“Oh, this is lovely!” exclaimed Ianthe, all glowing from the ride, and a little red from the sun. They rubbed down the horses, and let them drink at the stream. There was bread and cold chicken, brought from Heliopolis, and Queen Ione’s wine, drunk well watered. The men stood round and admired the young princess silently, as she in turn smiled round at them.
“They’re very polite,” she observed, in a low voice to Jana.
“Your dignity brings out the best in them!”
“How much farther?”
“Before sunset. You can sleep in comfort.”
“I don’t want comfort! I want to sleep on the ground!” With you, she added, silently, and Jana could hear the words, so well did she know this woman.
They mounted, and rode again. Jana had a basket of apple wedges, and every once in a while Ianthe would ride up for a few pieces to munch on, some of which her horse was given.
As the sky turned to gold, a large cluster of tents appeared in the South East; they were there. They were soon surrounded by a crowd of children, all excited to see the King’s Own, and its handsome Horse Officer.
Jana and Ianthe gave over their horses, and were led to the Chief, a handsome man of about thirty. A young rider walked behind them, with Ianthe’s pack.
She was made welcome, as a princess and a guest, and conducted to t a comfortable room, hung with beautiful fabric, and containing a comfortable bed of wood and leather. There were two bright-eyed girls of about ten or twelve to attend her. The chieftain bid her be comfortable, and left, and his wife came in, a lovely woman, beautifully dressed in the style of the Horse-People, with gold jewelry on her fingers and wrists and toes and ears. A bath was brought into an adjoining room.
“How do you say: thank you very much?”
Jana told her, and the hostess and the girls laughed merrily, and chorused a response.
“Will they want to wash me?”
“Yes. Will you mind?”
“No. Where will you sleep?”
“I will tent with the men!”
“Please! I want you here!”
“Certainly!” said the Chief’s wife, laughing at Ianthe’s startlement that she could speak the language of the Northerners. “Here, this room next door is available. The tents are large!”
Jana thanked them, and their hostess left them with the young girls. Taking the pack from the rider, Jana murmured some instructions, and he left after a brief discussion, and a deep bow to the princess, and a salute to his officer.
While Ianthe bathed and supped with the Chief and his family, Jana washed in the stream with the men. Ironically, she was not now embarrassed to strip to her breech-clout and bathe with the others; as an officer, none of the others would dare to be too familiar with her. They were brought a hearty supper, during which a number of girls ran up to dance for them, with a host of musicians to accompany them. The King’s Own would be the center of the night’s entertainment.
The fire was built up, and the crowd gathered. The music started, and the girls danced! Oh what a dance it was! None could dance as the women of the Horse People. There was pride, boundless energy, and a perfect sense of rhythm. Jana was seated on a chair, and the King’s Own sat on low stools on either side of her, cheering on the dancers. Jana was dressed in women’s clothes, a long colorful dress of silk and a brown surplice. There were two more girls in the King’s Own, now, and they, too, wore civilian clothes.
Jana noticed a disturbance at the back, in the direction of the tents of the Chief. She craned her neck to see what it was about, and who should appear but Ianthe. She wore a simple, brief white chiton, edged in blue. But she had been given rings, bracelets and earrings, like the horse-people, and oh, how it lit up her face! The brief robes showed off her slim legs to perfection. The crowd rose to its feet, as did Jana, and the music and dancing stopped. Ianthe slowed to a halt, embarrassed. “Oh, please continue!” she said, her clear voice ringing through the respectful silence. Blushing, she urged them with her hands, and hurried to where Jana waited, astonished by this change in Ianthe.
The mood relaxed, at Ianthe’s encouragement, and the hubbub slowly resumed. A wide path was quickly cleared for the Princess, and a chair was found for her, right between Jana and her fellow female riders of the King’s Own. The women of the Horse People were protective of each other!
The dancers huddled together, whispering among themselves, eyes round in admiration of the foreign princess. Her simple, spare costume was in stark contrast to their own styles of layered silk robes which flattered their figures in a different way. The soft, light stola that Ianthe had worn over her arm had many uses. To Jana’s surprise, Ianthe curtseyed to her with a smile, took her seat gracefully, and covered her legs with the stola, to the disappointment of the men. Having seated her, Jana resumed her seat with a quick comradely smile to her men. The dancing resumed, with a little more restraint, for the moment
It was soon apparent to Jana that Ianthe was not embarrassed at showing her admiration for the women. In the restricted Palace community in which Jana had spent most of her time, she had little opportunity to see Ianthe in a social setting with both men and women. Early on, there had been a few social events, mostly involving the friends of the two children, and their families. After the death of Cook, only Penelope had visited.
Ianthe and Penelope were very close and intimate, but what appeared to be sex play between them could just as well have been high spirits. Now Jana cautiously observed Ianthe admiring the dancers, openly and innocently. The dance was very sensuous, though not suggestive or lewd, and Jana saw the girls make eye contact with the princess, smiling with amusement, where there was something more when they smiled at a man, or even at Jana.
