The usual disclaimer – all of these characters (except the ones I threw in) are owned by WEP. Not my best effort, but trying to get the big story moving along. We have been battling a pox on my apartment that has made this place seem like a tb ward – everything from bronchititis to croup – so be kind when you flame me. Thanks for all the feedback. It has encouraged me to continue with the story.
Prologue
He woke up with the momentary disorientation of someone who was sleeping in an unfamiliar place. The events of the previous night were quickly becoming a distant, and not so clear, memory. There was drinks, and yes, drugs. The older men were encouraging him to partake in the women, something he now regretted. His hand came down on a warm body that groaned next to him which only served to remind him of his reckless behavior. He was embarrassed that he did not remember her name since it was something one ought to do considering it was a milestone in his young life. He turned around and remembered there was another girl in the bed. He groaned knowing he was not quite sure who he had been with first which only seemed to exasperate things. He dragged himself off to the bathroom and made his way into the shower, hoping to scrub himself clean. He was wracked with guilt. The night was beyond his wildest of dreams of what it would be like to be with a woman, let alone two. The King's pleasure slaves were both beautiful and talented. His thoughts went to Sharra. It should have been her. She had offered but he somehow thought it was inappropriate. He had always been a liar, that much was true, but he was not a hypocrite. Last night, he got to add that trait to his already tortured psyche.
He went back into the room and looked at the two slaves that were still in the bed. Their sweet smiles and honeyed voices beckoned him to rejoin them. Every instinct told him that he should return to the promised carnal bliss that was laid out like a banquet. When he refused they taunted him, jesting about his obvious innocence and inexperience, confusing his feelings that much more. Their playful jests were both arousing and angering him to no end. He quickly tired of their benign harrassment. His thoughts moving towards acts that were far removed from what he partook in last night. A slightly cruel smile crossed his lips as his hands came around the throat of one of them.
"Silence, woman." He murmured as he grazed his teeth along her neck. She was not in heat. There was no reason to do it, but he bit hard into her making her scream. The other one, fearful and terrified, added her screams to the mix. He did not touch her. His actions had accomplished their purpose.
"Would you like to reconsider your offer?" He cruelly added. The girl started to cry and he let her go. The other girl backed away with terror on her face. He had absolutely frightened both of them, something that pleased him though he did not know why. They had, after all, asked for it. He reminded himself to thank King Bhorn this morning for the loan of their services. It had been both a generous and satisfactory gift. He had never quite thought of women that way before, as simple receptacles for one's lust, and it had been an eye opening event.
Still, there was Sharra to consider. He wondered if she would be hurt about what had just occured. Best, he thought, not to mention it at all. It was already a moot point. They would soon be separated as she would not be allowed to join the Supremacy's Advance Guard. It was too dangerous for a woman to go into season aboard a ship full of men. Sharra would most likely go home and serve one of the planetary defense regiments in the Second Kingdom. He sighed. He knew his hesitancy was not for the moral reasons he claimed. In fact, Sharra had rightly mocked him for his insistence of some sort of formal arrangement before sex. His behavior the previous night just made her words sting that much more. He just knew that deep down she truly desired him and she meant too much to him to lead her on. Now, at least, they could remain friends.
Unfortunately, the night had left him with a slightly bitter taste. He most certainly did not see himself with a harem. Last night was a blur of too many body parts, making it hard to even remember what he did to who or who did what to him. He was not complaining. It had been as pleasureable as it was exhausting. In the end, the women were annoying, but useful tools to relieve him of his pent up desire for another pretty little pilot that had stolen his heart. He could have described last night's adventure with a thousand words, but intimate was one that did not come to mind.
He found a chair to put on his boots. For a moment, he sat and remembered the roar of the crowd that had, only yesterday, filled the King's Arena. Executing the condemned was a part of his graduation requirements. All of his classmates had eagerly participated. The executions in themselves were not much of a challenge. Most of his peers had the prisoner brought to them bound, and some had even demanded that their victim's eyes be blindfolded so as not to look into them. He shook his head in dismay. There was no honor in this.
Finally, it was his turn. Five men were brought out. In truth, he was glad that there was not a woman in the lot. Not that he had a particular aversion to killing a woman. After all, if she was guilty of violating the Law then the punishment was justified. It was that there was no challenge in taking a female's life. One by one, he untied the prisoners with a quick slice of his sword and then threw the condemned his other one. The crowd roared with delight as Lotor's theatrics increased with each kill. There was no real competition. With each one, he gingerly pried the sword from the dead hand or retrieved it from the ground. He would carefully wipe it clean and think that his victims should be honored that they died with a Renar in their hands, a death not befitting a convict but a warmaster. It had been a good day.
