly. He would have preferred to have shown mercy and thrown the men in prison, but he could not afford his enemies to mistake mercy for weakness. "No one will fault you if you choose not to watch."

Felipe didn't appear to move, but his jawline stiffened. "I will not shame you by looking away," he promised.

The Chief Justice finished the roll of crimes, silence ringing in the square for a long moment. The executioners looked to their king, waiting for his signal to do their work as the prisoners knelt, heads bowed.

Privately, Nasir's thoughts traveled briefly to Safiya, glad she was not there to witness such brutality as this. He promised himself he would not tell her of it either, in hopes of not burdening or sullying her with such things.

"I promise you it will be quick," Nasir assured his cousin quietly. "It is a merciful death compared to some." He offered the executioners a single nod to indicate they should carry out their duty.

With no sign that the king was inclined to give any of the men a last reprieve, the executioners turned back to the prisoners. Seven scimitars rose, glinting in the beginnings of the sunset. Seven men tensed, some closing their eyes, some mouthing prayers to the Goddess. Seven blades fell, and seven heads, too, and the silence still stretched out as bodies toppled into pools of blood.

"Justice is done," the Chief Justice intoned, turning to bow to the king. Beyond the gates, the gathered crowd bowed with him, a low murmur of bloodthirsty approval passing among them.

The king watched the executions with a sober expression, the paleness of his face the only indication that he found it disturbing. It was savage and some might even say barbaric, but at least, it was over quickly. Nasir murmured a prayer to the Goddess that his enemies might find some peace in the afterlife that they had not found in life.

Beside him, his royal cousin had paled at the swift executions, but Felipe had, thankfully, witnessed a few back home. He had to admit, it was a far cleaner beheading here than the axe back in Pomerania. Maybe they should look into importing a couple of Valentia's executioners sometime. But he didn't speak, simply waiting to follow Nasir's lead.

There was nothing more to be done here. He wished his first appearance in front of his people would have been a more memorable and happy event, but it could not be helped. He had not asked for any of this, but he knew what was expected of him, and he would do the best he could for his people's sake. He rose to his feet, raising a hand once again in greeting, a nod to his Chief Justice, before turning to withdraw back behind the palace gates, where he could pause to take a breath.

Cheers followed him back into the palace, blessings on his health, his blood, his honor, called out by a crowd that were quickly coming to embrace their new king, pleased to have a young man in place of the old miser who had steadily grown worse over the years. Felipe walked at Nasir's shoulder as the doors closed. "That went surprisingly smoothly," he commented in a mild tone. "Your next appearance should be kinder."

"As far as executions go," Nasir remarked, obviously repulsed by the whole business, but the thought of what had been done to the women in the harem was far worse. He sighed, still surrounded by guards, but at liberty to speak freely together. "One of my brothers should have been king," he told Felipe quietly, though his cousin knew that already.

"In better times, they might have been," Felipe said philosophically. "But here and now, you are the king, and you are gripping the snake firmly." He considered his cousin for a moment. Nasir might be older than him, but it seemed that Felipe had more in the way of education in ruling than Nasir had ever expected to need. "Goddess forbid it should ever happen, but I might someday find myself where you are," he said in a low tone. "Third sons are never raised to expect preferment, but we exist to make certain the law is obeyed."

"It is a heavy burden to bear," Nasir replied sympathetically, though he was the one bearing that burden at the moment. In the end, the king was responsible for making such decisions, even if those decisions were based on what his advisers had told him. "An example has been made. Now, perhaps we can move on."

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:11 EST
Aaron Shanin, who had been appointed Nasir's chamberlain, met them in the corridor outside the king's apartments. He bowed. "Majesty ....the ringleaders of the heretical rebellion here in the city have been found," he informed his king.

Felipe bit the inside of his cheek as he glanced at his cousin.

"Have them questioned, but keep them alive for now," Nasir instructed. The matter of questioning was a distasteful business, especially if torture was going to be required in order to make the men talk. He was glad he didn't need to be part of that, even if the questioning was done in his name.

"For most of them, majesty, that will prove difficult," Aaron told him. "There would appear to have been a number of abject lessons in the value of loyalty and the consequences of betrayal. These men were found in the strongholds of their rebellions ....in pieces. All bar one, who has been taken to the halls of justice."

"I see," Nasir said, brows furrowed, that sober look on his face. He didn't dare look at Felipe for fear what his cousin notice his distaste of the whole situation. "And has this man been questioned?" he asked, though he couldn't imagine any worse torture than knowing his friends had been cut into pieces.

"I believe the guard captain has described him as "singing like a bird", majesty," Aaron told him deferentially. "His testimony will be investigated, and a report delivered to you at the earliest opportunity. Likely the morning, sir. He was ....somewhat raving when they brought him in."

"Very well. Keep me informed," Nasir told his chamberlain. There wasn't much he could do really, until they were finished questioning the man and were sure he was telling the truth. It was going to be a long night tonight for some of his men.

"Yes, majesty." Aaron bowed once again before moving away.

Felipe was grinding his teeth. "I need to have a word with my brother about the methods his agents are using," he muttered as he continued on with Nasir.

"His methods are effective, if a bit ....crude," Nasir said, falling back into step beside Felipe. Crude was putting it mildly. Beheading was a less brutal death in comparison.

"Unnecessary death does not sit well with me," Felipe mused. "But then ....Maksim has an uncanny understanding of the common people. He may just have saved you some serious turmoil in furture."

"Let us hope so," Nasir said with a small sigh. He was eager for all of this to be over and to bring peace to his people. "The heretics have been causing trouble for years. It is time we take back our country from those who sought to ally with our enemies. And it is time we renew our friendship and alliance with Pomerania."

"My father will very relieved to hear that," Felipe told him, nodding as they walked. "And do not forget that the King of Carib is your cousin as well. Admittedly, there is no blood tie, but Harry is as much family to us as you are. I have no doubt that they will give you all the help you require in putting down heretical insurrection within your own borders."

Nasir came to a halt as they reached the king's quarters. "Will you join me for some coffee?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to eat anything after what they'd just witnessed, but a good strong cup of coffee would help fortify them after the shock of the executions.

"I will, thank you." Felipe inclined his head with a smile, pausing to unbuckle his sword belt and hand the weapon over to the guard standing nearby. While he still wore a knife, it was concealed. It was not done to go armed into a monarch's private chambers.

Once they were safely inside Nasir's private chambers, they could relax and talk freely, away from the watchful eyes of those in the king's service. "Please, sit," the king told his cousin, with a wave of a hand toward a couch, while he went about preparing the coffee himself. "You must miss your wife, yes?"

Thumping down onto the padded couch - which, he had to admit, was a lot more comfortable than the armchairs he was used to - Felipe sighed quietly. "I do," he said, seeing no reason to be less than honest on this point. "I can't help but worry for her, especially now she is with child. But it's more than that. She's the one person I can talk freely to, the one person who doesn't judge me harshly for the things I do for my family and my country." He smiled, shaking his head. "She's impossible sometimes, but I love her."

"Can you not talk to your brothers freely?" Nasir asked, with a curious tilt to his head before turning his attention back to the coffee-making, which was serious business to those from Valentia.

"Well, there is a certain guarded quality to conversations with anyone whom you know may let something slip in conversation themselves," Felipe admitted. "It isn't that I do not trust my brothers, nor even my sister-in-law, but I know that Jane keeps every secret of my heart. I am allowed to be ....uncertain with her. My brothers need me to be certain."

"You are the youngest, like me," Nasir added, glad to have the conversation turn away from political matters for a while. "Would you like sugar?" he asked, as he spooned out the precise amount of ground coffee needed into a small pot.

"I need sugar in your coffee." Felipe chuckled, leaning back comfortably as he watched his cousin. "I am the youngest, yes, but I will have responsibility for the defence of the realm when Stephan becomes king. They need to know I can handle that, so I need to be certain in everything when I speak with them."

"And Maksim ....He is in charge of information?" Nasir asked, making conversation. He knew most of this already, but not in detail. He had spent the last three years in Carib, but he had not been to Pomerania since he'd been a boy.

