HAA
When Malik returned to the Palace, I talked with him. I said that it was
very unlikely he could win the love of Iskandar while the boy remained a
slave. In my opinion he had to resign himself to it - the boy would not
change his mind... The prince immediately looked at me with luminous
eyes and said:
"Of course! I understand now! I will give him his freedom."
"But if you free him, the boy will certainly go back to his own land and
so you will lose him."
"I cannot do otherwise. I did not understand before, how stupid I was!
Yes, the idea of losing him hurts me, but I prefer to lose him rather
than to have him against his will or to have him at my side without
really having him."
"But possibly, if he remains here with you, little by little he may even
change his mind..."
"No, Nadim. Thank you. Probably it is the will of Allah that I lose the
first person with whom I really fell in love. One day perhaps I will
find someone who would be able to love me... Possibly, if we had met in
different conditions... Ha, who knows? But continually saying 'perhaps'
is not reasonable, is it not so?"
"So it is. I am really sorry for you, Malik. I hoped you finally could
know the joy of loving and being loved."
"As for the joy of loving, I have begun to know it, it seems."
"But it does not seem so much of a joy, in your case."
"Yes, it is, all things considered. I can give back his freedom to the
person I love. Even if I lose him, at least I have done something to
make him happy."
I admired Malik very much, but I was sad for his misfortune. I would
have liked to have been able to do something for him, but I did not know
what.
Malik went immediately to see the boy he loved: "Iskandar, I free you.
You are no more a slave. From now on, you are a free man."
"Free? You mean I can go? I can go back to my people?"
"If this is what you desire."
"Why do you free me? Are you no longer interested in me?"
"On the contrary, I will always be in love with you."
"Then I do not understand: if you free me you will lose me!"
"I never had you, in reality. As a master I have your body, not the
whole of you. Your heart and your soul, unhappily, are strangers to me."
"But where can I go? I am a foreigner, I have no money, my land is so
far away..."
"I will give you all you need to go wherever you like."
"Freedom... money... I swear, I cannot understand you. What do you hope
to gain by all that?"
"Knowing that at least you are happy, and that I made you happy."
"And... can I go immediately?"
"Of course. But I advise you to wait for the next caravan going towards
the coasts of Egypt. At Iskandariya, the famous Egypt town that has your
name, you can find a ship going towards your land. Travelling alone, for
a stranger like you, would be too dangerous."
"When will next caravan pass here?"
"I do not know: perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in a month..."
"And in the meantime?"
"If you wish you can remain as my guest."
"And what do you ask in exchange? You want me in your bed?"
"A guest is sacred, you are free to do anything you wish. No-one has any
rights over you any more. Not even I."
"I really cannot understand you. But of course I accept: I would be a
fool to refuse my freedom. But it still seems impossible to me that you
give me up in such a way, without earning anything in exchange."
"One thing only I ask from you, even if I do not demand it."
"What is it?"
"That you, when recalling me, think I loved you with all myself..."
Strange days followed. Malik, even if he was not really sad, had become
taciturn. Iskandar wandered the Palace, silent as a shadow, as if he
wanted to verify his freedom by movement, and he went to the bazaar or
he idled in the gardens. But, I noticed, he avoided me. When it was
impossible not to be in my presence, he avoided my eyes. Quite often,
instead, he seemed to watch Malik with hidden glances, as if studying
him, trying to understand some mystery. Amin was a little worried for
Malik but he fully shared his decision.
At last a caravan of Egyptian merchants with a load of spices passed
through our capital. I spoke with the chief of the caravan and agreed a
price to safely escort Iskandar as far as Egypt, in all possible
comfort. Then I handed over to the boy a money purse and a letter which
declared him a guest of the Shaikh and asked respect and protection for
him. The caravan left with Iskandar. Malik now was really sad. Neither
his wives nor his lovers seemed to be able to cheer him up.
About a week after Iskandar had left, I heard that there had been
brought into town a man that was found, seriously wounded, on the coast
road. The news itself would not have particularly struck me if it was
not that the man, I was told, was an Egyptian and a member of the
caravan that a week before had stopped in our capital. As soon as I
heard this, I immediately left the Palace and went to speak with him. As
I had feared, the caravan to which I had entrusted the boy had been
attacked by a band of badaawin not far from the city of Al Vajih. This
man was one of the few survivors, because he was believed dead. I asked
him if he had news of Iskandar and the man answered that the stranger
boy, together with the youngest members of the caravan, had been taken
away by the predators as a prisoner.
