Emilia was still upset and angry for a while before Kati found her. But by the time her sister got to the back of the orchard, she had already met up with Fatima and the pretty Egyptian soon had her smiling, even though her eyes were still a little red rimmed. The Princess may have been able to make her cry with her indifference, but out in the orchard with the birds singing cheerfully in the trees and bees buzzing from flower to flower, it was hard to remain unhappy. Fatima used her impressive eyelashes to great effect, batting them over her dark eyes as she flirted shamelessly with the younger twin. She'd only been chatting to her for a few minutes before Emi looked over from her position on the lowest branch of a large pear tree to see Katerina approaching. Her laughter turned to a scowl as she watched her sister walk purposefully across the fruit strewn grass towards them. Whatever she wanted, Emilia decided she wasn't interested.

Kati stood under the gnarled, thick branch and stared up at her sister.

"Emi…? The Princess wants you to return immediately to her rooms?" she said, shielding her eyes from the bright sunshine streaming through the upper branches.

"Does she now?" Emi said shortly "...seems to me she wanted nothing of the sort just a few minutes ago...wanted me right out of her sight more like...Whatever she needs, I'm sure you will perform the service better than me, sister dearest?"

Kati sighed as Fatima added her own scowl to the lack of welcome in the air.

"Emi...its not for us to question our mistress's instructions...go to her now?"

Emilia shook her head stubbornly.

"Tell her you couldn't find me...I'm having fun actually...with my friend?"

The emphasis on the last word was cutting and Kati sighed again. She had a feeling walking over here that it wouldn't be as easy as just asking. Her sister could be very stubborn. She reached up and tugged at the hem of Emi's pink gauzy pantaloons.

"Emi...come down here...I need to tell you something...something private?" she wheedled.

Emi sighed in resignation this time. She knew it was pointless arguing in the end. However spiteful she felt towards her sister and her mistress, a servant had no right to deny her employers orders, specially a royal one. But she felt like she needed to make a point while she could, from her temporarily elevated position.

"Whats the matter Kati...is there something the princess needs that you can't supply, sister?" sh said sarcastically "It looked like you two were the best of friends when you were bathing her so diligently this morning. Anyone would think you were starting to appreciate the female form as much as Fatima and I do?"

Fatima, from her position beside the tree trunk, giggled darkly at her sisters jibe, making Kati glare at her angrily.

"Don't be silly Emi...I was just doing what the princess asked of me?" she tried.

The Egyptian girl chuckled again and said something low under her breath. Kati glared again and stood with hands on hips. Her sister might be able to tease her, but she wasn't taking sly innuendo's from a slave girl. Even as servants there was a hierarchy. Just because Emi indulged the girl, didn't mean she had to.

"Be quiet girl...or I'll be sure to let the princess know that you're gossiping about her private business in public...maybe they need a new body servant down in the soldiers barracks?"

The smirk was instantly wiped off Fatima's face. She knew what awaited any 'body servant' in the infamous barracks. The rough and brutal uniformed men down there would care little about her alternative sexual preferences. She'd be lucky to survive the first night. She dropped her eyes and nodded in submission.

"Sorry Katerina...I'll just….uh...see you later Emi?"

Kati and Emi watched her walk away with different emotions. Relief for Kati...now she could talk to her sister freely. Annoyance for Emi...her ally had retreated at the first flash of anger from her already famously volcanic sister.

"Thanks a lot for scaring her off Kati...she's my friend...why did you have to say something like that…?"

Kati shrugged. The emotional well being of Fatima was of supreme indifference to her.

"Come down Emi...I have something I think you'll want to hear?"

Curiosity got the better of Emi in the end. Annoyed as she was at being interrupted having fun with Fatima, it was unlikely Kati had walked all this way without good reason. She clambered nimbly off the branch and stood in front of her twin, brushing white petals off her bare midriff and shoulders.

"Well…? What is so important you've had to drag yourself away from tending to every whim of the princess Naomi?"

Kati winced. She knew there was good reason for her sisters anger. It was true she'd played up to the favouritism she enjoyed. Lording it over Emi was hard wired into her system. But in truth she loved her sister fiercely and knowing she was genuinely hurt gave her no pleasure at all.

"Look Emi...I'm sorry...truly. I know what Naomi is doing...using me to keep her distance from you….its wrong. But I took a big risk after she sent you away...I spoke candidly to her...told her she was making you very unhappy by acting like this?"