Felipe smiled a rueful smile. "Maksim has spent his entire life quietly building the most terrifyingly complete network of spies throughout Meringia that has ever existed," he said, oddly proud of his brother, despite Maksim's less savory reputation. "There's very little he doesn't know, and when events overtake him, he can react more swiftly than any official can."

"I could use men like you and your brother," Nasir mused aloud, though he was not trying to steal them away from Pomerania. "Perhaps you could help me find good men and train them. We will need men like this if we are to rid our country of the heretics and restore peace. There are those who would prefer we betray Pomerania and ally with Lotharingia, but I am not one of them," he said, though Felipe had to know this already.

Felipe considered this for a long moment. "Your mother has been a consistent figure on the outreaches of politics in Valentia for several decades," he said thoughtfully. "Her advice on who to appoint to positions of authority would be a good start. I can write to Maksim, with your permission, and ask his advice, too. But you need someone to stand at your shoulder, someone you trust with your life. That someone may take some finding."

Nasir frowned and murmured in agreement, as he stirred the coffee mixture over the coals, waiting for it to thicken, until it was just so. "I would appreciate that very much, cousin. I must confess, I envy you your brothers, though if my brothers still lived, I would not be in this position. I never expected to be king, nor did I desire it, but now that I find myself in this position, I wish to be a good, just king, and that means surrounding myself with trusted, loyal advisers." He carefully poured the thick foamy mixture into two small cups and handed one to Felipe. "Here. Try this."

"You need to find a way to relax," Felipe advised him, taking the little cup from his cousin's hand. "However you can. The stresses and strains of leadership will kill you slowly over the years unless you have someone, somewhere, you can let them all go and simply be yourself."

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:11 EST
"I believe that is what the harem is for," Nasir remarked with a small smile, as he settled himself on another couch opposite his cousin. "The coffee," he said, with a nod of his head in the general direction of his cousin's cup. That wasn't all the harem was for, but the women were there mostly for his enjoyment, as well as for providing heirs.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Felipe blinked, just about managing not to cough. "My word ..." he managed a little weakly. "Well, it's the best I've tasted here, but I'm still not going to convert to drinking it this way for the rest of my life." He grinned over at his cousin. "And speaking of the harem ....how did it go?"

Nasir chuckled, perhaps for the first time since arriving back from his years in exile. "Hence, the sugar," he said, pointing out that some of his people preferred their coffee without any sweetener. The further mention of the harem made him sigh and shrug his shoulders. "There was some trouble with the women. Jealousy and such," he explained, though he had a feeling that was not what his cousin was asking.

"Not quite what I meant." Felipe chuckled gently, resting his cup on his knee. "The servants gossip constantly - the best way to know what?s going on is to listen. I understand you spent the night with one of your ladies. Was she everything you hoped for?" Yes, he was teasing, but he had a feeling Nasir had concerns he wasn't prepared to share with his own mother on this score.

"You must know I spent sixteen years in the harem," Nasir confessed, though Felipe likely knew this already. "I remember some of the girls who were raised in the harem. One of them is called Safiya. I did not recognize her, until she told me her name. She was little more than a child when I left the harem."

"And now?" Felipe wasn't going to let this go, it seemed, but for reasons other than the one Shahista kept reminding her son of. Felipe was a married man; he knew the value of female companionship.

"And now, she is a woman. A very beautiful woman who is eager to please her king," Nasir replied. So, how was this a problem' "I am afraid I may have disappointed her, but I was too tired last night to do anything but sleep."

Felipe shook his head with a smile. "Did she give you any indication she was disappointed?" he countered. "Any flare of temper or pursed lips" Any uncomfortable silences" Unless she did, I think you can be confident in not having disappointed her, Nasir. Even a woman aware of her duty can be capable of looking beyond it to what is truly needed."

"No, but if she was, she would never show it. Not to her king, for fear I might not ask for her again. The truth is I cannot get her out of my mind. It is truly perplexing," Nasir confessed further. Especially perplexing for a man who was supposed to sleep with many women, not just one.

Felipe studied him for a long moment. "Then it would seem that you need to spend more time with her," he suggested, almost gently. "There is no interdiction against your sleeping with her, and that, indeed, may make it easier to grow comfortable in her company. Easier for her, too. You'd be amazed how intimate pillow talk can be, especially if you actually like the woman you're sleeping with."

"I do not think I can sleep with a woman I do not like, Felipe," Nasir pointed out. "I am going to clean out the harem," he said. "There are too many women in the harem and too much jealousy. I want them to be happy with their lives and with each other. They should be like sisters, not vipers waiting to attack."

"I'm sure your mother is delighted," his cousin drawled, sarcasm edging every word as he smiled faintly. In truth, Shahista intimidated him. He'd never met a woman so overtly confident of her own political power, yet so reserved at the same time. "Nasir ....there is no law that says you must have them all in your bed," he said firmly. "Custom is not law, and therefore, it can be ignored. If you like this girl, get to know her. It's your comfort and happiness that should be your priority right now."

"Is it?" Nasir asked, with a curious tilt of his head to his companion. "Perhaps I have spent too many years away from Valentia, but a good king would put the welfare of his people before that of himself, would he not' That is something my uncle most certainly did not do."

"That begins in the palace," Felipe told him. "You're cleaning house right now. Once you have the palace secure, you can expand that to the city, and set the policies in place for the region, and the regions beyond. But if you are not content in your life, Nasir, you cannot even begin to offer similar contentment to your people."

"Spoken like a man who truly loves his wife," Nasir said, with the hint of a smirk and a teasing gleam in his striking gray eyes. "Do you wish for a son or a daughter?" he asked, at last taking a small sip of his coffee.

"Honestly?" Felipe's smile softened as he sipped his coffee. "A daughter. A smaller version of her mother, who will never have to take up a sword unless she chooses to. And I will teach her weaponry, if she wishes it."

"A king wishes for many sons, but I do not want them to think of each other as rivals," Nasir said with a worried frown. There had been princes in the past who'd had rivals to the throne killed, even those who were blood relatives. Nasir didn't want that for any of his future sons or daughters.

"Custom, not law," Felipe reminded him. "And even if it is the law, you can change it. You are the king, Nasir. Your word is law. So you can change laws that you don't agree with. It's one of the perks, my father says."

"I will keep this in mind," Nasir agreed, without making any promises. He had only been king for a day; it would take a lot longer to decide what, if anything, he wanted to change.

"And thank you," Felipe added, "for not offering me one of the ladies in your harem to keep me company while I am here." He flashed his cousin a grin. "As big an honor as it would be, I would never do that to Jane. Something your mother doesn't seem to understand."

Nasir smiled sympathetically at his cousin and friend. "My mother is wholly Valentian. She hopes to honor you with the offer, but she does not understand ....what is the word" Monogamy?"

"So they tell me," Felipe agreed, but he was smiling a little painfully. "Truth be told, not many of the nobles in the rest of the world are faithful to their spouses. Before Marianne came to Berengaria and put her little foot down, adultery was virtually a competitive sport that the women were forced to put up with."

"And what did your brother say to that?" Nasir inquired as he sipped his coffee. There were few men in his experience who stayed faithful to their wives, especially in Valentia, but elsewhere, too.

"Oh, Stephan was right behind her on it." Felipe laughed. "We've been spoiled for the national pastime of having as many mistresses as possible, Nasir. Our parents have never so much as looked at anyone else in all our lives, though I gather there was a little friction at first." He grinned at his cousin. "Pomerania is, perhaps surprisingly, ruled by the only king who doesn't fool around with his female courtiers, though I hear George of Carantania is showing the same faith with his new queen."

"As I understand it, your brother's marriage was a political one, yes?" Nasir asked, wondering how that progressed into love. He wasn't just curious for the sake of curiosity, though there was that, but for his own sake, as well.

"It was, yes," Felipe admitted. "Arranged marriages are often the only way to cement political alliances solidly between countries, and women are taught not to argue when they're sent to a different country to become a wife. Stephan was very lucky that Marianne pretty much loved him at first sight - what they had in the beginning is nothing to what they have now."

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:12 EST
"Love at first sight," Nasir echoed. "I thought that only happened in fairy tales. And you? Was it love at first sight for you, too?" he asked. He'd never met Jane and had no idea what she was like, but from what Felipe had told him, she seemed like a perfect match.

