The Silken Slit of the Empress Ch. 02

Leontius' journey continues! Thank you so much to everyone who has read my first chapter. I published it hoping to get maybe a hundred reads, the fact that so many of you were willing to give a newcomer like me a shot is as humbling as it is amazing.

I am especially grateful to all of you who took the time to rate, favorite or comment on my previous chapter. I read everything, and you guys are really giving me the motivation to take this story to its end.

Thank you all so much, and to those returning readers and new followers of mine, I hope that this next chapter returns the trust you've placed in me.

Enjoy! And please keep telling me what you think!

.......

"The Empress' chambers are the only place that we can leave her alone, though never if she has a visitor. Our own quarters are right here, see? We're close, in case she ever needs us."

Helena was giving me a tour of the Empress' section of the Imperial Palace. She was rattling off some of my new duties as she named each room we stepped through. And there were many. It turned out that the Empress had an entire wing set aside for her use, with only that single, guarded door leading into it.

I tried to focus, tried to shove what had just happened into that corner of my mind and pay attention. But it was too much, the memory was too vivid. I had a few lucid moments throughout that afternoon, but always, my thoughts would go back to Theodora.

I could still feel the heat from her, could still see her unfurl her moisture drenched sex. I recalled how she'd slid herself against me, her folds silky, slick with her own wetness. I swallowed past my dry tongue, remembering how I'd nearly drowned in the taste of my Empress.

And then, I'd feel a shift between my own legs, warmth would rise through me and my thoughts would drift from my ears in a cloud of steam. I'd wander after Helena in a haze until something pulled me out of it. Then, I'd cool down for a while and I'd listen until the cycle started again.

It was only once we left the Empress' wing entirely, and a different pair of Excubitorsshut the ornate door behind us that I was finally yanked out of my daze for good.

I froze mid-step, my body suddenly corpse stiff. I could feel my eyes try to leap from my head, my entire frame beginning to tremble as a tidal wave of horror washed through me.

"Ah," Helena said with a grin. "I was wondering how long it would take. Come, lets go talk about it."

"The Emperor," I choked.

"Yes, yes," she said, pulling me along until we came to place where we wouldn't be heard. "I thought that you'd have worked this out sooner."

I collapsed onto a bench, staring numbly ahead as Helena lowered herself down next to me.

"The Empress," I said. "I saw her--I licked her--" I could barely speak. "The Emperor's going to have me flayed."

"He won't," Helena said.

"Of course, he will!" I nearly screamed. "You saw what I did! He probably already knows."

"You're right about that second part," Helena said. "He knows. The Empress loves that little test."

I let my head fall into my hands. "Then, I'm already dead."

"Don't be dramatic," Helena said. She leaned back against the wall, her armored shoulder brushing mine. "Didn't you hear me? You're not the first man to...give her a kiss."

"What?"

The guardswoman chuckled. "She worked in a brothel. Just like--" She cleared her throat, speaking hurriedly. "The Emperor knew all of that when he married her. And just wait until she throws one of her parties."

I couldn't even comprehend her. The words she spoke made sense, but I just couldn't grasp the meaning of them. It was like she'd just told me the sky was green.

"The Empress and her husband adore each other," Helena continued. "They've been married for years yet still dote on one another. Truly, I have rarely seen two people more in love."

I groaned, my stomach sinking even deeper than before. He'd have me flayed first, then he'd tie my skinless body to his chariot and drag me through the sands of the Hippodrome.

"Stop that," Helena said. "Let me finish. They adore each other, and that will never change. But the Empress is a lot more...sexual than her husband. The Emperor knows, and even encourages it. He participates, too, when he feels like it. Although, I think that he prefers to just watch."

No amount of ingrained military discipline could have kept me from gapping at that. This wasn't how men and women; wives and husbands were supposed to act. Life was supposed to be simple.

One day, you'll marry a good woman from a good family. You'll love and be true to each other. She'll care for your house and bear your children and you'll be oh so happy, my little lion.

Those were my mother's words, ones I'd heard often before leaving Rhodos. Happiness was a formula to my mother, a set of steps to be taken. And throughout my time in the world, I've met hundreds, if not thousands that lived by the same series of steps.

That was happiness, I'd thought. Not whatever went on in this palace.

