The Emperor's Harem

   Screaming was heard, and someone saying "Just one more push" soon, a baby's cries echoed throughout the building. Then there was singing to calm the newborn child. A two-year-old Cyprian looked down at the baby in the singing woman's arms.  "Congratulations, Lorena. She is beautiful." The woman lying in bed smiled. "Thank you, your Imperial Majesty." The Empress shook her head. "We are friends please call me Aemiliana. Do you have a name for her?" Cyprian looked at his mother, who was holding him then back at the baby. He did not know what to make of this tiny little creature that had just been born. "Her name is Veralina, and don't worry, Cyprian, you'll..." There was sudden shouting coming from outside. The Empress was escorted out with Cyprian by guards, and an attendant came running into the room to help Lorena. "Leave me. Take Veralina instead. Take her to a village where she will be safe." Tears were pouring down the woman's cheeks. She kissed the baby.  "I love you, my little Lina. Stay strong and be good to those who take care of you in my stead." The attendant quickly left and took the quickest horse to a village. He knew a family in this village that had been trying to have a child but could not have any. The attendant wrote a note.  Her name is Veralina. Please take good care of her and keep her safe. He then knocked on the door and then hid. When the door opened, a woman stepped out and then a man. "Who is it, dear?" The woman turned around, holding Vera. "It's a baby. The note said that her name is Veralina, and it said to take good care of her and keep her safe." They smiled at each other and took the baby inside. The attendant smiled and headed back to the imperial castle. ********eighteen years later after the death of Emperor Gelien*********      There was only silence and darkness in the little village of Pirn, all except for a baby crying and someone singing. The voice was like that of an angle.      In the distance, a carriage came down the road, bearing the symbol of the royal family of Palenia. The emperor was on his way home from visiting one of the many cities in his kingdom.  They neared the house where the singing was coming from inside. "Stop the carriage." The driver stopped, and the Emperor looked out the window and saw a girl about the age of seventeen or eighteen, and she was holding a baby and trying to soothe the child. He then heard another voice coming from inside the house. "Vera, is everything okay." The girl looked towards where her mother was sitting.  "Yes, everything is fine mother, Sara woke up, and I was just trying to get her back down." Vera looked down at Sara, who had fallen back to sleep. "Get some rest, mother, and I will see you in the morning." Vera put her sister back into the make-shift bed and then looked outside. She began to sing again.     The emperor was entranced. Her singing voice was so beautiful, he wondered what she looked like, and he was going to find out. "Let us stay here for a couple of days and then return home." The emperor's attendant protested. "Your Imperial Majesty, what about your obligated duties to running the kingdom and to the ladies of your harem?"  The emperor looked at his attendant. "It is just for a couple of days; besides, I have my advisors running things until I get back and the harem those are my father's women. If you forgot, I have been traveling around to find my own. " The attendant finally nodded his head, and they made their way to an inn where they were able to get a room and settled in for the night. They hid their carriage and paid the innkeeper a little extra to keep their identity a secret.     The next day the emperor went out in a white shirt and brown pants and black boots. He was bombarded by the other villagers, for you see Pirn did not get many travelers. He introduced himself as Cyprian. The villagers asked him questions like where did he come from and what was he doing in Pirn. He answered them the best he could, but some questions Cyprian had to stretch the truth so that they would not know he was the emperor. He managed to get away from the villagers and made his way to the house from the night before.     He came up to the house, and as he did, he saw a girl of about eighteen years old come out with a broom. She began to sing as she swept the floor, her golden hair shimmered in the sunlight. She was even more beautiful then he had imagined her. He noticed a villager walking and asked, "Who is that girl sweeping over at that house." The villager looked over at the girl. "We call her Lina, but I some times hear her mother call her Vera." Why did those two names sound so familiar to him like he heard the name before? Cyprian thanked the villager for the information. When he looked back over, Cyprian noticed that several other children came out with a woman holding an infant.        "Vera, could you go to the market to get some food, please." Vera nodded. "Yes, mother." The other children wanted to go to, but the mother told them no.  Vera put down the broom and took some money from her mother and walked away as her siblings protested. Cyprian followed her, keeping his distance. He was only going to step in if there was a need for it. Vera made it to the market and went to different stalls to buy vegetables. At one of the stalls, a young man walked up to her. "Hello, Lina." Vera looked up at him. "Hello Dustin, what do you want?" The young man just smiled at her. "I was going to help you carry your bags." Vera pulled away from him. "No, thank you. I don't need any help." Dustin took a step forward. "Oh, come on, you know you want my....."      Cyprian came up and put his hand on Dustin's shoulder. "I think she told you no, so if I were you, I would walk away. "  Dustin did just that, but he did not go very far. Cyprian looked at Vera, her light blue eyes shown with wonder as she looked at him.      Vera was surprised when Cyprian came over and told Dustin to leave her alone. She just stared at him for a few minutes, for she had never seen a man so handsome. His dark brown hair and olive eyes were only just the start of it, his body was muscular and his skin tan it would make any woman swoon. "Thank you for your help." Cyprian nods his head and smiles. "May I ask to walk you home. I don't think we will see the last of that guy." Cyprian looked around and noticed Dustin not that far off. Vera, too, saw Dustin and then looked back at Cyprian. "I will take you up on that offer, thank you." When Vera finished shopping, she and Cyprian walked back to her place. When they got to the house, Vera looked at Cyprian.  "Thank you for walking me home. Oh, and my name is Vera. Well actually if you want you can call me Lina most of the villagers do. My family calls me Vera." Cyprian smiled at her name. "It is nice to meet you, and my name is Cyprian."      