"For me" Not quite." As always when he spoke about his wife, Felipe's expression softened tenderly. "I was determined never to marry at all," he confessed quietly, smiling to himself. "And then this cheeky, giggling little beauty ran straight into me with my redhaired cousin on her heels, and fell over herself blushing to apologise. I don't think I'd ever seen anyone quite so lovely. I found myself seeking out her company - I'm sure Elspeth knew I was using her as an excuse to be around Jane, but she never holds anything against anyone. She enchanted me, I suppose. But we had to convince my father." His smile deepened into a grin. "Turned out we had a lot of help in convincing Father."

"How is that?" Nasir asked, with a circular wave of his hand, encouraging Felipe to continue with his story. Though he knew he could not hope for "love at first sight" or even a monogamous relationship, he was curious about the customs of other countries and wondering what it was like to love only one partner.

"The custom is that any spare princes lying around are generally married off to spare princesses or high-ranking daughter from other kingdoms in order to strengthen the ties between nations," Felipe explained to him. "Stephan married a princess of Francia, so that went the way it should. The problem with us was that Jane is a subject of Pomerania - there's no political advantage in marrying her to a prince. Thankfully, however, Father was very pleased with himself for getting Harry onto the throne of Carib, and Mother took advantage of that to point out that having a happy son is more valuable than having a politically married one."

"And you are not jealous of Harry in any way?" Nasir inquired further, full of questions, it seemed, despite having spent three years in Carib and having witnessed much of the political changes there. He was at the moment more interested in romantic intrigues than political ones.

Felipe snorted quietly. "Bryn would have emasculated me by now," he admitted ruefully. "I have a rather traditional view of wives, and she does not fit the mold I was raised to expect. She and Harry suit one another very well. And to be honest, I've never been all that ambitious. My only ambition is to secure my brother's throne for as long as I live."

"Have you no dreams of your own then?" Nasir prodded. As far as friends were concerned, there had not been a lot of time to get acquainted in Carib. Now that they were in Valentia, Felipe was at his disposal.

"That is my dream," Felipe told him. "But ....I want to make the borderlands safer. Give the people who live on those borders more hope of living a peaceful life. At present, I cannot do that - I do not have the position or influence to enable it. When Stephan takes the throne - though Goddess forbid it should happen soon - I will have autonomy over the military might of Pomerania."

"Your father will not give you that now?" Nasir asked, as the conversation swung back to matters of political import.

"No, my uncle holds that position for my father's reign," Felipe told him. "It's traditional that the king's brothers hold the more sensitive of the powerful positions in the kingdom - I have only one uncle, so he was made Commander of the High King's army. Stephan has two brothers, so I will be the Commander, and Maksim will be Chancellor, when the time comes."

"I see," Nasir said, learning more about the working of Pomerania from his cousin that he ever had from his tutors, mostly because he, like Felipe, had been the third son and not expected to rule. "I envy you, Felipe," he added with a heavy sigh, though it was unclear just what it was he envied.

"As you find your place here, you will not envy me so very much," Felipe predicted with a warm smile, finishing his coffee with only a slight grimace. "For all that Lotharingia is right on your doorstep, I do not think you will have too much trouble in your reign here. You have the support of Carib, one of the most warlike of our cultures, and you will be able to employ the threat of Pomerania and her vassals if necessary. And you have a loving mother who wants you to be comfortable in your life here - it isn't something to be sneezed at. We are rare among royalty in our mothers, Nasir."

"Yes, but you have your brothers and your wife," Nasir pointed out. "You are my only friend here, Felipe. If I could, I would keep you here, but I know that is not possible." He frowned, as an old memory replayed itself in his mind. "Can you imagine being forced to watch your brothers being executed, like those men who were killed today' The memory of it still wakes me in the night. All of my friends have been executed or exiled. There are those who are loyal because of their bloodline, but there is no one here I can call friend."

Felipe's smile faded. "No," he said quietly. "I cannot imagine it at all, and I hope you will never have to experience it again. But I may have some hope to shed for you in that area." He reached to his belt, withdrawing a crumpled letter. "Maksim sent another letter almost immediately after the first, it seemed. Does the name Turzic mean anything to you?"

"Turzic?" Nasir echoed, furrowing his brows. He had not heard that name mentioned in more than three years. "Are you sure that is the name?" he asked, not wanting to get his hopes up for nothing.

Felipe unfolded the letter, scanning it quickly. "Yes, Turzic," he confirmed. "Ezra Turzic" Apparently he passed through Berengaria on his way to the Frankish port of Martel, intending to come to Valentia." He glanced at his cousin curiously. "You know the name?"

Nasir's heart leaped, a smile spreading across his face, his eyes bright with hope. His whole face changed, lightening with the prospect of seeing an old friend again. "Yes, I know the name. Ezra and I grew up in the harem together. We were nearly like brothers. I thought him dead, another victim of my uncle's rampage."

"Apparently not." Felipe's frown relaxed, glad his brother had chosen to pass on this news. "It seems he was exiled shortly after you were, and decided to spend his exile in Gelre. Religious sort, is he?"

"He spent several years in a monastery in Valentia," Nasir explained, though that not had been by choice - at least, not at first. "It was by his father's choice, but when Ezra refused to take his holy orders, he returned to the harem. It was only a few years after that my uncle purged the royal court and harem."

"Well, his devotion to the Goddess isn't in any danger," Felipe commented. "He's a friend, would you say' Trustworthy' A good man to have in your corner?"

"If he has not changed too much, yes," Nasir confirmed. "He is on his way here, you say?" he asked, though that much seemed obvious. "I will have private quarters prepared for his arrival."

"He made sure to tell Maksim he was coming this way, so yes." Felipe chuckled as he tucked the letter away again. "It seems as though he and Maksim know one another. You could have a very good spymaster heading home to take his place at your side, Nasir."

Nasir chuckled at the thought of that. "The spymaster and the cleric," he said, though his friend had not taken any holy vows. "Perhaps I should gift him with one of my women," he contemplated aloud, finding the thought an amusing one. Or maybe he should let the man choose for himself, if he so desired. So long as he did not choose Safiya.

"The Goddess extorts us to marry and be fruitful," Felipe intoned with teasing solemnity, relaxing back against the cushions. It was good to see Nasir suddenly smiling and far more comfortable in himself with the news of a friend on the way home."If this Turzic is returning from exile, there will be others also returning," he added. "In a month, you may well have the foundation of a trustworthy government."

"That would be a good thing, cousin. May the Goddess be praised," Nasir said, lifting his cup in honor of the Goddess. "Felipe, your coffee," he said with a glance at the man's empty cup. "Would you like a refill?"

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:12 EST
"One is enough for me," the blonde prince assured him politely. "With your permission, I will write to Maksim and see if he can find out who else is coming home to Valentia. If you know in advance, you will be able to place them in government positions smoothly as soon as they arrive."

Nasir waggled a finger at his friend. "I will make a coffee drinker of you yet, cousin," he warned with a grin. "Yes, you should write Maksim, and I should write your father and extend Valentia's offer to renew our friendship in full."

"Then it would appear that our evenings have already been decided for us," Felipe grinned cheerfully. "Although I have a feeling yours will also involve a pretty girl."

"If my mother has anything to say about it," Nasir agreed with another small chuckle. He wondered if he should send for Safiya or if asking for her again would cause problems in the harem.

"From what I've seen of your mother, she probably already has someone in mind," Felipe commented, eyeing his cousin in vague amusement. "So if you want a specific someone, you're going to have to give an order about it. Unless, of course, you're planning on sampling all of them one after the other before making your mind up."

"Perhaps I should inspect the harem again," he said, now that he had given the order to reduce the number of women he had to choose from. He hoped his mother had not dismissed Safiya. If she had, he would have something to say about that.

"That is, of course, entirely up to you," Felipe mused. "You are the king, Nasir. If you want someone here, or sent somewhere, you can just say it, and it will be done. It takes a little getting used to, I'm told."

"Of that, I am certain," Nasir agreed, moving to his feet, which generally meant he was giving Felipe permission to take his leave. After three years in exile, it felt strange to be in such a position of power and Nasir wasn't entirely sure he'd ever get used to it.

