Hi again. This one is a bit, err...graphic in its description of violence. Not towards our girls, although there is definitely a threat trigger in here. But as someone said recently, different times, different attitudes. Life was cheap in the 1570's just about all over the world. Just a bit cheaper in certain parts. So, just so you know. The chapter starts a bit..dark...and gets worse! Hahaha.

Mistakes mine, Skins not...yadda yadda.

Tomas had perfected the art of barely breathing when he wanted to be quiet. And he was being very, very quiet right now. Pressed up against the wall of the harem...just waiting.

His mistress was in her chambers, busily arranging the other parts of this grand scheme to save Naomi from the clutches of the Grand Vizier. That was a mighty task and he did not envy her the planning or execution of this seemingly impossible job. But he had an important part to play tonight and he was more than ready to carry it out.

Although there was usually a lot of activity in the main harem, tonight was an exception. A performance had been arranged for the women to watch on the other side of the compound. With their full veils up over their faces and more than usual cloth on their bodies, the wives and concubines were considered to be adequately preserving their modesty. The singers, musicians and jugglers were instructed not to look any of the women in the eye on pain of death. It was a difficult instruction to carry off, but the threat of boiling oil or decapitation worked wonders for their self control. It might look a bit odd, each man and women playing instruments or juggling with their heads firmly bent upwards, staring at the ornate ceiling as they played, but they all agreed it was better than the grim alternative.

But a rumour had been carefully circulated that the Princess Naomi was not going to be present at the show. Her mother had used a couple of close confidantes to spread the lie.

Because Tomas was now in possession of information about exactly who had a habit of using the long abandoned viewing room next to the harem. Protected by a sturdy gate and a locked door, no one thought it was even in use any more. The Sultan, in his more advanced years, no longer felt the need to personally vet his concubines. It was enough for his aides to present a new girl once a month to him. If he was in the mood, he would take the girl on his bed that night...he never asked for them again. The days of his youth were past and the royal libido was not what it was.

So, certain people were made aware, by whispered asides, that the only person in the harem bath chamber would be the princess and her two handmaids. It turned out to be a temptation too far for one individual.

Cuk strode purposefully down the very corridor he had walked weeks before. Alongside him trotted the same smiling boy too. Cuk wasn't about to risk using a different slave for this, his most intimate immediate need. The boy had been more than accommodating recently. 'Practice' with the older slave Yusuf, had obviously honed his skills. Several times over the last two weeks, Cuk had made use of the boys eagerness to please. The youth did not need the salve so much now either. Practice makes perfect after all….the slave was now willing and eager to assist his masters release. Yusuf had been a gentle and patient tutor. He learned that pleasure was not all one sided if one allowed the body to rule the mind.

So when his master cuffed him mildly on the head and shook a thick key at him, the boy grinned and nodded. Maybe there would be another silver coin to be earned. Now Yusuf had tutored him thoroughly, the task was not unpleasant at all. So long as he pleased Cuk, life in the slaves quarters was not for him. Instead, he slept on the floor at the foot of the enforcers bed, ready and vigilant for any midnight requests.

Tonight though, he walked quietly behind the long striding man. It was unusually late for this type of assignment, but the boy was cheerful nevertheless. A few minutes undemanding work while his master viewed whatever he was viewing through the mesh panel and he could maybe look forward to earning enough to add to that new pair of leather shoes he had bought in the market. Slaves rarely got to own or wear shoes of any kind...he would be envied greatly by his peers if he could show off a new waistcoat too.

The steel gate opened and closed as slickly as before and although the wooden door still squeaked a little when pushed open, Cuk ignored it. Until the small, meshed panel at head height was opened, he was confident that no sound would penetrate the walls. If his information was correct, Princess Naomi would be enjoying a long bath tonight. Her handmaids...or one in particular if the gossiping servants were to be believed... was now a particular favourite of the royal daughter. Cuk could feel himself stiffening already. He had no issues with Naomi getting some enjoyment from one of the female servants...it was normal for the women of the harem to indulge in such practices until they were married. It just added extra spice to the evening. Maybe the boy would have to do him double duty tonight...it had been three days and nights since Cuk had used those youthful lips or tight popo.. energy levels were high this evening. He grinned to himself at the prospect. A free show from the object of his desire, with a willing receptacle for his lust.

