Hi again. Just some historical notes for anyone who is vaguely interested. Selim II was indeed an Ottoman Sultan, son of Suleiman the Magnificent. He was known as Selim the Fair because unusually for the time, he was blonde. As is Gia, my fictitious Sultana. Hence the blue eyed, beautiful and fair Naomi, product of their enforced union. Selim did have a Grand Vizier, who was as powerful and manipulative as I have described him. No sign of an actual Cuk (Cook) in the Topkapi Palace, although ruthless royal enforcers were common currency for top officials. There was a fire in 1574 which destroyed a good portion of the palace, so again...historically accurate(ish). The Skins characters as they appear are obviously my/our own little darlings.

Another major event took place in Constantinople that year...but now I'm getting ahead of myself. My little flight of fancy gets even more AU after that incident. But then you probably guessed that would happen if you've followed me so far! So...stormy waters ahead...so far, so predictable for the world of Naomily.

My heartfelt thanks to the people who read, and even more appreciative thanks to those who kindly review. It means a lot.

XXX

Kamal could not suppress a triumphant grin as he waddled back to his temporary apartments in the third compound, courtiers scampering behind. He had arranged for this whole building to be requisitioned and cleared, then made ready to receive the immediate Royal family and his own, smaller entourage. That meant he would be in even closer day to day contact with Selim and just as importantly, the Viziers new bride to be. Earlier, both he and the Sultan had studiously ignored the tears of the girl and her desolate pleas for Selim to reconsider his decision. It was of no consequence anyway. Many a bride went reluctantly to the grooms bedchamber on the first night. They always left as the confirmed property of their husband, the bloodied sheets displayed from the windows as evidence of his possession of the one thing a woman could never give twice...her virginity.

His heart was coldly hard to her suffering and now, given her pitiful display of dismay at her fathers announcement, more determined than ever to have her. A week of being forcibly mounted every night and she would learn how to submit to him meekly in future. That proud face and haughty bearing would crumble easily enough. He decided there and then to seek the help of the palace physician in this matter, probably on the day of the nuptials. There was reputedly a potion available, said to increase a mans ardour ten fold and ensure a prodigious erection which would last for several hours at a time. He grinned again at the thought of the pale limbed Naomi enduring those long hours naked and gasping underneath him. In the past, when he'd been younger and more vigorous, he was called 'The Goat' by some of the braver members of his harem... behind their hands, of course. Testament to his tendency to mount a favoured concubine perhaps half a dozen times in a single night. Many a girl had left his chambers staggering with exhaustion and aching so much she sobbed in pain. Yes...he would definitely seek the physicians assistance. The girl must pay for her public show of disapproval with total submission.

He had watched Tomas the eunuch carefully too as the Sultan made his marriage proclamation. It almost seemed at one point that the Sultana's slave was on the verge of attacking the Vizier physically. It was as well he had alerted the captain of the guard to be specially watchful for any hint of insurrection after the fire. Kamal had not been specific about any concern for his own safety, but the guards around the Royal family and himself were very alert and keen to discover the slightest hint of a plot. Best his spies keep keen eyes on the ultra loyal eunuch until the marriage was consummated. Once he had taken possession of the princess of course, things would settle down quickly. No one would try to deprive a husband of his lawful property. People would go back to whispering about him in corridors, but open defiance would be out of the question.

Cuffing a small slave boy carrying a water jug as big as him out of his way, the Vizier walked into his new chambers and called for meat and wine. Maybe a small celebration was in order?

XXX

On the other side of the building, in far less salubrious surroundings than they were used to, the Princess and her mother sat on a patched low couch together, the younger girl weeping bitterly as Gia tried unsuccessfully to comfort her.

"I...I can't mama...he's so...ugly...and coarse and fat and….oh…what about my darling Emi?"