Rising with his kingly cousin, Felipe bowed to him with a smile. "You're doing well so far," he assured Nasir confidently. "Give me a month, and you'll be in a strong position. You won't need me here at that point."

"You are welcome to stay as long as you wish, my friend," Nasir said, taking Felipe's hand and pulling him into a brotherly embrace. "But I will understand if you wish to return home to your Jane."

"If I stay longer than is necessary, she'll scalp me when I get back to her." Felipe laughed as he said this, embracing his cousin firmly. "But I won't leave you until you're secure. However ....you're on your own with the harem."

"The harem should be the least of my problems," Nasir said with a sigh, wishing that were the truth. Perhaps now that he had banished Raya and his mother was weeding out the more troublesome women from the harem, things would be different.

"It will be," Felipe promised him, though he couldn't be sure of that himself. "And in a few more months, I may convince Jane to come this way on our way home. To visit you and take ship from Valens to Francia."

"Your Jane will always be welcome here, as are any of your bloodline," Nasir confirmed, assuming Felipe would never send anyone here who might cause trouble.

"I'm sure she would have a lot of advice for you on how to handle your women." Felipe laughed, stepping back from his friend and cousin. "I'll leave you to relax for the evening."

"I'm sure she would," Nasir agreed, remaining where he was while Felipe stepped back. "I am glad you are here, cousin," he said again, glad for their friendship.

"I'm glad to be here with you," the Pomeran prince said fervently. "The Goddess works in mysterious ways indeed - if Jane had not fallen pregnant, we would have left Carib months ago ourselves. I should remember to thank Her for arranging things so well for us."

"Yes, She does," Nasir agreed, though he sometimes wondered why the Goddess had taken his brothers from him. Then again, if She had not, he would not have found himself in his current position. How did the saying go' The Goddess giveth, and She taketh away' It was not his place to question Her wisdom, and yet, he did not believe his uncle had been carrying out the Goddess' wishes.

Felipe patted his shoulder, squeezing for a moment. "You're where you need to be, Nasir," he said gently. "You'll be a good king." He bowed then, leaving on that uplifting note.

A moment after he had left, the king's servant of the bedchamber entered, bowing low to Nasir. "With permission, majesty, it is time to make the chamber ready for your evening's rest."

Nasir frowned at Felipe's exit, not because he was missing his company, but because of what he'd said. Would he make a good king" He hoped so, but he knew he could not do it alone.

"Yes, thank you," he replied as the servant joined him. "I will be in the sanctuary and then the bath," he informed the man, giving him an idea how long he had to ready his chamber and set out his evening meal.

"As you say, majesty." The servant bowed once more. "Will your majesty have company this evening?"

The question made Nasir pause momentarily in thought. He knew his mother would ensure he had company whether he wanted it or not, and if he did not request any one woman by name, she would choose one for him. Would it be better for Safiya if he asked for her again, or if he spent the evening with another" It was a decision only he could make.

"Yes, please prepare for two," he confirmed, though he did not say who would be joining him just yet.

With that said, Nasir made his way to the sanctuary to pray for the souls of the men he'd had killed, stopping along the way to request Safiya's presence at the evening meal.

"Yes, majesty." The servant of the king's bedchamber was still bowed as he answered, stepping back to wait for his master to leave the room before calling in the lower servants to transform the space from a comfortable seating area for relaxing into a bedchamber ready for eating and sleeping.

The quiet of the sanctuary allowed Nasir time to think, and though he had gone there with the intention of praying for his enemies' souls, he found his thoughts turning once again to Safiya. Of all the women in the harem, why did his mind keep going back to her" Was it the friendship they had forged as children in the harem or was it something else? Could it be possible that Nasir, like Felipe, had fallen in love "at first sight", and if he had, what would that mean for Safiya and the other women in the harem' As he made his way to the bath, he found himself wondering what it would be like to have Safiya massaging him and rubbing lotion into his skin, instead of one of the servants. Should he ask for her to be brought to him now or wait until the evening meal"

With his mother eager for heirs, it was only a matter of time before he was going to have to choose a concubine or two and perhaps even a wife. Why not ask for her to be brought to him here? He couldn't deny the thought was an appealing one and one he decided to act on. He was the king, after all, and so, he dismissed the body servants and requested Safiya be brought to the bath to attend him instead.

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:13 EST
Thankfully, Aliyne had not yet been told that Shahista had intended her for the king that night. As it was, the women who had been granted leave to remain were delighted for Safiya when word came that she had been requested by the king himself. In a flurry of activity, she was dressed appropriately for the baths by many hands, and was sent on her way to the tune of the other girls' giggles at her blushing excitement, aware of the Queen-Mother's eyes on her from above all the while. The king's baths were private, for his use only, and it seemed he had dismissed all the body servants as well.

Safiya entered, her robe gathered about an almost sheer silk shift, and curtsied, her eyes lowered respectfully. "Majesty."

By the time Safiya arrived, Nasir was already undressed and emerged in the water, feeling more relaxed than he had since his arrival. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be asleep upon he arrival, though his remaining senses were acutely aware of her arrival. It was only when she greeted him that those strange gray eyes of his opened and he turned his head to behold the view, which very nearly took his breath away. It was going to be hard to hide his desire for her without a stitch of clothing covering him.

"Safiya," he returned the greeting, with a small but slightly nervous smile. Though he'd been with women before, he had never been with one that actually meant something to him the way she did.

"You are well?" she asked in her soft way, undoing the belt at her waist to remove her robe. Her arms were bare, and though the shift was of a modest cut, the pale rose silk was almost sinfully thin. It would not hide much if it got wet. She set the robe aside, moving to perch on the edge of the bath beside his head and shoulders with a warm smile.

"I am well, and you?" he asked, returning the formalities, even as he admired the view, careful not to stare for fear of making her uncomfortable. The fabric of her shift left little to the imagination, which only made it harder to hide his body's reaction to her. He remained where he was, not inviting her to join him in the bath just yet, taking things as slowly as possible.

Her fingertips trailed over his shoulders. "I am well," she assured him, her voice pitched perfectly so as not to echo in the baths. "You are tense, majesty. Was the day so very difficult?"

It was not just the unpleasantness earlier in the day that was making him tense, but his nervousness at her presence, and yet, he had been the one to request her there.

"Difficult enough," he replied, with a small frown, as he tried to relax beneath her ministrations. He had to remind himself that this was what she had been raised and trained for, to be one of the king's women. There was some irony in the fact that if his brothers had survived his uncle's purge, it was likely she would have found herself serving one of them, not him. "What of you? Tell me of your day," he said, finding the sound of her voice soothing, no matter what she had to say.

Her hands left him for a moment, there was the sound of some liquid motion from a bottle, and her hands returned to his shoulder, slick with some soothingly scented oil. "It has been a busy sort of day in the harem," she told him, spreading the oil over shoulders she couldn't help admiring. The last time she had seen him, he had been a gangling teenager, more knees and elbows than muscles. The man he had become was more enticing than she could possibly have dreamed. "The queen-mother has diminished our numbers, at your command. Only twenty remain, and of those, only ten are reserved for your own pleasure. The others are to be given in marriage to those men whom you choose to reward for their loyalty in the next week or so, I understand."

"I hope that does not upset you," Nasir said, visibly relaxing beneath her well-trained hands, tense muscles slowly giving way and unknotting. He had thought to reduce the number in the harem mostly for sake and safety, after all. He didn't ask how their numbers were chosen, as it was obvious his mother had made that decision. He also didn't mention that he was glad she remained.

"I ....am relieved, majesty," Safiya told him. "Those who are staying are my friends. I have no enemies among the sisters I am now to live with. Though it is a little cramped for the time being." It was somehow easier to talk freely when she wasn't looking into his remarkable eyes. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her insides turn to jelly, something inside her melting under the concern he had shown for what was a very small injury. She wanted to make his life easier, help him rest easier, not because he was the king ....but because of the man himself.

"Cramped?" he echoed, unsure why this was. There had been plenty of room in the harem before; why was there not now" It must have been the separation, he reasoned, between those who would be going and those who were going to stay.

