The young prince is made up by the Empress' concubines

Flanked by the two naked concubines, Marcus was was walked down a long corridor leading away from the lavish baths. It was just as luxurious here, little alcoves along the walls displaying more lewd sculptures of naked men in passionate poses, while the walls were hung with silk tapestries with beautiful patterns. Selim and Antaeus didn't say a word as they strode at either side of the young prince, their eyes mostly fixed ahead of them, though every now and then one man or the other would turn his head and give Marcus a cool look that made him even more nervous. He was at least partly clothed in the silky outfit Kihara had given him, even if the thin bottoms left him feeling rather exposed with how small they were. The bronze-skinned men on either side of him were fully naked though, and they didn't seem to care in the slightest, striding down the corridor without seeming to care how exposed they were.

Despite his growing anxiousness, the young prince couldn't stop himself from looking at the concubines, curious what kind of men these were, who served the scary Empress in ways that made his cheeks burn hotter just to think about. Selim, the one with the shaved head and the stern look stood about a head and shoulders taller than he was, and Antaeus was only slightly shorter. They were both lean and well-muscled, with broad shoulders, rippling abs, and toned thighs. Bigger than he was in every way, and so very manly-looking. And yet...unlike the strong, brave men he knew back home like his father, they served a woman in this harem, and very willingly too from what little he'd seen.

Part of it was just how Kihara's homeland worked, as she'd started patiently teaching him over the past few days. The women here were in charge, and the role of men, it seemed, was to serve and please them. The Empress herself was certainly imposing, and the knowledge that she had all these men running to her beck and call only made her seem even more so. Marcus shivered nervously at that thought...wondering once again what exactly Kihara's aunt meant for these two to do to him.

"Um...where are you taking me?" He asked uncertainly, his eyes wide as they flickered between the two bronze-skinned men. Both of them had their ears pierced, he noticed suddenly, several times in Selim's case, who had a line of sparkling jeweled studs running up from the lobe.

"Silence." Selim snapped. Marcus felt his lips snap shut, stunned at just how stern the concubine was. Just a few minutes ago, the two men had been so meek and respectful of the Empress, it was a shock to have one of them sound so firm.

"Insolent little brat, isn't he?" Antaeus smirked, something cold and contemptuous in his voice. His dark eyes flickered over Marcus, the cold look making the young prince feel even smaller. "What else can be expected from a foreigner though?"

"Perhaps." Selim continued, sounding bored. "I'd have thought the Marzban would have taught him obedience at least. She must be a far softer woman than she appears if she allows him to speak out of turn. Or perhaps this one merely lacks the wits to take her lessons to heart."

"It has to be that. There's no way the Marzban would allow her concubine to be so impudent. Not a woman like her, so...tall and strong and focused." Antaeus continued. His voice got a little breathless as he spoke, but then the cruel glint returned to his dark eyes and they flickered back to the young prince's face. "The boy is just too stupid to understand what she's trying to teach him. Makes me wonder what she even sees in him. Oh, he's rather pretty to be sure, but so far he just seems to be another worthless foreign slut to me." He was staring at Marcus the whole time, his lips curled with contempt. Even knowing this horrible man was enjoying his distress, the young prince couldn't help but glance down miserably. Why were these two so awful to him? He hadn't done...anything wrong, he thought. Was it so bad for someone to just ask for directions here? Or...was it something to do with that admiring tone in Antaeus' voice as he spoke about Kihara. Marcus bit his lip, a prickly feeling in his chest. Stupid...he was the one who belonged to Kihara, not this awful man! She wouldn't even like someone so rude!

