Ekleipsis (Fantasy Romance - LGBT, manXman)

6.3.

Few of Alva Ahayrre's acquaintances wondered about the source of the young rake's wealth and how he came to have all those diamonds, rich clothes, thoroughbred horses, collectible art, money for the lavish feasts and all the rest. Even if anyone paused to think about it, the answer would seem obvious: it had to be his inheritance combined with the pay of the lieutenant in the King's Guard, plus gifts from lovers and whatever royalties his poetry fetched. Not that any of these income sources would have funded a lavish lifestyle on its own, but taken all together − why not?

It would have taken a careful bookkeeper to see that expenditures of the brilliant courtier, at times, exceeded his income by a large margin. It was especially true right after he had graduated from the RoyalAcademy, when his poems were not yet being published all over Creede. On the other hand, if said bookkeeper had chosen to share his suspicions, it would have been pointed out to him that poking his nose into Alva Ahayrre's business was unwise. The military intelligence unit was the one responsible for Alva's unaccounted income.

Alva had first drawn the attention of the Secret Service* when he began to hang out in the company of those most prominent in the social life of the capital, and that included foreigners. A king's protégé and former page, a Royal Academy graduate, a lieutenant of the Royal Guard and close to the higher-ranking officers, a famous poet, a trend-setting courtier, a handsome devil, a libertine trailing broken hearts, savvy in politics, culture and literature, and fluent in Faris, to boot − Alva was welcome in the aristocratic circles and all doors were open to him. Besides, if needed, he could always find entryways other than the door.

The short of it, was that, for a substantial reward, Chevalier Ahayrre carried out delicate missions now and then. It required ingenuity, charm and certain skills peculiar to secrets agents. Nothing extraordinary. Getting a Tharn officer drunk and paying attention to what he said; keeping an Arislani traveler occupied for a period of time; going through a Marranian merchant's secret drawers... Chevalier Ahayrre's visit to the Essanti had been one of these assignments. Naturally, nobody required Alva to sleep with his targets, but Alva's light-hearted promiscuity only aided him.

Now, Alva was educated in the Arislani politics while in His Majesty's Secret Service and in the Arislani Ambassador's bed. Oh, god, no, the Ambassador was not in it at the time. For starters, Alva was not partial to the swarthy type. The Wild Steppe dwellers marked about the outer limit of his racial non-discrimination. True, the Ambassador, Farhad Al-Shiri, had a certain manly charm, but even the worst libertine would not dare to go after a homophobic Arislani as highly ranked and risk an international scandal. But the notable had two wives that he occasionally, as a nod to the Creedan customs, let attend balls and functions. The younger one did not interest Alva much − she being no more than a pretty plaything − but the eldest...

Even now, Alva couldn't help his mouth watering whenever he remembered her. A lovely woman, twice his age and twice as experienced, sharp of mind and keen of eye, Madiha had told him enough to fill three volumes. Yes, the Arislani women were oppressed and kept out of the society of men. That is exactly why they were not reckoned with and allowed to be present during the most confidential discussions. Come on, not like Arislani women could even bear witness in court. If they could, Alva did not dare imagine how many heads would have rolled, and how many idols would have been cast down.

Take, for example, that sacred cow of Arislani's uniform heterosexuality. Though "Khefeirut," the novel, had seriously undercut that myth, but then it was instantly banned in Arislan on the grounds of its extreme obscenity. The author, charged with treason and seditious libel, went into hiding somewhere in the North. Hand copies of the novel, poorly translated, still made the rounds. Creedan publishing houses were sitting on it, for fear of political fallout. Alva who was close to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (sleeping with her, actually), easily got an original for himself.

The word "khefeirut" stood for "hierarchy," "sacred duty" or "Karma," all closely related terms in Faris. It was a story of a talented youth trying to make it in Iskenderun, while all his superiors only cared about his good looks. To put it simply, the novel described the practice of sexual harassment, which − if the author was to be believed − was an everyday thing everywhere in Arislan, from city halls to Khalid's palace. The officials got it on with their secretaries; the lawyers cavorted with their clients; the aristocrats dallied with the bodyguards and the boys in the underground brothels, and the Khalid himself staffed the palace guard with blond beefcakes. It was all told frankly and humorously.

Naturally, not a single man in Arislan would have admitted, even on pain of death, that the "revolting piece of slander" bore even a passing resemblance to reality. But when Alva mentioned "Khefeirut" to Madiha, she merely shrugged one smooth shoulder and said, in that husky voice of hers that drove Alva mad with desire, "If that poor youth had only written about the goings on in our harems, they wouldn't merely outlawed the author, they would have hunted and cut down everyone who touched the book."

Author's Note:

*The Secret Service of Creede is nothing like the Secret Service of US, known all over the world. Unfortunately, there was no other suitable way to translate the name of the Creedan special clandestine organization, with the responsibilities of foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence and national security. It's not in any way a secret police dealing with dissenters, it's like the FBI and CIA combined and medieval.

I'm working on a novel (in Russian) called 'Tanith's Cookbook' where the heroine got suddenly involved with the Secret Service and one of its agents. Also there is a nice novel called 'Murder by the footlights' written by my fan @LaLuna2015 after my world and my characters (with my permission and blessing, of course) where a sexy and witty agent of the Secret Service operates.