2. Arnya the Novice

At the age of eighteen Arnya is the youngest and newest of nine concubines in the Palace of King Armedo of Samaria. She has been in training with Lady Farsa, the Overseer of the Concubines, for just a few weeks.

Arnya knocked at the door of Lady Farsa's room and was told she could enter. But as soon as Lady Farsa saw her she said "No Arnya, don't sit down. This morning I want to show you the King's bedchamber. Your three months training is due to finish soon and it is time that you saw it."

Arnya had been told by the other concubines to expect a tour of the bedchamber sometime soon but was still surprised that the time had arrived. Would seeing the room make her more nervous or less about the next few weeks?

They walked out of the concubine wing and towards an area closer to the Royal wing of the Palace. Eventually they reached the King's bedchamber, nodded to the guard outside and went in.

Arnya's first impression was that the room was much bigger than she had thought it would be. She had expected the huge bed, of course, with impressive posts on each corner and covered with cushions. But also in the room were various chairs and other pieces of furniture, all beautifully crafted and covered in fine materials. Some of the furniture was very oddly shaped and Arnya could not begin to guess its purpose.

"You will notice, Arnya," Lady Farsa said, "that there are two bathrooms. That one over there is for the King and the one on this side is exclusively for the concubines and is the route by which you will normally enter and leave the bedchamber."

Arnya noticed how tidy it all was. Somebody had been hard at work since the previous evening when the King had been in the room with Prea, the chosen concubine that night.

"So, Lady Farsa, this is the last time I will see the bedchamber before my first night alone with the King in a few weeks?"

"Ah, maybe not Arnya," Lady Farsa answered. "That is something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"What do you mean Lady Farsa?"

"Well Arnya, you know that Suti was the last concubine to lose her virginity with His Majesty. Afterwards Suti suggested that a new concubine might in future spend one night with the King and an older concubine beforehand....mainly watching and learning but perhaps also contributing. If you did this then your first night alone with the King would not be such....such a huge occasion. I have discussed it with His Majesty and he agrees it is a good idea. So we are going to give you the option of doing this. It is up to you. It would also be for you to decide how much you want to participate on the night in question."

The suggestion from Lady Farsa came as a complete surprise to Arnya. Already her mind had started to think through the questions it posed.

"But if I did...It would still be against custom for the King to see me naked that evening? Because my three months training would not yet be finished?"

"Correct Arnya. How much you decide to share of your body on that evening is up to you but you cannot be completely unclothed. And based on your decision we would then find or make something suitable for you to wear."

"And do you have a particular concubine in mind for me to accompany, to observe with the King?," Arnya asked.

"I believe it would make sense for Senior Mistress Lome to be there with you. She does, after all, have the most experience. And I have looked at the schedules already and we can make it work."

"Lady Farsa, I respect the fact that you are letting me make up my own mind about this matter. If I may, I would like to discuss it with Lome and then let you know my decision."

"Of course Arnya. Let me speak tomorrow to Lome and then she will be forewarned."

~~~

That evening there was a music concert with an orchestra and all the Royal household were invited. As usual the concubines sat near the back of the room but at the end of the concert, which Arnya thought was very good, something unprecedented happened.

As the King and Queen were leaving Her Majesty the Queen saw Arnya and came over to greet her. They had recently met after Arnya had done some babysitting for the Royal Children. Arnya stood up and curtseyed, as did all the other concubines. The Queen knew the names of some of the older concubines but asked to be introduced to the others.

In the background Arnya could see the look of surprise on the King's face. Judging from the looks on the faces of others in the audience the King wasn't the only one who found the situation surprising and, of course, nobody could leave before the King and Queen so everybody had to wait until the Queen had finished her conversation.

~~~

Later the following day Lome approached Arnya and suggested they talk. Arnya asked her what she thought of Lady Farsa's proposition.

"I think it is a good idea Arnya. All concubines have found their first time with the King to be rather daunting, myself included. And that has detracted from what should be a pleasant experience. I would be happy if you were to accompany me one evening. My diaries tell me that I have slept with the King 115 times so I should know something."