"Enough, we've arrived." Selim growled. He waved a hand towards a doorway, covered by a hanging silk drape, the fabric decorated with swirling colored patterns. "Let us be done with this duty, so I can forget the Mistress ever assigned me a task so beneath me. Come, boy!" He stepped for the door, moving the silk aside and ducking through. Marcus hesitated for a moment, not wanting to go any further with these two horrible men. Part of him just wanted to turn and run back down the corridor to Kihara, then jump into her arms and have her soothe all his worries. Only, she was with the Empress now, discussing some important matter they'd both decided he didn't need to hear. If he ran back now, just because of a few mean words, she'd probably be upset at him. The thought of disappointing her again made his chest hurt more than any mocking insult ever could. No, it was up to him to deal with this himself. He...just had to be strong enough until he could get back to her.

Mustering his resolve, Marcus moved to follow Selim, feeling the looming presence of Antaeus at his back. He brushed the silk drape aside and stepped through, finding himself in a small room, rather plain compared to the luxury on display in the rest of the harem. There was a row of wooden cupboards off to one side, and a wardrobe hanging slightly open to reveal glimpses of colored silk clothing, all of it as thin and revealing as what the young prince now wore. Selim was standing near the far wall, his arms crossed and an impatient look on his handsome face. Beside the naked concubine was a fancy-looking dresser, the dark wood lined with gold. It had a large silvery mirror at it's center, polished to a sheen.

"Sit." Selim snapped, waving his hand towards a small wooden stool in front of the mirror. Marcus stepped nervously forward, his heart pounding. Deciding he'd better not make the other man any angrier with him, he sat himself quickly down on top of the cushion, raising his head to stare at the nervous boy looking back at him from the mirror. His blue eyes were wide and anxious, his lips trembling slightly behind the filmy silk of the veil. What was it the Empress had said was going to happen to him? Make-up and jewellery? That was for...girls wasn't it? "I'll handle painting his face. It'll be a difficult enough task with his looks so different to what I'm used to, and one I'll trust only to myself." Selim glanced up over Marcus, to where Antaeus was standing just in the doorway. "He hasn't had any piercings yet, and I haven't the time or energy to bother doing that myself. Find some of the cheaper jewellery we can put on him anyway, anything that will suit his clothes. Women don't notice much else when they have a pretty boy to stare at instead, and I'm not about to waste the finer pieces just yet."

Antaeus made a sour noise, but stepped away to the cupboards, leaning over to start digging through them. Selim, meanwhile, opened the dresser and started pulling various items out, laying them out on the dresser in front of Marcus. Small brushes, little pots and jugs, things the young prince recognized from his Mother's room. Makeup...for some reason the thought made his cheeks prickle. He knew women used it look prettier, so what would it do to him? Would Kihara...like how he looked with it on? He shifted uncertainly, hoping very much that she would.

"Sit still while I do this." Selim snapped. "I won't have you messing up my work." Marcus froze, clutching his thighs with his hands. The concubine's hand moved over the young prince's face, unfastening the veil that covered his chin and letting it fall to one side. "Lips first...your skin's so pale a more muted shade would work best." Selim murmured. He popped open one of the pots, filled with something that looked like red paint. Gathering some up on his finger, the bronze-skinned man lifted it to Marcus' lips. The young prince tried to sit as still as he could as Selim rubbed the paint across his lips, his skin tingling where the other man's fingers rubbed. It felt strange to be touched there, but he didn't dare squirm away. "Now pucker your lips, as if a woman is kissing you." Selim ordered, letting his fingers drop.

Marcus blushed at the order, but did as he was told, pursing his lips together. After what Selim had said, the young prince couldn't help but imagine Kihara leaning over him, taking him in her big strong arms and kissing him over and over until he couldn't think about anything but her. His belly fluttered, and he felt a tingling ache between his legs as his little dick started to stiffen, brushing against the silk of his clothes. Oh...not now! And these shorts were just so thin! Though at least it had distracted him from his nerves.

"You blush very cutely already, foreign boy." Selim grunted. "But a little powder there will make the women enjoy it even more." Before Marcus could even answer, the concubine's hand was already lifting a light brush to his cheeks, dusting them each in turn with some kind of light powder. The young prince glanced at himself in the mirror, his eyes widening at the difference Selim's work had already made. His lips were full and red, glistening slightly in the light so that they instantly drew his gaze. While his cheeks were already faintly flushed with embarrassment, the powder Selim had rubbed in there made his skin look faintly pink, and even softer and smoother as well. It was a struggle not to reach up and touch his face just to feel for himself, but the young prince didn't want to upset the man doing this to him now!

