Tales of the Thasali Harem Box Set

by Danielle Summers

  “How do you know that? Diviak was a country poet, after all.”

  “Diviak retired to the country after a long and glorious career in the palace,” Chadan reminded him. “He did not have to sneak away under an assumed name like a thief escaping justice.” That was what he was, of course—a thief who had stolen what rightfully belonged to Lord Garghas. In the country, where justice was swift and old-fashioned, he could be hanged for that offense. Two days ago, that prospect would have made him recoil in dread. Today, he worried only that his death would consign Azno back to Garghas’s clutches. Somehow, whatever it took, he would have to make sure that never happened.

  They dressed quickly, though reluctantly. As he fastened and straightened his robe, Chadan marveled that neither Eru nor Shebi had returned to check on them. Thankfully, they seemed to understand the situation well enough. He only hoped Shebi had some connections around the city—and perhaps beyond—that would assist them in departing discreetly and starting over someplace where they would not be found.

  Perhaps it would not be so difficult after all. The palace would find a new poetry master easily enough and would soon forget about him. With luck, Garghas would also choose another concubine from the harem and decide against pursuing them. If so, they might very well have a long and happy life together far from the city and the royal family. Chadan could find work as a country schoolmaster, a respectable position that would pay little but would offer status and reasonable intellectual stimulation. He imagined himself and Azno in their own cottage, tending a small garden, perhaps even raising a few burninga they could milk. In one corner they could keep a jar in which Azno could store his poetry scrolls, just as Diviak himself had once done.

  Yes. This might work out very well, after all. The more he thought about it, the better his new life seemed. He didn’t need the palace. He didn’t need luxurious bedding or fine foods. He only needed Azno’s love.

  Hand in hand, they stepped from the room together.

  “I will have a word with Shebi,” he promised. “He will know what to do to keep us safe from Lord Garghas until we can get to the country. And I think Eru could be persuaded to smuggle us some of the coins and scrolls from my rooms at the palace. That will give us something to start with, anyhow. The rest we can do ourselves.”

  “I can hardly believe this is really happening, Mas—er, Haerek. Everything I have dreamed about has come to me in a single morning.” Azno chewed his lower lip in thought. “I do need to tell you one thing, though—it’s about Lord Garghas.”

  “Let us not mention his name ever again,” Chadan said, his voice turning harsh as the familiar anger rose in his chest. “What happened last night is better forgotten. We will pretend it never occurred—and with any luck, he will see that it is best for him to do the same. Then perhaps he will let us live in peace.”

  “But I must tell you that—”

  “No. Leave it. I mean that, Azno. Today we must start our lives over again. And he can never be part of the future.”

  They had reached the curtained doorway that led back to the foyer. There, Chadan hoped, he would find Eru and Shebi, and most likely Toaz as well. Perhaps they had already been working on a plan of escape. No doubt Shebi was eager to send them on their way and prevent anyone from finding out that he had harbored a fugitive harem member—or two, counting Toaz. That might just provide him with enough leverage to ensure Shebi’s assistance in getting them out of the city.

  Eventually, Chadan found his way back to the sitting room with the erotic murals and life-sized statue. He and Azno entered to see Toaz and Eru on the bench, while Shebi stood in front with his back to them. That puzzled Chadan for a moment, as did the grim expressions on all three of their faces, until he realized someone else was in the room as well. A low growl, reminding Chadan of a wild animal, reached his ears. Only it wasn’t an animal making the sound.

  “Garghas,” Chadan snarled back.

  Azno watched in horror as Garghas strode forward, his dark cloak billowing around him. At least he was not surrounded by a group of bodyguards, though Azno had no doubt they were waiting outside the room. Perhaps Garghas had not wanted them to overhear the details of his mission inside the brothel. Thankfully, this meant that he and Master Chadan at least had a chance of getting past him.