Naomi dissolved into a fresh outburst of sobbing. Her mother held her tight and stared out of the window at the scurrying servants and builders already at work repairing and rebuilding the kitchens. Above them in the fourth compound, there was no actual fire damage, but black and toxic smoke had wreaked havoc with the walls and fine furnishings. It would be weeks, maybe months before it was habitable again. Gia felt tears come to her eyes too as she understood that Naomi might already be sacrificed to the odious Vizier by then. She'd promised her lovely daughter that the manipulative politicians hands would never touch that pale skin. But the promise and the plans that surrounded it were lying in ruins now too. She would now have only 9 more days to make another plan and to carry it out in suddenly unfamiliar surroundings. She would need Tomas even more now. Thank heavens he had exercised restraint when the Sultan gave into the sly cunning of the Vizier. Her single word and gentle hand on his arm had instantly stopped his instinctive move towards Kamal. She could ill afford to lose her best ally so soon. With Cuk out of the way, one obstacle had been decisively removed, but the Vizier was a wily operator, as he had just so ably demonstrated. She needed to think clearly...which was difficult with an inconsolable Naomi in her arms. Next door, in the room Emilia and Katerina would need to share now, she could hear more crying. Poor Emi…

XXX

"Sister...Emi my love...you'll make yourself sick crying so much. Naomi will need you more than ever when her mother leaves. Come now...try to look on the bright side…?"

Kati knew as soon as the words left her mouth that it was a thoroughly stupid thing to say. Emilia looked up in shock, eyes full of tears and stared at her reproachfully.

"Bright side...what bright side?" she choked, rubbing her already red rimmed eyes fiercely. "my beautiful love...our princess, is to be given to that old goat to use and ruin in nine more days Kati...nine days? She's the love of my life...if I lose her...I'll...I'll throw myself off the palace walls. I can't be without her...not now"

Katerina winced. She hardly knew what to say without making things worse. Her sister was beyond besotted with the Princess and it had been quite bad enough already, knowing that inside 6 moons the Vizier or someone else would claim the beautiful princess as a bride...but today the timetable had moved forward dramatically. Kati had harboured a secret hope that after a few more moons, the princess and Emi would begin to tire of each other. Naomi could then be married off without too much drama and Emi...well, she was a least as pretty as her older twin...so even if she still preferred a woman's touch...there would be opportunities after the palace to carry on a secret relationship if she was careful. It wasn't officially approved of, but mostly the authorities turned a blind eye if you were discreet. Kati had always viewed this employment as temporary after all. Six moons at most, then she could return to her home with the prestige of having worked for the Sultana herself. There were a number of employers in the city who would be happy to have someone like her on their books. Then she could take her pick of the anxious suitors who would flock to her father to beg for her hand.

But this wasn't something she had bargained for. Emi was truly heartbroken, the princess too by the sounds of it. Threatening to end her life on the cobbles below the palace wasn't something Kati could ever contemplate happening to her gentle twin. Something would have to be done...but what?

"I'm so sorry Emi...that was a stupid thing to say...but so is threatening to kill yourself? Naomi needs you more than ever right now. Go to her...show her that your love is the one thing she can rely on... for the time you have left together…?"

It was poor fare as comfort, but the best Kati could do under the circumstances. She could hardly promise to thwart the Viziers plans. The simple fact was that if the fat toad wanted Naomi this badly and the Sultan had said yes...it was done. Naomi would become his wife in nine more days and Emilia would have to bear the grief. There wasn't even the smallest morsel of comfort, even that Kamal would retain Emi as a body servant to Naomi. Katerina had seen the looks the Vizier had given her sister. He knew that the two were lovers. No husband would be willingly cuckolded by a servant under his own roof. No...sadly Emi would lose her beautiful princess forever, then the twins would both be returned to the city and their parents.

Hopefully intact.

It was harsh, but inevitable.

Just then the door opened between the two apartments. Katerina straightened as the Sultana came out and looked down at a still weeping Emi. Her blue eyes were soft and concerned.

"Emilia...my sweet. I know you're upset, but your princess needs you. Dry your tears...go and comfort her. You will be good for each other?"

Emilia swallowed the sob which threatened to emerge from her mouth and nodded numbly. She was truly devastated, but the Sultana was right...Naomi needed her and time was already ticking inexorably. She stood up, brushed her eyes with the back of both hands and attempted a weak smile. Gia exchanged a sympathetic look with Kati and swept past, her expression changing to grim determination once she was out of the room. The Vizier appeared to hold an unbeatable winning hand, but he was sadly mistaken if the ugly walrus imagined she was done with him yet. There was no need for the twins or Naomi to know just how far she might go to protect them, but she needed Tomas and his shadowy agents help more than ever now. With just nine days left, time was indeed short.

XXX

Emilia took one look at Naomi as she leaned on the arm of the long couch, staring out of the window and had to stop just inside the door. She looked stunning, even with reddened eyes and face still stained with tears. The movement caught Naomi's eye and she turned quickly to face the door.