Vera started to turn around, but Cyprian cleared his throat. "Vera, I was wondering." There was a pause as Vera turned around. "Well, the Emperor is looking for women between the ages of eighteen and twenty to become part of his harem. You don't have to make a decision yet, but I will be leaving in a couple of days, and well, I will need an answer by then." With that said, Cyprian turned around and began to walk off, leaving Vera a little stunned. At that time, Vera's mother came out holding Sara. "Vera, are you okay?" Vera turned to her mother and looked down. "Someone just asked if I would like to join the Emperor's harem." Vera's mother looked away. "You are not to go to the imperial palace; it is not safe there." Vera nodded her head and went inside to put away the food.      It had been a few days since Cyprian had asked Vera to come to the palace to join the harem, but every time he saw her, it almost seemed like she avoided him. It was his last day, though, and he needed an answer.  He came up to her, and she turned around. "Vera today is the last day, and I need to leave." Vera turned around to say something to him when she heard running and some small voice calling her name. "Vera!!! Vera!!!" She turned around to see her younger brother running up to her. "Jax, what is wrong? Did something happen at home?" Jax was in tears. "It's Mother, she collapsed." Vera began to tear up, and she started to run in the direction of the house Cyprian following behind. Vera ran into the house and looked at the pale, fragile figure that was her mother. Her father was by the bedside, trying to take care of his wife. "Vera..." Cyprian had come inside and put a hand on her shoulder. Vera turned around and looked at him. "I will join the Emperor's harem on one condition. I want him to help my mother and that my family can live comfortably." Cyprian nodded. He was going to do everything he could to help this family.      "You will be summoned in five days until then, take care of your family and spend as much time with them." Vera nodded and watched Cyprian leave. Cyprian managed to find one other girl to join the harem from the village and then made ready to go. Soon they were off again back to the palace where he would await the arrival of his new harem. ******Five Days Later********     Five days had passed since Vera had excepted the offer to join the emperor's harem. Her mother was still frail, but her siblings were very eager to help around the house since she was going to be leaving soon. There was a knock on the door, and Vera went to answer it. An Attendant was at the door, and he bowed to her. "Miss Vera, I am here to take you to the imperial palace." Vera nodded. She went and said goodbye to everyone, telling them that she would write to them every day. Vera grabbed her things and went to the awaiting carriage that would take her to the palace. She climbed in, and they took off.     There was nothing to do on the trip up. The attendant informed her about her role in the palace and the history. Vera's eyes went wide about the idea that she had to be a virgin and that she was required to have s*x with the emperor and provide him with children. Vera began to get sleepy after the attendant finished talking, and soon, she fell asleep.      Vera was lying on a comfortable bed in nothing but a robe. There was a knock on the door, and a man in his late fifties came walking in. He wore the mantle of the emperor and began to remove it. His hard member very much erected. He came over to the bed and untied Vera's robe taking in all of her nakedness. He smiled as he climbed on top of her and began to rub his c**k on her. Vera moaned as he pushed his member into her with such force she cried out in pain. Vera suddenly sat up in the carriage "Ah Miss Vera, you are awake good. We have arrived." Vera looked outside, and her jaw dropped. She could not believe that this was going to be her new home.      It was like one of the stories her father told her about as a child. It was so huge that she figured she maybe could fit at least maybe ten or twenty of her own house inside. She did not have a lot of time to get a better look at the palace. The door opened quickly, and she got ushered into the castle with a bunch of other girls around her age. They immediately got taken to a room where they each got a stylist and thrown behind a changing curtain and dressed. Vera put on a light blue silk dress with embroidered flowers at the bottom. She quickly was taken to another room where her hair and makeup got done. After she looked presentable, she and the other girls were brought into the throne room where they were to meet the emperor.      On entering Vera's heart skipped a beat. Sitting on the throne was Cyprian. Cyprian was the emperor. She looked there a little dumbstruck while the other girls curtsied. This made Cyprian smile a little bit. Vera came too and looked around. Blushing, she also curtsied. Cyprian gave the nod, and all the girls stood up and looked at the emperor. A short man wearing a funny hat came up and stated, "You were all informed of the rules on your way here. You must be a virgin, you must willingly give yourself to the emperor, and whoever can provide him with an heir will become Empress." All the girls began to whisper amongst themselves except for Vera, who had been just staring up at Cyprian. "Tomorrow, the Emperor will choose the first girl to sleep with."      The girls were escorted to another part of the place that was to be their living quarters and where they would bed the emperor. All the girls were too excited to sleep and started to talk amongst themselves to see who they thought was going to be the first to bed the emperor. "Did you see that one girl she looked so stupid the way she stood there gaping at the emperor as she has never seen one?" a dark-haired girl said she introduced herself as Isadora. Vera ignored her and walked out. She walked around to find a place to get some fresh air. She managed to find a garden with roses, lilies, orchids, among many of the flowers that lived there. She took a deep breath and began to sing as she walked around until she spotted a rare flower that she thought never existed here. "A rare white orchid. I never thought they could grow here in Palenia."      Vera suddenly heard footsteps, and she quickly turned around and saw Cyprian with a smile on his face. Vera blushed when she saw him. She turned to go back inside, but Cyprian caught her hand and turned her around to look at her. She was at a loss for words. "You look beautiful." Vera's cheeks grew darker. "Why did you not say something to me about being the emperor." Cyprian looked down. " It would not have been safe for me, and would you have treated me any differently if you knew." Vera shook her head. "Well, I would treat anyone with respect. That is how I was raised, and I hope to raise my children."  She quickly looked down and blushed more when she mentioned children. "Excuse me I should be getting back it's late."  With that, Vera curtsied and made her way back to the living room for the harem. She then went quickly to her room, not wanting to deal with the other girls at that moment. They were going to have an eventful day tomorrow. She needed to get her rest. Vera got ready for bed and laid down.