I shifted, and felt Helena's iron shoulder once again with my own. Even she was something completely foreign. A woman armed and armored as a stratiotai, a kit she wore as naturally as any veteran. I'd never heard of such a thing; women weren't soldiers.

But, as my mind continued to spiral and lose itself in this alien universe, I found myself lashing onto what was familiar.

I heard the creek and jingle of her armor as her chest rose and fell. My own breath, filling me with the scent of steel and sweat that I knew so well from the legion camps. But more than anything, it was the feel of Helena that drew me from my crisis. It was the simple, solid presence of an armored body beside me; one that would fight at my side should the need arise.

She was woman, and while part of me still insisted that she had no business wearing that armor; another, larger part of me, simply accepted it and moved on

.

"Sorry, sir," I said, sitting straight.

"Good man," she said, pulling me to my feet. "And none of that 'sir' nonsense anymore. We share a rank now. My name is Helena."

"Okay..." I said, wondering at my sudden discomfort.

"Helena," she repeated. "Say it."

She was watching me, a small smile curling her lips. She was tall, I suddenly realized, her eyes a bare hands-breath bellow mine. Her bronzed cheeks were pink with summer's heat, and she was near enough that I could smell the faintly fragrant scent of her auburn hair.

"Helena," I said.

Heat stained my own features, but I found myself unable to look away from her eyes. I'd described them as emeralds before, that was wrong. The green of her eyes was darker than that. It was the green of the cypress tree, growing wild and strong through rock and storm.

"And I'll call you Leo," she said, her smile growing wider. "Though, there's not much of the lion about you."

She laughed, and I felt my own lips quirk.

"Alright," Helena said, turning away. "Let's go get you fitted for armor. Then, I'll show you the rest of the Empress' wing."

"When am I going to meet the rest of her guard? Do they sleep in another part of the wing?"

She didn't turn back, leading me through the ornate hallways of the palace. I nonetheless heard her grin when she answered.

"We're it, Leo. So, I hope that you're ready to work!"

.......

The sun was low in the sky, the heat of summer air fading with it. The Emperor had decided to hold a banquet at his palace that evening. He'd invited dozens of men and women; generals, senators, ambassadors and anyone else of sufficient not.

And so, before the evening truly began, the Empress needed a bath.

Helena and I had accompanied her down to her private bathing chamber; an ornately tiled room with a large basin carved into the floor at its center. The bath had been shaped for comfort, the tiles within sanded smooth.

I worked to light a dozen different lanterns, servants having just finished filling the basin with bucket after bucket of steaming water.

The Empress lay within, submerged to the neck. The water was hot, perfumed with scented oils. Theodora's eyes were closed, head leaning back in the specially sculpted seat. Her long, walnut-colored tresses were piled high atop her head, pinned so as to stay out of the water.

I finished with the lanterns, whipping the sweat from my forehead. It was uncomfortable in the billowing clouds of oil-scented steam. I moved to stand near the door, still in my tunica, though with a short-sword strapped to my waist. My hand gripped the hilt tightly, my eyes flicking about a lot more than they ought to within this small room.

My armor wouldn't be ready until the morning, and I felt strangely exposed without it. Vulnerable; the delicate skin between my shoulder blades prickling as if waiting for the stab of a knife.

Although, with a glance towards Helena, I supposed that my discomfort was rather mild in comparison. The guardswoman was seated at a small wooden desk not far from the Empress' bath. She was still in her full kit, and the heat had long since plastered her auburn hair to her skull. Her skin was flushed, and beads of sweat had quickly turned to rivulets that trickled down her nose.

To her credit, however, her voice didn't waver as she read from a sheaf of reports.

"The Bishop, Philaretos, begs an audience. He intercedes on behalf of his flock."

The Empress snorted, and didn't even bother opening her eyes.

"On behalf of his flock? Is that what he's calling this? The rapacious old fool wants money to plate his church's altar in gold. I'll see him next week."

Helena took up a ready quill, quickly scribbling down a few words before she kept reading.

"The weaver's guild complains about the price of wool."

The Empress raised her arm to make a shooing gesture, sending the perfumed water swirling in a series of ripples.

"Skip it."

"The Governor of Crete wishes--"

"Pass," the Empress said. "Is there anything there that I need to know right this moment?"

