Chapter 29: The Emir's Pleasures

There was lots of gossip in the harem when Maryam was selected again to share the Emir's bed for the night. Fatima remarked on the way she seemed to be spending more and more time in his bedroom, and even suggested that she might soon move in there permanently. This seemed a shocking suggestion to the Kobekistani women, who all lived for the chance to show the Emir how accomplished they were in the bedroom arts, and thus gain advancement in the complex social hierarchy of the harem. All of them secretly hoped that he was only using her arse and mouth, for the arrival of the Emir's first child would be a major milestone, and if Maryam were to bear a son who lived, then all hope of becoming Head Wife to the new Emir would be lost.

Maryam's good fortune made some of them testy and the occasional row erupted. It was only when two of the older hostesses actually started pulling each other's hair that the eunuchs intervened to separate them and shackle each one to a separate whipping bench by one ankle. The Chief Eunuch was sent for, and it was unfortunate for the two women that he was at that moment in conference with the Emir. Both of them came into the harem and all present made the deepest obeisance imaginable. The Emir surveyed the scene and then sat down on the nearest divan.

"Proceed," he said to the Chief Eunuch, "I will watch how you deal with this matter. I am sure I have much to learn about the control of the finest collection of females in the country."

~As the Master, may he live for ever, pleases, squeaked the obese black Chief Eunuch.

Turning to the two women who were shackled to the benches, he quickly released them and motioned for them to lie on the benches which they moved very quickly to do. Then he ordered the other women to rise and to ensure that they could see the whole of the proceedings. Eunuchs were despatched to fetch any other women to be witnesses also. Maryam came last of all wrapped in a bath towel and grumbling at the Chief Eunuch about her bath being interrupted for nothing. When she finally noticed the Emir sitting unobtrusively to one side she subsided into silence, but continued to look annoyed, oblivious to the fact that she had seemed so attractive only because she had a very lovely smile.

The Chief Eunuch had just selected the paddle from his small collection of instruments of punishment when the Emir interrupted him, "Why did you select that one?"

"Master, for no particular reason other than that it seemed appropriate for this offence, which was after all minor," he replied.

"Then explain to me the differences between the various instruments," the Emir persisted.

"Well, Master, the paddle applies a great deal of surface to the victim. If one strikes a large soft area, such as the buttock, a wide-spread pain is imparted, though the pain is correspondingly less intense. It is used for minor infringements such as this and serves largely to remind the recipient of the possibilities of greater punishment."

"I see. Now show me with one stroke what you mean."

Wheee ... SPLAT!

One of the women flinched as the blow fell on one of her arse cheeks which quickly suffused with blood to a much darker shade of brown that before.

"Oh, yes," said the Emir, "I see now. The area must be at least eight inches across. You say that is only a minor pain?"

"Yes, Master," said the Chief Eunuch, though the unfortunate who had just been paddled might have disagreed.

"What is the next in intensity?"

"The riding crop, Master," replied the Chief Eunuch, passing one to the Emir for inspection.

"Of course I have used these, but only when riding. Show me how this works, perhaps on the other woman."

Hiss ... CRACK!

The riding crop fell and a dark line appeared across one cheek of the other arse. Both of the women displayed on the benches realised virtually simultaneously that their punishment would now go on until the Chief Eunuch ran out of different instruments to thrash them, or the Emir lost interest. Even worse, they were not shackled,, which meant that if they moved then the whole thing could start again. The original reason for the punishment was all but forgotten by the two torturers. The Emir inspected the line of bruise, and ran his fingers over the area to check the size of the welt the crop had left.

"That will not last, I suppose?"

"No, Master. It will be gone in a few hours, two days at the most. The next most severe tool we use is the strap."

Whish ... SPLAT!

The second successive blow to the same woman caused both of them to jump. I landed on the as yet unmarked cheek and raised a wide band of darkening flesh which seemed to the Emir to be much the same as the riding crop in its intensity of effect, though covering a wider area.

"The most severe tool allowed to be imposed by eunuchs without reference to the Master under the regime of the Emir, your grandfather, is our traditional eunuch's whip, sometimes called a dog whip. It is carried at all times and has the advantage that it can be used at any intensity, ranging from the lightest tap to a severe blow, such as this," the Chief Eunuch said, suiting his action to the words.

Whish ... THWACK!!

The line of almost black flesh appeared instantaneously across the only available unmarked buttock. This caused the woman concerned to whimper a little.

"What other implements are in regular use?" asked the Emir.

At the Chief Eunuch's signal one of the juniors scampered away, returning a few seconds later with three more instruments of punishment.

"First we have the larger whip, Master. This is used for serious flogging and is normally applied to the upper body. As few as ten solid strokes of this can cause death; even one stroke above the kidneys, applied by a strong man, could kill a weak woman. On the other hand there was one man who was sentenced to one hundred strokes at twenty-five a day and survived to tell the tale," the Chief Eunuch explained.

The Emir was curious, "What had he done that merited that?"