"Oh Emi...my love...what are we going to do?...I cannot lose you now...I can't marry that man...I just can't…?"

Her face crumpled again and there was nothing for Emilia to do but go to her, wrapping her in loving arms. Naomi's tears started hers off again and it was a pale faced Kati who silently closed the door to give them some privacy. Heaven knows they had little enough time left together..she would fetch spring water and sweet fruit in case they could force something down later . Sadness seemed to hang over them like the pall of smoke over the courtyard below...the whole palace appeared to be cloaked in dull mourning dress today.

XXX

Tomas strode a corridor unused by most palace occupants to obey his mistresses command to attend her. The hand written, many times folded note was delivered by a trusted slave, well treated by Tomas over the years and loyal to the muscular Nubian and no other. The tall black mans face was set and grim. Gia did not need to tell him how perilous the situation was now. Unless drastic action was taken, the Vizier would have his way and Naomi would be ruined forever. Neither Tomas or Gia could countenance that...but how to prevent it?

XXX

"Tomas...this scheme of ours is all undone. The fire has wrecked the original plan. What is to be saved?"

Gia paced up and down the room nervously, biting her lip in a gesture Emi would have instantly recognised. Like her daughter, she unconsciously adopted this tic when when she was uneasy or over stimulated.

"I have another idea my lady?" Tomas said quietly..."...something which is not only dangerous for us...but for anyone in the vicinity...a last resort as it were...do you wish to hear it, my Queen?"

Gia stopped pacing and faced the tall man. He had been by her side from the day Cuk had released him to her as a wide eyed youth, bloodied, unmanned and she had no reason to doubt his complete sincerity. But by the look in his eyes, it was definitely something he had probably hoped not to have to suggest.

"Go on Tomas...I think we're past half measures now. If it comes to it, I will try anything. Anything... even that thing we discussed three moons ago? That is for the very last desperate hour though. Something I do not wish to contemplate at the moment?"

He nodded gravely. When Gia had told him of her crazed final plan if the Vizier broke down every barrier to the marriage, he had argued passionately against it. Not because he valued his own life ...after all, his existence relied totally on this noble woman who had been his benefactor, and protector as much as he had been hers over the years. His death was of no real consequence to him as he believed his God would await him in paradise with open arms. But her life and her lovely daughters was not to be bargained or toyed with.

"Let us not talk of that dreadful thing my lady" he said in a dark velvet voice "...there are yet nine days until all is lost. This plan of mine is very dangerous, but if it works, you and the princess will be free of Kamal the adulterer for ever?"

"Go on" she said carefully "but let us move this conversation into the library...there are several concealed aisles in there...and it is quiet...quiet enough for us to hear anyone approaching,...this building is built from curious ears?"

It was quite normal for Gia to visit the huge library with just her eunuch in attendance to carry back books. There was a large section on Greek history she liked to peruse at leisure. Illustrated texts about her own island as well as the other scattered warm and verdant places dotting the seas of her birth. At first, the sight of an artists impression of her beloved Lesbos would reduce her to self pitying tears, but over the years it became easier and she even involved Naomi as she grew older in her daily visits.

They walked there without speaking, Tomas the regulation one pace behind his mistress. Close enough to cut down any potential assassin in one slash of his cutlass if required.

When they arrived, it was obvious by the hushed silence that they were alone in the vast room, but Tomas took no chances, leaving Gia in the Greek section while he quickly but carefully scanned every other aisle and corner. Satisfied, he joined her in a narrow gap between two high sets of mahogany shelving stacked with leather bound tomes, ancient and modern. The books would muffle their conversation from any potential listener. But as an added precaution, the eunuch pushed a squeaky wooden trolley full of unsorted newly arrived books into the gap at the end. They were twenty feet further down the aisle, too far for any eavesdropper to hear them. Nevertheless, they spoke in whispers and employed several hand signals as shorthand that the Sultana had taught Tomas as a boy.

"Your plan then Tomas?" she said quietly, leaning closer so he could whisper the details in her ear. He talked for several minutes, Gia's eyes widened and her breathing increasing rapidly as the sheer recklessness of the idea was outlined. Finally he sat back and waited for her response.

"Zeus and Hera save us...Tomas...are you mad? she gasped breathlessly "This...scheme... could end the whole court...not just the Vizier...and how do we turn this horror off after we have begun it?"