Her thumbs paused at the tendon on the right side of his neck, lavishing firmer attention there to unknot the tense musculature beneath her hands. "We have been placed in the concubines' quarters for the time being," she explained, "to prevent any accidents or ....well, accidents. Unfortunately, there are only four suites in those quarters - we will be sleeping five to a suite and two or three to a bed for a week or so."

Nasir turned quiet a moment, as he contemplated her predicament. A week or so was not too terrible, and yet, these were the women who were supposed to be favored over the others who were being sent away from the harem and given to men loyal to the crown. "Perhaps I can help," he murmured quietly.

"You should not concern yourself overmuch with our comfort for these days, majesty," she urged him gently, still applying skillful pressure as she felt his muscles give in under her touch. "I have shared a bed with Teres many times before; we have all shared our beds with one another before now. It is enough to know that we are honoured to stay with you."

"But I do, Safiya," Nasir insisted, even as his eyes drifted closed, visibly relaxing beneath the skilled touch of her fingers. Even as relaxed as he was, his expression changed, brows furrowing as he turned thoughtful or even worried over the well-being of his harem. Perhaps he should entrust his mother with such worries, but this only showed that he was not like past kings, nor did he wish to be.

She smiled at his insistence on being concerned about their wellbeing, unable to resist tilting her head down to kiss his forehead gently. Admittedly, she had her eyes closed, to avoid seeing the rest of him under the water. As well educated as she was, she was still untouched, and as such, shy of the male form. "Are we permitted to worry for you, majesty?"

He smiled at the soft feel of her lips against his forehead and opened his eyes to tilt his head toward her and grace her with that smile. "I would be honored to know you worried for me, Safiya," he said, making that statement sound personal, rather than to encompass all her sisters in the harem.

Her own smile did not dim at his statement, seeming to warm even as she blushed prettily down at him. "I do worry for you, majesty," she told him honestly. "You have so many cares. I would wish to be a place where your cares cannot tread to tire you so."

He reached up to touch the place where Raya had scratched her cheek, his own smile soft and warm at both her blush and her desire to please him. "Do you remember when we were young, Safiya" You were little more than a child when I left the harem, and yet, even then, I knew you were special."

"I remember the day I burned my hand on the chestnuts," she answered, offering that same hand to show him the little mottled scar on her palm, a penny-sized place at the heel of her thumb where she had been burned. "You cooled my hand and bound it up, and said that I was very brave. I cried like a fountain, as I recall."

"Braver than I," he confessed, recalling the tears he had shed for his brothers deaths and the terror he had felt that he might share their fate. "I was jealous of my brothers that you might one day belong to them, but I never wished for their deaths."

"I was just a child," she reminded him softly. "You were barely more than a child when we parted ways." Her hands dipped into the water to wash the oil from her skin, one rising to tease her fingers through his hair. "Your brothers loved you, Nasir," she murmured, forgetting propriety as she spoke. "If you had asked, they would have saved me for you."

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:13 EST
"Perhaps," Nasir admitted with a small frown, but now, they would never know. He did not correct her when she addressed him by name; she had known him before he'd become a king and been one of his very first friends. "I did not expect to find you here, nor to find you grown into such a beautiful young woman," he said, his own fingers teasing her hair, enjoying the silken feel of it against his hand.

As her head tilted forward from where she sat perched behind him, her hair tumbled over her shoulder into his raised hand, just skimming the surface of the water. "Beauty is nothing in the harem," she told him. "We are all beautiful, chosen because of that. Some of us grow hard and proud because of it; others find a softer path. I prefer to be soft, but it does not mean I am weak."

"I would never think you weak, Safiya," he assured her, his thumb moving to trace her lips, as his eyes met hers. He didn't want her to be afraid of him and was prepared to take things as slowly as she wished, for both their sakes. "I would like to kiss you, if I may," he said, asking her permission, though he did not need to.

Her smile reappeared, her body twisting until she sat, not behind him, but beside him on the edge of the bath in which he sat. "You need no permission to kiss me, Nasir," she promised softly. "I would have done so last night, had you asked."

"I do not wish to force you in any way, Safiya," he assured her, though he was well within his rights to claim her as his, whether she desired him or not.

"Nasir ..." Her fingers skimmed his cheek for a long moment, thought visibly trickling through her gaze as she smiled at him. Then she seemed to come to a decision, rising from where she sat in one smooth motion. Cheeks aflame with a shy flush, she shed the thin shift, moving to step down into the steaming water with him, crouching until only her head and shoulders were above the water itself as she turned to face him.

"I do not believe you are capable of forcing me," she said softly. "Nor is there any need. I am yours. I will always be yours, even if you gift me to another man's bed."

His face flushed with desire, his expression surprised at her boldness, but not displeased. He could not help it as his gaze moved over her appreciatively, his arms opening in invitation to gather her close, even as she crouched in front of him. He had promised himself he would go slow, but she wasn't making it easy for him.

"I would never give you to another, Safiya. That I promise you," he told her, reaching to pull her closer so that his lips could taste hers.

She swept into the wrap of his arms, buoyed up by the water, gasping softly at the first sensation of his body skin-to-skin against hers as she found her place in his lap. One arm wound about his shoulders, one hand curled to his cheek, and she smiled once again as her breath teased his lips, enchanted by the experience of looking down at him while also being in his arms.

"All I wish is to make you smile," she whispered to him. "To help you shed the burdens of your duty when you call for me." Her lips brushed his hesitantly, silencing what more she wanted to say. To love you, if you will let me.

"You make me smile, in my heart and on my lips, Safiya," he whispered in return. Unlike him, she was untried and untested, but eager to please, though hesitant with her kisses, as though she was a little unsure of his reception. But there was no need to worry, as he took her gladly in his arms and touched his lips to hers, his kisses soft and warm and tender. He felt touched by her tender words and inspired by her kisses, his body reacting without conscious thought to prove he found her pleasing.

If her answering smile was a little sad, wondering if these were words the other girls would hear someday, she gave no other sign of it, closing her eyes to savor her first kisses as the warm water lapped at them in the bath. Bravery, it seemed, had many guises, and she had courage enough to bare herself to him without second thoughts. Courage enough to hope that perhaps she was more to him than her sisters might be.

Secretly, he found himself envying Harry and Felipe and the special bond they had with their wives. As much as others might envy him, he found the burden of pleasing even ten women a little overwhelming. All he needed or wanted was one woman who loved him with her whole heart, and secretly, he wished that woman was Safiya.

She nuzzled close to him for a long moment in the steaming water, drawing back with a gasp and a tender smile, left breathless by kisses she had not expected so soon and her own audacity in stripping before him. Her fingers trailed against his cheek as she gazed into his eyes, somehow even softer in his arms now than she had been at first. "I am not hurting you, am I?" she asked suddenly, concerned that she might be too heavy on his lap, or doing something that caused him discomfort.

Though it was because of her, any discomfort he was feeling was hardly her fault. "No, çiçeğim, you are not hurting me," he assured her, replacing her name with an endearment that could be translated to mean "my flower". "But perhaps we should retire to my rooms," he suggested, not wanting things to get too far out of hand here in the bath. Alone in his rooms, they could take their time with each other and only go as far as she was ready to go.

She gasped, a thought suddenly occurring to her as she drew back from him. "Of course, you must eat," she urged, biting down on her shyness to rise to her feet, the water lapping now at her hips. "I will call the boy with the towels."

"Call him from here," Nasir urged, drawing her close again, so that if anyone were to interrupt them, there would be nothing for them to see but her bare back. He had no words for what it did to him to hold her so close, acutely aware of the soft, warm body pressed so close against his. It wasn't so much that he was hungry as that he wanted to take her to a more comfortable setting.

Drawn back into his arms, Safiya trembled softly, aware that her shyness was urged on more by her desire for him than by any any sense of shame in her own form. Her arms rose to wrap about his waist as he held her close, her head tilted back to meet his eyes for a long moment filled with feelings too intense for words. Her gaze focused on his lips once again, her tongue slipping out to wet her own as she dragged the words from somewhere that did not want to come out yet.

"Boy! Bring your king a warm towel!"

Nasir couldn't help but smile as he felt her tremble in his arms, watching the way her tongue wet her own lips and her lips moved to call for the towel boy. "Leave them!" he called when he heard the soft patter of bare feet upon the marble. Perhaps he wasn't in such a hurry to leave the bath, after all. All the while, his gaze never left hers, those strange striking gray eyes of his gazing at her intently. "Tell me what you want, Safiya," he whispered, his fingers trailing against her back.

