Of Sacrifice and Sand (BE, Reupload)
Originally Posted Spring 2018.
They always look so timid with the blade at their throat. With their eyes wide, every breath a measured moment of grace. They neither beg nor plead. Bargaining is a bygone hope. No, at the end of a blade, everyone submits. They only grow bold when it’s pulled away. Mother gave them a chance, on occasion. The poor, the lame, the blind. She’d offer them a chance as her foot stool. Her scullery maid. An endless line of menial labor for bread and water.
But mother is gone now.
The girl was jumpier than most. She tried to run when the jackals were set upon her. But between the snarls and screams, she tripped. Fell right in the alley she thought would give her shelter. The jackals bounded, their jaws slobbering with hunger. She cried out again. Be it to the gods or for mercy, I can’t say. But she came along well enough after.
She’d been chosen, the guards told her.
She should be honored.
As they took her into the belly of the tomb, into the sand and the earth, I watched. I watched as every strip of fabric was torn from her. As her tanned flesh jiggled in the torch light, as her hands clasped at it. So modest, these types. As if they had anything left to be modest about.
She fought as they gripped her hands. As the stocks came, parting her thighs. Arching her back with a single thick chain, neck to ankles. She screamed, the fought. I watched as every tendon on her body grew taught in defiance.
Then came the blade.
I descended from my seat, staff in hand as I approached her. Her mouth was but a thin line, but her nostrils flared. Her eyes were wide with manic fury as I stepped towards her. As I bent, a smile crossed my lips. I could almost feel the spit on my face from her, though she didn’t move.
I cupped her breasts within my palm, and squeezed. She squirmed against the restraints, but didn’t snarl. She didn’t scream, she didn’t fight. Not even as my tongue rolled itself over her pert nipple. She didn’t move as I suckled her teat, my eyes on hers all the while. I pulled her from my mouth with a pop, one that echoed against the stone walls.
“Yes, this one will do,” I said, “Bring her forth,”
They dragged her to her feet. Hauled her up, clanking chains and all. As the knife was pulled away, she screamed. Screamed like all the others, like they all do the moment they think they’re safe.
It didn’t last long.
They never do.
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He had a belly that would blot out the sun, and a head that would blind it. But with a scroll in his hands, he was in his element. Li gave a long sigh as his eyes strayed over the papyrus. Then in a single deft motion, he rolled it away. He closed his eyes, and tapped it against his massive forehead.
“Well?” I said.
Li glanced up at me, and raised his arms. “Well what? What do you want me to say? The count is at thirty. We’re in a town of two-hundred people. If the rate is maintained, you’ll have nothing by harvest. Nothing. Zero. You understand the concept of zero, right?”
I wriggle my nose, and watched as Li unrolled the scroll again. He glanced once more, and rolled it away once more. “Your majesty, with all due respect-perhaps it’s time to stop this game?”
“And why would we do that?” I say, lifting a goblet to my lips. The wine is sour and burns, but I don’t flinch. I don’t grimace, or so much as move. It’s disgusting, but when you’re queen, drama is everything. It’s the difference between fear and loyalty.
I’ve never quite placed Li under either. Especially now, with his eyes wide as he watches me.
“Are you serious? Did you not hear me? You’ll have no one to draw upon. It’s not as though the villagers aren’t talking, either-”
“Blame it on the gods,” I say as I set the cup down.
Li sighs, and brings his fingers to his eyes. Beyond his palm and rubbing, he says “It’s not that easy, miss. You can’t blame the gods for everything. We’ve already had that revolt in Cairo, with the damned sorcerer that parted the sea,”
“And? We set them free as an act of mercy, didn’t we?”
Li watches me for a moment from over his fingers. He pulls his hand away, and takes a deep breath as his eyes close. I watch as he turns, his bare stomach jiggling as he walks. He grips his hands behind his back, and studies the ground.
“Your majesty,” he says, his alto voice high, “I’m about to say something, and I’d like a private audience. If you can bequeath yourself to grant it to me-naturally,” he says, glancing up.
I give a nod, and motion towards the jackal-headed guards. Without a word, they descend from the steps of the throne. One of them bumps into Li as they walk forward. Li rolls his eyes, and lets out a slow exhale. As their footsteps grow faint, his eyes meet mine again.