  “A most peculiar sight awaited me this morning,” Garghas said, biting off his words slowly and deliberately, as though each syllable pained him. Azno saw Toaz fighting back a smirk and suspected that Garghas’s head was indeed throbbing. “When I awoke and looked for my concubine, I found that he was not by my side, as I had every reason to expect. A bit of discreet investigation led me here. How is it that I happen to discover you here, too, Master Chadan? Surely this is no coincidence.”

  “I promise you I had nothing to do with this situation,” Shebi piped up. “All of these people came to my establishment of their own free will. I had no reason to turn any of them away.

  No one paid him any attention.

  “In a strange way, I suppose I should be grateful to Master Chadan,” Garghas continued, fixing his malevolent stare on Chadan. “Perhaps he ought to ask that Prince Baboye reassign him as a sex trainer. The things this young man showed me last night could not have come from any classroom. He has been prepared in a way only an attentive lover could. That could only have been you, Chadan.”

  “I have no intention of listening to your obscene prattle, Garghas. You would do well to leave here and forget that you ever came to this place.”

  “An excellent idea. As it happens, I have my servants preparing for the journey back to my country estate as we speak. And you, Azno, will accompany me.”

  He thrust out his hand, and Azno instinctively stepped closer to Chadan. He cleared his throat and forced himself to speak with as much forcefulness as he could muster, given that every pair of eyes in the room was riveted on him now.

  “My lord, there is something you need to know. Last night, when I came to you in the banquet room…”

  Garghas waved impatiently. “You were thinking of him. Yes, I know. You need never speak of that again. It is of no consequence. I will see to it that from now on, I am the only man on your mind when you come to my bed.”

  “No, my lord, that isn’t what I meant. It’s just that I…you see…”

  Azno was still in mid-stammer when he felt Chadan’s palm against his chest. Somewhat forcefully, Chadan pressed Azno back and stepped in front of him to force him out of Garghas’s sight.

  “Leave him be,” Chadan said. “He has left the palace, and therefore you have no further claim on him. This is between us.”

  “Now see here,” Shebi began, his voice high with fear. “I have no intention of—”

  “Us?” Garghas spat back, clenching his fists at his sides. “There can be no ‘us,’ schoolmaster. You are I are not equals and never shall be. Continue this mockery of your betters, and I will see you hang in the courtyard of the palace! That will be a fine afternoon’s entertainment for their royal highnesses. I suspect they would enjoy seeing your insolent neck broken every bit as much as I would.”

  “Well, then—if I am doomed anyway, I might as well make my last act a memorable one. It has always been my goal to leave this world a better place than the one I was born into. I can accomplish that quite easily, it seems, by permanently removing the foul stain that is your miserable life.”

  The next few moments dissolved into a blur of motion and a cacophony of sounds as Chadan and Garghas both lunged forward, crashed headlong into one another, and began to do battle. At first, Azno stood frozen in place, shocked and a little awe-struck at the competent way his soft-spoken poetry tutor swung his fists and used his forearms to block Garghas’s blows. Gradually, it dawned on him that he ought to do something to help Chadan. When he started forward, though, he felt firm hands on his shoulders, pulling him back.

  “Leave them be,” Eru demanded, leaning down to speak directly into his ear. “You need not create any more
trouble than you already have.”

  “Master Chadan will win,” Toaz put in hopefully.

  “This is a disaster,” Shebi wailed as the combatants, locked together, bounced off the statue and sprawled on the polished floor with arms and legs flailing. Garghas was on his feet first, and to Azno’s horror he suddenly had both hands fastened around Chadan’s neck. Chadan struggled to shake him off, careening around until they came to a stop in the middle of the room. Finally, Garghas’s brutal grip seemed to get the better of him. Azno strained against Eru’s firm grasp as Chadan’s feet began to slip and slide against the floor, his face darkening as Garghas began to wring the life from him.

  “Perhaps I spoke too soon, schoolmaster,” Garghas snarled, baring his teeth in pleasure as Chadan began to claw against his squeezing fingers with increasing desperation. “It seems we need not waste time with a noose after all.”