He shook his head.

"My lady, I have taken advice from a very good source...someone from my own country who works on the far side of the city. He has no reason to lie, or to love the Vizier, who had his mother killed because she would not submit to his lust years ago. He was but a boy when it happened, but his hatred for the prime minister is as deep as ours. He has seen this method of destruction used in Arabia...and he says it is speedy and has the advantage of being impossible to recover from once the symptoms have begun"

"But how...the Viziers food and drink is…?" She remembered how the cautious Vizier had not one, but three tasters in attendance at his table at all times. His meals were scrupulously tested by each of them before every course,

" I know my lady...that would not be the way it would be carried out, his tasters are too effective. I have another plan to introduce the substance to him. But it is just as lethal?"

"And...stopping it, the spread... afterwards?" Gia said doubtfully. She had vaguely heard of this abomination from a visiting Bedouin's wife years before, but had never encountered anyone who had actually used it.

"More difficult it is true, my Sultana...but with care and fore warning...it gives us...and more importantly the princess and her girls the time they will need to…."

"...to carry out the second part of the plan...the part that is still intact?" she finished for him.

Tomas nodded seriously.

"My lady...the plan is desperate and full of unknown obstacles at this stage, however I believe I can make it work. But for that to happen, you and the princess must do something you will both find distasteful. You must make your peace with Kamal...it is essential in the few days we have left for him to think you have now accepted the Sultans decision with a degree of grace. He is a very cunning and devious man...it will not be easy or pleasant for you or the princess, but if the plan is to work…?"

Tomas left the sentence hanging. In truth he knew many things could yet go wrong. Not least the possibility that Naomi was a much worse actress than her mother. The Vizier had to believe he had won utterly. It would be hard enough to get past his natural distrust, but if he still thought by the day of the wedding that Naomi was still horrified at the thought of marriage to him, there was no way Tomas or his agents would get through his defences. Luck would play a huge role in this shaky scheme.

Gia nodded in the end. Apart from the apocalyptic final act she and Tomas would use if all else failed, this at least had some degree of protection for her daughter. And now Emilia and Katerina too. Even if this worked, it was fraught and uncertain. But it was the best they had.

XXX

Emi and Naomi had cried themselves out by the time Gia had dismissed Tomas and left him to work out the practicalities of his scheme. When the Sultana got back to the apartments, she peeked into her daughters bedchamber and saw them on the bed, entwined and sleeping the sleep of the emotionally exhausted. But she had other matters to deal with while she waited for her daughter to wake. Time to involve the other twin in some of her dangerous scheming. She had a request for Katerina that the girl would probably find unpalatable, but it would be necessary if the plot was to succeed.

"Kati" she said quietly, closing the inner door "...I need to talk to you...lets take a walk in the gardens where we are less likely to be overheard?"

It was the first time Gia had spoken properly to Kati since the Viziers bombshell request, so the twin jumped up quickly from where she was sitting sewing a torn hem, and followed the Sultana from the apartment. Once they were under some fruit trees and away from prying eyes, Gia stopped.

"How much do you love your sister Kati?" she asked, knowing it was a rhetorical question, but she needed to be direct and this was one way of getting the girls immediate attention.

"More than anything my lady" Kati said earnestly.

"Enough to do something for her...and for my daughter... that might not please you, could even put you in danger?"

Kati swallowed hard. She'd feared this as they walked through the freshly scythed grass. It wasn't often that a Royal wife asked a favour. It had to be a big one.

"What is it you wish me to do highness?" she said warily. In truth, she would probably do anything to save her twin, but the feeling of dread that crept over her at the request made her heart flutter.

"You know the slave girl Fatima?" Gia said calmly "...you know she prefers, uh...female company at night?"

Katerina blinked at that. What the….

"Much like my sister and the princess...I believe the slave girl is very fond of female...company...highness?" she said carefully. It wasn't clear where this was going, but she still had a growing feeling of unease.

"Good" Gia said "...the idea of such affection disgusts you Kati?"

"N..no highness, not at all...I love my sister and the princess dearly and we born are what we are. No one is changed as a person because of who they love. Some girls prefer girls, some men...it is written for us by the gods?"

Gia smiled...maybe this would not be so hard after all…

"...and you Katerina...where do your preferences lie?"