“So, tell me-when’s the last time these sacrifices actually went to a god? Even a minor one?” he says, his voice flat. He takes a step forward, his eyes flicking from my chest up.
I curl my fingers over the arms of the throne. But that’s all I give him. I shift in my seat, and watch as his eyes pull away. As one leg swings over the other, the glances back.
“Ra always takes his portion,” I say, resting a hand on one pendulous breast. Li scoffs, and jabs a finger towards me.
“The whole portion? Or have you been skimming from him as well? Osira, this is greed. It’s one thing with the slaves, but to take from the offerings to gods-”
“Hold your heathen tongue, you insolent swine!” I shout, rising from the throne.
Only, it takes a moment. It takes every ounce of strength I have without the handlers. My breasts swing massive as suns, smacking against my knees. Their piercings jangle low, gracing the floor as Li stands there. His face stone, his focus firmly above them. He pinches his nose, and takes a deep breath.
“When I took this office, I swore an oath. To you-you remember that, correct?” he says. He turns on his heel, and begins to pace once more. I grip the arms of the throne, my biceps straining to hold me upright.
“Of course I remember,” I spit, “I was there,”
“Yes, yes you were. Do you recall the exact wording of that oath?” says Li, gazing back at me. I narrow my eyes, my brow furrowed towards him.
“What blasted pig-tongued idiocy are you on about?”
“I just want to check. Do you remember, at all?” he says. He turns to me, and scratches a hand over his massive stomach. With the torchlight, it gleams like roasted calf.
I take my seat again, as elegantly as I can. I pray he doesn’t notice the bead of sweat I wipe away. He turns on his heel, and faces the empty throne room.
“I swore,” he says, voice even as the floor, “to uphold both the interest of you-but the gods. I swore that on fear of punishment and death,”
Li turns, holding the scroll in his hand. He points it towards me like a spear, his head tilted slightly. His jowls rise to his chin, and waggle as he shakes his head. “And it’s clearly evident to literally anyone that someone hasn’t upheld a part of that agreement. I did as you said. I gathered every girl with busts ’like wagon wheels’, and brought them here. Because you told me the gods deemed it so. Because you said they told you as much. You-over me, the high priest. And now I stand here, thirty girls later, and you’re daring to tell me they want more. That’s not the gods. That’s greed, and it’s damned human,”
I sit there, my eyes meeting his. The silence saps the air from my lungs, but I don’t show it. The torches waver, and I lift the goblet back to my lips.
Another sour burn, and I pull it away. I look back up at him, and watch as Li’s eyes widen. As he rolls his shoulders, and looks at me.
“So, tell me the truth. When’s the last time this went to the gods, and not your bust?”
I roll a finger along the edge of the cup. I lift it, and gaze upon the purple stain across the tip. I take it to my lips, and suckle it as I watch him. Li stares all the while, his face twitching by degrees. At last he pulls his face away, and gives a sigh.
“I’ll organize another search. There’s apparently a fisherman’s daughter that-”
“No, you’re right.” I say.
Li pauses, and turns on his heel to face me. As confusion spreads across his continence, I giggle. I roll an idle hand along my breasts, the skin supple in my grip. Li watches, his round cheeks tinging as he coughs into his fist.
“Excuse me, your majesty? Did you say-”
“Yes, I did. You’re correct. I have been stealing from the gods, and have been greedy. So that’s why we’ll have one final offering. To compensate, understand?” I say. My palm drifts, encompassing my teat. I hook a finger within the gold bangle, cooing as I give it a tug.
“It’ll have to be quite sizable. No beggar girl, understand? Someone of renown that rivals my own. Nothing less will suffice,”
Li watches, his eyes twitching as I tug the piercing. I shudder as a single bead forms, giving way to a rising dribble. He takes a step forward, sweat beading along his rounded features.
“Y-yes, your majesty. I completely agree,” he says, voice breaking like stones on iron. I smirk as he laps his lips, toddling towards the steps.
“That’s a dear boy,” I say, the words curling along my tongue. By the time Li’s bald head is close enough, his breath warm on my skin, I know I have him. His lips encircling my teat as he drinks with gusto is just a formality. When his hand reaches beneath his sash, I laugh.
I’d had ones like Li before. Ones that thought they were smart.
They all fell dumb with their mouth full.
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They knew to wait their turn.
Some stood idle, their cocks throbbing against their toned stomachs. Others stood, pumping into their hands as they watched. More sat and drew lots, gambling what little they had. Every shade, every nation.
