Empire

Dear reader,

This story, and those that may follow, involve a place, time and people that never were. There will be a healthy dose of lesbian erotica; plus some BD/SM, non-consensual, adult-youth and possibly some (gasp) hetero as the plot progresses. Any comments -- good and especially bad -- are very welcome and encouraged via the e-mail address at the bottom. One cannot progress without feedback.

THE LEGAL THING: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any similarities to characters in other fictional works, other than those pulled from classical mythology (and therefore within the public domain), are also coincidental. If individuals feel that this story impinges on their person or work should take no offense, as none is meant or was intended. They should also relax and obsess less.

Remember, if we stopped writing when we ran out of original themes, literature would have died with the Greeks.

Enjoy,

The Author

P.S. Sorry this chapter took so long to get to you, things happened, you see.

Yassine stood at a long table in the center of the palace's great hall, examining Empress Kaleda's plans for increased trade between Donai and Amazonia. They were modest, at least in the first years of the agreement. The first shipments to be sent to the island would consist of artisans, crafters and intelligentsia. The empress had been emphatic that representatives of Donai's culture be the vanguard of future dealings between the two nations. She conceded that most would have to be women, but her major domo, Vasallo Grune, would stand in her stead as ambassador to continue talks with Queen Hippolyta. The Amazon had met Grune earlier in the week. He was rail-thin and taller than Yassine by a foot. His skin was inky black; save for an intricate web work of golden tattoos that ran the length of his body even to the back of his bald head. "We have the greatest confidence that Vasallo will represent our interests adequately while not offending the populace at large," Kaleda said. "There will be an outcry," Yassine said. "My mother's feelings toward Donai aren't accepted by everyone. Many believe these talks herald the end of our people." "The greatness of an idea can be measured by the amount of resistance to it," the Empress said. "There was resistance to the idea of our relations here as well." Kaleda unrolled a large scroll across the table and placed weights at each end, "Eventually, we will want to build an official residence on the island, somewhere near our sister's own palace. This is a draft design based on our understanding of your architecture. Naturally, we are open to consultation should this plan clash with the existing buildings." Yassine gazed on the plans. By Donai's standards, it was a short building. The palace was an imposing edifice of high walls, sharp spires and foreboding statues. The plan on the table was a quarter of the height and dominated by domes and open breezeways. It looked to her more like a public museum than the sometimes residence of an empress. There was little there to jar Amazonian sensibilities, even if the actual footprint of the building would take up the larger part of a city block. "I think mother would like to put her own touches on this," Yassine said. "But I think she'll like it." "Let's let business sit for now," Kaleda said, gently taking the Amazon's arm. "We didn't have much of a breakfast and I could use a few minutes to rest." Yassine followed the elegant blond through the rear doors of the Great Hall towards the royal residences in the south of the palace. As they headed down the high-vaulted corridor, servants, officials and guards alike stopped what they were doing to bow their heads. "We understand that you took dinner with General Yevtana earlier this week," she said. "Yes." "Hopefully it wasn't all tedious business?" "Actually, none of it was business," Yassine said. She had no illusions that Kaleda knew about every second spent at her general's home. Statecraft required an amount of spying -- certainly she was taking mental note of everything her mother would want to know about. "I had a wonderful time." "And we're pleased of that," Kaleda said as they came to a large open area where the south and seaward walls of the palace met. The side of the room was dominated by a pair of tall doors that were seemingly hewn from single pieces of wood.