“How beautifully they dance!” she exclaimed. Jana nodded, smiling. “Can you do them?” she asked, meaning to ask whether Jana knew all the dances.
“Not all,” admitted Jana. “There are some that we all learn, though.”
Her opportunity came soon. As the dance was called, the two female riders rose, eager-eyed, and turned to Jana in invitation.
“I will dance this one!” she said to Ianthe, who nodded in excited anticipation.
The girls put Jana in the middle of the square of fifteen dancers; tall girls were always put in the middle, where they could be seen anyway. It was a dance involving hops and claps and eye-movements, enacting a story, which was sung by a sweet-voiced girl who kept time with a pair of small cymbals. Ianthe watched Jana’s supple, controlled movements, hardly breathing. She was no longer the fierce soldier, but a playful, fun-loving woman of the Horse People, utterly at home among them, vital, full of life, beautiful. Here she was a horse ---they were all horses--- here she was a hunter, drawing a bow! Here she was a deer, oh, she was hit! And now she was a maiden, dying!
“Oh, beautiful, beautiful!” Ianthe cried out with pleasure and admiration, and leaped to her feet applauding. There was general appreciation as the dancers embraced each other and took their seats, flushed and out of breath.
“Did you like it?”
“I loved it! Is it hard to learn?”
“Oh no, we teach it to little girls of six!”
“I don’t believe it!” exclaimed Ianthe to the two youngsters on her other side.
“Oh yes,” insisted one. “A little at a time, and they know it when they are seven or eight! It is a girl’s dance.”
Ianthe was chatting away with the girls, and Jana watched them, a strange pleasure in her breast. She longed to draw Ianthe into an embrace, and hold her tight, but to sit by her was almost as good.
Wine was served, and the fire fell low, and easily, with no awkwardness, mothers collected their young children and their husbands, waved quiet greetings to the younger adults, and slipped away. The light was dim, the music was softer, and the dances were more sultry.
To her discomfiture, Jana was the focus of the dancing now. Three girls danced, moving round the circle, far more sensuous than thus far. They mimed arousal, need and ecstasy, but never sex. The most beautiful of them, a proud green-eyed girl, had one of the most perfect bodies that Jana had seen, and her fiery eyes dared Jana to desire her. Jana sat, mesmerized, while around her both men and women moaned in admiration, shaking their heads in wonder. As the dance ended, the green-eyed girl made a graceful reverence to Jana and Ianthe, and ran round the circle to the path leading to the tents.
“How can I compete with that?” Ianthe murmured. Next to her the two girl riders whispered to each other excitedly, and turned to Ianthe with some tidbit. Jana drew a labored breath. The men next to her smiled. Somehow she was one of them, now, despite her feminine garments.
“It’s all too much for me,” Jana said, rising slowly to her feet, shaking out her skirts. It felt strange to feel the fabric in her hands, to feel like a woman again.
“We will come to our tents soon, lady,” they assured her. “The dancing is almost over!”
“But these are the best ones, coming up!” they laughed. Jana shook her head, laughing with them. Often these last few dances were very daring, Jana knew, and she was not in the mood to put herself through that particular experience.
The riders made space for Jana to depart, and Ianthe caught her hand, and rose to follow her, to the disappointment of the men. Her fair legs glistened in the dim firelight.
“Shall I take you inside?” Jana asked, her heart full of tenderness. In her mind, Jana was clear that the destiny of the princess was not with Jana, but she did not have the strength to deny herself these precious moments with her, where they pretended that they would be together forever this way.
“No… let’s walk about for a while, please!”
They walked into the darkness, hand in hand. The moon was just rising, but only the bright starlight lit the plains.
“You’re not coming to my bed, are you.”
“No… not tonight, my princess! I---I can’t tonight!”
“Is it me?”
“It is more the men,” Jana said. “It will be awkward.”
“You swore your love to me!”
“I remember!”
“Do you regret it, now?”
Ianthe gazed into Jana’s familiar oval face, her bread forehead, the neatly parted and tied hair, the strong, dense, level brows, the eyes, full of love, framed with those long, blonde eyelashes, the long nose, the full, perfect, kissable lips, the ears with soft, sensuous earlobes. Ianthe clung to the big, gentle hands.
“No!” said Jana, forgetting everything. “It is the most precious thing in my heart! Look inside you! You will know that I love you!”
It was true. Jana was nothing if not steadfast.
She raised her mouth to Jana, and they kissed. Oh, such a kiss!
Hearing a rustle behind her, she turned. A figure in billowing robes was hurrying towards them.
“Come, Highness,” a sweet voice called. The Horse People’s women had such sweet voices! “Your bed is ready!” The woman stopped a little distance away, allowing them their privacy.
Without a word, Ianthe slowly disengaged, and joined her guide, and they set off together for the Chief’s tent.
Jana slowly turned towards her own tent. It was a comfortable enough tent, a larger one than those shared by the riders. A shadow rose from the floor.