We still were speaking when Malik, who had heard the news from one of
the slaves of the court, arrived out of breath. I informed him of the
news I had already obtained. He asked some more questions of the wounded
man, then, after hearing his story, rushed back to the Palace. Here he
asked to be received by his father and asked from him authorization to
go with a strong group of soldiers and guards to search for Iskandar.
Amin, initially, tried to dissuade him from going:
"How can you possibly found him? We do not even know if the boy is still
alive. Much less we know where the predators are by now. The search
could be long and fruitless and you may not find them or, worse, find
them too late..."
"But I have to go, father! Please, father, do not force me to disobey
you! If you do not give me the soldiers I ask you, I will leave alone,
but I will go. I promised Iskandar his freedom: I can not tolerate him
again being a slave!"
They discussed the matter for a long while but in the end, after asking
for my advice, Amin gave him the authorization to go with a chosen group
of thirty well armed soldiers, particularly skilled and loyal, and
mounted on the best and fastest horses of our stables. The squad
immediately went at full speed towards the point where the ambush had
taken place. Once there, they started their investigation and quickly
learned from the local people that the band had been seen going towards
the north-east, in the direction of the mountains. For a while it was
not too difficult to follow the tracks of the band, because they had
left behind nothing but destruction, violence and robbery. But when
Malik reached Taima, it suddenly seemed as if they had vanished. Malik
had no intention of giving up his hunt and the more time elapsed, the
more urgency he felt to find the predators and free Iskandar. But,
notwithstanding that they were systematically exploring the surroundings
of Taima, it seemed as if nobody knew about the badaawin band.
One evening they passed near a faqir. Malik, as was his usual practice,
gave him a generous alms. The man, after chanting Allah's praise, said
to Malik:
"My noble Lord, I have heard in Taima that you are looking for a
badaawin band that assaulted a caravan of Egyptian spice merchants..."
"Yes, that is right. You know where they are?"
"I do not really know if they are the ones you seek, but there is one
band which often raids the coasts. They never pass through Taima,
usually they go round: they possibly are who you look for. But the band
is very big, and is to be feared. I do not know if with your men you can
succeed in confronting them should you dare to enter their den."
"Where do they hide? Do you know?"
"In the Nafud, noble Lord, not far from Al Jof."
"How can I find their hiding place?"
"Their encampment is in a small valley, where there is a water spring.
It is not a real oasis, there must be no more than four trees. But the
place is in an easyily defended position and they are people used to
fighting in the desert, very skilled. Do not go searching for them, you
will put yourself in their trap."
"How does it happen that you know so well their den?"
"A faqir bothers no-one, prince. He can pass undisturbed almost
everywhere."
"But I have to go. I have to free my guest they took prisoner."
"The prisoners, like the merchandise, they usually sell to the caravans
passing nearby, with whom they have agreements..."
"Where do they sell the loot?"
"At Al Jof. Often slave merchants caravans pass there and they know that
often the badaawin have young to sell. So one of the men of Al Jof goes
to call the predators and they bring their merchandise to sell it to the
merchants."
"You said they usually sell... who do they not sell?"
"Oft times they keep strong males as their slaves for hard work. These
are gelded to make them more docile. And at times they keep a young
female as a concubine."
Malik felt a quiver of dismay: he had not thought of that possibility.
Iskandar was not a big man, but neither had he a weak body... Feeling
even more hurried than before, he said to the faqir:
"I must go. Tell me what way it is convenient I take, how can I find
their den... I pray to you!"
"Go to Al Jof. It is better you ask if there has recently been a sale of
slaves. Then do not go straight towards the little valley called the
Waadi as Shiran, where they camp. Go rather towards Kaf, then turn to
the south. The road is more difficult, but on that side probably they
are less watchful. You can easily recognize the point where you have to
turn southwards, because on the road to Kaf there is a grave on which
all the passersby put a stone so that now there is a stone cone, tall
almost like a man. That is the point to go south... And may Allah
protect you, as you really will need His help!"
