Son of the SunList of players so far -Lij, the Pharaoh Knefer-Lijedefer- Elijah Sen-Adom, the harpist - Dominic Neferura-Ulive, Lij's wife and sister - Liv Menkh, Chief Advisor - Viggo Pen-Nekeb, A eunuch; body slave to Lij - Sean Astin Seti-Hop, a physician - Ian Mckellan Nefer-Aru, Lij's mother - Cate Blanchett Merit-Aton, Liv's mother - Miranda Otto Setep-Aton another royal physician - Chris Lee Orem, a eunuch, Liv's lover - Orli Captains of the Guard, Zeser-Amon - Sean Bean and His brother, Ankh-Aton - David Wenham Imhotep, the Royal architect - Billy Menep-Atifer-Ankh-Ra - Lij's Granny - An old woman with heart. Several friends, aquaintances and folks who merit mentioning, but no names, please! Part 2 - Desire is not just wanting It had been over a week since Lij had last seen Dom. The promised night had never come. There had been two reasons for this - both of them unwelcome. Firstly, he had forgotten the visit of State he had promised the Hittite king he was trying to cultivate, and the man, arriving that evening in a flurry of silk and heady perfume, hung on his every syllable. He gave Lij no peace when he was in his company, fawning and agreeing with his every word, not like... Dom. So near, and yet so far away. Dom might just as well be at the Cataracts of the Nile as in the other side of the Palace. As Lij had mouthed pointless platitudes into the ears of the flattered ruler, he thought of Dom... Dom's mouth. His crooked smile. His beautiful, strong fingers, his beautiful long... Oh, gods! A week the fat slug had stayed. A week! Carousing until the small hours. Fondling women. Lij had been too tired to think of any bed but his duty in his wife's. But tonight... tonight was his, at last! Knefer - Lijedefer, Lord of The Two Lands, was nervous. He couldn't believe it. The last time he had felt nervous he was just about to meet his father, the great Pharaoh, Thothmes, for the first time. He was six years old. Thothmes had had no time for small children dribbling and puking all over him. He made it a rule never to see his children until he could engage them in intelligent conversation. He required this even in a six year old. "Lij", his mother had said, kneeling in front of him brushing his prince's lock until it gleamed in the sun, and braiding it up with golden ribbons, "be attentive. Do not look him in the eye, and agree with everything he says." "Yes, mother," he replied, gravely. He wouldn't let her down. She was his lodestar, and he worshipped her. To please her was everything. He had done well. Very well. His father had named him Crown Prince that night, and his world changed. Moved out of his mother's care into his own suite of rooms, he gave himself up to kingship, and loneliness. From then on it had been court ministers, old men and service. No time to cultivate friends. No time for any love but his family. Some people thought him cold and detached...he was. From those outside his inner circle, who might distract him from his responsibilities with fripperies, he protected himself with a carapace harder than that of the turtle. From those who would use him to promote themselves or their own ends, he hid his real self under a veneer of coolness. Lij sighed. His father had been in the Halls of the Dead for over six years now, and at twenty, Lij had had much experience in the ways of the world, and of men. Except these ways. He knew nothing about sexual matters. No one had mentioned it. Everyone assumed that "someone else" had spoken to him, so no-one enlightened him. Who dared instruct a god? He saw what the animals did, and followed their example. He did what came by instinct. That was all there was to it.... wasn't there? And a king had certain rules to follow. There could be no love in the sexual liaisons of a king...could there? Now, as he waited for the slave Dom to be brought to him, he wasn't sure.There was something niggling away in his gut - and he liked the feeling. The door opened, and a harp came in, followed by Dom. Lij smiled inwardly at the sight. Dom had acquired a clean white linen tunic and a new pair of sandals. He wore a braided leather thong around his head. He had bathed. His gold tipped shoulder length hair gleamed in the lamp light. Ah! This looked much better. "Do you wish me to play, Great One?" Dom smiled, as he knelt before his Lord. Lij felt an answering grin attempt to light up his face. He suppressed it. "Well, that is usually what one does, if invited anywhere with a harp," he said, tartly, gesturing to a chair. "Sit and play." "Yes, Great One." Lij felt an irrational urge to hear his name on those quirky, lopsided lips. That, of course, was impossible. "And stop calling me "Great One"; it wearies me." "Yes, Grea...Lord", amended Dom, hastily. He began to brush his fingers over the strings. The sound was very soothing. The King sat on the bed, with his legs