Slowly, and with infinite care, Cuk slid the greased panel to one side. The dull light from a single torch lit the bath chamber beyond. Good, he thought again...the princess has not yet arrived. Maybe he would get the chance to see one or both the reputedly beautiful twins prepare the bath before she stepped into it. An added bonus indeed.

From inside the harem, Tomas heard the almost imperceptible movement of the panel being slid aside and smiled humourlessly to himself. The trap had been set and the rat was now sniffing hungrily at the non existent bait. He inched closer to the side of the panel and moved the tool in his left hand to the right, his favoured arm. The object was thin and cylindrical, similar to the implement carpenters used to mark soft wood for dowelling rods. In fact he had secured it from a passing merchant, who'd used it to punch holes in leather for laces. For tonight, it would make the ideal instrument. Not too long...he did not want to kill outright. That would come later. But sharp and brutal enough to do what he planned to do.

When he had discovered Cuk's nasty secret from a whispered aside, his first instinct was to rush to the enforcers quarters and hack him to death on the spot. Only his mistress prevented him doing just that. After he calmed down a little, he reluctantly agreed that murdering Cuk, although immensely satisfying... would mean his own slow and painful death on the scaffold...it would be counterproductive. This way he would get his revenge on the scum who liked watching the innocent Naomi bathe and still be able to enjoy the slow revenge of the Sultans inquisitors?

In place now, he raised the weapon to head height, resting his large hand on his own left shoulder. He knew exactly the spot and velocity required, because he had practised the strike alone in his own quarters on a crudely humanised melon for three consecutive nights to make sure his aim would be true when needed.

Tomas could hear Cuk breathing heavily now, mere inches away. The excitement the Viziers executioner was exhibiting made Tomas's blood chill. This animal had been leching on his precious Naomi for weeks. Time for the piper to be paid. Taking a deep and silent breath, the Nubian tensed his muscles, ready for the blow.

He had arranged for a random slave girl to appear in the chamber now, and right on cue the dim light was increased slightly as another torch was lit across the room. Flickering shadows now covered the pale walls. The girl left straight after her task...she had no further part to play and Tomas wanted no witnesses to his actions. Once the job was done, he would melt away as smoothly as he had arrived, dispose of the weapon from a high window over the river and retire to his quarters.

The breathing on the other side of the panel increased in pace again. Tomas heard a softly spoken order, then a faint groan from Cuk as the other person in the small room obeyed. Tomas's nose wrinkled in disgust. His own humiliation during that first terrible period in the palace still made him wake occasionally in a sweat. He had his own reasons to hate Cuk quite apart from tonight's. Years ago, he had been the unidentified adolescent kneeling to service the brutal assassin.

The time had come. His hand tensed again and he leaned just a small distance nearer the panel. The enforcer, who was obviously being expertly sucked by whichever slave he had brought with him, was breathing harder now, small pants making Tomas aware of his targets exact position behind the flimsy latticework.

His hand when it struck, was a blur. He had deliberately covered the bottom of the shaft with thick cotton webbing, wrapped tightly round it. Enough to allow the spike to penetrate, but not enough to reach the brain. The idea was to wound and incapacitate, not to kill.

The eyeball is a vulnerable sphere full of viscous liquid. When abruptly penetrated by a sharp and narrow object, it pops like a small balloon.

The sound it made when the blade struck made Tomas flinch, even though it was his action which had created it. There was a short pause, while the receptors in the man's nervous system registered instant agonising pain and lack of vision. Then Cuk exploded in a visceral roar of anguish. Tomas heard him stagger backwards and wail again as the slave who was between his legs must have started in fear. What Tomas had not counted on was the human bite reflex. Shock and surprise can cause people to bite down...hard.