The cadet was changing in the dressing room along with his fellow students when a Royal Guard of Neraku approached him. The other students watched in awe as he was invited to the Royal Box. Today was a special day as King Bhorn was in attendance along with an imperial delegation. Most of the warmasters graduating from the Neraku Academy would serve him so it was only fitting that he watch them fulfill the last part of their formal education before he would unleash them unto his realm. The cadet, the equivalent of an exchange student, was not going to remain among them so it was with gasps and sighs of resentment when he was invited to the Royal Box, an honor rarely bestowed upon the soon to be officers.
The cadet quickly looked around the box. He was not surprised to find Warmaster Charak there, since he had a hand in training all the cadets who were on the field today. The Commandant sat proudly next to him and actually smiled as the young man entered. The cadet glimpsed briefly at Prince Skath in the back, sure he had been invited due to his rank. He finally saw King Bhorn and immediately fell into a posture of submission. He felt a gloved hand raise his chin and peer into his eyes with something akin to recognition. He was surprised not to find not King Bhorn in front of him, but the Emperor Zeppo.
"Cadet Carris" The Emperor said with a pause, sporting a bemused look upon his face. "An amusing touch, I might add. I see you have inherited your father's eyes and your mother's beauty." The tall, long haired Drule chuckled as if he was remembering a private joke. "What you say Bhorn? He comes back with us tonight to celebrate his achievement today."
"If it pleases my Emperor." King Bhorn gave his Emperor an ingratiating smile. Lotor was amused by the royals' interaction. It was a well known fact that Bhorn and his father were at odds on how the Supremacy should deal with the human-centric Galactic Alliance. His father had felt that they there should be a unified atack by all the Drules to eliminate the threat while Bhorn preferred to play it safe until the fight for resources came to a head. So far, his father had capitulated to Bhorn's demands but there had been a noticeable tension between the old friends of late. During the past several months, his father had taken a not so subtle stand in Council. He had voted against Bhorn in every minor vote, taking King Dharlock and the very young Queen Merla with him. It was not even to threaten his standing, but a shot had been fired across the bow.
"It does." The Emperor added with a smile as he turned his attention back to the youth who was dazzled by the attention. "Your father talked to me last month. He has asked me to attach you to the Elite Advance Force. It is so rare that an imperial crown prince does such service to his Emperor. I am placing you under one of my more promising officers, Lt. Commander Hazar." The Emperor shot a look of displeasure at Skath who looked to the ground.
"Your Highness, I am honored. I will serve you well." The cadet gave a deep bow. The party left the box. Bhorn begged to talk to the Emperor a moment, Skath moving in close enough to hear every word. Skath pulled the student aside as they were all exiting.
"Who the hell are you?" The young prince practically sneered into the youth's face.
"I am Lotor, Crown Prince of the Ninth Kingdom. Perhaps, if you paid attention in political science you would have put two and two together. My picture was in at least four of the pad files, two more than yours." Lotor said with a smirk.
"Your supposed to be brain addled on Hestos. You lied to all of us. All these years, you lied." Skath replied with disbelief.
"That shocks you. Did your mentors fail to teach yhou that all Drules lie. Some of us are better at it than others, and none better than the House of Daibaza'al. Skath, my advice to you is to keep as far away from me as you can. The Second Kingdom does not have the manpower, the resources or the sheer cunning to take on my family." He followed the delegation at the door. The Emperor was waiting. A grand party with all his warmasters was waiting back at the Castle. It had been an excellent day.
Lotor gave one final look the girls that had now composed themselves. He saw the one girl's reddened eyes and her bleeding neck. Last night could have remained a sweet memory if they had behaved properly. The girls had told him that he was a pleasant change from their usual fare. They had taken his obvious youth as some sort of permission to tease and taunt him. Their behavior had been inappropriate to say the least, servants should never admonish thier master's guests. Even if their words were true it did not matter, he was a warmaster now and he would not tolerate insolence from a slave; no matter how beautiful.
What had surprised him was how pleasurable it was to teach discipline to that foolish woman. The feeling, though not rivaling the Arena, had been close. It had definitely been more thrilling than what had transpired in that bed, though the crumpled sheets begged to tell a different tale. He had always sought to just control his own life, but controlling the way others reacted to him was far more challenging. Maybe the idea of a harem was not so far fetched. He could imagine ten or twenty women serving him, day and night, giving into his every whim. And when they faltered, and they would, he would be there to lovingly correct their missteps. He laughed as he got out of the chair, knowing he had added another lust onto his quickly expanding list.