The Tattooed Princess

The Amazon and the King

        That afternoon, following the Amazon being placed back in her heavily guarded chamber, Sharvur called for Zaria. It seems he was curious as to how “the beast,” as he referred to her, responded to bathing and the more humane treatment which Zaria had requested for her.

            “She is like all people. She eats when hungry. She hurts when injured. She was calm and friendly with me, as I presented her no harm.”

            Sharvur laughed. “If she believed she was without guards in that room she would have killed you just to escape. You don’t know about these creatures. Neither your Slavic people. They are as primitive as their horses out on the steppes . . . and they smell worse! But no one can deny their long-dreaded reputation as the killers of men, Zaria.”

            “Well I did not see this side of Aella. She is every bit a woman like me.”

        “Oh, so you know her name now. And I suppose you had a discussion with her about your beautiful clothing and other matters you girls discuss to no end when I am away. You make me laugh now.”

            “No. But she was interested on my tattoos,” Zaria said proudly. She then instantly regretted saying this to Sharvur, as she just reminded him of something he might want to know more about—whether she had seen Tsudros recently. And if she had procured any more of the otherworldly body art he was capable of. Zaria thought warmly of the small, hidden tattoo Tsudros had in fact engraved upon her in a most delicate place. She knew if discovered it would tell all Sharvur needed to know about her and the young man's intimate relations. She also sadly reminded herself that the king was quite capable of demanding to inspect at any time the most private parts of her body, just to insure that she remained a virgin. The thought of that physical intrusion of her privacy not only disgusted her, but it would carry a death sentence for her and Tsudros if the Barbaric inspection revealed that she had been so completely and sexually with anyone.

            Thankfully, for the moment Sharvur was not interested in her, but rather his mind returned to his new captive, the Amazon.

            “I want to see your handiwork in cleaning up our guest, Zaria,” he playfully requested. “It would be a rare occurrence indeed for a man to look upon an Amazon as anything even close to a woman as he knows them. And my curiosity pulls me there. Arrange to have her brought here to my quarters this evening, with two armed guards. You can be with her as well. Such a comparison of beauty and savagery might make the visit all the more . . . entertaining.” The king smiled in anticipation of the event.

            Zaria knew that Sharvur could easily turn their meeting that night into a dreadful game, just to pique his sexual appetite. Yet she knew trying to talk him out of the plan would be impossible. She felt it wise to not show too much compassion or protection of Aella, as he might become suspicious of her association with her—further restricting her movements within the palace.

            “Very well, my king,” Zaria responded dispassionately. “I will bring the cleaner, more tolerable prisoner to your chamber this evening . . . for your observation of her.”

            “Wonderful,” he exclaimed.

            She was about to leave him, when he continued speaking.

            “And by the way, Zaria. What did you do with yourself . . . in my absence these past many days? You know I did have a discussion with your people about our future relations with them.”

            He looked into her eyes to see if that affected her.

        “Though . . . there were no promises they requested which I could keep. You Slavs still see us here in the East as “Barbarians from the evil lands. And me they still see as the tyrant who kills their people and says siege to them each year.” Sharvur smiled asymmetrically, seeming to enjoy this opinion of himself. “That can not . . . and will not ever change, you know.