Emilia's mouth dropped open, Whatever she thought her sister had to say, this definitely wasn't it.

"Kati?..." she said in a shocked voice "...why would even you say such a thing to her. She might just dismiss me now...send me back to our parents…?"

Kati shook her head.

"No...that wasn't her reaction at all Emi...in fact she was pretty alarmed. We both know she's as attracted to you as you are to her? She's just scared...scared of feeling like that about you. So she's used me as substitute...given me all the personal tasks...kept you at arms length. But I think she realises now how that must make you feel. I took a chance, but it paid off. I know she wants to talk to you about her feelings...you need to go to her chambers right away. She said something about talking to her mama first..but you really need to be there when she gets back?"

Emilia's head spun with the news. Her mouth closed with a snap, then she smiled genuinely for the first time in what seemed like weeks at her twin sister.

"Yes...I...I'll go right now...I...I…?" Emi stuttered.

"Yes, yes...you can thank me later...if you're not snuggled up to the princess all night that is?" Kati smirked, earning her a sharp punch on the arm from Emi as she passed her.

"Ouch" Kati said "...I bring you wonderful news and all you do is hit me...I'd save your energy sister dear...I think the princess might be quite, uh...demanding... of your services in the future?"

Her amused giggle followed a furiously blushing Emilia out of the orchard as she hurried back to the royal chambers.

Neither twin saw a pair of rheumy and baleful eyes watching them from a nearby tower.

XXX

"But mother...she's a girl...and my servant too...and...and..."

Naomi was running out of excuses, now she was just repeating herself. Gia waited silently for her daughter to splutter to a halt before saying anything more.

"...and unless I'm very much mistaken, Emilia is head over heels in love with you daughter...haven't I told you before that in this unstable and dangerous world, you have to seize love with both hands when it comes into your life? I've heard all these reasons from you about why this is such a bad idea...but not yet what you think about her? Forget the fact that she's a girl...a very beautiful girl I might say...and the servant issue? If the empire crashed down into a pile of rubble tomorrow, would any of that really matter? Everything around you is fragile and temporary Naomi...we humans like to think we are masters of the world, but the older you get, the more you realise that it will go on long after we are dust. What really matters is what we do while we're here. Love is eternal daughter...who we love matters little. Now...I want honesty...do you think you could love our pretty little Emilia?"

Naomi gaped again at her mothers ability to astound her. Unshockable she might be, but brutally honest too on occasion. The Princess knew that lying to Gia was pointless anyway. Her mother had always been able to see through her untruths, even the little childish ones when she'd spilled a flower vase or broken a china drinking cup. She sighed, much as Emilia had sighed when her sister cut through her own manufactured anger earlier.

"But...but you said I am to be betrothed to the Vizier in six moons...he would never allow me to keep Emilia as a personal servant if we were to marry...he has his own household?"

Gia smiled serenely as Naomi wasted her remaining ammunition. She had absolutely no intention of allowing the Grand Vizier to possess her only daughter. The plans she was implementing were only half realised, but the crowd shouting from the lower compound earlier had confirmed that the first part had succeeded well enough. The assassin Cuk was no longer a threat to anyone.

"Still waiting for you to answer me, child" she smiled patiently.

Naomi shrugged, blushed then glared pointlessly at her mother.

"Alright...I give in...I think...I think actually she's perfect in every way...but why she would even want me now, after I've made her life a misery for weeks, I don't know. I love her shy little smiles...the way her nose wrinkles when she concentrates on something and her laughter...I love...Oh stop it mama…!"

The last, because now Gia was laughing at her. Not cruel laughter, just satisfaction at how easily her daughter revealed her true feelings.

Gia impulsively hugged her daughter to her as Naomi huffed her exaggerated annoyance. The girl was never one for too much intimate contact, but her mother thought even that might be about to end too. The way her child's intense blue eyes had lit up when she started listing Emilia's good points was unmistakeable. Aphrodite herself had pierced her proud daughters heart with the arrow of desire, that was clear. Years spent in the Sultans harem may have blunted Gia's memories of the old Greek Gods, but she knew true love when she saw it. Her daughter had been hit by a thunderbolt. The second part of the 6th wife's plan was happening.

