Sybil of the Sands Ch. 05-06

Eltahl's companions were making encouraging cheers, and I wondered if there was anywhere in the Silehah that did not accept copulation at the dinner table, in front of all the guests, as a normal custom. The villagers back home would have been shocked, to say the least. I snuck a glance at Laurent, who was more interested in peeling his fruit. The king, on the other hand, watched intently. I wasn't sure if he was jealous, worried about damage to his property, or just hoping for a prophecy relevant to Niacinth and not Quartel.

Jaslyn's panting grew more intense and I knew she was close to cresting the wave of pleasure. I was thankful the wine had muddled my senses, because watching her seemed to stir something inside me, but I was too sluggish for it to rise to the surface. With a cry, Jaslyn threw her head back, her back arched over the table, and her upside-down head putting her eyes level with mine across the table. Though she was staring directly at me, I knew she couldn't actually see me. Her vision was turned internally, seeing what only she could see.

"Beware the hooded stranger," she gasped out, her arms falling limp at her sides. Eltahl slid an arm under her, catching her before she hit the table, even as he continued to thrust in and out of her. "He brings only danger," Jaslyn uttered, then her whole body went slack, and her eyes begin to clear, meeting mine. She didn't move until Eltahl was finished. He pulled out of her and spilled his seed on her stomach, his grunts of pleasure loud in the sudden silence that had fallen when Jaslyn spoke. He lowered Jaslyn to the table, sweat dripping from his brow.

"Whew," he said, "It has been too long for me since that has last happened!" his companions laughed heartily, and the other guests gave a mild chuckle. He retrieved a cloth that had been used as a napkin and wiped Jaslyn's body clean. "Now," he said, giving the soiled rag to a waiting servant. "Tell me more about the hooded stranger." Jaslyn accepted his hands and he helped her off the table. A servant waited with her dress and in a moment she was re-clothed and sitting at the table with a goblet of wine, as if nothing had even happened.

"I could not see much," said Jaslyn. "Only a hooded figure walking down a hallway. It was the daytime, and he carried a knife, with purpose."

"In the house of Quartel, or in mine?" asked the king.

Jaslyn shook her head. "I could not see clearly."

"Do you know what time of day it was?" Laurent interjected, looking interested in the proceedings at last. He leaned forward, his gaze on Jaslyn. No doubt he wanted to know if his king was in danger. It was his duty to keep Xentos from harm. How I would love to see him fail at his task.

"Afternoon, most likely," said Jaslyn. "It was too bright to be morning or evening."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" inquired Eltahl.

Jaslyn shook her head, looking slightly ashamed, the first time I'd seen such an expression from her. "Just the overwhelming sense of danger I felt from him."

"There, there, Jaslyn. I'm sure you've done your best," the king reassured her. He stroked her arm and she leaned into it like a cat. "You must be tired," he said to her.

"I'm happy to stay if my services are needed," she offered.

"You must rest," said Xentos. "I won't have you worn out. Please, retire to your rooms for the evening, and take our little Anissa with you."

Jaslyn went from glowing with pleasure at his attention to startled annoyance when he dismissed her. With a scoff, she was up and moving, not even glancing behind to see if I followed. I hastily followed her, glad to be dismissed from the room. "Jaslyn," I called down the hall, "Wait! I don't know the way yet." My head was slightly spinning from the wine.

"Well you'd better learn it quickly," said Jaslyn, but she slowed her pace nevertheless. "I suppose you're pleased that my vision was so vague?" she asked as I caught up with her. "You think the last one you gave was superior?"

"No," I said honestly. It had never occurred to me. "It's not a competition."

"Too right, it's not," she retorted, tossing her head. "You may be new and exciting, but that sheen will soon wear off, and I'll have all his attention again." I knew she meant the king.

"You can have his attention," I said. "I don't want it."

She eyed me skeptically. "You've had longer in between your visions, so of course yours are more potent. I assisted the king the day before you arrived, so I haven't had a chance to fully recover. If I had, you'd see how paltry your skills are compared to mine."

"What do you mean?" I was confused.

She stopped, and I almost bumped into her. She studied my face for a moment. "You really don't know anything, do you?" she asked, with a smug laugh.

"I don't," I agreed.

