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 21 � Lord of the Dance The evening meal had been cleared away by the time Semiramis appeared from the fastnesses above to instruct Lij in the dance. She was a tiny, sinuous little thing, built for dancing. She looked Lij over with an experienced eye. "Strip!" she indicated Lij's white tunic impatiently. "Why?" he asked, puzzled. "Two reasons. Firstly, I want to see the shape of the body I have to train in one week in ways that will be acceptable to my Lord. Secondly, we dance naked. You don't think, having met him, that he would enjoy clothed dancers, do you?" Lij shook his head. "No", he said, and removed his tunic. The others in the room - Lygia, Soraya, Leila Khatun and twin acrobats from Attica, who had befriended Lij - gave the woman their attention.The twin brothers grimaced. Too often were they treated as less than human. They recognised the expression of defiant resignation on Lij's face. She inspected his form closely. "Very good!" she approved, "but how flexible are you, lad?" Lij bent backwards in a fluid bow, putting his hands on the floor. He kicked off his feet, stood on his hands and flicked over until he was on his feet again. Semiramis smiled and clapped her hands delightedly. "And...?" He performed a few other manoeuvres to her evident satisfaction. She went to the door and called for the musicians. They entered bearing kithara and sistrum, aules, tambour and woodwind. The four men and two women sat against the wall and began to play. Then the low sonorous wind instrument's plaintive note was heard. "Move!" she said. Lij listened to the beat for a few moments, then began to dance. He wound sinuously around, bending stretching, moving liquid arms to the music. The audience sat entranced. Then Semiramis removed her skirt, which was all she was wearing, and joined him. Slowly at first, then faster and faster they entwined in the dance. Gently she led him in the movements. She showed him what would please her capricious king. Obviously he liked fondling and sexual manoeuvres. Lij shrugged and did what she indicated. It was all business-like and impersonal - he was glad of that. When they had danced long enough for her satisfaction, they dressed and sat down with the others present. Semiramis smiled at Lij. "You will be easy to teach. Much pleasure can be gained and given during the dance - both for the dancers and the audience." Lij looked carefully at the dance teacher. "And does he expect us to...pleasure each other whilst dancing?" "Of course he does. Usually he comes to climax himself during the dance, either by his own hand or someone else's hand or mouth. But do not repeat that outside this room. You have physical experience of women?" Lij looked down his nose at Semiramis, and nodded; his autocratic expression of displeasure so marked Lygia found it hard not to show she had noticed it. Her suspicions were confirmed - this was no slave! Whoever and whatever he was - he was no man's servant. And certainly not Dom's. They were lovers, if not equals; but not master and servant. After the little group had disbanded and they had retired to their private quarters, Lygia took her tablet and stylus, and with Soraya looking over her shoulder, began to assemble the evidence they had with regard to Lijedefer the Slave. *** Dom was bored. Three days had passed since he had seen Lij. Three more days of loneliness and heartache. Today he had played on his harp for two hours. He had learned a board game from one of the guards, and had submitted to having his hair dressed Kishlan fashion in dozens of tiny braids sprinkled with gold dust, and hanging down over his shoulders. In their early days in the Kishlan palace Dom had tried protesting against his imprisonment. A prison lined in silk is still a prison. He had protested against his separation from Lij. He was told gently, but firmly, by the deputy chamberlain that any bad behaviour on his part would result in Lij being whipped until he bled. He had tried wheedling. He had tried anger. Nothing worked against the smiling faces of the servants and ministers that confronted him. And Lij must be protected. He decided on inaction for the moment. He would see how things developed. He wondered why the servants who came to inflict the braiding upon him earlier that day had insisted they must be allowed to do it, saying it was the wish of the king. Dom had given in, there was nothing better to occupy him. Later in the day Karintar, one of Argamus's many half-brothers came floating in with several beautiful robes across his arm. "I refused the yellow one, and the brown - they were ugly. Now we have pale blue, red, purple and this lovely pale green. Which would you like?" He sat down on a chair and waited for Dom's answer. "Does it matter? It is all the same to me which one I wear." Karintar leaned forward and touched his arm. "The Assyrian king has command - invited - you to dinner tonight, and to the entertainment afterwards. Apparently there is a treat in store for us. I could do with something new. This place is so boring; Argamus has no imagination..." He sighed. "...but Sennacherib has too much. For myself - I lean toward the middle road. Come, take off that thing and let us dress you. The green should suit admirably." Dom shrugged and allowed himself to be disrobed. *** The dinner was very fine. All sorts of delicacies had been provided by the palace cooks, all tastes been catered for. Sennacherib ate lavishly, consuming so many caramel-filled walnut sweetmeats that Dom was astonished at his capacity. However, he remembered only too clearly the effects