XXX

Emilia sat nervously in the Princess's private chambers. Katerina had promised to stay away until late in the afternoon. A slave had brought some figs, dates, sliced apricots and freshly baked bread on a platter, along with a flagon of sweet lemon water. At first Emilia had paced up and down the room, but as the minutes passed, she realised it might be a while before Naomi finished her talk with her mother. Her own encounters with the Sultana had been brief up to now, but the woman had an easy smile and always seemed to have time for a kind word for everyone. Twice, in the first day or so Emi had been here, she thought she caught Naomi's mother glancing from herself to Katerina, studying them as if trying to decide on something. But now her feelings for Naomi were in the open, courtesy of her sisters big mouth, it all depended on the Sultana's blessing for her alone. So Emilia fidgeted in her chair and waited.

Just as she was starting to worry that the food would go stale and she would have to ring for the slave to take it away, the door to the private chambers opened and a familiar figure stood there, making her heart beat hard and her skin tingle.

Naomi.

Not the haughty, confident Naomi of these past days either. Her eyes skipped from side to side as if she was afraid to meet Emilia's. Her frown wasn't an angry one, more anxious and her body posture was defensive, arms crossed in front of her. Emilia rose automatically, the servants instinctive response to the arrival of a mistress. She saw Naomi's eyes widen as the princess moved closer. Naomi took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip...a gesture Emi decided on the spot was her new favourite habit. The tingle in her stomach changed into a sudden warmth. God she's beautiful, was her instant reaction. From the indifference of this morning, the princess looked almost scared to approach her now.

"Princess…?" Emi said, wishing her voice didn't go so husky at the very sight of the other girl. Naomi, too got her own sensation of weakness at the familiar tone.

"Naomi….call me Naomi when we're alone Emi...yes?"

Emilia almost swayed with surprise. She rolled the name around her head a while before speaking.

"Naomi…." she said in the same hoarse tone, not even realising she was vocalising her thoughts.

Naomi stepped closer and seemed to make a decision. That lip bite was apparent again and Emi felt herself drawn towards the princess like a moth to a candle.

"Naomi…?" she said again.

It was enough. The resistance the blonde girl had clung to like a life raft in a stormy sea was swept away.

"I...I...I can't stand it….just can't be like this any more Emi...I have to…." she choked. For a split second, Emilia thought there might be disappointment after all...the words could be taken both ways. But as Naomi's eyes pleaded with her to understand, her arms came up in mute appeal too. This gesture could not be mistaken. This was no royal mistress, this was a frightened girl who craved physical contact. Naomi might have been reluctant in the past to allow such intimacies, but Emilia was well accustomed to shows of affection like this back home. She needed no further prompting. She surged forward and enveloped the taller girl in a hug so tight, Naomi squeaked in surprise at first. But the shock quickly turned to trembling delight as Emi ran her hands gently over the smooth skin of her back.

Both girls were wearing similar clothing. The loose cotton pantaloons favoured by women when in their own quarters, a bare midriff and a band of plain silk covering their breasts. The heat of the Turkish day made it necessary to wear clothing loose and non restrictive. But it also left an awful lot lot of flesh bare. Flesh that was now being pressed very closely together.

Emi shivered as the thing she had been dreaming of finally came true. Naomi wasn't behaving like a princess, but a lover. The smaller girls heart pounded as their bodies moulded around each other...as if designed to complement one another.

Naomi's ragged breathing was harsh in her ear. Emi shivered again as the heat in her belly grew. But she knew this 'new' Naomi was still scared, skittish. Like a new born foal, unused to this frightening new world. Her body urged her to take things further straight away...to lie with the taller girl on the day bed...take her in the way that Yasmina had taken Emi on those long and glorious nights in her own bed. She sensed that Naomi was vulnerable to that sort of loving if she pressed. But she wasn't ready yet...and lust was only one of the emotions surging through the dark eyed girls body. Love was there too...and she wasn't about to compromise one with the other. So instead she relaxed the hug and pulled back, looking straight into those amazing azure eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment before Emi impulsively leaned forward and pressed her lips onto Naomi's. Soft kisses...lots of small, soft kisses. She felt Naomi relax slightly as they just enjoyed each others open mouths. Obviously, her initial instinct to make love with the princess was on Naomi's mind too...so this gentle and sensitive introduction was strangely comforting. Eventually, oxygen deficit meant that they had to separate, but as her lips left the blonde's, Emi heard a small sound of pure disappointment which thrilled her.