Helena fell silent for a few moments, scanning her list of reports.

"Alexius has sent another message," she eventually said.

The Empress groaned, finally deigning to open her eyes to glare at the other woman. "There's one from the Greens too, I guess?"

"Correct, Highness."

Theodora lifted a hand from the water to massage the bridge of her nose. "My husband grants the Blues too much leniency. Alexius is viper. And Diocles of the Greens isn't any better."

I'd never spent much time in the capital before now; but even I knew those two names. They were the leaders of the two largest party factions of the city. Those factions filled with groups of the Empire's richest men; senators, merchants and lords. Each group employed hundreds of men and women in order to fulfill their one, most important goal; entertaining the mob.

They sponsored charioteers for the sands of the Hippodrome; putting on plays, games and other grand spectacles to dazzle and amaze. No doubt making oceans of gold in the process.

They were integral to the city.

It was dangerous to wear certain colors in certain places. The Blues and Greens having carved wide territories out of Constantinople's streets. And on race days, whole neighborhoods of their supporters emptied to fill the hundred thousand seats of the Grand Hippodrome.

"Are they complaining about the crimes of the other? Or do they want a tax break?"

"Both, I believe, Highness. They're each using next week's chariot race as an excuse."

"God deliver me from the short-sightedness of vain and greedy men," the Empress said. "Can't the fools see that we're trying to restore our Empire to what it was? As soon as they start voluntarily pledging their wealth to its growth, then, I would be happy to ease their taxes."

Helena's quill started to scratch, but the Empress interrupted her with a sigh.

"No, Helena. I'm sure they'll have people here for my husband's banquet. I'll tell them myself. More artfully, I supposed."

"Very well, Highness. Next, we have--"

"No! No more, Helena. Not yet. Give me a moment."

She leaned back against the bath's shaped seat, the motion causing her breasts to bob. I caught a glimpse of the chain nestled between them, the soapy-water shifting to reveal the dark shapes of her nipples

.

I ripped my gaze away, spinning to face the still closed door. Heat rushed up the back of my neck, a warmth that had nothing to do with the steaming air of the baths.

"Careful, my Leontius," the Empress said. "You might lose your head if you keep twisting that quickly."

"Yes, Highness," I managed. "Apologies."

I heard the splash and shift of water, followed by the faint sound of Theodora's laughter.

"Put the message scrolls away, Helena," she said. "I need to clear my head before this dinner; not fill it with more clutter."

"Very well, Highness," I heard Helena say.

"Turn around, Leontius," the Empress said.

"I--Ahem. I'd like to keep an eye on the door, Highness. For intruders."

"This propriety of yours is getting rather tiresome, my Leontius," Theodora remarked. "Helena was never this prudish."

Helena snorted. "I'd already seen your tits more times than I could count, Highness."

Theodora laughed. "I suppose that's true." I heard the water trickle and swirl. "Besides, with breasts like yours, mine don't seem too impressive."

Helena laughed, a surprisingly girlish sound from the armored warrior. "Oh, yours are perfect, Highness. Just look at the effect they've had."

I heard the Empress sigh. Then, the water shifted again, louder this time, a cascade of drops splattering into the steaming bath.

"Yes, well, I think that our troublesome soldier would fall dead if he ever saw yours, Helena."

"Perhaps," I could hear the satisfied smile in Helena's voice. "I think his restrain is rather nice. Its refreshing, isn't it?"

Another trickle of water. "You Rhodians are a strange people. Leontius, turn around."

I started at the sound of my name. I sucked in a mouthful of air. I'd been holding my breath, I realized, strangely intent on capturing every word spoken between the two women.

I coughed, my face flushing. "Empress, I--"

"I will not keep speaking to your back," Theodora cut in. "Turn around. I am decent."

I turned, and froze. It felt like my entire being had stilled; my heart stuck in the space between beats. My mind stuttering to move past its final thought: I could see everything.

Theodora was completely naked.

She was perched up on the bath's tiled edge, leaning back onto her palms with only one foot trailing in the perfumed water. Her skin, dark as the richest honey, glowed a deep gold in the lantern light. She shone with inner warmth, the oil-perfumed water clinging to every curve and slope of her body.

"Now isn't this better, my soldier?" She murmured. "Come closer."