Another high pitched shriek filled the air as the slave boys sharp teeth bloodily raked the sensitive flesh between them. Then he yelled too as his master, still holding his useless eye with one palm, used his fist to hammer away the boy kneeling before him. His damaged erection pulsed jets of crimson fluid over the slaves face as he fell heavily against the outer door. Tomas was already walking quickly out of the harem as the sounds of Cuk's continued agony filled the night air. He heard multiple pounding footsteps as Imperial Guard troops rushed along the corridors towards the source of the uproar.

His task complete, Tomas washed his hands carefully, after disposing of the weapon out of the window, then he took a long draught of sweet apple liqueur. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he rarely used alcohol as a balm for his anxieties. But tonight he felt able to make an exception. Tonight was a good night…

XXX

Emilia was frustrated...and bored...and unhappy. None of the emotions she had expected to feel after her initial meeting with the gloriously beautiful princess. But it had been over two weeks now and, as she carefully folded expensive silks beside the royal bed, she could hear the sound of casual chatter and splashing from the private bath chamber next door. The door was ajar, but her view was obstructed by a thin cotton veil which partly hid the naked occupants.

It just isn't fair she sulked as she put away recently laundered royal underclothing in a large hardwood cabinet. It should be her in there, talking easily to the princess, her hands washing that beautiful body with infinite care. Instead it was her sister enjoying the closeness and companionship Emilia craved.

Ever since that first meeting, she felt as though she had been deliberately shunned, avoided. Her brief but intense sexual experiences with Yasmina had taught her the signs of mutual attraction. She wasn't foolish enough to think the princess would launch herself straight into a full blown affair with her new servant. That was just wishful thinking and something restricted to the rare times when Emilia was alone and able to indulge in some satisfying self exploration. Fantasies about her mistress were frequent and lurid, its true, but they were always tempered by the knowledge that her attraction to the princess was more than merely physical. There had been some sort of connection between their minds that morning...something much more than simple lust.

She sighed heavily as the sound of laughter again reached her from the other room. Katerina was enjoying the closeness to her new mistress and was milking it shamelessly. Rivalry between the twins was a given ever since the womb, and Kati was never one to deny herself a little triumphalism.

Clothes folded and put away, Emilia stood by the window and looked out wistfully over the bustling city. The Topkapi Palace was arranged in several concentric compounds, four in all. The harem and these private royal apartments were in the centre, guarded by several manned gates. It was a prison of a kind and part of her longed for the freedom she had enjoyed up till now. True, she had no desire to be matched with a local boy, she'd made that clear by word and deed, but after Yasmina showed her that love can be found in other, unexpected places, she'd harboured the secret desire to be in some sort of relationship now she was fully grown. But the dream had soon soured up here in the scented chambers of the palace. Katerina was now apparently the princesses favourite. Emilia relegated to chamber maid and skivvy, excluded from all personal duties.

It hurt.

Just then the princess and her sister emerged, both wrapped in white towelling from the bath chamber, giggling at something Kati had just said. They looked more like friends than mistress and servant. Try as she might, Emilia could not keep dismay from her face. For a split second Naomi's intense eyes recognised the pain in Emi's, but then her face regained its normal composure.

"Have you completed your tasks Emilia?" she said in a businesslike voice. Emilia nodded sadly.

"Yes your highness...quite finished"

"Then you may be relieved until lunchtime girl...I have no need of you until then?"

This time Emilia knew the hurt on her face was even more obvious. Dismissed like a slave...while her sister smirked beside the princess. She felt tears brim in her eyes and fiercely wiped them away with the back of one hand. This was humiliation, pure and simple. She was totally confused and bewildered as to why she was being singled out like this.

Her throat choked as she bowed slightly, looking up to see the smirk on Kati's face disappear as her twin recognised Emi was on the verge of real tears. Through her blurry vision Emi thought she recognised another crack in the veneer of indifference Naomi was hiding behind. But hopelessness made her reckless. As she straightened, she made an impulsive request.

"Very good my lady...would it be permissible in that case for me to visit the main harem this morning? Fatima, the girl who used to be your body servant has asked if I could help her pick fruit in the orchard for supper?"