"We have our whole lives, my love" she breathed, stroking the soft cheek she had dreamed about touching so often before. "...so much time for us to do everything…."

She left the 'everything' hanging in the air so that Naomi could absorb it. Everything was about the most tempting prospect on earth at the moment, but she knew that small steps would be required. This was no Yasmina, older, wiser and schooled thoroughly in the arts of Sappho. There was time and opportunity for all that she had learned to be used to delight the princess over and over again, but for now there were kisses and caresses that did not lead to other, earthier things. Patience, Emi knew instinctively, would be rewarded richly soon enough.

After another few minutes of breathless kissing, they ended up side by side, holding hands on the day bed by the open window. The same scented air wafted in as had earlier, but it seemed to Naomi and Emi that the world was smiling on them in a special way now. The air seemed to sparkle, the flowers and trees more vivid and intense. For a brief moment, the princess thought of her mothers words about seizing love wherever it came from and decided then and there that in future she would heed that advice to the letter. The beautiful girl holding her hand and stroking her skin with a smooth finger was a gift from the almighty. One she would not spurn any longer.

"Emi.,..my love…?" she said softly and watched with delight a blush spread over the girls cheeks at the unexpected endearment "...I have been foolish and unkind to you..."

Emilia went to interrupt, but Naomi shook her head. "...no, let me say this...because I need to be honest with you. I have been unfair...treating you so coldly...just because I was scared of feeling this way about you. I'm not used to love...at least not this kind of love. Mama loves me of course, Tomas too...and my father in his own way. But theirs is a different kind of love. I came from mama's body, so she has to love me. My father rarely sees me, but I know he is very fond of me. But I am just a pawn in their game in some ways...I know that. Royal daughters are not as free as you think. Politics is always in the background. Tomas loves me because he has protected me from the day I was born and because he worships mama, the Sultana more than life itself. But you...you have chosen to love me. And that scared me to death...because...because I have the same feelings for you too...from the moment we first met...it was like I had no control around you. If I had let myself do what I wanted to do, I might have spoiled everything. I wasn't ready then...but Emi…?"

She gripped Emilia's hands in her own and leaned closer.

"...Emi my love...I am ready now. Ready to love you and for you to love me...can you forgive a foolish girl?"

Tears formed in the smaller girls eyes as the confession tumbled out of her princess. She gulped once before blinking her eyes clear.

"Forgive? Naomi my sweet, I could forgive you anything but not loving me. If you are brave enough to want me...a poor and wretched servant girl...I will be yours for as long as the sun rises and sets. Love is in my heart for you...more love than I thought it was possible for one person to have for another. So forgive? A thousand times yes..."

Naomi's smile rivalled the sun in its intensity...she kissed the tips of Emi's fingers one by one and hugged her tight. No more doubts, no more hesitation...she was going to take her mama's advice and clutch this love to her chest and never let go.

They spent the afternoon just talking...and kissing...oh so much kissing. At times it was hard for them to even move without being in constant contact with one another. The lunch meal had to be returned to the kitchens after all, because so much kissing let it go stale. It was touch and go with the second serving too, but bruised lips and the need to stay reasonably formal in front of the slaves meant that they eventually ate and drank a small amount, before more kissing occurred. When Kati finally reappeared, winking at her sister knowingly and sharing a tiny smile with a grateful Naomi, the three sat together in the welcome breeze from the window, talking like normal young girls for the first time. Emilia glowed with happiness as she listened to her sister share a scandalous story involving a eunuch, some vegetables and two minor wives in the harem with a horrified but giggling Naomi...her love and her sister happy and relaxed together with her...and there was the night yet to come, with its exotic promise...life was now perfect.

XXX

A day later

The Vizier glowered at the cowering girl at his feet. Fatima had been abruptly summoned after he had seen her yesterday being dismissed by one of the princess's twin servants in the orchard. She was supposed to be his creature, culled from the endless obliging slave girls in the harem, but without the late unlamented Cuk as an intermediary, he was now forced to get information from her directly. Distasteful but necessary.

"Girl...what have you gleaned for me...what information?"