“Lady,” said a soft, feminine voice, “the Chief sent me.”
Jana felt her ears burn.
“I’m a woman, and I don’t need what you offer, girl.”
She approached, and taking Jana’s hand, began removing the heavy bracelets. “I have been with women, Lady… if you are uncomfortable, I will depart, and send a man in my place.”
Her hands were soft, soft, and even as they undid her earrings, they soothed her.
“You are warm…I will cool you,” she said softly. The surplice came off, and the dress. “You dance beautifully!”
“Did you dance?”
“Yes… I smiled at you, but we all smiled at you!”
“What’s your name, girl?”
“Leila, my Lady… oh, you are so beautiful…”
Jana was naked now. The girl was dressed in a thin white cloth tied around her waist.
“The princess also has company---a woman!” She took Jana’s hand, and caressed it slowly, slowly.
“Who?” Jana’s voice was tense.
“The Chief’s daughter herself asked to go to her. She was very taken with the princess,” said Leila. She led Jana to the pallet, and dipped a cloth in a bowl of water, and began to wash her.
Despite Ianthe’s creative imagination, when Jana and she had made love it had been simple and direct. Apart from kissing and cuddling and caressing, they had done little else. They knew each other’s needs, and their intense love did the rest. But now Leila pleasured Jana in ways she had never dreamed of.
It was a long, slow climb. Seated by Jana who lay on her back, Leila held Jana’s hands in her own, and stroked them over her own breasts, stroking Jana’s palms with her own nipples.
“What is the Chief’s daughter like?” Jana asked, breathlessly.
“Beautiful,” sighed Leila. “She was the one who danced, just as you left…”
“With big green eyes?”
“Yes, that was she. Oh, she is a goddess… and when she is aroused… she goes crazy with passion!”
“What will happen to the princess?” gasped Jana.
“No, no; tonight is not a time for passion. But she will meet passion with passion…it depends on her highness. There is fire in her eyes, that one. And she has eyes for only you!”
Rising from the pallet, Leila hesitated.
“Lady, my eyes long to see you!”
Jana looked about, sitting up. The tent walls were thin, and they could be seen if they lit a lamp inside. There was a soft murmur of voices all around.
“There are ways to gain some privacy…” Leila retrieved a pile of fabric from a basket, and quickly the tent walls had a second layer of black fabric. Then Leila lit a lamp.
“Oh my lady!” gasped little Leila, clasping her hands, feasting her eyes on Jana’s body.
Jana, too, saw Leila in the lamplight. She was a tiny thing, all curves and smooth skin, with bright, hazel eyes, a face that seemed made for fun and smiles, and a body made for love and loving.
“You are so beautiful,” Leila breathed, “a perfect woman!” She pressed Jana down onto the pallet, ever so gently, and straddled her. Her eyes glowed with genuine admiration. This was no glib flattery. “You are more handsome than a man, more lovely than a woman!” She leaned forward to kiss Jana, and Jana felt her soft, firm breasts against her own. “How fortunate is the little princess!”
“You’re beautiful too, Leila, but beauty isn’t everything!”
“Oh…I don’t care…I only care for beauty…and for passion… and pleasure… see, see how you have made me bloom, like a hungry flower! Touch me! Feel Leila’s desire!” Her control was amazing, and her skills incredible. By the time she had finished making love to the lovelorn Horse officer, Jana was exhausted, simply by responding involuntarily to Leila’s loving attentions.
“Did Leila make you happy?”
“Turn out the light, and come back here.”
“Please! Tell me!” she whispered.
Jana held her close. “Yes, I will never forget you! If not for the princess…”
“Oh, my heart is already given to another,” she said regretfully. “I cannot tell you to whom!”
“I can guess,” said Jana, drily.
Leila froze, comically alarmed. “Who is it?”
“If you don’t know, who knows?”
“Tell me! ”
“The Chief’s daughter, of course!”
“Yes… it is obvious…” she caressed Jana’s breast. “You are both so different… you’re so innocent, you don’t know how beautiful you are!”
“My parents have bequeathed to me a healthy body, that’s all.”
“Yes!” Leila breathed. “Oh, how I love you, my lady!” She tenderly stroked Jana’s face, sighing. “Are you pledged to the lady princess?”
“Yes.”
Another sigh. “My love refused my pledge, Lady. But still, I love her.” Yet another sigh. “Do you have need of a maid, ---a stable girl,---a cook, a nurse? I can do anything, my Lady!”
“What need have I for such things, Leila? How will I ever have a child? I will live on a horse forever!”
“If my lady asked me, I would live on a horse forever, gladly!”
“Are you unhappy here, Leila?” asked Jana, gently.
“No, only lovesick, my Lady; it is a sweet pain, but pain, nevertheless! Once in a while she makes love to me, and she cares for me in her way… but it is agony to see her every day!” Jana tenderly stroked the girl’s velvety back, and she fell asleep on Jana’s stomach, like a little puppy.
In the wee hours, Jana felt kisses on her face, and when she woke up, Leila was gone.
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