Malik gave a second alm to the faqir and, spurring on his horse, guided
his men at gallop to Al Jof. Here they asked if lately there had passed
a slave merchants' caravan. Getting a negative answer, Malik decided to
go immediately towards Kaf. But, along the road, they saw in the
distance a caravan heading for Al Jof.
"They could be the slave merchants..." Abdel said pointing them out to
the prince.
"They could be. We must hurry then."
"No, Malik. I have an idea. Let us wait until they send to call the
predators, then wait for the badaawin to leave their camp with the
slaves they intend to sell. It will be just a small group, not all of
them, because in this territory they must feel safe. So we can easily
overcome them..."
They discussed it for a while. Aziz proposed killing the man going to
call the badaawin and to substitute him with one of their men. The plan
had several weak points but out of despair, they decided to try. Hidden
amongst the dunes, they saw the caravan passing far away. They waited
for a full day. To Malik the waiting was hard and heavy, but at that
point he had to play the game to the last. Finally, the day after, they
saw a lonely man going on horse towards the Waadi as Shiran valley.
Readily they intercepted and caught him. The man, after torture,
admitted he was the man sent to warn the predators and said that there
was a password. Malik promised him his life would be safe if the
password was revealed to be right. On the other hand, he said, he could
make him die in the most atrocious torments. The man, then, scared to
death, gave them other details. They undressed him, a soldier put on his
clothes, took his horse and continued to the badaawin camp.
One more day passed and at last they saw the predators and their caravan
of prisoners coming from the valley toward Al Jof. Well hidden, they
awaited. The predators were a dozen in all and had with them a column of
little more than twenty young men and women tied with chains. When the
caravan slowly passed a pre-arranged point, Malik with half of his men
went out in the open shouting and shooting the mounted predators, whilst
the other half cut their retreat toward their encampment. The badaawin
engaged a furious battle but soon they were completely surrounded and,
one after the other, all killed. In the battle, besides the predators,
two of Malik's men died and Aziz was wounded. Moreover five prisoners
were killed by stray bullets. But Iskandar was not found either among
the living or the dead. Malik questioned the surviving slaves and
discovered that the infidel slave, Iskandar, had never arrived at the
badaawin den, because he had already been sold to the Shaikh of Al 'Ula,
along the journey. Malik freed the prisoners from their chains, gave to
them the horses of the dead predators, and advised them to head quickly
for a city on the coast and to ask for protection. He also entrusted to
them the captive messenger so that he could not go to the camp or the
town and give the alert. Then at an unbridled gallop he left for Al
'Ula. They were in sight of the town four days later. Here, stopping at
one of the gates, Malik identified himself and asked for an audience
with the local Shaikh.
WAAW
Leaving his men outside the walls, escorted only by Abdel, he was
received by the shaikh Hamid ibn Hussein. Even if he was not one of the
most influential shaikhs of that area, nor one of the richest, he was a
man of refined tastes, dressed in a studied way, and had a lean and curt
aspect. He listened to Malik's request, then said:
"Supposing that the slave you are telling me about is the same I bought
a few days ago, noble Malik, he is nothing but an infidel. What duties
can we ever have, we followers of the true religion, toward an infidel
dog?"
"He was my guest, therefore under my protection."
"Yes, you rightly say: he was... but nowadays, unhappily, out of your
father's territories, not even the Sultan's protection has any real
value..."
"You then refuse to give him back to me?"
"I did not say that, my dear prince. But now, taste this kebab, give
honour to my table, I pray you."
"I thank you for your kind hospitality. But I have in my heart the
destiny of my protected. As I said to you, I will pay back to you all
the money you spent to buy him."
"It is not a problem of money, prince. Supposing, I repeat, that my
slave is really your protected one, I do not like to lose a good
purchase. You see, the boy I have bought will be gelded and become a
guardian of my harem. He is the right age not to be physically ruined.
My eunuchs are all splendid examples, and they all are foreigners. But I
have not yet had a north european in my collection..."
"But I can not permit Iskandar to be gelded!" Malik vehemently
interjected.