Over the next few minutes, the concubine continued his work, using a thin brush and some darker paints around the young prince's eyes as Marcus struggled not to screw them shut. Antaeus meanwhile, had returned with several pieces of jewellery, glistening gold and sapphires like the kind the young prince's mother had kept locked away as her priceless treasures. Trying to stay still for Selim, Marcus couldn't even see what the rude concubine was doing, but he felt a pair of rather firm hands fasten something around his neck at the back, before lifting off the shawl over his head and tugging roughly on his hair as well. Then Anteaus shoved his hands into a pair of thin bracelets and worked them up to each elbow, the golden chains winding around his forearms, with little sparkling gemstones picked out among the metal links. At least the rude concubine was quiet now, probably because Selim was too busy to go along with his mocking remarks.

At last, the pair stepped back, moving to stand a little behind Marcus, their gazes moving over his reflection in the mirror. The young prince stared at himself as well, a little gasp of shock escaping his lips. He looked...so pretty now! Picked out by the dark paint around them, the blue of his eyes seemed so much more obvious, his lashes full and fluttering whenever he blinked. Combined with what Selim had already done to his lips and cheeks, he looked...even more like a girl, the young prince had to admit as he stared at himself in the mirror. He found he didn't actually mind so much, since he was pretty sure Kihara was going to...really like it. As for the rest of the jewellery, the silver chain around his neck rested lightly on his throat, drawing the eye there. His hair had been pulled back into a neat ponytail, and another golden chain ran along the top of his scalp before curling around the sides of his head, fastened to his hair with little pins.

"Well, the boy may be untrained, but I can say at least he's a pleasure to work on." Selim said, his lips curling into a thin smile, the first Marcus had ever seen on the man. "A bit of an interesting challenge at first, but the results speak for themselves. He was pretty enough before, but looking like this there's not a woman in the Empire who wouldn't desire to have him for herself. Her Highness will be very pleased."

"He's nothing special." Anteaus grunted, a sour look on his handsome face. His dark eyes flickered away from the mirror, falling to the floor. "Just some foreign slut."

"Your jealousy is getting tiresome, Antaeus." Selim scowled, glaring across at the other concubine. "Pretend otherwise if you wish, but our Mistress would not want him as badly as she does if that were the case. As for me, I'll look forward to seeing how she intends to have him trained once he's joined our number." He smiled again, his dark eyes gleaming as they darted back to the young prince, who found himself shivering at that eager look. "I have a few fine ideas myself I will have to suggest next time she summons me." Antaeus tossed his head, while Marcus frowned in confusion at the concubine's words. What did Selim mean? He...wasn't joining the harem or anything? And if anyone was going to decided he needed to be trained or...whatever, that was going to be Kihara! And only her!

Deciding the pair must just be confused about what was happening, the young prince tried not to worry as Selim leaned over his shoulder and pulled the filmy veil and shawl that were part of the outfit Kihara had dressed him in back into place. The thin silk over his chin offered teasing hints of his full lips, while drawing even more attention to his eyes. Marcus once again found himself marveling at just how big and blue they looked. He just hoped Kihara really was going to like this!

At that moment, there was a muffled ringing noise from the corridor outside, the pealing tone of a bell echoing into the room from some distance away. Both concubine's stiffened, turning to glance back at the silk-covered entrance to the room. Marcus straightened on the stool, wondering what was happening now.

"So, it's started then..." Antaeus smirked thinly, his eyes lighting up. "I think the foreign slut should see this, don't you?"

"We're done with him for now anyway." Selim shrugged. "Get up, boy." He ordered sternly, glancing back at Marcus. "We're taking you back to her Highness."