Permanent Bitch

By Cypher

I'm a fallen soldier. Well, maybe not fallen, but I'm certainly not a soldier any more. That life is far past. It seems like years, maybe even a decade, but it's probably only been a few months. I don't know, I'd have to ask around. There isn't really a way to tell time here, and I'm not supposed to ask. I won't, not right now. But later I will, with Daniel. He'll know how long I've been here.

Daniel.

When I was a soldier, I was one of the best there was. I was in command of over a thousand men, each not only serving me, but respecting me. We were an unstoppable army, between my tactics and my lieutenant's intel, we could take on any challenge, any threat to the empire. That's when we first heard of Daniel.

Now don't get me wrong, he's only a prince of Egypt, not a Pharaoh or whatever they call his family around here, but he had all the fame, not the king. He was the one that set up advanced irrigation systems. He was the one that institutionalized reading and writing for all citizens. And it was said he would be the one that would take down Rome with an unstoppable army.

I had never met him. Hell, the only Daniel in Egypt I had ever heard of was a scholar, but he was a growing threat to the empire. As a soldier I knew I was expected to kill or be killed, to follow orders no matter the cost. I did as the senators decreed, I marched my army down to Egypt, and I launched an attack on the city where Daniel lived. The cost was almost every one of my men.

We were the best of the best, the emperor's chosen, the ones that could crush any that opposed us. And in the span that it takes for the sun to rise and fall, we were the ones defeated. Not because of superior numbers, or even skill, but superior tactics. Above that, these soldiers of Daniel were almost…fanatical. Some of them even threw themselves on our swords to slow us down, to make way for others, all in his name. Not even the emperor can win that type of loyalty.

I, and a handful of my men that survived, were captured and brought into the city. Some were wounded, and rather than kill them, I was surprised to see them brought to an apothecary. They were helping us, healing us. The rest of us were brought before the Regent of the city, a blond woman who, despite her gender, was obviously smarter than the lot of us combined. She sentenced us to a life of servitude, with no chance at parole. It was our punishment for attacking the city, and our deeds would be our penance.

I wasn't brought to the slave auctions, though. Near to the woman was young man, perhaps even younger than the blond. He had sandy blond hair, hanging loosely, not at all as trim and controlled as the other men around us. He exchanged words with her, and with a small wave of his hand, I was removed from the group. I was the commander, and as such I had to pay a greater price than that of my soldiers. I would serve in the palace.

As a Eunuch.

Daniel's eunuch, as I later learned that's who the man with the striking blue eyes was. I accepted the sentence, straight backed and proud. They could take away my manhood, but they couldn't take away my pride. Don't think for a second that I wasn't terrified. They were going to cut off my nuts! But…it's not like it's seen any action since my wife was slaughtered in a barbarian raid.

The next few hours--days?--were a blur. I was examined by their doctors, priests, head of guard, and even a tailor. They wanted to make sure I was acceptable for their Daniel. And where was that man, the great figurehead that everyone appeared to love and worship? He was always off in a corner of the room, watching me. The first appointments I didn't even look at him, but eventually my eyes did roam over to him. And I had to admit, he was beautiful.

There was no other way to put it. He was royalty, so obviously he was raised in the best environment, but there was a…radiance about him that was unnatural. His skin, unlike that of everyone else around here, was a pale shade that only helped him to stand out above the rest. Despite his heritage, he wore some sort of thick, layered robes, but his arms were always free. They were the hands of a scholar, but it was obvious from the muscles that he was a fighter, too.

Was I attracted to him? At the time, I wasn't sure. I mean, he was beautiful, but he had just defeated my army and was about to castrate me. He didn't gloat about it, though. And I'm willing to bet he was the one that ordered my wounded to be treated. Not the typical prince, that's for sure. He didn't speak with a loud, commanding voice, as I had to in order to help keep my troops in line, but was instead very soft spoken. I rarely heard him, and when I did it was in Egyptian. Even so, the tones were quiet but strong, both firm and gentle, and maybe, dare I say it, slightly melodic. He smiled a lot, too. To the servants, to the people, he even smiled at me.

It almost made me forget what he was having done to me. Almost. When the time came, I walked to the chamber, in chains, but with my head held high. When they tied me down to the table, I didn't put up a struggle. Even when they showed me the instruments and brought the hot poker out to examine it, I didn't flinch. And Daniel…

Daniel was watching me, judging me. He said something to one of the priests, I think they were priests, and I was given some elixir. I didn't spit it out, I figured he wouldn't poison me after this long, and discovered that it actually numbed my body. He had ordered them to help me, to ease my pain and make this easier. He wasn't just beautiful inside, but outside. Through the entire ceremonial proceedings I kept my eyes on him, watched as he licked his lips, gave me little signs of assurance.