crossed, listening to the sounds that Dom's fingers teased out of the strings. He was tired. It had been a long week, and he had had to sleep with his wife, who had told him several days ago, tears shining in her lovely eyes, that she was not with child. This was the second reason that he had not been able to see Dom. Their mothers - Liv's and his - held a family conference. The outcome was that the two begged a formal private audience and informed him politely but firmly, that after making certain enquiries of his wife, it was apparent there was not sufficient sexual congress between them to cause a child to be started. "No seed will sprout where seed is not planted, Lord," said Merit-Aton, Liv's mother, kneeling at his feet. He had to agree. He was an honest man. His own mother, Neferaru, agreed, too. She had got up from her knees and planted a chaste kiss on his forehead. "Try harder, Lij. You need a son of your wife. All the bastards in the Palace prove you can do it. Their blue eyes attest to that. Plough the field more often, my son", she said in his ear. He had ploughed three times that week. It would have to suffice. More he could not do. Dom looked up, breaking into Lij's reverie. "Shall I sing, Lord?" Lij nodded, too comfortable to speak, and settled himself on the bed. Lulled by the music, and the soft voice, he drifted off into sleep. He awoke, some time later to someone gently touching his shoulder. "Majesty! Great One! Make him stop!" He opened one eye. It was, as he already knew, Pen-Nekeb, his body slave. "What now, man?" "No one can make him stop, Lord - and his fingers are bleeding!" Lij sat up on the bed in concern. Dom was still at the harp. He was still singing, very softly. The strings were stained red in the gathering light. "What are you doing?" Lij jumped off the bed, and stalked over to the harp. He glanced at the water clock. About six hours. Six hours! His fingers must be in shreds! Dom looked up at the man, standing over him like an avenging spirit from the world of the dead. "Stop!" the King commanded. Dom stopped. He took the cloth Pen-Nekeb held out to him, blotted his fingers, and met Lij's accusing stare, evenly. "You told me to play, Lord; you didn't tell me to stop if you fell asleep. My King commanded, and I obeyed." Dom said, quietly, weariness apparent in every limb. "Would you obey all of my commands so completely?" Lij said, the gruffness of his tone hiding the strange emotion he felt at the slave's words. He snatched the harp out of Dom's shaking hands, and handed it to Pen-Nekeb, who took it away to be cleaned. Several slaves hovered about on the edges of the room, undecided as to what to do. Lij dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Fruit, and some wine," he ordered. "Well, Adom?" The question was asked kindly. "Yes, Lord, all." Dom knelt at his feet, head bent. "All!" The fruit, together with a roast fowl, and freshly baked bread appeared as if by magic. The table was spread, and the slaves melted out of the room. They were alone. Lij picked up one of Dom's hands, and examined it. The pads of his fingers and thumb were sore and bleeding. Lij stifled an urge to plant a kiss on each injured digit. What is wrong with me? "Come, eat with me." Dom followed Lij to the table where they sat and talked. Dom's fear was receding. This was just a man - a man like him, not a god. True, he was a very beautiful man... ..."Adom, are you listening to me?" Dom shook himself. His fingers were sore, but not as sore as his back had been. "Sorry, Great...Lord!" "I said, "are you tired?" did you not hear?" "No, Lord... yes, Lord", Dom dithered. ""No" you didn't hear me, and "yes" you are tired? Or did you mean something else?" Lij picked up a peach, and bit into it, and the succulent juice ran down his chin. Before he knew what he was doing, Dom reached over, gathered the juice up onto his least damaged finger, and put it in his mouth. Lij stared at him in horror. Thank the gods no-one had been present! "Do you know what you have just done?" Lij's voice was low and throbbing - he looked frightened. Now, why? Dom thought. "No, Lord, did I do wrong? Do you not want me to touch you?" Dom looked across at Lij, who started blushing furiously. "Yes, I want you to touch me - but you did it unbidden. By all the laws of Egypt, I should have you killed. If any member of the court had seen it, you would be dead, already." Lij got up from his chair so suddenly it fell crashing to the floor. Dom, too, leapt to his feet. He had learned that no one sat whilst Pharaoh stood. "Scribe!" Lij yelled. In two minutes a minion with a wax tablet and stylus knelt before him. "I, Knefer- Lijedefer, Lord of ... oh, all the usual... do grant unto the sl... no... Royal Harpist to the King, Sen-Adom, permission to touch his person, at any time, in any way, without prior warning, in pursuit of his