Beautiful Stranger
Copyright© 2003 by Ashley Young
Chapter 29
Erotica Sex Story: Chapter 29 - Book I. The High Empress came to her people from a distant planet far across the sky. This work tells of the beginning of the Slave War, and of the Empress before she rose to power.
Caution: This Erotica Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Ma/ft ft/ft Romantic Fiction Science Fiction Slow Violence
Flames rose into the sky, licking the air. The sun was low and the day was almost cold. A hint of rain was in the air, though clouds were still far off in the distance. From beyond the horizon came a low rumble of thunder.
Great multitudes were gathered around, silent, still. All were dressed in the white of mourning. Green banners flew from the palace in the background, all of them torn along the middle. Along the length of the wall which encircled the palace were sprigs of holly tied with white lace. The royal army was arrayed in full dress uniform, each of them carrying a broken spear. The former Hai Krun soldiers were there as well, though in civilian clothing, since they were no longer allowed to bear arms.
The lord Ramad Menadin had returned, dressed in white as well. His face was twisted, his eyes pale. With him were some of his own family, a pair of cousins and a nephew. Also there were a company of Hai Menadin soldiers, in blue with white sashes. Those who had marched against the Hai Krun also bore a banner of green, and they had splintered their knives.
Farther in the background were farmers and families, the citizens of the Hai Lei, the residents of Iordantan. They maintained a respectful distance; many of them cried as well, though most were simply solemn and silent as the occasion demanded.
Near to them, in a huddled mass, were all that remained of the two thousand slave girls rescued from Ninev. They clung to one another in their grief, barely able to stand. Most turned their heads away, not bearing to watch. They wore the white of mourning as well, but they also bore some new crest, a symbol in black which had not been seen before, on bands tied around their arms. In fact, a close look at the gathering would reveal that many in the crowd bore a similar device: the soldiers, the prisoners, the farmers. Not everyone, but enough that it would bear further questioning.
On a high pyre lay the bodies of Iosoan Lei and his daughter Jaide. Fire already obscured their features. Their flesh blackened and popped. The green banner laid across their bodies was already consumed, and the silver emblems on their chests were black with smoke. A thick column of black rose high into the sky before bending at last and disappearing in the wind.
Anna Petrova and the servant Sara Wesek stood hand in hand, apart from the group. Each was dressed in white. Anna wore a white sash with a black emblem; it was the same emblem worn by the slave girls. Each of them had lost a lover, whose body was being slowly burned away. Each of their faces were stoic, but the streaks of dried tears were on their cheeks.
And farther away, at the head of the pyre, stood the lord Iordan IV of the Hai Lei, the young Mia by his side. She was still a bound servant, but her presence at the ceremony indicated she would soon be more. Iordan, who had perhaps lost more than anyone: a father, a sister, a lover. He bore his new title well, and the authority that came with it shone through him even in his grief. He was a great lord! He wore two rings on his fingers; a ceremonial circle of silver crowned his head and gleamed against his silver-blonde hair. His face was unreadable, but there were new depths behind his eyes, as if the world had been split open before him, and revealed its secrets to him.