There was a silence that stretched for long seconds. Emilia was well aware that Fatima, her mistresses ex maid, was strongly attracted to her. The dusky Egyptian girl with khole ringed eyes had made no secret of a desire to get to know her better. From the day after Emilia arrived, Fatima had tried very hard to be her new close friend. Out in the compound, the rumours about Fatima's appetite for other pretty girls was common knowledge. Emilia had no idea if the princess knew this too, but by the way her eyes widened and her mouth turned down, it seemed she just might.

In truth, Emilia's words had struck at Naomi's heart like a dagger. Her own experience of Fatima's wandering hands was proof enough that the girl was attracted to women. And Emilia was very attractive...no, she was beautiful….

Since that first meeting, Naomi had known that if she allowed Emilia to get too close to her, she would be utterly lost. Several times she had considered asking her mothers advice on what to do. But instead she took the easy option offered by having twin body servants and allowed Kati to tend to her most personal needs. The girl was equally as pretty as Emilia, but her eyes held no desire for her mistress...and that was important. She could not...no, she would not allow herself to fall for this dark haired beauty...she was a princess after all. It had nothing to do with giving in to her natural physical desires...this was more a matter of the heart...and it frightened her half to death.

"I suppose so" she said reluctantly "...but be back here when the bell strikes twice. I will have need of you then?"

Emilia's eyes dropped again. So there was nothing to hope for any more. This brusque dismissal proved that. She bowed again and without looking at her sister or Naomi again, walked to the door with a stiff back and closed it firmly behind her. If that truly was that...she needed to spend some time with someone who actually liked her. It wasn't compulsory of course for her mistress to like her, but the pain of constant rejection was crushing Emilia...always the sensitive one...she bruised very easily.

When the door closed, there was another silence as long as the previous one. Katerina kept her head down as she finished drying her mistress and mutely selected dresses for a head shake or a nod. Both girls were deep in their own thoughts. Both felt guilty for hurting Emilia, but for different reasons. Kati had a lifetime of rivalry to fall back on. It was normal for her to try to dominate Emi...but it was getting harder to keep this charade going. Naomi had not spoken to her about why she was being so harsh and distant to her sister, but Kati did not need an explanation. She was a keen first hand observer of the two over the past weeks. Naomi was constantly shooting glances at her sister when Emi was busy and Emilia might as well have had a sign on her chest saying she was madly in love with the princess. Several times this past week, Kati had been woken by muffled crying from the bed opposite her. Her sister was suffering from all this rejection and it worried her. Even though Emilia was a quiet, agreeable girl, she still had her mothers fiery genes. Under the surface, she was a cauldron of suppressed emotions. Katerina knew if this carried on much longer, it was possible her sister would do something reckless.

Something that the sly Fatima would enjoy very much.

So, she took a deep breath and waited until Naomi had settled on the long couch by the open window. The draped silks twisted and sighed in the gentle breeze from the garden outside. They called it the Perfumed Garden, and at this time of year, it lived up to its reputation. All sorts of exotic and fragrant blooms were just budding. The air was heavy with exquisite aromas. An idyllic scene maybe, but something had to be done before Emi crushed her own chances with a rash decision. Kati decided that it was time she ventured an opinion. Maybe shock therapy would work?

"Princess…?" she said slowly "...may I speak freely?"

Naomi's eyes narrowed and she sat up straighter. Her own thoughts had very much been on the absent Emilia too.

"I suppose so, Kati" she said

"My sister is very unhappy, mistress?" Katerina almost whispered.

Naomi started at that. She hadn't been expecting such a direct comment, even if she had given permission for the girl to be open.

"I don't understand why she should be..." she said "...is the position not to her liking...the quarters not comfortable...the clothes we provided not pretty enough…?"

She was deliberately prevaricating and they both knew it.

"No...my lady...you have been very generous to us both. Nothing we own or enjoy is a problem. We are both very grateful for being given the chance to serve your highness?"

"So, what is it then?" Naomi asked, hoping the girl would not actually tell her the truth. But she misunderstood the strength of the bond between the twins. Katerina steeled herself to risk the princesses anger. Something had to be said.

"She is very unhappy because she believes you do not like her" Kati said, keeping her eyes down.

"When have I ever given that impression girl?" Naomi snapped. Kati knew she was on thin ice...but decided to come right out with it. Things couldn't go on as they were. Emilia was upset and lonely...and Fatima was all too keen to slip into the vacant position as her best friend...and more.