vow of obedience to the same King's demands. Etcetera and all that nonsense. So be it!" Lij pressed his ring seal into the tablet, and the scribe scuttled off to transcribe the edict onto fair papyrus. Dom's face shone in the lamplight. Lij came and stood in front of him, an expectant look on his face. Dom raised his hand, slowly, and stroked the King's cheek. The King smiled at him. "Get on the bed," he murmured, removing his kilt. Dom was very excited. One didn't need a priest to read the sign - there it was, sticking up, rock hard and oozing. Lij felt the need to do something Menkh had mentioned to him, namely take that delicious phallus into his mouth and taste it. No, it couldn't be done. Regretfully, Lij dismissed the idea. It was not a kingly act. But, then, perhaps... Dom...? How Lij longed to call him Dom! Dom, not Adom. If he could not use the too familiar diminuitive, at least he could think it - Dom. Lij moved up the bed until he was straddling Dom's body, knees under his armpits. The bed was set against the wall, an unusual position for a bed, and Lij gripped a wall ornament for more stability. His member bobbed about under Dom's nose. Tentatively, Dom's tongue came out and licked against the head. Oh!Lij snatched a breath in. Gods! Oh, gods! Emboldened by the sound that came from the king's throat, Dom took him into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip, mouthing it like a baby with a nipple between its lips. Lij's knees began to buckle, and he slid down the bed, to lie on his back, trembling. Dom leaned over him, looking into his eyes, trying to read them. The King's lips were quivering. He looked passionate, but... "Does it not please you, Lord, what I do?" Dom whispered, kissing a line down the other man's chest until he reached the thatch of curly hair at the groin. "Yes, it pleases me very much," came the reply. Dom's face appeared once more before Lij's eyes. "May I suck you to completion, Lord? I... please... I would like..." Dom's hands ran down the king's arms. Lij was almost speechless with delight. What was this feeling? He nodded. It was all he was capable of doing. Dom's mouth returned to its task, sucking, nibbling, licking. His hand went under to cup the velvet sac� so soft! Dom could not resist. His mouth travelled to them, drawing first one, and then the other, into moist warmth. Lij mewled like a baby. Mother Isis - no! His hands reached out, and twisted into Dom's hair. He made a noise that sounded to Dom's ears like "Gnkh!" but he could have been mistaken. "Suck me again, please!" Lij's voice asked shakily. Hathor! Had any Pharaoh since the dawn of time said "please" for anything? Dom wondered. The taste of the Pharaoh's shaft was driving Dom mad. He settled between the trembling thighs and, grasping himself in one hand, and trailing the other over any royal skin he could reach, Dom brought the king to his climax. "Gods - GODS!" Lij cried out, as the creamy liquid spurted into Dom's willing mouth. "Oh, Isis! Oh!" Dom's mind had nearly closed in on him. This was glorious. He came, too, humming appreciatively, and gasping around the still pulsing erection, now slowly sinking into quiescence. If in his passion he had formed a word that sounded suspiciously like "Lij!" the king did not heed it. It had been his ambition, after all, to hear his name on Dom's lips. As Dom raised his head, and met the incredible blue eyes gazing down on him - apparently mesmerised by the sight of the creamy liquid still glistening on Dom's lips - he smiled. Knefer-Lijedefer then did something he had never done before, not even with his wife. He swooped down, gathered Dom into his arms, and, holding him close, kissed him. Dom sighed into the embrace, as the strong arms enfolded him. The King was small, there was no doubt, but, gods, he was strong! Dom pushed his tongue between the King's teeth, and tasted the honey wine they had drunk earlier. Dom mused, as they savoured each other, that the King could have tasted nothing but himself on Dom's lips. He did not appear to mind it. Each tongue battled for supremacy, warring with each other, wanting, yearning to experience everything that it could, then slowing to a languorous pace, tasting, feeling, caressing, loving. Suddenly Dom found himself thrust onto the floor. "Get out!" the king shouted, hoarsely. Dom looked at him in astonishment, then lowered his eyes as the full power of the lambent gaze, now suffused with anger and puzzlement, fell on him. "Get out!" The king picked up an empty wine goblet from the bedside table, as Dom, frightened beyond telling, ran for the door, and threw it at Dom with all of his considerable strength. Dom reached the doorway, but before he could wrench the ornately carved wooden structure open, the goblet, silver and heavy, struck him hard on the temple and he fell to the ground without a sound. |