of rich food on his constitution, and ate sparingly. The two kings were present, together with Argamus' queen. Karintar sat next to Dom, and a few slaves were standing against the walls, ready to run if anyone indicated a need. They ate in comparative silence. Dom could only be grateful. He despised Sennacherib, who was stealing his love from him. He did not know if he could be civil to the king, if he spoke to him. He was not, after all, there by choice, and he was equally sure any punishment for bad behaviour on his part would devolve upon Lij. Therefore, he held his tongue. The food being cleared away, the large, thick cushions were placed aganst the wall, and the men invited to repose on them. The queen excused herself to her lord, and to his guests, and left them to their wine. Sennacherib's tongue loosened as he drank. He addressed several remarks to Dom, which he answered politely, but coolly. There was no need for rudeness, as he was this man's guest, but it rankled. "Do you enjoy the dance, my Lord?" Argamus asked, breaking into an awkward silence. "I like to watch dancers, yes, if they are good. We have excellent dancers at the palace," he breathed, remembering Lij, and fearing what was coming. "Yes, my Semiramis says your boy will provide us with a good show. We shall see," the Assyrian broke in, drinking deeply from his goblet. Argamus eyed the other king warily. He seemed half drunk already. Dom resigned himself to a difficult and painful evening. *** Outside in the ante room, Semiramis surveyed Lij with an expert eye. He had been shaved and waxed and plucked of every body hair, except that on his head. He had been cleansed inside and out, perfumed and anointed, polished with silk, oiled, painted and dusted with gold. Semiramis smiled. He stood there, naked and shining, with a thin gold chain around his waist his only ornament except for the jewelled earrings suspended from his lobes, reaching nearly to his shoulders. His face had been beautifully painted, his eyes outlined with kohl, the lids anointed with golden salve, his lips reddened, and his palms and the soles of his feet decorated with delicate patterns in henna. His dark shining hair was braided and beribboned and studded with jewels. He was altogether lovely. Sennacherib will be entranced, she thought. She went over to the small table and poured wine into two cups. Lij watched as she put drops from a small glass phial into each one, and gave one to him to drink. "What did you put in it?" he asked, as she drank hers down, swiftly. "Drink it", she said. "It is a potion to make you...more receptive to my touch. The king expects you to be sensual. One cannot turn it on like a spigot. The herbs helps. It will not harm you - drink it!" Lij realised this was not a request, but an order. He drank it down. *** He realised very quickly that she had put more of the elixir in his drink than she had in hers. That, or he was more affected by it, not being used to such things. He felt slightly detached, which was acceptable, and was beginning to feel the beginnings of bodily excitement, which was not. He had begun to thicken. He looked down at his body, then across at his dance partner in alarm. She came and put her arm around his waist. He was trembling slightly. "Tonight you are not yourself. Do not be afraid. He commands you, and you must obey. You will please him, then return to your room. I shall see to it that he doesn't keep you with him tonight. Come!" She took his hand and led in forward into the chamber where he knew the king, his Nemesis, was waiting. He had not expect to see Dom there. He stopped, and stared. Dom stared back, all his love in his eyes. Love and sorrow. His Lij was beauty personified - but here it was not for him - it was for some foreign tyrant who lusted after Lij, not loved him, as he did. The two dancers bowed low, and began to circle each other, hands skimming flesh, heads held high. As the music became faster and more urgent, so did their movements. Dom could not tear his eyes away from Lij, who, he knew, was dancing just for him. Each time Lij turned to face him, their eyes met very briefly. Each time Lij made a small hand gesture, one hand like a flame , the other cupped at its base. It was quick and seemed part of the dance so no one suspected. It was the signal Lij started all his dances with, when he entertained Dom in their private apartments. It meant I am yours. Even here, now, Dom could feel the connection between them. Semiramis ran her hands down Lij's flanks, and he in turn cupped her breasts gently. They leaned into each other, the woman standing in front of Lij, grinding herself into his naked form. Dom could feel himself rise. The oil shone on the naked bodies, but Dom was not looking at the woman. He saw, too, that the Assyrian king had given his attention solely to Lij. When Lij spun away across the room, hot eyes followed him. When he sank to the ground, one leg bent under him and his back arched, showing his thickened phallus to perfection, Dom noted the king licking his lips. The man had his hand in his lap, and was slowly stroking himself to the music. Dom kept his hands grasped in front of him, but it was not because he felt nothing, quite the contrary. Karintar, sitting at his side, breathing heavily, reached out and tried to put his hand on Dom's erection. Dom gently removed the hand and shook his head. Karintar couldn't understand why the Egyptian Lord felt this way. The boy was irresistible, did he not feel it? Sennacherib had called his present boy over to him, and the lad lay between the king's sprawling legs - so as not to interrupt the