Before I get knee-deep into this story, it's imperative that I explain what 'hashing' is, in order for readers to understand what I am talking about. Hashers in general, also known as wankers, are basically, a running club with a drinking problem. They may be 'named' any variety of interesting things, as the male lead in this story is named Eunuch. He's call...
He was called by many names -- Xšayaršā in Persian, Ahasuerus in Hebrew, and Xerxes the Great as he was known in Greece -- but was always known as the fourth king of kings of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia. His empire was vast -- stretching from Greece to Egypt to the Indus Valley -- and as such, his harem was populated with the most beautiful young women...
(With Apologies to Rudyard Kipling) All the world knew Sultan Hafiz as the wisest of the wise, Each word he wrote was shining to philosophic eyes. For years fourscore and seven he wrought with gilded pen To inscribe his worldly knowledge for enlightenment of men. In five great leather books the Sultan's teachings were preserved, Yet to his many proverbs one...
PART 11 A Visit to The Sultan's Harem Bagoas reclined on the silken cushions as the decorated cart jounced along on its journey. He was a personage of power in his world, but his world was about to change drastically. The first ten chapters of this story tell of the power of Bagoas, Overseer of the Harem of Governor Glaouri in the desert oasis of Ouarazate...
Pollen Lady Kumi was weak, couldn't leave her bed for very long, and she had a sickening yellow tint in her complexion. Wen visited her often, sitting by her bed and personally feeding her medicinal soups and teas. Sometimes, Kumi had to vomit. Sometimes, she had extremely horrible cramps in her lower belly, as if severe menstrual problems were paying her a...
My day started like any other - the clanging of metal against metal, the slave master's shout - and I rolled off my pallet, scrambling to my feet. "You -" I heard, obviously directed at me. "There's work for you today," the slave master continued. "Get yourself to the House of Ajnabi, the eunuch will tell you what to do." He reached out to grip my chin with...
Wen didn't witness the more violent aspect of the aftermath. All she did witness was that excess charcoal, firewood, and unusually expensive tea was being sent to the Sweet Carrot Palace. The tea was meant to be for Wen, but she gave a few bricks to Pollen Lady Kumi, who then distributed them to some of the other concubines in the palace. Re-gifting an "Im...
Now harken, beloved children, let me tell you a bedside story. A tale many say of the greatest discovery ever made. Now many of the discoveries that have contributed to the advance of women (and men) have been the lucky consequence of events that were not directed toward the ultimate outcome. This was one such. So, if you are lying comfortably, I will enli...
New readers - and previous readers who might have read the last chapter quite some time ago - know that it is advisable to start at the beginning of the series in order to know about/remember the characters and the sequence of events. ***** The birth of Daneen eight months before had changed the dynamics of the household. All the attention and eyes were tu...
Chorea sat at her desk, head in her hands, staring intensely at the scroll in front of her, studying it despairingly. As owner of "Chorea's Exotic Dance Troupe" she was a successful business woman and had many gigs already booked on her calendar, as well as the prestige and cash flow that came from being the sole provider of dancing girls to the Palace. Ther...