Fatima quaked as the corpulent Vizier stared at her. She had promised to keep Cuk informed about anything to do with the Princess months before. But at that time she had access to Naomi personally. If it hadn't been for her attraction to the beautiful blonde, maybe she would still be part of the inner circle. But soaping and washing that virginal beauty had been overwhelming. Her hands seemed to have minds of their own. At first Naomi allowed her certain... liberties. Fatima knew that even princesses had desires and needs, surely Naomi satisfied herself when alone at night? So when she met no initial resistance, Fatima pressed her luck. But one caress too many, one sly finger lingering to long on a certain spot and she found herself reduced to fetching hot water. Other, less intrusive hands were allowed to travel over that wonderful pale body. And then the twins had arrived. From the first day, Fatima knew that her chances of getting as close to Naomi again were slim. The glances Naomi and Emilia, the quieter twin exchanged were a signal no keen observer could miss. It was obvious Emilia was now the object of her mistresses attraction. For a while before that though, Fatima was surprised that the matter did not develop as she expected. Instead, Katerina, the bolder, more voluptuous twin, was allowed to carry out the more personal duties. For some reason, Emilia was frozen out. She allowed herself to hope…

But today had shown that Emilia was back in the princess's favour. And that presented a big problem. From being Naomi's body servant, she was now third in line. Such information she used to get easily was now almost impossible to obtain first hand.

Then there was Cuk himself. No longer did the palace enforcers shadow loom long over them all. His boiled and stretched body was now somewhere in the Bosphorus, feeding small fishes. Instead, Fatima now had to deal direct with the Grand Vizier himself. A terrifying prospect at any time, far worse when you only had bad news for him.

She had suffered the occasional evening bent over furniture in Cuk's quarters, allowing him his rutting pleasure. Her own preferences might be exclusively feminine, but no one denied a priapic Cuk his needs. An unpleasant interlude maybe, but necessary. In return for her trickle of information, Cuk only called on her occasionally. He even allowed her to openly pleasure the few slave girls who showed a willingness to let her. As a prelude to taking another innocents virginity, he was like any other man...happy to let Fatima loosen the unfortunates inhibitions with soft kisses and nimble fingers. Only when the girl, slave or servant, was naked, gasping and almost at her delirious peak, did Cuk forcibly take what he wanted. Fatima was left to fend for herself while he emptied himself inside the living receptacle.

But Cuk was gone. His name and presence ruthlessly erased from the palace. Now Kamal the Vizier was her master. What could she offer him? His reputation as a man who could instantly spot an untruth was legendary. She knew if she tried a falsehood, he would unhesitatingly order her immediate destruction. But she had nothing to offer? Frantically, she searched her mind for a way out.

"My Lord..." she said in a whisper "...I have to report that the princess has now grown close to one of the twins who were brought here to serve her personal needs by the Sultana Gia. I still have access to the private apartments, but she relies on Emilia, the younger twin, for her closest requirements. Up until yesterday it was the older girl, but the slave who prepares their meals and makes up the princess's bed tells me that Naomi spent last night...all night...with this Emilia girl. It seems she is besotted my Lord?"

None of that was untrue, that much she had gleaned from her own spy. But it was hardly the sort of information likely to impress the huge man now fixing her with his black and beady eyes. Eyes like the black mamba's imported from Africa to terrify and poison the palace prisoners. She trembled in fear as she waited for his anger to erupt. Cuk could occasionally be distracted by the swell of a breast, a slyly revealed nipple, or a careless parting of her smooth thighs...but the Vizier was unlikely to be so easily side tracked.

So it was with shock that she heard a deep rumble of amusement come from above her. She opened her eyes and looked up at him in wonder.

"Hmmm" he pondered "...this might be just what I have waited for...a chink in the little ice queens armour. Tell me girl...has the princess ever...succumbed to another's womanly attention before? Cuk told me, before his...uh.. untimely demise...that you have some considerable experience in pleasing girls?"

Fatima weighed her answer carefully.

"I have some experience of pleasing a woman Lord...and a man of course. But I know of no occasion when the princess has enjoyed such favours before?"

He looked away from her for a long moment and the urge to flee while he was distracted was almost impossible to suppress. But Fatima forced herself to sit at his feet quietly as he considered. Finally he grunted and seemed to notice her again.

"Well...we'll let this little one act comedy play out I think. Stay close to both the princess and those servants. I want to know anything you hear...understand girl...anything?"

She nodded eagerly...maybe with luck she would hear something juicy soon...something the Vizier might reward her for. She stood slowly, hoping for his permission to leave.