"Hmm," she said, and we started walking again. "Well, the longer we go between being pleasured, the better chance the prophecy will be clearer, and more easily interpreted. We can receive visions once a day or so, but waiting longer in between is better. My mother," she continued, "Could see them twice a day. I have no doubt I could too, but Xentos prefers quality over quantity."

This was the first good news I'd had since the day of my capture. If Xentos wanted clearer visions, he would not be forcing himself - or worse, someone else! - on me every day. I'd have time to recover after the attacks.

"So don't do anything stupid," Jaslyn was saying, "Like sleeping with one of your guards and wasting it on him. Our visions are for Xentos alone. Or whomever he deems worthy."

Sleep with one of the guards! The idea was laughable.

"How can you stand it?" I asked her.

"What? The visions?"

"No. Xentos. Not having any choice. Being loaned out as a favor." Everything.

She shrugged. "I was brought up to it. I've always known it would be my fate, carrying the gift as I do. You've experienced the pleasure; it is no hardship."

"My body may crave the pleasure, but I do not." We rounded another corner of the palace. Would I ever learn my way around?

"Your body, you, same thing," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Just be grateful we serve the king in the palace, and we're not out there roughing it with some backwards tribe, living in huts." She laughed, putting a hand to her golden necklace. "Can you imagine me in hut?"

"No," I said.

"Me either," she replied. We were in our courtyard now, and I turned to go to my rooms. "Anissa," she hissed, grabbing my arm, "Just remember, the king is mine." She let go and turned to leave.

"You can have him," I said, but she was gone.

**

Chapter 6

Five days passed with very little commotion. My monthly courses came and went, much to my relief. I was allowed to tour the palace with Kirin, and dine privately in my rooms. I saw no sign of Xentos, but Laurent came by once a day to check on me. He'd ascertain I was comfortable and then go back to his work. He seemed very busy. Kirin said they were working to discover more about the hooded stranger from Jaslyn's prophecy. I hoped they failed, and a hooded stranger killed Xentos.

After repeated trips with Kirin, I knew how to get from my rooms to the bathing chamber, the dining hall, and the throne room. I had yet to discover another way out of the palace that didn't lead through the throne room. I knew there had to be a servant's entrance, at least, but Kirin was not allowed to take me to the servant's quarters. Always, there were guards milling about, and I began to fear I'd never be able to free myself.

I was no longer sore when I walked, but I knew my time was growing short before Xentos would again force himself on me and tear my flesh again. I spent most of my time with Kirin, and learned about her childhood, and her family. She was reluctant to talk about herself at first, but as we had little else to do, she soon opened up. We became more familiar, and she no longer referred to me as "vessel" or "seer" every time she spoke to me, which was a welcome relief. Her tan face became a comfortable sight.

She was still very much in a servant's role, attending to my every need, but as my needs were few there was not much attending to do. She was always kind, and in almost no time I considered her a friend, the only real one I had in the world. I hoped she considered me the same, but I could not bring myself to ask her for help in escaping - not yet. How great a risk would it be for her to aid me? Xentos would kill her if she was caught. I asked for the things she was able to give me - tours and information about the palace.

Each day began with a bath. Kirin always bathed with me, and despite our new friendship she insisted on washing me. It still felt awkward to have her cleaning me, but I trusted her like no one else, and stopped flinching when her arm brushed against my breast, or she took a cloth to my thighs. Her arms spoke of her strength, earned from years of labor, but she was as gentle as could be with me. After the bath she'd dress me, always in some variation of the white semi-sheer cloth which I'd come to think of as my uniform, just as Kirin and the other servants were relegated the dull brown fabric. She'd fix my hair, rub oil into my skin, massage me, and anything else I required. The rest of the day was ours to spend as we wished.

On the sixth day, once I'd been bathed and dressed, Jaslyn sought me ought. "King Xentos wants us this afternoon," she said, flopping onto my bed. "He asked me to make sure you don't make an idiot of yourself, like you did that first night." She looked at Kirin, who was oiling my sandal straps. "Out!" ordered Jaslyn, and Kirin bowed and scurried from the room.

"You don't have to yell," I objected. "Anyway, I don't mind her staying. She knows more about this palace than I do."

"But not more than me," said Jaslyn. "She's a servant. Don't get attached. Our station is far above hers." Jaslyn's dark hair hung loose around her shoulders today, straight and sleek.