Kati opened her mouth to give the response she had always used when asked. Because Emi was known to be fond of girls and they looked almost identical... she frequently had to make the firm point that looks were one thing, sexual orientation quite another. Her own preferences were certainly towards males….even if her few fumbling encounters with boys up till now had been a little...disappointing. Her parents were not naive enough to believe that their adolescent daughters were completely unaware of their sexuality...so long as the experimentation was confined to touching and a little kissing, they were unconcerned. Emi of course was safe...no boy was likely to persuade her to give away her most valuable asset. Kati's mother had sat with the older twin though, and explained in basic terms what was permissible for a respectable daughter. So Katerina had enjoyed a few afternoons...exploring... with a couple of local youths over the past year.

But the Sultana had a mission for her, that was clear. She weighed her answer carefully before speaking.

"Highness...I believe I am attracted to men... rather than women...but why do you ask?"

Gia smiled again, trying to put Kati at her ease. There was no way of sugar coating this...too much depended on them seizing every advantage in the few days left.

"I am going to ask you a big favour Kati...I am going to ask you to make a sacrifice for your sister. Something that may not be pleasant for you?"

Kati's heart sank...surely her mistress was not asking her to sleep with some brawny guard, or even worse, the fat Vizier himself? She knew before the favour was asked that she would do it...if it meant saving Naomi or her sister from harm, but her stomach rolled at the prospect of losing her precious virginity to someone she loathed. She had always imagined a special and romantic wedding night, maybe bathing in rose water, then retiring to a comfortable and private bedroom to languorously give up her special gift to a handsome new husband…

"You know the slave girl...Fatima, isn't it?"

Kati nodded...what did that cheeky little Egyptian have to do with this?

"She has the ear of the Vizier I understand. He rewards her for information about myself and the princess. But I also hear he uses her for...other things, occasionally...things she finds very distasteful. I believe she would be ripe for turning to our side Katerina...and if she can help us...we need her. But we have to offer her a good reason to do so. Am I right in saying that she was once eager to get to know your sister...really get to know her?"

Katerina's mind spun and her heart thumped as the plot became clearer. The Sultana was not asking for Kati to lay with the Vizier or any man...but she was asking her to seduce the Egyptian girl. She remembered well enough the looks the girl had exchanged with her sister. They were unmistakeable. As was the crude aside she muttered as Kati told her sister to attend Naomi.

"B...but mistress...I am not my sister. It is true the slave was once enamoured of Emi and if the princess had not sent for her that day, may have seduced her, but...but the girl has never shown any interest in me?"

Gia put her hand on Kati's shoulder and nodded.

"That may be true Kati..but are you not an exquisitely beautiful creature yourself? I think that an impartial observer might offer the opinion that you are perhaps even more attractive than Emi….certainly your body is more voluptuous...more womanly…?"

Gia knew she was adding maybe a little too much sugar to the mix, but they had little time for subtleties. If Kati could pull this off, they would have eyes and ears inside the Viziers inner circle.

Katerina blushed as the Sultana ran curious eyes over her body. She had always lorded it over her twin because her breasts were bigger, hips a little wider. Now those physical assets were being studied by a queen no less. It was unsettling to say the least.

But she knew the answer had to be yes. Unlike Emi, she had no experience in passion with a woman, but she was a woman herself after all? Pleasuring herself at night was deliciously addictive...surely she could put aside her natural instincts for a night or two...let the Egyptian girl have her way with her?

"I...I have no skills at pleasing a woman in that way my lady...but I would of course be happy to do whatever you wish if it helps?"

Gia smiled broadly. Her own experiences with girls back on her island as an adolescent had taught her that it was all too easy to succumb to a gentler touch in fact. If she hadn't been snatched away by the slave traders, it was entirely possible she might have gone on to form a relationship with another woman, not a man. In her place of birth, it was relatively common.

She spent the next few minutes explaining to a slightly shocked Kati what two girls might get up to if sharing a bed. Katerina had spent little time contemplating the difference between a male and female partner in the act of love. Her limited experience had taught her that boys needed to be guided a lot...and that even when they learned what pleased her, it was no guarantee of satisfaction. That along with their alarming tendency to make a mess of her skirt if she was too effective at returning the favour. But a girl? She vaguely imagined it involved a lot of kissing and maybe the sort of thing she did to herself alone at night when she was frustrated….but the Sultana's long and detailed descriptions made her slightly queasy...really...with her tongue?

