The sands of Egypt shimmered in the sunset, lush plains of golden grain twinkling in the dim purple haze of the horizon, stretching for miles with no end in sight. If one stared out of their window and studied the lands, they would catch the magical air of it just before nightfall, when the warm winds blew stronger and the loss of light tricked the eyes to see mirages of things one would never see in the daytime. Any far reach of the imagination came to life in the golden sands, and children and old men alike could peer into the abyss and realize their destinies. It was a dreamer's paradise.
Unfortunately for Mercedes, she was subjected to only dreaming. Many assumed that the life of an Egyptian princess would be a dream realized in itself, but she knew better. Royalty came with stifling rules and obligatory meetings, stern rulers for parents who spent every waking moment preparing for their deaths and their children's ascension to their throne. Endless talks of wars and rumors of wars plagued the palace and, in her youth, few took any of her thoughts and feelings seriously. The princess may have had droves of servants and advisors, but not one listened to a word she said unless it was a barked order. Would anyone ever know her outside of the elaborate robes and bejeweled crowns?
As she lay on the plush ivory cushions of her window seat, letting the cool winds of her country blow softly past her face, the princess imagined she was an outsider, a normal Egyptian citizen with no name except her own and no title above a lay person. She would travel and explore distant lands, a nomad of sorts, with a satchel of the necessities and the world at her feet, never once caring for anyone and anything bigger than herself. She would be her own queen and life would be hers for the taking. If anything, she would fully indulge in all of its bounties: love, sin, pleasures of the flesh, unadulterated by ties to marriages arranged for convenience. She would be her own woman, free to control her body and give herself to someone that captured her heart and knew her mind.
If only….
"Bring in the next!" she screamed, rapping her gold and amethyst scepter against the marble floor as she walked toward her throne.
"Bring in the next!" echoed the guard, louder and more piercing than the princess.
Guards brought in two homely men, apparently father and son, who wore field rags and smelled of barley. Farmers, thought the princess. They were thrown down before her feet.
"Please, Princess Mercedes, your grace, have mercy!" cried the older man. "My son, Finn and I have yielded very little this seaseon. Our fields are barren and my wife is due to deliver our second born at any time. Please your grace, as a woman with a heart for your people, please grant us amnesty from taxes this season, I beg you!"
The brown skinned royalty raised a thoughtful brow. "But if I give this to you, who else may I give it to? Must I grant amnesty to everyone that comes to me with a story as tragic as yours? In order for the kingdom to stand, all must pay their dues and all must sacrifice for the good of the land." Mercedes paused and internally cringed. She caught herself sounding more and more like her tyrant pharaoh of a father every day.
"Please, your grace! I beg you to reconsider! Anything! Two fold share of my crops next season! Three fold! What can I do, your grace? Name it, and it will be just payment." She looked at the pathetic sight of them and turned her head in displeasure. They had nothing she wanted.
With a wave of her hand, her guards grabbed them and prepared to drag them away. Finn broke away and hugged her feet.
"Please, your grace! PLEASE!" He begged, crying into the train of her tunic.
"Enough!" Santana screamed from her post. "The princess has spoken, worm! Do you dare to touch her? As if you were equals?" The feisty head guard snapped her fingers. "Take him to the fields for beheading."
"No!" roared his father. "Anything but that! Take me instead, your grace! Spare the boy!"
"You wish to join him, shriveled mackerel?" she mocked. "Take father and son and lay them together. One sharp sword can easily sever two necks at once."
"Enough!" cried the princess. All stopped and looked to her as she stood. She was a sight of authority, robed in the finest purple and white silks with the gold sash of Egyptian royalty wrapped across her shoulders. Her crown stood high and proud, the purest gold to ever pour from Egypt embedded with the finest of jewels excavated from their secret mines.
But even in the finest of things, one could never distract from the beauty that was naturally hers. Liner the color of coal lined her warm brown eyes, curved at the corners to soften the doe-like roundness of her eyes to a sultry feline slant. Her lips were berry red, as plump and ripe as the color that coated them, holding a smile that held endless emotions, depending on the thoughts of the viewer. Her tunic was held together by a braided belt tied just below her breasts, emphasizing the ample ride of cleavage hidden beneath the billowed fabric. She was a sight, a frighteningly untouchable, deliciously seductive sight that haunted dreams as frequently as she sweetened nightmares.
"I have the final say." spoke the princess, "and I have made my decision." The guards waited anxiously for her orders. She looked down and the boy still wrapped around her legs and smiled running her fingers through his hair. Finn looked up, bewildered and a bit mesmerized by her gaze.