Her voice, the sparking ember in the darkness of her eyes, jolted me into action. I took a step closer, then another, advancing until I stood just across the pool from my Empress.

"Good," she purred, her smile languid. "Don't look away, my Leontius."

As if I could. I was entranced, falling into the burnished depth of her oil-slick flesh. Fire burned beneath my skin, and I longed for a quenching taste of the water that flowed down her. I followed one such rivulet, tracing its path down the arch of her neck and into soft slopes and valley of her chest.

My throat tightened, and I lost track of my drop of water; entranced at the full, unobstructed glory of her breasts. They were smooth, taunt with the same dancer's tightness as the rest of her. Two nipples, round and colored a deep rose, stood high in the naked air. Water beaded upon them both, the gathered drops quivering with every breath she took.

Something between a growl and a mewl escaped my lips. My blood roared in my ears. I saw that long, golden chain spill down from her neck. One side of it flowed through the smooth space between her breasts, shaping itself to her slopes and curls.

The other side lay draped across one breast; the soft, golden links of metal held back by the delicate protrusion of her rosewood nipple.

I longed to brush it away; to hear Theodora gasp as the warm links of gold slipped over the stiffness of her nipple. I burned with need. Hungry for the sight of that chain sliding down her oiled flesh, tumbling into the soft valley of her chest and swallowed by its curving shadows.

Then, my Empress shifted, stretching herself backwards. She let out a breathy little laugh, and I forgot to blink as I watched that chain move exactly as I had wanted.

"God," she said, making a small sound deep within her throat. "Do you see it, Helena?"

"I see it," the other woman answered, her voice tinged by her own depth. "The need."

"A hunger," the Empress breathed.

She brought one hand to her chest, her fingers trailing down the links of her golden chain. I followed them, watching as they brushed past the heavy cross that lay upon the angled tightness of her stomach. My eyes traveled lower as they did, past her navel, coming to rest on that silken, glistening seam between her open legs.

"The sweetest sort of hunger," Theodora said.

Her fingers slid past the matted, oiled curls of her dark pubic hair. Slipping them between the soft, oil-slickened folds of her sex.

"Do you remember our morning, my soldier? Do you remember the taste of me?"

"Yes," I choked.

Her fingers slid over every inch of her silken slit. She brought her other leg out of the pool, spreading herself wide and unfurling once more before me.

"Would you like another taste?"

Her fingers had begun to move in a slow circle, massaging upper folds of her seam. I saw the heat rise beneath her skin, her breath coming faster.

"Yes," I groaned. God help me, but I would drink from her every day if I could.

"Take out your cock," she said.

I lifted my eyes to her face. Her lips were parted, her teeth biting down on the corner of one. Her eyes burned with that same hunger; her gaze fixed on the bulge I suddenly felt aching between my legs. I was still not wearing any armor, so it was the work of a moment slip the edge of my tunica up over my own erect nakedness.

"God," my Empress moaned. I saw the pink triangle of her tongue flick out to run over her lips. Her fingers working her oiled lower ones faster and faster.

"Take it in your hand," she panted. "Stroke it. I want to see."

I obeyed; my eyes locked upon her body. My manhood was a bar of molten lead in my hand, the skin tight, every ridge searing into my palm. I worked my hand along it, slowly.

The Empress made a sound that was something between a purr and a moan. Her body tightened as she curled a finger deep into herself. She slid another one into her silken-wetness, curling them in and out of her.

"Come here," she said.

But I didn't move. I kept my eyes on her, stroking myself. Something held me back; that last shred of myself that hadn't yet been consumed by the inferno I felt rising in me. Theodora wasn't my wife; she wasn't a woman that I'd paid to keep me company.

She was my Empress, and I was just a soldier. I couldn't.

"Hurry," she begged. "I want to taste you."

"Empress," the word grated out of my throat. "I-- I can't."

"You want to. I see it, my Leontius."

My cock was still in my hand, her own fingers urgently pumping in and out of herself.

"I can't," I repeated, cursing myself as the greatest sort of fool.

Her fingers slowed. Though, the heat in her eyes and beneath her skin did not fade.

"I could make you; you know. I could order you to fuck me; to bury yourself into the tightness my pussy." She pulled her fingers from herself, holding them up so that I could see the wetness that dripped from them.