He knew this was going to be hard on me, even with the drugs. Not to say they didn't help, but the pain I felt when they used that hot iron to…and the smell… I…don't remember much, or even if I screamed, whimpered, cried, anything. All I do remember is searing pain…and then darkness. Pure, quiet, safe darkness. I try not to think back on that day too often, for obvious reasons.

I do remember waking up, though. It was dark out, and the full moon was shining through a balcony archway. I was in a lush bed, satin sheets, veils falling from the bedposts, the whole deal. I wasn't alone, either. It hurt to move, but the person knew I was awake, and a minute later I found myself face to face with Daniel himself. He had stayed with me, remained with me, just so that I'd have someone to wake up with. And even though he had been my enemy, the one who ordered me to be a eunuch, I…felt safe.

The next few days I pretty much laid in bed, Daniel staying with me, teaching me some basic Egyptian, what my duties were, what other eunuchs I'd be hanging out with. He never once raised his voice, but he had this…authority about him. The soldier in me couldn't ignore the subliminal orders, and the man in me didn't want to. That was probably the strangest sensation of them all. I…wanted to be ordered around by this man. I wanted to be his servant and stay here, working with him. It was scary, to say the least.

But I finally understood why they said he would take down Rome. He was the one that organized the army strategies, and his people were loyal to him not because he bribed them, or threatened them, but because he loved them, and they loved him. Not once was he unnecessarily cruel, not once did he lash out, and when a new servant broke one of his antique vases, he was sad, but moved on, saying accidents happen. With loyalty like that, the empire didn't stand a chance. Especially if he could convert me, a hardened warrior of Rome.

I soon found that my duties as a eunuch were far more encompassing than the others. A fortnight after my…christening, he asked me to his chambers, so that he could bed me. He didn't order it, or force me to the bed, but asked. He made it very clear if I said no, he wouldn't push the issue. It was my choice, completely and totally. I could be his, or I didn't have to be. My choice. And…I said yes.

It was amazing. I thought Daniel was wonderful before, but he's, well, a God in bed. It was the first time I had seen him naked, and Jesus, let me tell you, he could put some of the best warriors I know to shame. He still had his scholarly frame, but he had muscles, to show that he had had at least some training in the ways of battle. He was practically hairless, and I have no idea how he stayed that way, and had a light scent of jasmine on him. That alone made me forget that I still had my uniform on, and if I could been aroused physically, believe me, I would've been.

When we finally got in bed, he was gentle, slow, compassionate. He made sure I was comfortable before proceeding. He spoke in many, many different languages as he thrust into me, over and over. And I, up on my hands and knees, took it, took him, in his entirety. It was nothing like sleeping with my wife, but it was nothing like a quick jerk off with the captains of the ranks. It was…sensual. I even tried to grab myself, out of instinct, only to find I couldn't. It ruined the moment, but Daniel held me as he finished. Just held me, he didn't push to talk, he didn't tell me to leave, he just…held me.

Later I learned, from my eunuch buddy Teal'c, that Daniel had to remain pure, that none could penetrate him because of who and what he was. That's why I was made a eunuch, to remove the temptation. I was a little angry at the thought that Daniel simply used me, that he slept with all his eunuchs, but ever since I was captured, it's only been me in his bed, every night. Sometimes we make love--he insists on calling it that--and sometimes we talk. Sometimes he reads to me, and other times we just cuddle. And I…can live with it.

I am a fallen soldier, and I'm also a eunuch. I am a servant to an Egyptian Prince, as well as his friend and lover. I am Daniel's, as one guard put it, permanent bitch. And by all the Gods of Rome and Egypt, I wouldn't give it up, not now, not ever. As long as I stay with Daniel, they can call me whatever the hell they like.

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Author's Prattle: Hey everyone. This little fic was the result of a line in another author's fic, and was a nice little reprieve from my usual series. It's not accurate or correctly researched, but I thought it up and wrote it in a total of…three hours. Not bad, in my estimation.

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1, it's characters or settings. They belong to SciFi and all the groups associated with the show. I'm just using them to flex my writing muscles.

So, I hope you enjoyed this ficlet, and as always, feedback is welcome!