  “Haerek!” Azno wailed, finally breaking free of Eru. He flew forward, his own hands outstretched to intervene in some way he hadn’t quite figured out. He had just reached Chadan and began trying to pull him free when a curious thing happened. Lord Garghas opened his eyes much wider than before, his back stiffened, and he jerked backward as though pulled by some invisible string. His hands slid from Chadan’s neck as he collapsed to the floor in a heap.

  Chadan fell back, too, gasping for air and rubbing his throat. Azno dropped to his knees and cradled him as his glassy eyes slowly cleared and he began to breathe normally again. He still had no idea what had happened until he looked up to see Prince Baboye himself standing above the motionless Garghas. A line of bodyguards stood alongside His Highness, blinking at the shards of pottery scattered around their feet. The jagged remains of a decorative jar remained in Prince Baboye’s hands. The rest of the pieces lay in a semicircle around Garghas’s head.

  Nearby, Shebi stood in the open doorway carrying on about his reputation and ruined business. In the hall outside, a crowd of young men gathered to gawk. One or two flustered-looking older men stood among them. Customers who had stayed the night, Azno surmised. Now that Chadan was recovering, he was tempted to laugh at their bewildered expressions.

  Eru and Toaz hurried forward to kneel beside Garghas.

  “Is he dead?” Azno asked.

  Eru bent and touched Garghas’s face, using his thumb to raise one thick eyelid. “No.”

  “It would take more than a bit of pottery to kill a man whose skull is made of solid rock,” Baboye scoffed. He handed off the broken jar to one of his guards as Garghas shook himself free of Eru and slowly dragged himself into a sitting position.

  After wiping a trickle of blood from his forehead and examining it, he launched into a fresh tirade “Schoolmaster, you have assaulted your betters for the last time. This is an outrage! I will see to it once and for all that you—”

  The threat faded from his lips when he saw the prince towering over him.

  “My prince!” he hastily amended. “I am relieved to see that you have come! Now you may see with your own eyes how this upstart tutor has stolen my concubine and then dared to attack me. He must be arrested and put to death! Have your guards apprehend him at once!”

  Garghas had already lifted one arm to signal to the prince’s soldiers, but stopped in mid-motion when Baboye’s face remained utterly unsympathetic.

  “Is this how you comport yourself as a guest in my capital city? I must confess that I am shocked, Garghas. I know you are a man of battle, but I thought you were more civilized than that.”

  Shebi found an opening and commenced a new round of chatter. “Great prince! To what do I owe such an honor?” He dropped an obsequious bow and hurried on without waiting for an answer. “Your Highness, I am blameless in this catastrophe. These men forced their way into my establishment early this morning and have been carrying on a personal feud to the detriment of my business. I have asked all of them to leave repeatedly, but to no avail.”

  “Your Highness, do not listen to this treasonous creature’s whining. He has been complicit in every sense to the theft of my concubine.” Garghas was on his feet now. He pointed at Shebi, who paled.

  “Certainly not, your Highness. The boy claimed to be lost. I gave him a bed for the remainder of the night but was about to send him on his way.”

  “Liar! I demand that all of them be arrested! Azno was given to me, came to me willingly, and I have claimed him. I demand that he be turned over to me at once so that I may conduct him to my country estate. We agreed on this! It is my right!”

  Baboye opened his mouth to respond, then seemed to think better of it and instead directed his attention toward Chadan, who was still rubbing his throat.

  “Is this true, Chadan? Did you interfere with the transfer of this young man from the harem to private service? I am sure I do not need to tell you that doing so would constitute an extremely serious offense.”

  Everyone turned to Chadan, whose eyes flashed fury but whose lips did not move. Garghas wore a smug look as he lifted his shoulders in mock innocence. From the back of the room, Azno heard Toaz start to speak and Eru shushing him.

  “It would appear he has nothing to say for himself,” Baboye admitted reluctantly. “Chadan? Will you speak?”

  At last, Chadan managed to form words. They tumbled roughly from his injured throat, as though he had swallowed a fistful of sand. “I am not sure what I can say for myself, your Highness. I know that I have not acted wisely. Yet I cannot say that I regret anything I have done. I would do it all again if given the same opportunity. I understand that I have earned exile at a minimum. I am willing to accept that punishment without complaint. I only ask, based on my years of loyal service to the palace, that Azno be set free so that he can accompany me.”