But Kati was always the stronger twin. As young children she was always the first up a tree, or to defend her sister against local bullies. No...if this was to be done, best she do it quickly. Fatima would almost certainly succumb if she offered herself. Without too much arrogance, she was perfectly well aware that her face and body drew admiring glances from both sexes. If she had to surrender to a night or two with Fatima, so be it.

XXX

Gia smiled to herself as Kati left the orchard. They had agreed a strategy and now the girl was committed she believed that it would work. But as time was so short, it would need to be carried out tonight. So she called her head of household and instructed her to fetch the young Egyptian to her. Being frozen out by Naomi had probably been a big disappointment to Fatima, maybe Gia could give her some good news. She made arrangements for the sleeping quarters to be changed. With Naomi now on pre wedding alert, it was normal for her mother to give up the largest room so that her daughter could be prepared. Emilia could nominally sleep on a pallet at the bottom of her mistresses bed (although Gia was under no illusions about exactly where the doe eyed girl would spend the nights) and the Sultana would take the twins current quarters. Which meant Kati would have to share with another servant. One particular servant. After that...it was up to the older twin to convince Fatima that she was less averse to female pleasure than she may have appeared up till now.

XXX

Naomi and Emilia were as happy as they could be under the circumstances at the move. Gia made them visit the grand ballroom, with its huge windows over the Bosphorus while simple alterations were made. A change of scenery was good for them both in any case. Although they looked wan and tired, she did not tell them anything about the new plans. Best they concentrate on each other for the time being. She had to have a difficult conversation with her daughter very soon about reconciling with the Vizier...so, one problem at a time?

When she called for Fatima, the slim girl was almost aglow with gratitude. Being excluded from the princesses inner circle had been hard for her. Now, even though she was aware of the love that had grown between Emi and Naomi, she was at least back in the Sultana's good graces. Sharing a bedroom...and apparently a bed with the attractive but occasionally hostile Katerina might be a little uncomfortable at first, but she was pleasantly surprised when she moved her belongings into the luxurious apartments. Kati smiled at her warmly when they met again. Maybe this could be fun after all?

XXX

Five hours later, as she dropped onto her back on the shared bed with a look of stunned satisfaction on her face, she thought maybe the word fun had been a little mild…

Kati rolled away from the gasping Fatima and looked up at the ceiling. If there had been anyone judging her performance so far, she reasoned it would be a positive review. In truth it had not been anything like as much an ordeal as she'd feared. The girl had been ridiculously easy to seduce. Some easy chatter before bed...making sure Fatima got a number of good long looks at her gradually revealed lush body as she disrobed, then a casual comment or two about how lucky Emi was to have the lovely princess in her bed. In fact there were no sounds of passion from the other room tonight, both girls seemed to be in a mutual fugue, too distraught to even take comfort from each other in the way they had for several nights before. Which left Kati free to make her mock complaints about her frustration to an attentive Fatima.

Naked apart from the thin over sheet, Kati smirked as the Egyptian girl nervously offered to alleviate her little problem. The twin pretended to be unsure, telling Fatima that she had never lain with a girl before (true) and that it was her sister who preferred women, not her (also true). All of which made the slave girl even more anxious to show off her skills. Watching the nubile Kati take her clothes off and slowly slide into the shared bed had made Fatima bite her lip and squeeze her thighs together. She may have had plans for the other twin once, but she was not one to turn down an opportunity to make love to one so beautiful, even if she was a reluctant lover. Who knew how long it would be before the corpulent Vizier called for her to again submit to his disgusting demands. She shuddered silently at the memory of bouncing on that huge belly, pretending to enjoy his monotonous penetration...no, this was an opportunity to enjoy some real pleasure. Willing or not, if Kati wanted her frustration ended, Fatima was the one to provide that service.

