He learns something shocking, before the Empress makes one last play for him

Walking between the two taller men, the skin of his face still tingling where they'd put all those creams and powders on, Marcus' belly fluttered nervously as he stepped down the marble corridors that would lead him back to the sumptuous bathhouse. Kihara was waiting for him there, and after all the anxiousness of the past few minutes the young prince just longed to throw himself back into her comforting embrace and nuzzle into the warmth of her boobs. He knew he shouldn't interrupt her when she was with talking her aunt, and he'd have to wait a bit longer until they were alone together to get a proper hug and kiss like that, so he just hoped her business with the Empress wouldn't last too much longer. Of course, he had noticed the strange things the two concubines had said while putting makeup on him, their stubborn insistence that he'd somehow end up in the Empress' harem with them, but as far as Marcus was concerned that was their stupid mistake. There was no way he was going to leave Kihara to be with her aunt! No way at all!

Biting his lip, Marcus was led through the open doorway and into the pool room, the cool water sloshing against the sides of the huge bath, sparkling prettily under the hot desert sun. He noticed that all the young men who'd been bathing and playing in there before seemed to all have gone away, which was a bit of a relief. It had been a bit distracting for the young prince to have them all splashing about naked, especially when the Empress had started talking about how she used them for...relief.

Selim and Antaeus stepped ahead of him, heading around the pool towards where they'd left Kihara and her aunt. A set of lushly grown flower bushes blocked the two lounging women from view here, with a path between their glistening green leaves. Just as they approached the plants the two men paused suddenly, pulling to a halt right there. Marcus made to step between them and keep going, only for a hand to grab him by the shoulder. His eyes wide with shock, the young prince glanced over his shoulder to see Selim glaring down at him, a hard look on his handsome face.

"We wait here." The older man snapped, his fingers digging firmly into the young prince's shoulder. "Men do not interrupt women during important business." Marcus shivered, wondering if he should try and squirm away from the scowling concubine, or call out to Kihara anyway. The hard look in the older man's eyes kept him quiet though. Besides, he didn't want to interrupt or embarrass his lover, no matter how much he longed to see her again. She'd probably get really mad and spank him again!

"So, the invasion is possible?" He heard the Empress say suddenly from the other side of the bushes, her voice hard and cool as it carried to the young prince, unlike her usual sultry drawl.

"As I said in my reports, just barely, my Empress, and even then it will be a tremendously difficult undertaking." Kihara replied, sounding worried. "We'll have to supply our troops entirely by Roc. It'll be the only way to move provisions that distance across the desert. And the further we move into enemy territory, the harder a journey that will be for our Aswaran. You cannot expect noblewomen to be happy exhausting their bonded mounts hauling water and grain to the common soldiery."

"If what you tell me is true, about this usurper king taking over and the weakened state of the realm he's seized, we won't face much resistance." The Empress continued. "We can sweep in now with a hand-picked **** of my best Aswaran, moving fast, claim a good chunk of territory before any local army large enough to challenge us can be mustered, and establish a surer line of supply that way. Meanwhile, our troops can provision themselves from the local populace."

"You mean raiding and stealing?" A faint note of disapproval slipped into Kihara's voice, enough to make Marcus' skin tingle as he listened in quiet confusion.

"Yes." The Empress replied simply. "They're barbarians." Her words were laced with disgust and the young prince could almost imagine the scary sneer on her beautiful face. "If troops from our glorious Empire wish to plunder their farms and homes, they should be honored to give up their food and men to us. It is only right, after all. A primitive culture that allows men to exert their will over women is a weak one as well. I have you in mind to lead this attack, but if you cannot understand the necessities of war I will find a Marzban who can."

"Auntie..." Kihara began.

"Enough." The Empress cut her off coldly. "Do not allow the sympathy you so obviously feel for your silver-haired little prince to cloud your judgement any further in this matter. Besides, the boy should be grateful to me..." A note of amusement strayed into her voice. "When I take his country for our Empire, I will have the head of this usurper uncle of his. Unless perhaps the fool is as comely as his nephew. Then I think I'll have him in my harem instead, once I've tamed him properly of course." As her silvery laugh rang out over the bathhouse, Marcus gasped in shock, even that sound drawing a ferocious scowl from Selim beside him. The young prince glanced down and shuddered, his heart going cold and tight. They were talking about his Kingdom, about Uncle Gaius! That was the land the Empress meant to invade! And now she was talking about plundering his father's people too!

"As you will it, my Empress." Kihara replied. Marcus felt his stomach sink as another awful realization dawned on him at last, hitting just as hard as the first. It was her...she'd told her aunt all about his Kingdom, all about how Uncle Gaius had just taken over, the same knowledge the Empress was now using to plan her invasion! That was the mission Kihara had been sent on, the reason why she'd been so far from her home in the first place! Of course a princess like her wouldn't just be working as a simple mercenary, she'd been doing it to spy! But...why hadn't she told him any of this? His throat felt tight suddenly, a shiver of panic running down his spine. What about her promising to help his parents? How could she do that when she was planning to attack their Kingdon? Had it all just...been lies? The first tears welled up, filling his large, blue eyes, and his lip started to quiver.

"Speaking of harems..." He heard a shuffling of fabric, as the Empress moved on her couch. "My dear, I'm afraid I must ask you again to give me that boy of yours. I know I cannot compel you to do the right thing and honor your Empress with such a gift, but it would please me greatly. You know how well I reward those who serve me, have I not already given you so much?"