"I am taken with your son." She said finally, never looking away from him. "What he lacks in looks he makes up for in strength and build of character. This pleases me." Mercedes looked to Will, who was still in the arms of her men. "As payment for your debt, I will take your son, young finn, to have a place in my harem. He will be dressed and fed well, have a place to lay his head, but he must never make contact with his family again. Do you accept these terms?" she said sweetly, smiling.
Will looked frightened. "But he's my only son, your grace…."
"A son whom I have taken pleasure in, even though his crimes are worthy of beheading!" she barked, her smile falling to a frown. "Do you question my judgement, William? Or do you wish for a more lethal repayment of your debt?" she turned away and reached in a basket beside her throne, pulling out a large albino python and wrapping it around her shoulders. Will paled and gulped, growing limp in the arms of the guards.
"Baby doesn't like strangers." She said, stroking the python's body. It slithered and hissed in Will's direction. "My head guard has suggested beheading, but I find that far too quick and bloody for my taste. My dear friend here enjoys slowly squeezing life out of my prisoners, then swallowing them whole. Far more tasteful, wouldn't you say?" William gulped again, saying nothing.
Finn's eyes widened at the sight of the large creature. Quickly making his decision, he reached up to touch her hand. Santana tightened her grip on her sword, ready to pounce on the little trite who dared lay his hands on her skin, but Mercedes looked her way and halted her with a raise of her palm.
"I will do it." He said. "For my father. For you." She smiled when he kissed her hand. "Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than to serve you princess, in any way you need."
Her smile widened when she saw the glint in his eye and the sight of her breasts. He looked back into her eyes with a pointed stare and small smirk. "Any way, your grace." He repeated, bolder and more lascivious than the first time.
"Smart boy." She praised, caressing his left cheek just as her python slithered to slide across his right. "Very smart boy. You learn quickly."
He leaned into her touch, licking his lips and smiling. "You are an excellent teacher, your grace." He replied softly. Suddenly remembering their surroundings, both looked back to the small crowd.
Mercedes caught Santana's jealous scowl and sent her a wink, letting her know she was still her number one. The scowl left her instantly, giving way to a meek blush and a shy smile.
"Father?" Finn turned his head to face his dad.
"Yes, son?"
"I have made the decision to stay, to honor our family's name and repay your debt to the kingdom. Tell mother I did this for the family, to give my brother or sister a chance to live with two parents and grow up happy."
Will shed a small tear. "You will be missed every day, son."
Finn gave a short nod. "I will miss you the rest of my life, father." He replied with a sad smile. It was what must be done.
With another wave of her hand, Mercedes sent the guards away with William to escort him outside of the palace.
"Santana?"
"Your grace?"
Mercedes tucked a finger under Finn's chin, slowly bringing him to his feet. She turned his head left and right, studying his features and giving a pleased smile at her wise choice. "Call in two handmaidens to get Finn washed up and perfumed. I will have use for him later." She smiled. Finn looked just as pleased at her decision.
"Certainly, your grace." Santana's voice dropped to an angry mumble. "Undeserving sea urchin…."
She knocked her sword on the column of the building, rapping loudly to get their attention. "Sugar! Rory! You have been summoned!"
The two young teens scrambled down the corridor, nearly tripping over their feet and falling over each other. They were new to Santana's unique method of summoning, used to a simple bell or horn. But, they knew well enough to come quickly when she called. Her ruthless punishments were well known and described often in the servant circle.
Sugar and Rory walked up to the princess, stopping to bow before the throne.
"At your service, your grace." They said simultaneously.
"Carry this one to the bath chambers, the ones reserved for my harem." Mercedes instructed. "Wash him in the finest perfumes and lavish him with oils and peppermint. Then, bring him to my chambers. He will tend to my body after I have cleansed myself." She shot a sultry look his way. Finn's smile was far too eager for someone who had just been imprisoned in the palace and could never see his family again. But, so far, punishment was nowhere to be found. All his princess alluded to was pleasure.
"Yes, your grace." The handmaidens replied. "Right away, your grace."
With another bow, they escorted him to his new chambers, disappearing from sight. The princess and head guard were left alone in the throne room.
"He's slightly clumsy and homely for your taste, isn't he your grace?" scowled Santana. "Not at all fitting for the pleasure of your harem."
"I disagree, Santana. He is more than enough to suit my needs." She replied. When Santana's frown grew deeper, she decided to toy with her. It was no secret that her head guard harbored jealous feelings.
She placed baby back in his basket, closing the lid with a light tap. "I mean, after all, he's tall, strong, reasonably handsome…" she teased, walking down the steps beside her throne.