"In the name of Allah! You are missing good manners! Only the sacred
duty of hospitality prevents me from attaching too much weight to this
fit of yours! You have no right to come here to tell me what I can or
can not do with my slaves!"
"I ask for your forgiveness, most excellent Shaikh. But that boy is to
me more than a brother."
"An uncircumcised? You amaze me, prince."
"Tell me what you ask in order to give him back to me. I am ready to
give anything just to have him back."
"Anything? But what is he to you, the boy you are looking for? Is he
perhaps your... favourite?"
"No, he is not. But to me he is more important than if he was. More than
my life."
"You really make me curious... All of you, out of here! I want to talk
privately with my guest!" the Shaikh said to the court people.
Abdel looked at Malik, who nodded to him to leave with the others. The
man seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then bowed and obeyed.
"Now we are alone, Hamid, what do you wish to say to me?"
"I wanted to know what you are prepared to pay to have back that infidel
boy..."
"You fix the price and if the money I have on me is not enough, I will
send my men to get what is needed."
"No... I do not need money, as I said. But there is something else you
can do to pay me back..."
"What is it? Tell me."
"I have a slave, Ahmed, and I am deeply fond of him. His mother was my
wet-nurse, she gave me her milk at the same time as him. We have grown
together. We always did everything together. There are just two
differences between us. One is that I am a shaikh and he is a slave. The
other is... Well, from the first moment you entered here I noticed Ahmed
looking at you with extreme interest, or rather I should say that he did
not take his eyes off you for a single moment, and I know very well what
that particular look of his means! Because, you see, the other
difference is that I like just young females, but he likes young men
such as you, he is not at all interested in women, but in the nice,
small, firm asses of young males. And he likes to mount and ride only
free men, this is his one little vice. I am very fond of him, so I try
to make him happy supplying him with what he really likes. So, if you
let Ahmed ride you here in front of me, this... Iskandar will be all
yours."
Malik, during this speech, had jumped up, astounded: "I, let a slave use
me? I hope you are jesting, Hamid, or you will have to pay with your
blood for this offence!"
"You, not me, said you were ready to pay any price: now prove it. My
price is your humiliation. About making me pay with my blood... it will
not be so easy. Anyway, if you refuse you can just leave. But... you
have to know that I will have that boy gelded as planned. Now sit down
please, think about my request, and give me your answer."
Malik remained standing, quivering with rage: "What you propose is
absurd! You know who my father is, he will never forgive you for such an
offence."
"Yes, I know yours is really an ancient family. And it seems that your
father has a strong army. But I have protectors and allies and it will
not be so easy for your father to come here without running into big
problems... But then... it is enough if your father does not know of
this, is it not so? Even my men will never know about our agreement. It
will remain between the three of us, I swear. But if this uncircumcised
boy is really so important to you, you have to humiliate yourself and to
fully please my Ahmed. It is up to you to make your choice... freely."
Malik shut his eyes: a dull rage suffused him from head to toe. But he
understood that if he refused, nothing and nobody could save Iskandar
from castration and slavery. Yes, of course he could and would revenge
him, but the damage would remain, irreparable. His honour for the
freedom of his beloved one. But can love suffer such a sacrifice?
"Before giving you an answer, I would like to meet Iskandar, alone."
"Granted. Follow me."
He led him to a small room in the slave quarters and pointed him towards
a curtain:
"He is behind there. When you are finished, I will be outside that door
waiting for you. When we meet again, you must have made your choice:
either you let my slave fuck you in the ass, or your Iskandar will be
gelded. An ass in exchange for a cock! It seems a fair exchange to me!"
said the man amused, chuckling.
"All right, you have my word."
Malik rose the curtain and found himself in a small bleak room, and saw
Iskandar. He was chained to the wall, completely naked, arms and legs
wide spread. Malik shuddered seeing the object of his love in these
conditions. His chest was streaked by whip marks and his wrists and
ankles were swollen inside the iron rings holding them, because of the
efforts made by the boy in attempting to wriggle free. By instinct Malik
held out a hand and lightly caressed the tortured body. Feeling himself
touched, Iskandar opened his eyes: his furious look widened and passed
away in amazement and he murmured:
"Malik... Lord!"
"Yes, Iskandar, it is I. I came to free you. Just be patient a little
while longer. I will pay your price to your new master, then I will take
you away, and you will be free and safe. Just have confidence in me."