Her trembling seemed to intensify with the passage of his fingers along her spine, her own hands tightening at his back. "To please you, Nasir," she whispered back to him. "To love you, if you will let me. I-I know I will never be your only love, but I don't see you as my king. You are a friend I lost years ago and found again, a friend I want to protect."

Nasir's fingers stilled against her back, a small frown on his face. "Protect me how?" he asked, unsure what she meant by that. How could she protect him' Wasn't it the other way around?

Her smile flickered back to life as he stilled around her, her own hands flattening to caress his back. "Not from knives or from poison," she told him. "From cruel thoughts and doubts. From nightmares. From everything that weighs on your shoulders that no one can see."

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:14 EST
Both brows arched upwards curiously at her explanation. "Do you think you can do that?" he asked, not denying any of what she was saying, but puzzled as to how she could already know him so well. If there was anyone who could do that for him, he thought it was her.

"If you will allow me, I will try," she promised him fervently. It was the one thing she had taken away from every lesson on satisfying her king - that a king needed a place he could be a man in, a place untouched by the cares he carried, a person he could trust above all others. Safiya did not consider herself particularly intelligent or wise, but she cared.

"My cousin has a wife - only one. A special woman he loves with all his heart. I know that our customs differ from theirs. I know that as a king of Valentia, I must have multiple lovers who will bear me multiple heirs. I will do my best to care for them and to treat them with kindness, but I believe that, like my cousin, my heart might belong to only one," he confessed.

Her smile was a little saddened at this, but she made a visible effort to be glad for his sake. "I hope she deserves you," she told him softly. "And I will support her, for your sake, if not her own."

Nasir smiled at her misunderstanding. "Silly woman, it is you," he told her, raising a hand to touch a finger to her lips. Why would he have asked her there if his heart belonged to another" Did she think he had only asked her there to tell her his heart belonged to another"

Confusion flickered over her face, though she was smiling in answer to his affection. "But ....I have not yet ....we haven't ..." She sighed, shaking her head. "How can I become your first Teliran if you have not ....had me?"

"There is no rush, Safiya," he assured her, though his body told him differently. "You will be my first Teliran," he said, though he doubted she would be his last, if only because their culture demanded it. His first and his most favored, he thought, promising her this with the tenderest of kisses.

The sound she made as he kissed her was at once girlish and womanly, a sigh and a moan, a question and a promise. She leaned into him, heedless of the sound of feet shuffling into the baths at her back as the boys left piles of warm towels for the king and his concubine to make use of. She had never thought that her king would care to single anyone out so soon after being crowned ....much less that she would be that someone. But she would not help being glad of that. And rather grateful to Raya for scratching her face and making her stand out in the first place.

He hardly noticed the activity around them as the boys shuffled in with a supply of warm towels, but he was in no rush. He took his time plying her with his lips, skilled enough that he was no novice, but patient enough to go slow. "We should retire to my rooms," he reminded her again, with a sweep of his lips against the curve of her neck.

She bit down on her lower lip as he kissed her neck, startled by how stirring that simple touch was. Hazel-brown eyes tilted to sweep about the baths, to be certain no one remained, before she reluctantly eased her hands from his form. "Then we must dry off and dress ourselves, majesty," she reminded him with sweet playfulness.

"I suppose we must," he replied with a smile of his own. He could tell he was affecting her the same way she was affecting him, which boded well for the evening ahead, so long as neither of them fell asleep too soon. His mother would be pleased. "Shall we?" he asked, unable to go anywhere until she moved away from him.

Her smile rose again, shy, warm, pleased. "We shall," she answered, easing back to step up and out of the bath, and back down to the warm floor, reaching for a towel to offer him before she saw to herself.

The boys had left them alone once again, and with the guards outside the door, there was little risk of them being watched or so he hoped. Were he to find out they were being spied on, he might have to punish the offender. Not even his mother was welcome when the king was alone with one of his women. Climbing out of the bath was difficult to do without her getting a look at him, but he was quick to take a towel and modestly wrap it around his middle.

Smiling to herself at her king's modesty, Safiya turned away to wipe the water from her skin with her own towel, though she knew she would still be damp when she struggled back into the shift. As indeed she was, and that dampness made the thin rose silk cling to every curve as she squeezed the water from her hair.

With the towel wrapped around his waist, he stepped over to help her dry off and dress, proving he was as willing to minister to her needs as she was to his. There was something seductive in the way he touched the towel to her skin and gently wrung out her hair. Once she was dressed as modestly as she could be, he turned her to face him, carefully arranging her hair about her shoulders and tipped her chin up to meet his lips once again.

She tried to protest as he saw to her before even beginning to see to himself, protests that died in half-stifled sighs at every brush of hand or towel to her skin. As her robe was tied about her waist, she found herself kissed once more, unable to keep herself from making that girlish, hopeful sound all over again, her hands just shy of caressing his bared skin as her lips softened beneath his.

Drawing back, she blushed, almost laughing at how easy he found it to distract her. "My turn," she murmured, reaching for another towel to dry his skin with the same seductive care he had shown her.

He didn't bother to stop her, letting her return the care he'd given her without protest, enjoying her touch as much as she'd enjoyed his, though instead of undressing, they were doing the exact opposite. Perhaps for the first time since returning home, he felt a strange sort of contentment in her company that he'd never felt before.

She went just a little further than he had done, kneeling to slide his feet into his slippers when all was done. Rising, she offered him a soft smile, daring to raise her hand to his cheek and caress his jaw in gentle silence.

It was strange how no words needed to be spoken, communicating wordlessly with eyes and hands. He smiled back, lifting her hand to kiss her palm before pressing it against his chest and pulling her close for yet another trio of kisses.

Silk slithered over heated skin as she leaned into him once again, her palm feeling the beat of his heart as he kissed her once more. "Nasir," she whispered, not knowing what she intended to say, nor even sure if she had anything to say. She just wanted him to hear his name on her lips.

There was no way he could have predicted or she could have known what hearing her say his name did to his insides. "Say it again," he urged, tracing her sweet lips with his tongue, eager for her kisses.

She laughed, a soft huff of breath that betrayed more affection than she might have realised she felt, his name muffled on her lips as he kissed her over and over again. "Nasir," she murmured through her smile. "Nasir, sevgili Nasir ..." Beloved.

His smiled widened at the term of endearment, pleased to hear her say that, too. "Come, meleğim. Let us retire to my rooms, where we can be more comfortable," he urged, touching another kiss to her brow and her hair before turning to tuck her hand into the crook of his arm. Let his servants see them together. What did he care" He was king, and he was not afraid to claim her as his Teliran - his favored one.

Music filtered through the corridors from the harem as they walked toward his apartments, music played in celebration at the queen-mother's behest to trick the leaving women into believing their new roles in life were an honor, not a punishment. Safiya smiled up at Nasir as they moved at his side, warm and shy with anticipation under the curious approval of the guards and servants they passed.

He wished more than anything to give her a place of honor in the palace, but he knew it was too soon for that. Even as king, he had to tread carefully to conform to the royal laws and customs and to avoid jealousy among the other women in the harem. Though they might be friendly now, if he showed Safiya special preference too soon, he might inadvertently make things difficult for her. Still, he couldn't help but smile as he led her through the corridors to his suite of arms, pleased how things were working out thus far.

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:15 EST
The guards opened the doors for him to pass through easily, closing them once the king and his companion were inside his chambers. Safiya's smile softened when she noticed the meal laid out for him.

"You should eat, Nasir," she reminded him again, though the food was cold and covered against the time when the king chose to eat.

"As should you, Safiya," he scolded gently in return, though he had a feeling the evening meal was no more on her mind than it was his. If he was reading her right, they were both consumed with a different kind of hunger that could not filled with food or drink.

A warm breeze blew in from the open door to the balcony, ruffling her damp hair as she turned to look up at him. One hand rose, laying a gentle touch against his chest as her lips curved just a little, just enough to share an intimate smile that dominated her eyes. "We have all night, if you wish it."