"You may go now girl...Fatima, isn't it? Oh...and I have a guest tonight...someone important. Be here after supper...and bring that tall Nubian girl from the kitchens with you...the new one who arrived last week? My guest has asked for a little... entertainment... from two pretty girls before he decides which one of you to bed. Make sure the girl is eager and receptive to you Fatima...no clumsy faking it. I will know if you or she does?"

Fatima kept the smile fixed to her face as she bowed and left, but it did not survive the door closing. Damn the fat oaf...now she had to persuade a no doubt horrified slave girl to pleasure her in front of an audience of two before being bedded by the Vizier or his unknown guest. Her own disgust at being party to this was tempered by the knowledge that it would at least be brief if she drew the Vizier in the twisted lottery. The gossip in the harem was that his performances, especially after being stimulated by a long sapphic show, were short and explosive. She shuddered as she walked quickly down to the Viziers personal kitchens...this was the part of her employment she hated. Much better an eager bed partner. Anger at Katerina for depriving her of a pleasant hour with the willing and nubile Emilia was still sharp inside her and this chore did not help. She knew the kitchen maid was pretty and shapely, but the chances were she wasn't going to be happy about what she was going to be instructed to do tonight...

XXX

Fatima was still arguing with the tall Nubian girl in the kitchens when Naomi awoke. She stretched out her arms above her and yawned luxuriously. Strong sunlight and a gentle sea breeze from the open window told her that it was much later than the hour she normally rose. Then she heard a quiet, contented snuffle from beside her and the pleasant ache below made sense.

Emi...of course.

A wide smile was followed by a silent, delighted giggle. No wonder she was late waking...they hadn't even gone to sleep until the cock crowed this morning a few minutes before dawn. Smooth warm skin met her searching hand and memories of last night flooded into her mind.

She had no idea, when they finally went to bed last night...literally no idea...how much pleasure her petite lover could provide. But she did now…

The faint ache between her legs reminded her of every touch, every stroke she'd enjoyed. She felt herself flushing at how wantonly she'd cried out again and again as Emi used all her skills to inflame her. From soft kisses, they had progressed quickly to getting each other naked. Naomi had been naked with and in front of a dozen or more slave girls and servants before. Her morning and evening attended baths soon disposed of any modesty about her own or other girls bodies. But then, apart from Fatima's occasionally sly caresses, she had never actually slept with any of them. Not that sleep was on either her or Emi's mind when they stood before each other.

In her inexperienced and infrequent explorations of her own body, Naomi had usually relied on one of the illustrated books secreted under her shawl when she raided her fathers private library for stimulation. Books from India and Persia...lush bodies entwined artistically on page after page, some in highly improbable positions. But in those times, she had felt a little ashamed at giving in to the desires her mind made on her body then. Release was quick and perfunctory...an act designed to relieve tension and allow her to sleep soundly more than anything.

But Emi had showed her that pleasure could be prolonged, intensified and oh so deliciously delayed. Part of Naomi was concerned that Emilia might be almost too experienced. She hadn't known at first how much her new lover had learned from that obliging cousin...or if that was Emi's only experience with other girls.

Emi had reassured her that the relationship with Yasmina had been brief and based on physical need not love. Mollified, Naomi had allowed Emi to begin her lessons again. And what lessons they were.

She'd had no idea that merely allowing your breasts to brush gently against another's would be so...so overwhelming. Add increasingly eager kisses to that contact and she was almost embarrassed at how quickly aroused she became, the considerable wetness between her legs was new...and when Emi's fingers explored her there for the first time, she had to hold onto the girl kneeling opposite her on the bed before she collapsed. Then there were the sounds...the sounds of Emi breathing hard as she took her time stroking and probing Naomi. The liquid sounds of that slick exploration too. Her own hands seemed only to be able to clutch and spasm as Emi's kisses travelled lower. When her nipples were lapped and sucked, Naomi had to stop the other girl for a moment...she was embarassed she would climax without even a hand down there to stimulate her. Pushed onto her back, she looked down with unbelieving eyes as Emilia slid between her open thighs and kissed and nipped with small teeth up one leg, then down the other...tormentingly slowly. All the time those dark eyes held hers. Naomi expected fingers...yes...but when Emi smiled up at her and lowered her mouth...there...she grabbed at the flowing hair spilling over her body and gasped aloud...she surely couldn't mean to...with her mouth...her tongue...there?

