Shadows of Avarice (BxB)

Chapter 10

Xia was nervous as he and Alishba were escorted to the dining hall. He had already met one member of the harem; he wasn't sure if he was ready to meet the rest. Would they also be able to tell that he wasn't a woman? Amani swore to keep it a secret, but the others may not if they learned what he was up to. If he was confronted about it again, then he would have to continue to deny it. His cover could not be blown this soon. 

When the doors to the dining hall were opened for them to enter, Xia noticed that three women already waited inside at the table. One of them was Amani, while the other two he did not recognize. One of the women was darker skinned than the rest, with long black braids and green eyes. She also had a beauty mark below her right eye and one above her left eyebrow. She wore a green dress to match her eyes and gold eyeshadow. She didn't appear to be a native of Rasea. Instead, based on her appearance, she looked as though she hailed from the fallen kingdom of Zuvelia. She gave them a pleasant smile when she noticed Xia and Alishba entering.

Sitting next to her was a woman whose beauty stunned Xia. All of the girls here were beautiful, but this one in particular took his breath away. This woman had brown hair and golden eyes. She wore a two-piece, red and teal outfit, and was decorated with plenty of jewelry. He also took note of a gold sun tattoo on her stomach. She noticed Xia staring at her. She looked him up and down, then turned her nose up at him. Clearly, he wasn't up to her standards.

Alishba leaned in close to Xia and said only loud enough for him to hear, "Osiris seems to really like big-breasted women, so why were you chosen? So much for hoping that he likes flat chests."

Xia nudged his sister, his face heating up by her comment. Of course, Alishba would notice something like that about all of these girls. Xia was only interested in knowing their faces, since he planned on avoiding them as much as possible. Since these girls were all extremely pretty, it should be easy for him to recognize them and keep his distance.

"I'm so happy that you decided to come." Amani, now seeing their arrival, ran up to the two of them.

She took one of Alishba and Xia's hands, then pulled them with her to the table. She gestured to the girls sitting at the other end of the table, starting with the Zuvelian girl. "This is Shiva."

The Zuvelian woman, Shiva, gave them a friendly smile and a wave. "A pleasure to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you, and to having you as our Queen."

Then Amani pointed at the pretty girl next to her. "And this is Soraya."

Instead of greeting them as Shiva did, she gave a short huff and glanced away. She kept her arms crossed and didn't seem willing to open up to them.

"Don't mind her. Soraya is just jealous that you're prettier than her and because Osiris chose you as his Queen over her, " Amani said, shrugging her shoulders.

Soraya scowled at her. "That is not true. First of all, no one is prettier than me. Secondly, Osiris just needs time to come to his senses. Eventually, he'll realize the mistake that he's making, and he'll come running back to me. Everyone knows that I am more suitable to be his sultana and not some poor girl that he found off the streets. Give it some time, and he'll throw you back onto the streets where you belong."

This was their first meeting, and already Xia couldn't stand her. How could someone be this vile during a simple greeting? She was obviously jealous because she wanted the throne, which would make her act more hostile towards him. She could have the throne when Xia and Alishba got what they wanted and could run away from this place. It didn't matter to him, but he wasn't going to let someone treat him like crap while he stayed here.

Xia rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He didn't take becoming the sultana seriously, but he decided to challenge Soraya. If he was stuck here for an extended period, then he wasn't going to let someone walk all over him. "How much do you want to bet? I wager the sultan has no desire to get rid of me anytime soon, if ever." With a smile, he added in a mocking tone, "Give it some time, and perhaps he'll throw you out."