"You really came for me? To free me?"
"Yes. I always abide by my promises. Goodbye for now. But we will meet
very soon."
"I will wait, Lord." the boy murmured and gave a tired little smile.
Malik once again brushed his loved one's body, then opened the curtain
and went out of the little room. The Shaikh was waiting him with a thin
smile floating on his lips.
"I am ready to pay the price you asked of me. But before I do, my man
has to lead the boy out of this city."
"Agreed! Ahmed will be really happy to be able to fuck the ass of a true
prince, young and beautiful as you are. And I will be really amused to
watch you being fucked by one slave just to free another. Come, prince
Malik, let us go set all these things in motion."
"Remember you swore no-one will ever know about what is to happen..."
"Of course not, I gave you my word of honor!"
Back in the private audience room, Malik waited until Iskandar was
brought there and gave orders to Abdel to accompany the boy out of the
walls and to entrust him to Aziz, then to come back to the Palace to
confirm that Iskandar was with his soldiers. While waiting, the Shaikh
had summoned musicians to cheer up the courtiers, and had food and drink
distributed. Malik waited, with a dark expression, and touched nothing.
When Abdel returned saying the boy was safe, Hamid said to Malik:
"So, prince, would you please follow me?"
"I am ready to pay the price we agreed."
Hamid led him to a nearby room and called for Ahmed. When Ahmed entered
the room, the Shaikh sat on some cushions and said:
"Unveil your beauties, prince, undress completely and lie down on these
cushions here in front of me, so that I can enjoy it all. Now, Ahmed,
you can amuse yourself with him as you best please: the prince Malik has
agreed to fully sate your lust..."
Malik, even if quivering with disdain, rapidly disrobed under the
blazing, lusty eyes of the slave, who also undressed. Malik laid down
prone on the cushions. Soon he felt the slave's hands grasp his
buttocks, fingering and probing with greediness. Then he felt perfumed
ointments spread in his butt crack. He shivered and closed his eyes. The
slave lowered his massive muscled body on Malik, clasped in his big
hands Malik's waist, and with his member forced his way into the youth's
little hole. Malik felt an intense and sharp pain but, even if with a
great effort, he controlled himself so that not even the faintest moan
or grimace of pain escaped him and remained perfectly still. The slave
was pushing strongly with his loins, penetrating him more and more
deeply, then started to move up and down with violence. The Shaikh
seemed to enjoy a morbid pleasure watching the rape. The slave,
hammering with pleasure into the young body, emitted grunts of deep,
animal enjoyment. Malik felt desecrated, sullied, insulted by this
insane and mad intercourse.
But then the Prince was struck by a thought: his Iskandar had endured
several times that same treatment. Now he had something in common with
his beloved Danish boy. So in his heart he thanked Allah to have
permitted him being subjected to this horrible test. Now he could really
understand what that poor boy had suffered, how he felt inside, how much
his soul was in pain. Malik at times had been penetrated by some of his
lovers, but that was completely different. It is not the penetration
itself which is humiliating. To give oneself to a lover is sweet and
pleasurable, but to be penetrated by a stranger is a true profanity.
When at last Ahmed stood up, sated, Malik dressed again, in silence, but
with a proud attitude. The Shaikh, in a honeyed voice, said:
"He was not too rude, I hope, my protected. I would be really saddened
by that..."
Malik, who was hooking his scimitar at his side, looked him straight in
the eye and answered:
"May Allah reward you as you deserve, paying you back ten for one."
Hamid's eyes flashed in anger: "Do you want perhaps to insult me, boy?"
"Did you perhaps insult me, Shaikh? Bread and salt are offered to the
welcome guest, stone and dust are offered to build a grave, the proverb
says."
"Oh yes, act the cockerel, now. But in any case my Ahmed had pitched his
tent in your valley, has sunk his bucket in your well... It has been an
unforgettable show, I assure you."
"And it will not to be forgotten, this I guarantee," Malik curtly
replied.
The slave burst into loud laughter, but his laugh died away at the
glance of the young prince.
Finally Malik was able to leave the Palace with the proud attitude of a
winner, as he really felt himself to be after this most difficult test.
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