Emilia could...and did, with softly murmured sounds of sheer contentment as she feasted. Slowly, gently but with increasing passion, that agile tongue worshipped her princess. Tracing patterns around her open sex...inside her sex, before when Naomi begged...yes begged her not to stop...used fingers and tongue in a stunning pas de deux...thrusting inside (not too deeply, for obvious reasons) and lapping at her little pearl faster and faster until Naomi thought she might explode with delight.

Nothing in Naomi's adolescence had given her a single clue about how powerful a climax could be when your lover was determined to make it so. She spasmed over and over again, twisting her torso and bucking her hips uncontrollably. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, unable even to breathe while the intense pleasure drove her higher and higher.

When finally she could take no more, she reluctantly pushed Emi away, looking down with stunned eyes at the small girl who had surely taken her straight to heaven? The gods themselves surely cannot have experienced anything more divine. The slickness on Emi's lips would once have disgusted her, but she found herself eagerly accepting the long kiss Emi gave her in thanks. The taste of her own excitement only added to the thrill of what her new lover had done for her.

Afterwards of course, she was eager to see if she could have the same effect on Emilia. She wasn't brave enough...for that first hour anyway...to fully reciprocate. But her own fingers found Emi wet and eager for her to explore. Just a little guidance was needed to send her lover into blissful joy. Naomi watched with hooded eyes, aroused to distraction already despite her recent climax as Emi thrashed and moaned while she stroked her relentlessly. Her lover was more vocal in her appreciation of Naomi's efforts than she had been, but it only added to her triumphant delight when she felt the small brunette's body arch and her sex clutch around her fingers as she moaned helplessly into Naomi's mouth.

They explored everything Emi had learned that week with her cousin, and some others beside.

"What kind of monster have I awoken?" Emi giggled wearily as Naomi begged her an hour later, for the opportunity to taste her all over again. As addicted as the opium beggars in the market...that's what she was. Totally addicted to the sight, sound and taste of her sweet Emilia.

So this morning, as the breeze wafted over their naked bodies, the door secured against servants and visitors alike, Naomi locked fingers with a stirring Emi and stared up at the ornate ceiling. Surely bliss such as this was more than any human had a right to expect?

That night, as Naomi and Emi prepared for another night of mutual exploration, Kati silently folded clothes for the next day and tried hard to be happy for her sister. She hadn't expected to see much of her mistress or twin yesterday, but it seemed the passion had not yet been exhausted. Meals went uneaten and servants, even her, sent away. She wondered sadly if this sort of all consuming love was possible for her too one day. With a small sigh, she prepared for her own lonely bed.

XXX

In the Viziers quarters, Fatima would have happily swapped with Kati. Exhausted from her exertions, she scrabbled on the floor for the few items of clothing she could find in the darkness. The Nubian girl had already left the room, suppressing her pain with difficulty. The Viziers visitor had been a rich Arab merchant, supplying her master with exotic spices and silks from distant China. He was as ruthless and indifferent to suffering as her own ruler. After watching Fatima and the Nubian give an extended performance of sapphic love on the piled up rugs before the bed, both men had taken their pleasure in any way they wished. At least Fatima had only to endure a few minutes astride the sweating Vizier...the rumours about his short fuse when aroused had been accurate. Luckily, even though the dark girl had been reluctant at first, Fatima's skills had relaxed her enough to make a passable show of enjoying the sex. Not enough to satisfy the Egyptian girl, but enough to lubricate her sufficiently to endure the subsequent penetration. Once the Vizier had grunted his release into her, she was allowed to detach herself from him and throw a silk coverlet over his swelling belly and deflating organ. The other girl had been less fortunate. Excited by the sapphic show, the Arab had insisted on taking the dark girl in the popo… Unused to this, the girl had barely avoided screaming in pain at this unwelcome intrusion.

But he, like the Vizier, had been stimulated enough to be brief. Once, then twice he jerked hard into the unwilling girl, then slapped her away and rolled onto his side, sated.

Once the Nubian had departed, it was time for Fatima to leave too. She silently collected her things and slipped away. Tomorrow was another day and perhaps she could overhear something to her advantage. Surely the princess and her new toy would tire of the novelty soon?

XXX

But unknown to any of the occupants of the Topkapi Palace, events outside the control of even the Sultan himself were about to take centre stage. The best laid plans of many were about to be dramatically altered…

In the kitchens below the servants quarters...something was glowing faintly…