"Aren't we just a different type of servant for the king?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she retorted. "We're revered." She rolled onto her back, inspecting her nails. "Anyway, the king doesn't want you to make a big show of attempting to reject him. Saying 'no' and all that. You'll wound his pride." She rolled back onto her stomach and looked at me. "I would never reject my king."

"Wouldn't you? Even your first time, in a strange country, after being ripped from the only life you've ever known and seeing your mother murdered before your eyes?"

"Gods, Anissa, you don't have to be so dramatic." She rolled her eyes at me. "Just don't try to push him away, and don't dare say no. He isn't expecting you to be enthusiastic about it, but there's a world of difference between accepting your fate and fighting against it."

I'd known this day was coming, had tried to prepare myself for it, yet the thought of being used by the king again made me feel sick to my stomach. I had to swallow down my fear and revulsion and do what Jaslyn said - stop fighting. I didn't want him to touch me, didn't want him to even look at me, but I had to convince the king I was accepting my lot and that I was not going to run away. It was the only possibility I could see to ultimately regain my freedom. I'd have to go before the king and somehow bear his touch with objection. Submit myself for his pleasure.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. "You're right," I said, pleased my voice didn't shake. "I should accept my fate."

"Oh, is it so hard to accept? Servants, gold, life in the palace. You know, if you weren't a prophet, you'd probably have stayed in that shack in the woods until you married some village boy. He'd only be able to offer you different hut, and a place by his fire, sewing his clothes and lying under him for the ten seconds it would take for him to get his pleasure, and never knowing the sexual delights you were missing, just bearing his children till you dried up with old age." She laughed, clearly enjoying the mental picture she was envisioning. "Here, it's always about our pleasure. If a man took his before giving me mine, Xentos would never allow him to be with me again."

"How often does he require you to... be with others?"

She shrugged. "Often enough. It comes with the position. I have hopes that once he's bored with you, he'll loan you out and keep me for his personal use." She smiled coldly. "Once I bear him a child, I know he'll see things my way."

I recalled Xentos pulling out of me, and Eltahl spilling his seed over Jaslyn's stomach. "Does he - Is he attempting to make a child with you?"

"Well, no." Jaslyn scowled. "Xentos insists that we be kept unencumbered as long as possible, and he thinks any child I have will be another passion seer he can use when I'm old. I've no idea who he expects to father it. But I know if I can take him to a new height of passion he'll forget himself and spark a life in me." She rubbed her hand over her flat stomach. "A son. Once I bear him a son, he'll make me his queen."

"Would a male child have the same curs- gift?" I asked.

"Don't be stupid. Of course not. Male children are rare for our kind, but they're perfectly ordinary. Except for my son, of course, who will be a prince."

I shook my head at Jaslyn's delusions, but she didn't notice, lost in her queenly reverie.

"Don't worry, Anissa," she said, smiling cruelly, "When I am queen, I won't take vengeance on you for sleeping with my husband. I'll allow you all the same courtesy you are given now, and make sure you personally are the only one given to Xentos' chosen, not me"

"How reassuring," I muttered.

"But you'll never be allowed to lie with my king again."

"Fine," I agreed. I'd be long gone before that happened. If it happened.

"Good," she purred. "As long as we're clear." She sat up. "Have you learned the way to the throne room yet or do you need your nursemaid to show you?"

"I can get there." I swallowed nervously.

"Be there in an hour then. And remember what I said. He won't take kindly to you resisting him." She stretched and stood up, adjusting her dress. With a soft swish of fabric, she was gone.

One hour left till my next rape, and I wasn't even to be allowed the attempt at rejection. How could I get through this? I had to be strong enough to accept the circumstances, to allow the king to force himself on me. Jaslyn said he wasn't expecting me to be eager - just complacent. I could do that, I told myself. I could give the illusion of complacency and let him have his way with me. Inside I would be dying, but outside I would appear unmoved. Until my body took over - I didn't think I could fight the arousal that surged through me when I was touched that way. It was too strong.

I paced the room, muttering to myself, trying to calm my heart and breathing. I had to stick to my plan. If I kept fighting Xentos, he'd never trust me. If he never trusted me, he'd never lower the guards around me or leave me unsupervised - not in any place I could make an escape. The only way to fight him was to give in to his depravity.