"Auntie..." Kihara sighed. "I won't, I can't. How many times must I tell you, Marcus is mine." Before, hearing those words would have made the young prince's chest swell with warmth, and even still he felt a little flutter in his heart, but...how could he be happy to be Kihara's knowing what he knew now? That she'd been planning to attack his parents' kingdom all along! A stray tear trickled down his cheek, already messing up the makeup they'd painted around his eyes and leaving a dark trail over his skin. Was this why she'd taken him in the first place? It made sense to kidnap the prince of the kingdom you were about to attack after all, keep him captive as a prize of war. No wonder she bothered with him all this time even though he did nothing for her. He'd been such an idiot...thinking this was anything more than that! All swept up like this was one of those stupid books he used to read, never even considering the actual politics around anything!

"Of course I understand it wouldn't be fair for me to demand such a fine prize without suitable compensation, especially since that would leave you without a boy to satisfy you." The Empress continued. "Tell you what, dear, if you give me just the barbarian prince, you may have two of mine in turn. Selim and Antaeus, the handsome pair you just saw, they're very well-trained and very obedient as well. They'll give you such pleasure as you've never felt in your life, far more than one inexperienced boy who I doubt even knows how to use his tongue properly." Marcus heard Antaeus gasp, the older man's mouth dropping open in shock. Selim, meanwhile, had his jaw tensed and an angry look in his eyes, but he stayed standing just as straight and still as he had been. "Or pick out any other pair, if they're not to your tastes! I have these two twins from the eastern steppes, almost identical and each as pretty as a newly plucked flower. You'll love them."

"Highness, my answer is still no." Kihara replied, her voice firm. Marcus shivered with relief. No matter what he'd just heard, there was no way he wanted her to just abandon him and give him to her scary aunt! Or did he? At least the Empress hadn't lied to him like this! Pretending to care while...planning to attack his kingdom!

"I'll even promise to be gentle with him." The Empress kept talking as if her niece hadn't spoken at all. "I know you fuss over him like a mother lioness. It really isn't seemly for a woman of your stature to be so attached to a male, but for your sake I'll be willing to soften his training slightly. He's very obedient to you, so I imagine it won't be too hard to make him attach himself to me instead. The affections of boys his age aren't exactly hard to manipulate, as you well know since you have him eating out of your hand already."

"Auntie!" There was a sudden clattering noise, as if something had been swept across the floor. "I won't give him to you, never." Kihara snapped, her voice as hard as steel. "It doesn't matter what you offer me, it doesn't matter what you say!" There was silence for a few long moments, the only sound Marcus could hear was the anxious pounding of his heart. His hot tears kept trickling down his cheeks. Something didn't make sense here...if Kihara really only took him because of this plan of theirs, then why wasn't she just giving him away like her aunt wanted? No...he couldn't be stupid again! If he convinced himself she cared about him again...it'd feel even worse when he was finally **** to understand the truth.

"How...disappointing." The Empress said at last, her words icy and cold. "I always thought you were such a sensible girl and you'd grown past these foolish fancies after that lesson I gave you, but it seems you have the same enduring weakness as your mother did. You've let your love for some worthless male weaken your loyalty to me, and that is something I will not forget, my dear." She sighed harshly, and Marcus heard her shifting in her chair again. Love...what did she mean by that anyway? He...loved Kihara, he'd told her that more than once over their journey, but suddenly he remembered she'd never said the same back to him! She'd always just avoided it! It must be because she didn't care! "Selim, Antaeus. Bring the boy then." The Empress ordered suddenly. "I suppose I'm done with him."

Still sniffling, Marcus was suddenly pushed forward by the two men, sent stumbling between the bushes and out into the tiled area from before. The Empress was laying across her couch, scowling and swilling a glass of ruby-red wine, but she held his attention for only an instant. Instead he looked frantically for his lover and found Kihara was standing just across the tiles in front of her own chair, the glass she'd swept away laying shattered at her feet. The young prince's tear-filled eyes darted up her beautiful, muscular body, finding her dark eyes fixed on him. She was frozen stiff, staring at him with shock. Obviously she hadn't noticed him before, and seeing him appear so suddenly had stunned her into silence.

"Marcus...little one..." She breathed at last, her voice trembling with something like awe. "You look so beautiful." The young prince felt a flicker of confusion through his misery, before he remembered the makeup he was wearing now, already being ruined by his stupid tears. He also remembered how eager he'd been to show it off to her and scared she might not like how pretty it made him look. It seemed she really liked it, only now...that didn't seem like such a good thing after all! "Why are you crying?" She asked, talking a halting step towards him. "What...happened?"

"I...I..." Marcus stammered, the words catching in his tight throat. What was he supposed to even say? She started reaching for him, her hand hovering in the air, those long, elegant fingers that had made him feel so good. Only...if she touched him now, the young prince felt like his heart might tear in two. With an anguished cry, he turned on his heels and fled, darting away over the tiled floor like a startled rabbit. Tears flooded down his cheeks, his throat aching and tight until he could hardly breathe. As he fled away from the woman he loved, not even knowing where he was trying to go, he didn't notice the smug, cruel smirk that flickered across the Empress' ruby-red lips as she watched him run.