"I do wish it," he replied, pulling her close once again into the circle of his arms. "I wish you to stay all night and wake beside me in the morning," he said, though this time he did not intend to spend the night only sleeping.

Her smile grew at his words, gentle arms rising to curl about his waist as he drew her into his embrace. "I have no wish greater than this," she agreed softly, some part of her knowing he needed to know she consented above and beyond what they both knew was expected of her.

Nothing else needed to be said. He had her consent and they both knew what was expected to happen between them. Still, he was not so much concerned with what was expected of them as what they both wanted. He was not a selfish lover, and he knew that, despite her desire to please him, she had never been with a man before.

"I will try to be gentle," he assured her quietly as he tugged the sash of her robe loose. "You must tell me if I am otherwise."

Biting her lips together for a moment, Safiya swallowed as the sash came loose, silk robe slithering easily from her shoulders over the thin silk shift beneath to land in a pile about her feet. Gazing into Nasir's eyes, she lifted her own hands to gently push the first layer of his clothing from his shoulders in turn, daring to curl her hands to his jaw and rise onto her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips.

He shrugged that first layer of garment from his broad shoulders to let it, too, drop to the floor at their feet. Stepping over the pile of discarded clothing, he led her slowly backward toward the bed, even as his lips plied hers with soft, tender kisses.

Throughout the continent, there were varying attitudes toward love-making. In Cicilia, they prided themselves on their women's education in such things, yet it was a closely guarded secret. In other lands, it was a subject not to be spoken of. Yet in Valentia, it was an art; was taught as an art. But there was no sense of artistry in the tenderness Safiya felt for her king ....her lover. She wanted to please him, not because it was her duty, but because she wanted to. She wanted him to like her, to want her company. And as her clever fingers undid fastenings to bare him to her touch, all her lessons came to the fore. If he truly wanted to have control of her first attempts at this very physical caring, he would have to still her eagerness just a little.

But unlike some men who needed to be in control, Nasir was perfectly content to let her lead his through this most sacred and private of dances. He kept his promise, each touch, each caress, each kiss more tender than the last, even in his eagerness to claim her and possess her. She belonged to him and to no other man, and though he might give some of the other women in his harem away as gifts to those who were well-deserving, he did not think he could ever bear to part with the raven-haired beauty that was Safiya.

She was entirely focused on his pleasure, just as she had been taught to be, foregoing her own to ensure that he found release and satisfaction in his own bed, nestled among silk sheets. But she had never expected, never been told to expect, that he would wish to give her the same sort of pleasure, startled when her own body responded to his touch as his responded to hers.

Fine garments of embroidered silk and linen were tossed aside as though they were nothing but rags, his to join hers on the floor. He covered her only with the warmth of his body as he sought to give her as much pleasure as she gave in return. She was far more knowledgeable than he'd expected, and yet that knowledge had never been put to the test until now. As for him, he knew a little about how to give a woman pleasure and wasted no time in demonstrating those skills, knowing she had never been with a man before and that she was bound to feel some pain before he was through.

What pain there was for her, he swept aside with his own knowledge, stoking her desire high as she writhed in his arms, eager and willing and wanting. She had never dreamed it would be like this, that her king would want her pleasure as well as his own, teased into sweet release at his hands to arch against him in that unexpected moment of wonder. Only to fall back against the bed and find her arms reaching for him, drawing him to lay his head against her breast as she gasped for breath, tracing tender kisses to his hair.

Though he was no stranger to a woman's bed, he had never before felt such joyful ecstasy as he did that first time with Safiya. Spent and satiated, he collapsed beside her in a shudder of breath, only to be drawn back into her loving embrace. With his head against her breast, he could hear her heart beating inside her chest, fluttering like a bird beating its wings. He hoped he had not hurt her too badly, but the worst of it was over now and she had not seemed to mind. There could only be pleasure between them from this moment on. He was not sure what to say in that moment. Should he speak of love, or ask if she was well" Was she hungry or as content as he to lie there in each other's arms forever.

Her fingers combed through his hair as they lay together, a faintly disbelieving smile on her face as she gazed up at the canopy above them. "Is it always ....was it good for you?" she asked, changing her question mid-way. She wasn't entirely sure it was appropriate to ask him if it always felt so wonderful as that.

He frowned a little thoughtfully at her question. There were so many ways he could answer that question, but there was only one answer he really wanted to give her. "Yes," he replied simply, one arm wrapped around her as he nestled his head against her breast, the fingers of his free hand tracing gentle circles against her breast. "I hope I did not hurt you too badly."

She wondered if he could feel her smile against his hair. "I expected pain," she murmured softly. "I ....I did not expect pleasure for myself." For a moment her arms tightened about him. "Thank you, sevgili."

He was quiet for a moment, relieved she had felt no pain, but still unsure just what to say to her in the minutes after their lovemaking, when their bodies still sang of their pleasure. She had called him by a pet name once again, a name that implied she felt more for him than just friendship. Should he confess his own feelings? Was it too soon.

"Safiya, if I could, I would only love you," he confessed quietly, trusting that whatever was said between them would not be shared.

"There are many ways to love," she murmured to him, still stroking her fingers through his hair. "To share your body, your pleasure, is just one way. It does not need to also be the sharing of your heart." She kissed his hair once again. "I would count myself the most blessed woman in Meringia if there was a hope I could find my way to your heart, Nasir. I do not care for gifts or favor. I care for you."

"Perhaps I sound foolish, but I care for you, too, Safiya," he confessed, shifting so that he was still close, his head resting against the pillows, his gaze meeting hers. "I do not think you need worry. I do not want anyone but you," he told her, wondering how he was going to manage to meet the other women's needs when he only wanted her.

She seemed to glow in the light of that confession, twisting onto her side to brush her fingertips over his heart. "You worry too much about how much to care for your harem," she told him quietly. "We were raised in hope, not in expectation. You may do with us you wish, be it keeping us for your pleasure and comfort, or giving us to your loyal friends as wives or concubines. If you truly wish only one lover, there will be no blame given to you from any of us. But ....there will be times when I cannot give you this. This physical closeness. I would hope you will choose one other, to give you the release you need at such times."

Her reassurance should have given him comfort, but instead, it only made him worry. "My mother will not like it," he told her. "She will tell me how it is my duty to sleep with as many of my harem as I can to ensure many heirs." And yet, he only needed one. One wife, one heir.

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:15 EST
"Nasir ..." Safiya eased closer to him, touching a soft kiss to his lips as her fingers stroked his cheek. "You are the king," she reminded him. "No one may force your hand unless you allow it. The Queen-Mother may not like it, but if it is your will, she will have to accept it. Perhaps you have even planted a child tonight. Once she has an heir, her worries will calm. She loves you, and this is the only way she has to protect you."

"I do not want jealousy in the harem. I do not want to make things difficult for you," he explained, with a heavy sigh. "I have spent too much time in Carib. I have seen how it is for a man to love only one woman, one wife. They will accuse me of being a heretic if I change things, and yet ....do we not all worship the same Goddess?"

"Clovis had a queen," she reminded him. "And it was his madness, stoked by heretics, that lead him to kill her, and to strip his court of those friends who spoke against it. Believe me when I tell you that the harem will not erupt if you limit your loving to only a few. We are trained for it, taught not to expect anything. And the worst of us will be gone in days to come."

"Let us hope I do not share his madness," Nasir remarked quietly, though he had shown no signs of that. He was Clovis' nephew by blood - the son of the former king's sister - but that did not mean he had inherited his uncle's madness.

She stroked his cheek once again. "You will have good men to advise you, I am sure," she assured him. "Men loyal to the Goddess and to your best interests. You may not always like their advice, but it will be far better than the poison poured into the old king's ear."

"I hope so," he said again. He had not been raised or trained to be king, but he was determined to succeed and to do good by his people. "Are you hungry?" he asked, changing the subject to a safer topic, now that they had satisfied a different kind of hunger.

Her smile warmed, rewarding him for thinking of food with another soft kiss. "Are you?" she countered, almost teasingly. "Shall I make you a plate?"

"I am," he admitted with a smile, mostly at her offer to make him a plate. He was not accustomed to being waited on hand and foot, but there was something about her offer that warmed his heart and almost made him feel loved.