"I can also see the advantages Lome so I will say yes," Arnya replied. "But I am faced with the decision of how much to wear when I am with you and the King. He is not allowed to see me naked while I am still training so I have to wear something. Covering myself up completely seems rather...timid?"

"You need to be comfortable with your decision on this Arnya and it is your choice. Can I suggest that you just cover up the bottom half of your body. The top half of your body is beautiful and if you let the king see -- and perhaps touch -- then it will whet his appetite for seeing more of you when you are first alone with him.

"Yes Lome. That makes sense. I had been thinking along similar lines."

"Then come with me and we will see if we can perhaps find something suitable for you to wear in the trousseau room."

They headed off to the room where the special clothes were kept for the concubines to wear when they went to spend time with the King. Arnya had never been in this room before. Fortunately Lome seemed to know her way around the room very well.

Lome picked out an item of clothing and held it up. "What about these?" she said.

Arnya looked up and saw that Lome had selected a pair of full-length white silk trousers, very loose-fitting and with a tie-string at the waist.

"These have a lining so the King will not be able to see you through the material. And I do think they are quite....romantic. You could wear them underneath a simple white robe which you can remove when you are ready."

"I like them Lome. A good choice I think," Arnya said.

"I will put them to one side so that we know where they are when we need them," Lome said.

"I will inform Lady Farsa of my decision. Thank you so much for helping me Lome. I feel quite out of my depth around here sometimes."

"Don't worry Arnya," Lome said, now moving nearer to give her younger colleague a hug. "You are doing so well at everything. I was where you are five years ago and I can remember how it felt. I was frightened Arnya and wanted to leave the Palace, but in the end I was brave and got through it. I'm glad I did. Now the training is much better and the result is that you seem more self-assured."

"When do you think we will be scheduled to be together with the King?" Arnya asked.

"Not immediately Arnya," Lome answered. "I was with him just two days ago. I believe we should expect the call from Lady Farsa sometime in the next ten days."

~~~

The next few days passed uneventfully. Arnya continued her regular meetings with Lady Farsa but they took on more meaning now that her first serious evening with the King was imminent.

An opportunity was announced for the concubines to take up a new hobby -- horse riding. The King had recently bought some new horses and had decided to expand his riding stables. Most of the concubines did not like the idea of horse riding -- they were rather scared by the idea - but Arnya jumped at the chance of having lessons and learning to ride. For one thing it would make it easier, once she was proficient, to visit her parents without the bother of Lady Farsa having to organise a royal carriage, although Arnya would still need an escort to ride with her on such occasions.

Arnya's riding lessons would be starting in a few weeks time.

~~~

"Tonight the King would like the company in his bedchamber of Senior Mistress Lome and Mistress Arnya. Could Veneva please go with Lome and Arnya to help them prepare."

This was, of course, the first time that Arnya had heard her name being called in this way and it immediately made her heart miss a beat. The three concubines left the dining room and went into the preparation room. Lome and Arnya had to explain to Veneva what they had previously agreed about what Arnya would be wearing, otherwise everything about getting them both ready was as normal. Arnya enjoyed having her hair and make up done and, when Kareen had finished, Arnya thought that she looked as attractive as she had ever done.

Lome went off to choose some jewellery from her collection and also found some nice pieces for Arnya to borrow.

When they were both ready Arnya and Lome walked hand in hand towards the King's bedchamber. They were accompanied by a eunuch who would stay outside the room all the time they were inside. Arnya was nervous but felt good about the way that Lome was gripping her hand to give her reassurance.

They entered by the door of the concubines' bathroom and went into the main room. Candles were already lit and the room looked very welcoming.