king's view - and took the man's shaft in his mouth. The king grunted his pleasure. Dom sat there and gazed at his lover. Lij had now fixed his eyes solely on him, and was boring a hole straight through Dom's skull into his very soul. The dancers had settled on the floor a mere body length from the group. Lij's fingers slid inside the girl, who sat in his lap and leaned her head back on his chest. He plunged them in whilst gently stimulating her with his thumb. Lij's eyes never faltered, never flickered, although his breathing had quickened. Dom felt as if he was burning from the fire that emanated from those eyes. Dom knew those fingers so well - knew what they could do. He started leaking - hard and throbbing - onto the beautiful pale green silk robe. Lij continued thrusting in and out of her, his cheek resting on her neck. Dom imagined those fingers within himself and groaned. Semiramis cried out, and shuddered in completion. She reached her mouth up to Lij for a kiss, and his lips met hers - but his eyes didn't move. They were still fixed upon Dom. Dom felt his sac tighten. The girl swung herself gracefully round, until she had Lij resting in her lap. The music was rising to a crescendo. She grasped Lij's swollen length, and Dom, mesmerised, felt as if his own hand had tightened around it...pulsing, hot and exciting. He could smell Lij and the familiar erotic scent of his lover in heat was driving Dom wild. Their eyes were still locked. Her fingertips was teasing the head, now, swirling circles around his engorged tip. Lij put his hands on the floor, and licked his lips. Dom whimpered. "Lij". Lij was kneeling astride Semiramis's lap, his knees splayed wide, his shining body coated with sweat and oils. His back pressed against her breasts, and her hands were on him, bringing him to his climax. Dom stared at the moist, swollen lips, the flushed face, the quivering shaft, and met the hooded, smouldering eyes again - eyes that demanded his love and his attention. Dom felt an answering surge rise from deep within. As Lij's seed spurted into the girl's tiny hand, Dom's member twitched and released its burden. Dom sighed, and smiled into the eyes. Lij rested his head on Semiramis's shoulder, his gaze still fixed on his beloved. Dom realised he had climaxed without being touched, not even by his own hand. Seeing the gentle smile hovering on Lij's lips, he realised Lij knew it, too. Sennacherib was bellowing like a bull in heat as he came - but the lovers didn't hear him. Semiramis rose gracefully, and went to whisper in the Assyrian king's ear. She indicated to the boy still lying in his lap and to herself. The king smiled, and nodded. Lij got shakily to his feet, bowed low to Dom, and the others present, and left the room, carrying his dignity with him like a cloak covering his nakedness. His heart was scalded, but his love still burned bright. Dom's eyes followed him to the doorway. When he became fully aware of his surroundings again, Dom noticed to his surprise that Argamus must have left early. "He hates this sort of thing", Karintar said in his ear, wiping himself fastidiously with a damp cloth offered by a slave girl. Another girl came and stood in front of Dom. Dom took the proffered cloth, and cleaned himself. Karintar looked at him in astonishment. "You came?" he said, in a high pitched tone. Dom smiled, wryly. "But you did not touch yourself!" Karintar blustered. The king and his companions had departed, and Dom stood up, re-arranging his robe so that the dampened panel was hidden. "By the gods!" The prince said as they left for their apartments - "you love him dearly, your boy - do you not? If he can do that to you." Dom looked at the Kishlan with his soul in his eyes. "He is not a boy, he is a man. Until death parts us, with all that I am, or will ever be, I love him." Karintar wished that the man he loved would say such a thing of him. *** The palace had settled for the night. A few slaves ran here and there with messages and demands from their masters, but the Nubian guards that stood with such watchful ease at the sick Pharaoh's doors and at his queen's, were not to be seen in less exalted areas of the building. Pretep peeked her thin, pointed nose around a corner, and seeing no one, glided quickly along the passage way, and through a low door down into the underground passages where the dry goods were stored. They were all sick, so Seti-Hop said, when she tried to gain ingress to Liv's apartments the day before. A bloody flux, the physician had said, shaking his head at her. She should stay away until they were cured, he suggested. She had no more liking for sickness than the next person. She would stay away until they were improved. The door she was seeking would not have been noticed by anyone else, as it stood in a dark corner hidden behind a great wall hanging and great canopic jars full of foodstuffs and wine. She, however, knew it was there. Her father had shown it to her when she was very small. It eventually led outside the palace, via several small chambers. She opened the door and went in, softly. There was a table, a chair and a bed. Several boxes and baskets stood carefully piled on the floor. The remains of a roast fowl were to be seen there, also, being devoured by one of the palaces many cats. The person in the bed was asleep. Pretep put the lamp on the floor, and poked the prone body with her bony finger. "Get up, you lazy camel. We have work to do here, if my husband is ever to sit on the golden throne of Egypt." The poisoner physician Setep-Aton opened his eyes and smiled grimly. "I am yours to command, gracious lady", he said. |