"You said I could speak freely, princess?"

"Go on...but tread carefully Katerina...tread carefully" Naomi frowned.

Kati sighed and looked up at her mistress.

"My sister is in love with you, princess Naomi...she has been from the moment your eyes met on the first day. She knows she is but a lowly servant and unworthy of your affection...but she's a sensitive creature...always has been. You have been quite... harsh... on occasion mistress?...and its hurting her greatly… she thinks you dislike her for some reason and I fear if she thinks that...she might be vulnerable...vulnerable to….to..."

Katerina stopped there...she could not find the words to describe what she knew was likely to happen if Emilia lost hope altogether, but whatever it was, it would wreck both their lives, she knew that much. If the princess...who wasn't half as good as she thought she was at hiding her own feelings...found out Emilia was being bedded by Fatima, they would probably both be dismissed instantly. Sent back to their family in disgrace.

Naomi sat with her mouth open. She had allowed the girl to speak freely...but this? Her mind swirled with competing emotions. Shock, remorse, fear and self loathing...recycled again and again. Finally she composed herself. She had not realised her treatment of the younger twin was being seen as deliberately cruel….she only sought to protect herself..her fragile heart.

Then she remembered where she had just given Emi permission to go, and stood up abruptly. She needed to speak to her mother first about this. Gia was unshockable. Much as Naomi pretended not to need her advice, this was one time when her opinion would be required. But first…

"Right...um, yes... right. Thats quite enough being 'free' Kati. Go immediately to the orchards, tell your sister two things. I want her back here immediately...and...and tell her...I am sorry for appearing to be cruel to her, I didn't mean for her to think that I do not, uh...like her. You are both important to my household...and I want my... umm...staff... to be very happy working here…?"

Katerina smiled to herself as she walked quickly out of the room to carry out the princess's orders. Emilia would be ecstatic when she told her what Naomi had said...she ignored the nonsense about keeping her 'staff' happy. That was just a smokescreen. Naomi was now rightly worried that someone else might replace her in Emilia's affections. About time the slipper was on the other foot?

XXX

Gia waited for her daughter to arrive with one eye on the outside. She'd had a feeling that Naomi might seek her advice over the new girl. Like Katerina, the Sultana had watched the unsubtle interplay between the two over the past weeks. Emilia was delightful, she decided. A perfect foil for her sometimes haughty daughter. It was clear Naomi was interested in being much more than a friend to the girl...but unused to the subtleties of mutual attraction, her daughter was being typically skittish. Emilia was obviously smitten with Naomi too. If Gia played the game well, the younger twin would turn out to be the perfect companion for her princess in the troubles ahead. But she knew Naomi would wrestle the matter over and over in her head to complete distraction. She'd always liked to over analyse everything. Sooner or later though, she knew Naomi would come to her for advice.

But things were complicated by what was going on in the court below right now. Tomas's assault on Cuk had the desired consequences. Naomi had been kept in the dark about this part of the plan, but the rest of the court was agog with shock at the sudden downfall of the Viziers favourite.

After he had been apprehended staggering bloody and blinded from the secret room, Cuk had been taken to the chambers below the guard house. There, the palace torturers had extracted every piece of information the assassin possessed about his trespassing. Breaching the harem was a capital crime, so even his contacts could not save him from the scaffold. But the Sultan, outraged at this invasion of his daughters most private moments, had ignored the Viziers entreaties for Cuk to be spared the worst kind of execution. An example must be made. The Sultan instructed his Imperial Guard and their executioners to prepare well. As an unknowing Naomi walked to her mothers quarters, still over thinking her options, a small, select crowd was gathering in the lowest compound of the palace, out of sight of the royal apartments. The wooden scaffold which stood in the middle of the gravel square had been reinforced and extended. It was necessary to support both the thick wooden frame over a trapdoor in the centre and the burly prisoner. Normally, condemned prisoners were executed with a blade over a block. Forced to their knees and within seconds, parted from their heads by the skilful downstroke of the scimitar. Quick, clean and certain.