  “There, you see? The man is guilty as charged. Again, I ask that he be arrested for theft, if nothing else. You can decide his punishment later…after you have returned Azno to me.”

  Reluctantly, Baboye nodded. His hand stirred as though he were about to confirm the order to his bodyguards. Azno knew then that whatever punishment he incurred for interrupting the prince would be one he would gladly suffer. He took a deep breath and spoke up in the voice he usually reserved for poetic recitals back at the palace.

  “Your Highness, I must disagree with Lord Garghas’s account in one particular respect. He has not claimed me,” Azno said. “I should therefore be free to leave the harem, and his service, as I wish. And my wish is to go into exile with Master Chadan.”

  “You lying little sneak!” Garghas exploded. “Tell him, trainer! Tell him what you did last night—at the prince’s request, I might add!”

  Eru lowered his head. “What Lord Garghas said is true, your Highness. We sent him to Lord Garghas’s room last night, as we were told to do. There can be no question of what happened afterward.”

  “There, you see?” Garghas prompted.

  “Your Highness, I did go to the room. I poured Lord Garghas wine and recited some poetry for him. But after that, things did not happen the way they were originally planned.” Azno motioned for Toaz to approach.

  “Azno is correct, your Highness,” Toaz said without a touch of hesitation or nervousness. “He was not the one Lord Garghas claimed last night. I was.”

  “Another lie!” Garghas shouted. “I was not so addled by drink that I could not tell who was in my bed!”

  “Are you certain, my lord?” Toaz smiled, and Garghas’s faltering expression suggested that he was not, after all, as confident as he pretended. “Azno did go to you—but not for long. I took over for him…quite willingly, I admit. Perhaps you remember a game the two of us played? A game that ended in you marking me to commemorate our first night together?”

  “I do recall that. But I marked Azno, not you. He requested it!”

  “I’m sorry, my lord, but he did not. I did.” Proudly, Toaz tilted his head and pulled back his robe. A purplish bite mark glistened on one side of his neck, near the place where his shoulder joined. “I did not mi
nd, my lord. In fact, I would like you to do it again, if you will have me.”

  “This is madness,” Chadan commented under his breath. Eru, standing beside him, murmured his agreement. But Azno saw that they, along with Shebi and even the prince himself, were beginning to smile.

  Epilogue

  “Children! Don’t forget to do your work this evening!” Chadan called as his pupils, both boys and girls, shuffled out of the simple one-room schoolhouse and headed back to their cottages. There, they would begin their afternoon chores. More intellectual pursuits would come later, after dusk and the simple meals enjoyed by the people of the plains.

  “Yes, Master Chadan,” a tall girl called out over her shoulder.

  Some of the farmers and artisans still refused to send their offspring to Chadan’s school, feeling it was a waste to spend time mastering poetry and writing. However, Chadan still believed that learning made life better whatever one’s station, and he was willing to insist that without it, there was no hope of improvement. Increasingly, the people in his adopted community were beginning to agree with him.

  Now and then, when he sat alone and looked out over the haphazard arrangement of handbuilt desks and well-worn quills that constituted his classroom, he felt a twinge of nostalgia for the palace and the bright, handsome young men of the harem. At least Baboye had allowed him to go back, gather his things, and ask for a formal and honorable release from the palace. Against all odds, and to Lord Garghas’s eternal but ultimately impotent outrage, he had managed to break free and live like Diviak.

  Unlike Diviak, he had not been forced to head for the countryside alone.

  Back at their own cottage, Azno was mashing some gilla grain in preparation for the afternoon meal. When he saw Chadan coming up the path, he tossed down his utensils and ran out to greet him. Even after more than a year of living in a simple cottage with a lumpy bed and a single well that occasionally ran dry during the hot season, Chadan had not tired of the press of Azno’s hands on his or the sweetness of his lips when they kissed him hello.