She was quick to rise at his admission, though she moved with the grace all the women in the palace had - a smooth gait that suggested calm and poise, even when moving at speed. Slithering over the rumpled silk sheets, she caught up her robe to cover herself before moving to the low circular table laid out for him, black hair falling in a shimmering tangle of waves and curls over her shoulder when she bent to load a plate.

He remained where he was, propped comfortably up against a pile of pillows, admiring her form and figure, the graceful way she moved, the fall of dark curls over an alabaster shoulder. She was like a vision of the Goddess Herself, though he would never say so for fear of speaking blasphemy. He could not imagine another woman more beautiful than her.

With a full plate and goblet in her hands, she returned to the bed, perching on the low futon to set the crockery down on the low table beside it with a winsome smile. "You should eat, my beloved."

"As should you," he replied, as he skittered closer, drawing the sheets with him to cover him from the waist down, once again betraying a sense of modesty. His stomach betrayed him further, grumbling loudly with hunger.

"I will, once you do." It was a peculiar kind of stubbornness, in its way, that insistence on looking after him, on making sure he did what was necessary to stay hale and hearty. She couldn't resist teasing him a little more, though, her confidence blossoming in the wake of their first joining. She set a grape between her lips, leaning down with an impish grin to feed it to him with a kiss.

He laughed at her offer, as tempting as it was. "It will take more than a grape to fill my stomach," her told her, but leaned toward her to press his mouth to hers and swipe the grape from her with his teeth.

She laughed as he took the grape from her mouth with his teeth, pressing there for one long moment before drawing back. "I do not intend to feed you, majesty," she pointed out. "You have just demonstrated to me that your hands are more than capable." Blushing, she moved to slip away, to fetch a plate and cup for herself.

"But I wasn't using my hands," he reminded her with a smirk. He was perfectly capable of feeding himself, but he couldn't help but be a little amused at her gentle scolding. He took up a hunk of cheese and popped it into his mouth as he turned to watch her fetch a plate and cup for herself. "We could feed each other," he suggested, the smirk widening into a grin.

She laughed, still blushing as he reminded her exactly what she had been referring to in just a little more detail. "When you have eaten enough to satisfy you, perhaps we will," she allowed over her shoulder. "I will not see you neglect yourself for my benefit."

"Ah, you are not even my wife yet, and you are already scolding me like one," he remarked, before realizing what he was saying, surprising even himself. There was a smile on his face, but it was hard to tell if he was serious or merely teasing.

Her laughing reaction came before she caught up with what he had said, the smile fading in shades of surprise and, yes, delight too. "Yet?" she asked, a little stunned to hear him even joke about such a thing. A king of Valentia who chose his wife within a day of being crowned was unheard of.

He shrugged as he tore off a bit of bread. "It is far too soon to make such an announcement public, but it is my wish you will be my wife and my queen before long," he told her, confident he wasn't going to change his mind, no matter how the other women in the harem might try to seduce him.

Her mouth worked silently for a long moment, her body frozen where she stood as she realized what this meant. In less time than it took to discover if she was with child, he intended to marry her. "But ....we do not even know if I am with child," she managed, moving to sit on the edge of the low bed once again. "I-I have never heard of a king who did not wait until his first son was born before choosing a queen."

"That could take years!" Nasir pointed out. It wasn't that he was impatient so much as that he simply knew his heart, and once he knew what he wanted, he saw no reason to wait. "We are the only country with such antiquated customs," he complained with a sour frown as he broke off another hunk of bread.

"I-I ....I was not objecting, majesty," she offered in a hesitant voice, concerned she had offended him with her surprise. "Perhaps ....perhaps it is time for the custom to change."

"Perhaps," he mused aloud, though he had a feeling others might not be so eager for change. "In other countries, the queen has her court ladies, like the women in the harem, but their duties are to serve as companions and assistants to the queen. They do not answer to the king, but to the queen, and they often have husbands and children of their own," he explained as he nibbled off his plate.

"Perhaps ....perhaps that is a model you could emulate, majesty," she suggested, still uncertain she should speak at all. "The wife of any man who lives in the palace must, by custom, spend much of her time in the harem anyway. If ....if several of the women there were wed to men you trust, men who are close to the throne ..." She shook her head. "I am sorry. I have no head for politics."

"Please, there is no one here but us. Feel free to speak your mind. I would like to hear your thoughts," he told her, encouraging her to continue with the wave of a hand.

Encouraged, she flushed, but plunged on. "I am wondering if the harem could ....could evolve into a court of its own," she said thoughtfully. "A women's court' Our culture does not yet allow for men and women to mix in public places, but if the women were offered the same opportunities to perform in politics as the men are" I do not know if it would work."

"I am not sure that is an idea that men are ready to accept," Nasir pointed out. "Perhaps if we introduce such things slowly," he suggested. Overhauling the entire system overnight would be too much of a shock for everyone and might even be dangerous.

She smiled faintly. "Change of such a kind will take years," she agreed in her soft way, sipping from her cup. "But ....if it were possible to match powerful men with wives they will respect and listen to ....the seed could be planted within a single year."

Safiya Teliran

Date: 2018-06-25 09:16 EST
He considered this quietly a moment, as he, too, sipped from his cup. "I am not sure my mother will support such ideas," he pointed out, knowing that if he did not have her support, all of this was for naught. Though he might be king, she was the second most powerful person in the country, besides himself.

Safiya fell silent. She had little she could say on the subject of Lady Shahista. She had a feeling the king's mother would not make life easy for her, so soon elevated after Nasir's accession to the throne. But that would be her problem, not his.

If she had shared her worries with him, he might have reminded her that his mother did not yet need to know what he had planned. Then again, the most important thing to his mother was her son's safety and happiness. There might yet be a way to convince her, but it would take time.

"Do you think you could be happy with me, Safiya?" he asked, knowing he had been gone a very long time before returning only yesterday.

She tilted her eyes to his, her smile returning with gentle certainty. "Yes, Nasir," she promised, truly sincere in her reply. "I do. And I-I hope you will be happy with me. I will do everything I can to make you happy."

"You make me happy already, çiçeği," he assured her, mirroring her smile with one of his own. "Let us not talk anymore of politics, but enjoy our night together." Not their first night and certainly not to be their last.

The porcelain paleness of her cheeks lit up in a rosy blush as he smiled at her. "What shall we talk of instead, sevgili?" she asked innocently. "Shall I sing for you? Or dance" Teach you how to stitch tapestry in your spare time?"

He laughed at her suggestions. "I would only stab myself with the needle," he told her. She had not yet sung or danced for him - at least, not in private - but he had other plans for the evening. "I think we can do better than that," he said with a smirk on his face that needed no explanation.

"Oh, you will dance for me?" she teased, wiping her mouth and hands on a napkin as she grinned sweetly over at him. The idea was utterly laughable, but there was an easy comfort in the feeling she shared with him - a sense that anything could be said or done without offense being given or taken.

"Perhaps we should dance together," he suggested, with a look in his eyes that said the dance he was thinking of had nothing to do with music. "Unless, of course, you would rather sleep."

She laughed softly, moving to crawl back onto the bed, a sensuous predator closing on willing prey. "I am not ready to sleep in your arms yet," she murmured, her breath warm against his lips.

He set his cup aside on the table before she reached him, smiling as she came close and making no move to hinder her advance. "What are you ready to do, then?" he asked, his breath mingling with hers, lips close enough to kiss her.

"Mmm ..." Her eyes studied his adoringly above her smile as she leaned over him. "I am curious, my beloved king," she said with playful sincerity. "Is it always so wonderful as to steal my breath?"

"Not always," he answered, honestly enough. "But it is so much better when two people care for each other," he added, knowing that from experience. The pleasure he had felt with other women hardly compared to what he felt with her.

"Then it will be even more so when I love you?" she asked. There was no hesitation in that question, no hint of uncertainty now. She was confident that she would love him, and that it would not take so very long before she could say it without the slightest hint of a lie.

"I hope so," he said, taking her into his arms once again and giving her the kiss she so seemed to long for. It was the first kiss of many more he hoped to share with her that night and for many nights to come. Tonight she was his, for as many nights as he liked. For an entire lifetime, if he so wished. Perhaps it would not be so bad to be king, after all.