The hour passed quickly, although I wished it might last forever. Soon it was time to head to the throne room. I wasn't sure if it was a good sign that we were summoned to the throne room instead of the dining hall for dinner. Did that mean it would be more private? I hoped so. I left my rooms, not bothering to adjust my hair or dress. I certainly wouldn't try to make myself more appealing.

It was almost unbelievable that I was heading toward him on my own, like a lamb willingly going to the slaughter. I had a fleeting wish for a goblet of wine. I knew the corridors well now, and all too soon I was outside the door of the throne room. I braced myself, and then went in.

Xentos, Laurent, and a few other men in guard's uniforms were poring over papers on the table. Jaslyn was perched on a pile of cushions in the corner, and when she saw me, she patted the pillow next to her: an invitation to sit. Laurent looked up when I walked in, but only nodded a brief greeting before returning his eyes to the paper. Xentos looked at me and smiled. "Anissa, good. Come in." I closed the door behind me and headed for the seat next to Jaslyn. There were a few other guards in the room, but not nearly as many people as there usually were at his dining table.

Laurent seemed to be insisting on something, pointing intently at the paper and arguing over something with one of the other guards. My pulse was thrumming so loudly in my ears I couldn't hear what he was saying. Jaslyn and I waited while the king and his guards finished their discussion. Xentos walked over to us.

"Anissa," he said stroking the top of my head. I gritted my teeth and didn't flinch away from his touch. "I know as yet you are much an untried quarry, with only two visions to your name. I, however, have faith that you can shed some further light on Jaslyn's prediction. If this hooded stranger is indeed targeting Eltahl, we need not concern ourselves. If I am the target, we must learn all we can and be prepared." He cupped his hand under my chin and tilted my face back, to meet his eyes. "While I bring you to pleasure, I want you to focus on this hooded figure. If you can determine his target, I shall be most pleased with you." He let my face drop again. "If not, perhaps Jaslyn will have a second vision."

"I will do everything I can to please you, my king," cooed Jaslyn. The king seemed to take my silence as acceptance. I did try to focus on a hooded figure. If he was trying to assassinate the king, perhaps I could resist the prophecy and give Xentos the wrong information, ensuring his doom. Xentos kneeled on the cushions between us, while Laurent and the others looked on.

He began by caressing my bare shoulder, gently pulling the straps of my dress over them and slowly freeing my breasts. I swallowed hard. I must not resist. He cupped the weight of them in his hands, his thumbs running over my nipples. I stared hard at the cushion and tried to focus on a particular patch of embroidery - gold leaves swirling over the soft green fabric.

"So lovely," murmured Xentos, and once again lifted my face in his hands, bringing my lips to meet his. His lips were warm and dry. My own lips parted as he slipped the tip of his tongue inside my mouth. I felt the faintest stirrings of something deep inside.

"No!" I screamed, and shoved the king backwards as hard as I could. I was repulsed by my body's response to him. "No!" I cried again, and scuttled backward from the king, pressing my back against the wall. He looked at me, propped up backwards by his hand beneath him, which he'd used to catch his balance. Anger glistened in his eyes. I could feel Jaslyn's smirking gaze upon me.

Without warning, the king lunged toward me, shoving my face down into the cushion and pinning me there. "Listen to me," he hissed softly into my ear, leaning forward over me. I could feel his hardness through the thin fabric of my dress, pressing against my arm. "Listen," he whispered, menacingly. "If you continue to fight me, you will regret it. You will accept me as your king and master. You are my property now, to do with as I please, and it is in your best interest now to please me."

"I'm going to fuck you now, going to ram my cock into your sweet cunt again and again till you beg for more and give me what I want. If you fight me, I'll tie you down in the barracks yard and let every soldier and passerby have his way with you till you're nothing more than a mewling slut, hungry for anyone's cock." He gripped my hair, turning my face to the side so I could see him out of one eye. My eyes welled up at the pain.

"Here are your options, little egret: you can serve me and whomever I choose for you to serve, live in the palace and be pampered and take cock like a good girl, or you can become the barracks whore, where the men will line up to use you and get their pleasure, and you'll be lucky to get any. You still have a sweet mouth, you know," he said, and hooked his fingers in my mouth, forcing them in. I was too startled and afraid to bite him. "I will let the soldiers use any part of you they wish, as often as they like, till you cry and beg to come back to the palace, till you grovel at my feet for the chance to serve me again." He withdrew his fingers, wiping them on my dress.