But this crime was special in its infamy. Spying on the harem was bad enough, but Cuk under torture had revealed his previous observations of the princess Naomi herself unclothed whilst being pleasured by the boy. The room he had used had been walled up since. Its gated access also sealed completely. No else would be allowed such a brazen abuse of their position.

The boy who had been servicing Cuk as he waited for the princess to appear was dispatched more humanely. The inquisitors soon found out, as his toe nails were pulled out with pliers, that his was a peripheral role. But he had knowledge of the secret room, the court had no time for subtleties.

A day after his broken frame was dragged from the torture chambers, he was tossed unceremoniously from the highest tower onto the cobbles a hundred feet below. As the blood spread from his small body, a passing boy grinned at the almost new leather shoes scattered by the youth. They were speedily grabbed and hidden under the strangers jacket. A bounty indeed.

But Cuk's ending was to be more...spectacular.

Dragged like his servant to the square, his one good eye scanned the crowd of onlookers for a sympathetic face. But that was in short supply. His master the Vizier, ordered by the Sultan to attend, kept his eyes firmly on anything but his creature. This was no time to ally himself with such a transgressor, especially as he still craved the Princess for himself.

Knees broken by hammers and burns from the red hot irons vivid over his naked torso, Cuk tried hard not to scream or beg as the less than gentle guards half carried him to the scaffold. Up the short stairs and onto the platform. He saw the noose and almost sobbed in gratitude. Hanging then...it could be worse, he rationalised. Aside from the headsman with his heavy blade, this was at least quick.

But that was not the plan. True, there was a noose, heavy hemp and knotted. But the trap door hid a much worse method of killing. As Cook was propped up on the platform, the trapdoors were opened. Underneath, behind a curtain which was now parted to reveal the horror below to the onlookers, was a huge vat of boiling oil. Vapour and heat shimmered upwards as he stood to one side, staring in disbelief at his fate.

"Noo...n...no...my lord no!" he shouted tremulously "I...I beg you Grand Vizier, master, Sultan Selim...Lord...save me from this..."

He knew, even as his executioners prepared him, that his words were wasted. His life had been a long journey of battle, savagery and brutality. Many men and women...children too, had died at his hands. Now was not the time to ask for clemency.

The noose was pushed over his head and the knot lodged at the back of his neck. The drop, when it came, was not into the steaming vat below. In fact it was less than a foot. Enough to choke, to hurt...but not enough to kill.

For ten seconds or so, he was left to dangle. Twisting, choking and moaning in pain. His lungs screamed for air until after another ten seconds, his body began to convulse. His final ejaculation was not into the body of an unwilling slave girl, or the eager mouth of his personal body servant, but into the bloody and ragged cloth which had been placed around his waist to preserve a small amount of modesty.

The executioners, skilled in their craft, saw the involuntary twitch of his hips and recognised the signs of impending death. That was not the end they had been ordered to arrange. Instead, one of them lifted a gurgling Cuk by the waist until another could loosen the noose and instead widen and lower it until it could be tucked under his arms. Suspended like this, two other hooded men took the strain and the beam above creaked as he was lowered towards the vat below. Yet another hooded figure stoked the fire below the metal vat vigorously, keeping the viscous fluid inside bubbling thickly.

Inch by inch, Cuk was lowered into the vat. Half hung he might be, but the first caress of the oil on his feet jerked him into instant screaming consciousness.

It took over a minute, during which time his body was lowered at the same agonisingly slow pace, before his high pitched shrieking ended. When his head finally flopped to one side, a signal was given and the men above released the rope, allowing his body to slip fully into the vat with a loud hiss.

The spectacle was over...and so was the life of Cuk the enforcer.

XXX

Naomi looked up as a murmur in the distant courtyard rose to a shout, as if a hundred men were calling out something at once, then carried on into her mothers chambers. Whatever it was out there, it had nothing to do with her…

XXX

Last one this year. Graphic and unpleasant maybe, but I had this gruesome episode in my head when I came up with the whole idea of the story. Sorry if it offends any Cook lovers!

Next chapter, if anyone cares, will be all Naomily. Lots of fluff and smut...better?