Santana scoffed. "Handsome is arguable, your grace." She replied. Santana didn't enjoy this conversation at all.
"Maybe." Mercedes said lightly. "But one cannot deny his strength or the appeal of his stature." She walked closer to her, walking idly around her so her voice could pass her ear. "And even you couldn't miss the size of his hands and feet, Santana." She stopped to lean into her ear, whispering, "and we all know the promises of large hands and wide feet. Don't we, love?"
Santana shuddered at the soft caress of her breath against her ear, but her frown remained. "So is that what you need now, your grace? Promises?"
Mercedes chuckled softly. "Promises are better than empty beds, are they not?"
"The bed of a princess never has to be empty." She replied, pouting, her head hung slightly as she whispered, "Not when she has servants so eager and willing to lay beside her."
Mercedes froze. Their conversations had gotten this forward before, but nothing was ever done about it. Eyeing her lithe frame and strong tan thighs, the princess decided to change that.
"Who will lay with me? You, soldier?" she whispered seductively, running her lips along the shell of her ear as she circled behind her. Santana let out a small whimper. "Would you touch me on the cold nights? Caress my skin? Warm my body?"
"If you wish, your grace." She breathily replied, leaning her head back against Mercedes shoulder when she ran her hands slowly down her arms. "Anything for you."
"Will you kiss me with the strength and eagerness of a man?" She pressed a kiss to her temple, shaking her guarded resolve." Wrap your arms around me and pull me close?" she did so, roughly pulling her smaller frame into hers and gently squeezing her until she gasped."Hold my breasts in your hands…" she demonstrated, softly cupping Santana through her thin sheath and armor. "and run soft thumbs over them like a skilled and patient lover?"
"Yes," moaned Santana, "Yes, your majesty. My hands would be more loving than any man."
The princess eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "Is that so, my pet?" her small hands ran down her stomach, reaching to unlock the buckle of her breastplate. The armor fell away with a clang to the floor, and Mercedes moved aside the tunic underneath until she could touch her soft skin. She pressed a gentle kiss to the soldier's neck, pulling another moan from her throat as her touch traveled lower.
"Promises, Promises."
"I offer more than promises, my queen." She assured, trembling. Her thighs parted instinctively when Mercedes hands skimmed past her navel. "The love we would make would be more than a promise of pleasure."
"And what is more than a promise?" Mercedes whispered against her shoulder, pressing her lips along the curve. She pushed the soldier's underwear to the side, sliding a finger into her wetness.
"Ahh, sweet Anubis!" Santana softly cried, rubbing against her hand. "Touch me, Princess, touch me all over." Mercedes grabbed her arms with one hand, wrapping them around her neck as her kissed grew eager against her skin. She circled around to her front and captured her lips, pushing her back against the hard column with the rapid thrust of her fingers into her sopping wetness.
"Say it, tell me what you want." The princess growled. "Command it of me."
"More!" she cried. "More of you! I crave more of your touch, princess." Mercedes obliged, sliding in another finger and reaching her other hand in to strum her button as she thrust into her. Santana jumped up and wrapped her arms around her waist, never once leaving her kisses for air. She rode her fingers, hard and eager, until she came with a mighty yell, loud enough to bounce against every wall and echo throughout the palace.
Mercedes smiled against her lips, parting her fingers inside her to feel the stretch of her wall before slowly pulling out, digit by agonizing digit. Santana caught her breath and opened her eyes, smiling back at the pleasure of her princess's gaze. She leaned in and pressed another kiss against her lips, savoring it more than the last, as if she were committing the brief moment of bliss to memory. Santana hugged her close, Mercedes let her, and slowly grinded her hips against hers until she fully came down from her high. She returned to her feet without another word, turning to wipe her eyes of what Mercedes assumed were happy tears.
"Santana?" the brunette smiled and said nothing, putting back on her armor and straightening herself to look presentable. She took up her sword and resumed her post, looking straight ahead to the entrance of the throne room as if nothing had happened.
"Santana?" the princess called again, confused.
Santana reluctantly looked her way. Her eyes were heavy with sadness. "I have orders, your grace. Duties to protect you and guard my post. The promises I spoke of were never mine to give." She said sadly. "I'm sorry."
Mercedes nodded, stepping back. If anyone understood the obligations of one's position, it was her. "You are a great solder, Santana." She said softly.
"As you are a princess, your grace." She replied. After a moment of anguished stares, Mercedes turned away and walked up the steps, taking her rightful place on the throne just as Santana hardened her face and resumed her stance at her post. They said nothing more to each other, even when Sugar came rushing back to announce that her bath was prepared and ready for her and she walked away.