"We always arrive before the King so that we can check everything is ready for his arrival," Lome said. "I have a bit of a checklist in my head which I will share with you. Firstly, I check that the candles that have been lit are satisfactory and that there is not too much or not too little light. This evening everything looks fine. Then I go into the King's bathroom and make sure that his bath has been filled and is the right temperature. When the King arrives he will normally come in through the separate door into his bathroom and take a quick bath on his own, although he will sometimes ask the concubine to join him at that stage. But normally we will wait for him to join us and he will be wearing just a towel."

Arnya was concentrating hard to take in what Lome was telling her.

"Now is also the time when you can go the drawer over here to get out anything special that you want to use that evening," Lome said as she walked over to a drawer on the side of the room that Arnya had not noticed on her previous visit.

Lome opened the large drawer and showed Arnya the contents. It contained all sorts of items, some of which Arnya could identify and the purpose of some of which were a complete mystery. She did recognise blindfolds and glass shapes of the kind that Tomma Te had given her to practice with.

"Sometimes the King will ask you to find something in here. It all depends on his mood."

They both heard a Palace bell sound, more loudly in this room than they could hear it in the concubine wing.

"Ah," said Lome. "That is the second evening bell and the King could now arrive anytime now. But sometimes he gets delayed and we must wait. We should sit on the bed here with our gowns on and wait for him."

Arnya started to look around the large room and she noticed some of the odd-shaped furniture that was situated there.

"What are those strange objects for?" Arnya asked Lome.

Lome was just about to answer when they both heard something. It seemed that this evening the two concubines would not have long to wait because they had heard the King's bathroom door open. They could not see him but they heard him get into his bath and start to wash himself.

Sitting on the bed, Arnya exchanged a nervous smile with Lome which led the senior concubine to reach out a hand of reassurance. They were both still sitting like that when the King appeared a few minutes later with a white towel tied around his waist. Arnya thought how handsome he seemed with his wide smile and muscular upper body.

"Good evening to both of you," the King said, now standing at the end of the bed. "I always enjoy seeing Lome in my bedchamber but she will not mind me saying that I have been particularly looking forward to seeing you here for the first time Arnya. Although I know that I will not see all of you this evening I have been filled with anticipation and wanted to be here as early as possible this evening. Come down here and let me kiss you both."

The two concubines got down off the bed and stood in front of the King, still both wearing their gowns. Lome approached first. She reached up and held the King by the shoulders, leant into him and gave him a kiss on the lips. Lome then stepped back and walked behind him, discarding her robe as she did so and throwing it onto a nearby chair. Now completely naked, Lome hugged the King from behind, her body rubbing against his with her hands caressing his chest. Arnya could see that the King had shut his eyes.

"I love the feeling of you against my skin Lome," he said. "So enticing. But now I wonder if Arnya would like to follow your lead?"

Arnya knew what was required and stepped forward. It would be a night of firsts. She had kissed her brother and her father, sometimes another male relative, but now for the first time in her life she leant forward, turned her head to one side and kissed -- properly kissed -- another man. As she did so she noticed his scent and the taste of his lips. It was most definitely a pleasurable experience and sent a small shockwave down her body.

Arnya stepped back and, keeping her eyes firmly on the King, she slowly undid her thin robe and discarded it on top of Lome's.

She had expected the King's eyes to immediately break contact with hers, to look downwards at her now exposed breasts. But they didn't. He continued to look into her eyes for a couple of seconds and only then did his gaze move lower. Arnya stayed completely still, facing him, as he took in the view of her standing in front of her with the top half of her body completely uncovered.

"Your body is beautiful Arnya," the King said. "I knew it would be. Your breasts are beautiful, everything about you is in such perfect proportion."

Now it was Lome's turn to speak. "I have seen the rest of Arnya's young body, Your Majesty, and you will not be disappointed when she shares all of it with you in just a couple of weeks."

Arnya saw Lome's hands move lower on the King's body and then, with the slightest of movements, she saw her older colleague pull away the towel around their lover's waist. Now it was the turn of Arnya's eyes to move lower as she saw his erect manhood for the first time. The pictures and models provided by Lady Farsa in Arnya's training had not done justice to the masculine beauty that she could now see.