And so Kati had laid back on the smooth under sheet and let Fatima make love to her. At first, she just allowed the girl to explore her slowly. Her breasts were always a sensitive area...but in the past, the two village boys she had permitted to take liberties with her had been clumsy and rough in this regard. But not this night...the Egyptian girl had all the dark hours to explore and she wanted to make this experience memorable. She was all too aware that even a girl with no natural attraction to other women was susceptible to a careful and delicate touch. Fingers cupped, kneaded and stroked before her tongue lapped and circled excited nipples. Kati groaned more than once as the other girl hovered over her, using feather touches and sly pressure to make her sigh. She did not attempt to kiss Kati...not yet...again her experience had taught her that this was a taboo some girls never got past. No...for now she let Kati's growing excitement work for her. By the time the dark skinned girl shimmied down the bed, leaving small damp marks on the other girls skin as she kissed her belly, Katerina was already moaning softly. Duty this might be, but she was a healthy adolescent with no sexual outlet apart from her own fingers to relieve tension. The sinuous slave girl was using all her skills to excite her beyond endurance. At the first sly swipe of the girls tongue up and down her open petals, Kati abandoned pretence and gripped the girls thick black hair in both hands. No one of either sex had ever used their mouth on her before...so this was exquisitely pleasurable. She rolled her hips upwards, eager to feel it again. But Fatima played her like a precious instrument, softly caressing her inner thighs with gentle hands and using the lightest of feather touches with her lips to tease and arouse.

Minutes passed.

It was with a growl deep in her throat that Kati finally surrendered to her desire. She thought she might actually die of frustration if that teasing tongue did not work more aggressively on her burning centre. So, abandoning restraint she pushed the girls head towards her... hard.

"Fatima...no more teasing, I beg you...do what I need...please?"

The Egyptian girl barely had time for a self satisfied smile before her mouth was otherwise occupied for some time. Her party trick was required sooner than she expected however. With Katerina on the verge of a climax within mere seconds, she used her prehensile tongue to drive inside the other girls clinging warmth. Again and again, she used the tongue like a supple finger, lapping up and sideways against the clutching walls of Kati's blossoming flower.

Now Kati lost all control. This was no longer an academic exercise...a chore, carried out to her Sultana's instructions. The sensation of Fatima's tongue driving into her, along with those soft lips caressing the twins pulsing little bud, was too much to bear. Pulling painfully at the other girls hair, she bucked and thrashed as an orgasm so powerful she thought at one point she might expire from it, surged through her body. Again and again she arched upwards, gritting her teeth to stop ecstatic cries echoing through the walls of the room. Finally, as Fatima gradually slowed her thrusts, lapping gently instead, Kati subsided onto the sheets below her. Exhausted, she had to try very hard to keep a goofy, surprised grin from her face. If this was sex with another woman, she might have to re evaluate all her previous prejudices…

It took almost half an hour for Kati to recover fully, but once she had, it seemed churlish not to at least reward Fatima with some small pleasure in return. She was not ready, now the excitement had cooled, to reciprocate fully...using her mouth on the other girl was still a step she hesitated over. But the offer to use her fingers was accepted gratefully. Several minutes later, Kati looked down almost curiously on a gasping and delighted Fatima as the Egyptian girl climaxed wildly around Kati's deeply buried fingers. Fingers that were undoubtedly inexperienced, but her somewhat clumsy efforts still seemed to produce what was required of them.

Later, she would even permit the darker girl to kiss her softly in gratitude. Those lips were gentle and undemanding...enjoyable enough anyway for Kati to wonder if she was quite as committed to a life exclusively with a man as bed partner. No wonder Emi looked so stunned after those nights with the beautiful princess. If this was the sort of pleasure they gave each other, then...

XXX

While Kati was learning the delights of Sappho, Tomas was on a far more demanding mission. Leaving the palace by a circuitous and secret route, he crept through the city, his head and upper body cloaked in an anonymous grey kaftan robe. Plain enough not to attract undue attention, but rich enough to denote his status. In any case, his sheer physical size and the gleaming cutlass hanging from the stranded silk cord around his waist gave second thoughts to any potential cut throats. He might be anonymous to anyone seeing him tonight, but his muscular frame spoke of certain death to any attacker. He slipped silently through the deserted streets towards his destination. In his pocket, hidden in the lining of the cloak, was enough tiny gold and silver jewellery to keep a peasant family in luxury for many years. The hoard, courtesy of his generous mistress, was partly for the twins parents, partly for his physician friend, as payment for the toxic substance which would change all their lives for ever. After the...event...life in the palace would change for everyone. The princess, the twins and their family would need to be at sea and far away by the time the hue and cry began. He knew in his heart that the Sultana and himself were unlikely to be quite so lucky. Someone had to be at the palace to distract the angry regime, hungry for blood and vengeance. But that was for the future...for now, his mission was clear.

OK, thats another one done. Thanks for reading.