The empress bypassed those doors and went to a smaller door in the corner. She opened it and led the Amazon inside. After a few turns down a narrow hallway they entered the imperial residence. It was, Yassine thought, everything the great hall suggested the empress would consider adequate living space. It had a high, arched ceiling decorated with frescoes and fine carving. Pillars separated the room, which had no interposing walls, into distinct living areas. Comfortable couches surrounded banks of scrolls set into the walls. A simple table sat near a servants' entrance in another corner. Beneath a mosaic depicting Magda I, the founder of the empire, lay a bed that resembled nothing so much as a pond that had been filled with pillows and silk. Through a series of arches, the sea and nearby islands were visible although strangely muted. The colors of the world through the arches were washed out, as if the palette of nature had run dry. "Kitten," Kaleda called out. "Kitten, where are you?" On the other side of the arches, a figure Yassine hadn't seen stood and approached. It was hazy and unclear, the problem of colors and focus was far more pronounced. Kaleda said something in a strange language and the light coming through the arches rippled and began to clear. After a few seconds, sunlight and all of the colors of the world poured into the room. "Something of Roquan's designing," the empress said by way of explanation. "When the emperor is home he doesn't like waking up earlier than he chooses to." As the Amazon looked about the sumptuous room, she realized that there were no high wooden doors in the room leading to the outside. If there were, they would have opened onto the bed. Another concession to the emperor's need for sleep, she thought, knock on the big doors all you want to, you won't bother anyone on the other side. The figure on the other side of the arches was now clear; it was one of the many young girl servants within the palace. She was lushly rounded with long straight black hair that stretched to the middle of her back. As the light barrier dropped the girl ran to the empress' side, giggling and squealing. She wrapped her arms around her liege and kissed her neck affectionately. The girl was entirely nude and, like the other servants, hairless between her legs. Kaleda tousled the girl's hair playfully and patted her bottom, "Don't be rude in front of our guest, Kitten. It's not too late in the day for you to have a spanking. Princess Yassine, this is Kitten." The girl's dark, wide eyes lit up as she approached the tall Amazon. She bowed, kissed Yassine's hand, and gave her a light hug. Her skin was still warm and slightly moist from the midday sun, "Pari was right, you are beautiful." Yassine struggled with her modesty as the nude girl returned to her place at the empress' side. She curled herself against the taller woman and nuzzled her neck; her need was obvious as she rubbed her stiffened nipples against the empress' arm. "We're hungry," she said. "Fetch us something to eat, we'll be on the balcony." The girl moaned quietly, stayed at the empress' side a second longer and padded toward one of the small doors at the far end of the room. Kaleda's eyes never strayed from the girl's shapely rump as she walked away. "Would you like some wine?" "Please," Yassine said. Kaleda walked to a stone case near the small table and touched a small carving. The top of the case swung upward to reveal a score of differently shaped bottles. She perused the lot of them carefully before choosing a cloth-wrapped bottle with an ornate stopper. She brought it and two golden goblets to one of the many couches in the room and poured drinks for them, "This is a northern concoction, found on an island off the coast of the continent. It's made from honey, if you find it too sweet the addition of apple or pear will mitigate the flavor." Yassine's teeth went on edge as the outrageously sweet beverage entered her mouth. The empress barely nodded as she pulled one of each fruit from a bowl on the table and placed them and a small knife before the Amazon. Yassine cut one of each and floated them in the goblet. The flavor was much better. "You keep a wonderful home, empress," she said. "I've tasted things in the past weeks I'll be hard-pressed to describe once I return home." "What's the point of ruling if one can't enjoy the fruits of rulership?" Kaleda took a sip of her goblet; she had added nothing to it. "We choose to enjoy ourselves when we can." Kitten reentered the room with a tray of meats, cheeses and flat breads. The girl placed them on the table before curling up on the couch next to Kaleda with her head in her lap. Yassine could see the glistening of the girl's sex when she reached for a long slice of cured meat, "Obviously." The empress smiled, "Sister Amazonia keeps no girls in her palace?" She stroked Kitten's sable hair idly, "Surely she has someone on hand to care for her needs." "She has a mate," Yassine said sharply. "She is Faeli, she is my mother as well. They have been together more than thirty years." The Amazon was surprised at the anger that had crept into her voice. Faeli was every bit her mother, only not the woman who had physically brought her into the world. She and Hippolyta had laid down before the Mother Stone, it's holy magic conceived her that day and gave her her mother's eyes and Faeli's limber build. Kitten tensed, Kaleda was unfazed, "Then a princess goes unattended?" "No," Yassine stammered. "But we don't..." "Keep slaves?" "No!" "Then why have you kept Pari?" The empress' eyes glittered. "I must say, you seem to have developed an attachment to the child. I can't blame you, she's such a treasure." Thoughts collided in Yassine's brain. The keeping of slaves in Amazonian culture was not just anathema, but also highly unlikely. Amazonia never went on voyages of conquest, so no prisoners were ever brought back. Shipwrecks did bring some to the island, but only women were given the rare option of staying -- men were either forced to leave or killed (those forced to leave were, occasionally, given a boat to leave in. An old Amazonian joke said a man with a good story to tell would live a longer life). An Amazonian wouldn't hold another as a slave, where else would they come from? But the heir of the First Mother, Hippolyta Gray Eyes, Anointed Defender and Holy Representative of the Nameless Goddess, didn't hear the word "no" from just anyone. Of course, she had been raised under the careful tutelage of many with the right to tan her hide if she was rude, but that left thousands to whom her word was law. It wasn't uncommon for Yassine and Choura to descend on the academy barracks after curfew to pick the ripest new recruits for their nightly pleasures. There was never a question of whether or not the new girls would come willingly. Choura was famous for sending weeping girls back to their beds. Yassine had a regular group of trainees she enjoyed bringing to her bed, ones who wanted to be there. All of the older students did the same, but it was the princess and her best friend who took first pick. What was the difference? Yassine realized that she had been living the same life just without the same names.

Before she could speak, a door that the Amazon had not seen before opened behind the stone wine case and Vasallo strode into the room. He was clearly agitated, "Majesty, we must speak." Kaleda rose in a fluid movement and went to her advisor. Kitten rose and sat next to Yassine. She wrapped her leg around the Amazon's waist and ran her tongue along the shell of her ear. Before she could react the naked girl whispered in her ear, "If I say what I want to say, I could be killed for it." Yassine nodded, "I understand." "Pari loves you," she said and ground her crotch into Yassine's hip. "You don't love her. Please, send her away. Don't hurt her, I hate it when she cries." Yassine had begun to push Kitten away but stopped when she heard Pari's name. She realized that Kitten had said what she did to get her attention. The girl's eyes became sharp and her hands dug into Yassine's shoulders, "Don't make her cry." Kaleda's voice came sharply, "Princess Yassine, you are needed." Yassine stood instinctively, her legs responding to the sharp tone of authority. Kaleda's face was stony, "There is an army at the gates, we are under attack."