"Come nearer to me Arnya. I want to touch you," the King said, reaching out with his hands as Arnya advanced. His hands reached for Arnya's shoulders but then quickly moved down towards her breasts, touching them gently and lightly playing with each of her nipples in turn. As he did so Arnya felt more shivers pass down her body.

Satisfied for the moment, the King's hands moved away from Arnya and took hold of Lome's hands, guiding them down to his erect manhood. Lome started to rub and scratch him there while still standing behind him.

"Your Majesty," Lome now said. "Before you arrived Arnya was asking about the purpose of some of the other furniture in the room. Can I suggest that we show her?"

"That is a very good idea Lome. Where do you think we should start?"

Lome took the King by the hand, leading him over to what looked look like a low, sloping, full-length bed with a narrowed piece at the taller end and covered with a thin mattress. Lome gestured for the King to lie down on it, which he duly did. His feet were at the lower end of the bed and his head rested on a small padded cushion built into the narrow part at the top.

Arnya stayed where she was a few feet away and watched as Lome made sure the king was comfortable, running her hands up and down his muscular body. Then she bent down to kiss him fully on the lips.

Then the purpose of the strangely-shaped bed suddenly became very clear.

Lome positioned herself facing the bottom of the bed, standing directly above the King's face and with her legs apart on either side of the narrow headrest. Arnya realised that the bed was the perfect height for the King to use his mouth to explore the area between Lome's legs.

The senior concubine and her Royal lover started an intricate game of tease, she never quite lowering herself enough for the King to fully caress her with his mouth, and him deliberately kissing and licking to one side or other rather than focussing on her centre. It seemed to Arnya that it was a game they had played many times before.

Arnya was captivated by what she was seeing and it took her a while to see that Lome was quietly gesturing to her, encouraging her to do something. When she realised what Lome intended she nodded back to her, then got into position by kneeling on a cushion close to the middle of the bed. She could have started to caress the King's manhood immediately but instead followed Lome's lead and started to tease the King with gentle scratches and caresses of his thighs and between his legs. She also scratched the sack beneath the King's manhood but remembered Lady Farsa's warning about how sensitive that area on a man could be.

The King temporarily stopped his attentions on Lome and looked down at what his newest and youngest concubine was doing. "That is very good Arnya. The first of many times I will have your soft hands on me."

With the King's eyes upon her, Arnya decided now was the time to touch his manhood for the first time. The feel of him did not disappoint. That part of the King was hard, as Arnya had expected, but also wonderfully warm and pliable on the outside, a beautiful and alive object. As Arnya used the soft young fingers of her right hand on the middle of the king's shaft she felt herself getting more and more turned on. Her nervousness was giving way to excitement.

She still had the King's attention. "Just gently Arnya," the King said, "I don't want to finish too soon."

Then the King lent back to focus on what he was doing with Lome.

It was obvious that the teasing phase had stopped. Arnya could see the King's tongue being active deep in the soft, moist crevice between Lome's legs, continually moving backwards and forwards. Arnya could also now see how much Lome was enjoying the experience. She could hear it as well because Lome was now breathing hard and emitting little cries of pleasure.

After one particularly loud intake of breath from Lome the King stopped what he was doing and started to sit up.

"Enough Lome. That was very good but it is my choice next," he said.

The King got up and took Lome by the hand, moving towards a different piece of furniture on one side of the room. The narrow wooden structure looked like something from a place of worship, with four kneeling mats along one side, each at slightly different heights.

The King motioned for Lome to kneel down, which she did on one of the two central kneeling spots on the wooden device.

Arnya could see what was going to happen next and wanted a better view. She stood up and moved closer to the end of the structure as the King, having positioned Lome exactly where he wanted her, walked around the short distance to the other side of the structure and slowly approached his most experienced concubine.

Lome had chosen the correct kneeling step for her lover's erect manhood to be at exactly the same height as her now open mouth.