All here for to prove just how weak they were.
They never lasted more than a few moments. The moment my warmth wrapped around them, it started. The motions of protest, just like the slaves and commoners. The fight to be independent before they’d submit, lowing like beasts with every thrust.
Li thought it was greed. Even with all his machinations and knowing, he limited it to that.
He had no idea the brothel existed, or why. He’d piss all over himself if he did.
Because Li, smart as he was, didn’t understand a fundamental fact of an empire.
Everyone turns to cattle if they’re happy.
The one between them, I don’t know who he is. I don’t know what nation he hails from, or why. But he sputters out a trade deal. He agrees to give up land as I kneed my breasts around his girth. Another throb, and he asks which treasury it’d take for more. I giggle from beneath the veil, and squeeze his cock even tighter.
He inhales sharply, and gives away his kingdom. Just like the man before him, and the one after. The line thins by the hour, filing through a door to the side. Spent, sweating and too exhausted to stand, parchments are signed. Seals are stamped. The kingdom is secure, with or without the gods. The sun begins to set, and the flicker of oil lamps hides a full day of politics.
By the time the last man enters, I can barely move. My breasts weigh upon me like wet boulders. I take as deep of a breath as I can, and turn my head. The veil rises against my lips with each exhale.
“Sorry darling, you’re a tad late. But I’ve a feeling you don’t mind, do you?”
He answers with a belt hitting the ground. A sword dropped, forgotten as he grips my chest. His pumping his furious, accentuated with heady puffs from his cheeks. His fingers hook into the piercings, and he tugs back like they’re reigns.
When they were smaller, that had hurt. The pain had been excruciating. But now, all I feel is my toes curling. The filthy sheets below me curling into my fist as he gives a final pump, splattering my chest. Thick, warm ropes splatter from between them. Every drop gold, land. People. He falls atop me in a huff, panting like a slave. I can’t help but chuckle, and cup the back of his skull.
“You like them, my sweet? My lush oasis of pleasure?” I say. The veil falls against my lips, and I watch as he stands. He wipes at his brow with a smile, and nods.
“Damned right-you’re almost as big as that dancing girl,” he mutters.
He went to put his belt on. He raised his sword, and as he went to tuck it, I rose from the bed.
Exhaustion be damned. Stained sheets and filthy skin be damned. I rose from the silken pillows, and placed my hands upon my hips. He turned towards the side door, and almost jumped as he saw me.
“What dancing girl?”
The words left my tongue not as a harlot, but a queen. They boomed against the walls of the room, and I almost smiled as he shriveled.
“Oh, u-uh just-just this dancer, in the next town. She’s not nearly as talented as you, just. Uh, y-you know?” he said, cupping the air before him. “Bigger, see?”
“By how much?”
I watched as his throat bobbed, and he took a step towards the door. “It’s hard to say, it’s all underneath silk. Veils, all that. She’s just massive all around, but-but you don’t see that size all the time in the desert, you know? Why, I-”
I snapped my finger, seed spattering from my chest to the floor. He gave a nod, and exited through it. It shut, gusting dust and sand inward.
It was only then I realized he’d not made an agreement. My lips curled into a smile all the same, though.
He’d given so much more.
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Li couldn’t stop sweating.
He wiped his brow for the third time since we had arrived. I couldn’t fault him-it wasn’t the roaring fire, nor the arid climate. The bar was packed with commoners. A lithe few had even taken to the ceiling, peering down like cats. Amid the cursing and drinking, eyes cut to the fire in wait. Every moment it flickered was a held breath. Li looked at me and gestured around his face. I pulled my hood down farther, and nodded back.
It wasn’t though I feared the commoners. But a single glance beneath this hood, and our work was forfeit. The dancer-if she was indeed here at all-would run. Li, to my chagrin, had been right about the rumors. Commoners talked. Too much, judging by the noise of the room. I reclined back against the wall as Li lifted a mug to his lips.
“Shouldn’t be long now,” he said. He tilted a head towards the stage, and my eyes followed. A thin man, clad in purple silk festooned with feathers, stood before the fire. His face was hidden beneath an iron gray beard, and he glanced about the room. The fuzz of his face parted in a yellow toothed smile. He lifted a heavily ringed hand, the gold glinting in the light as he stroked his beard.
“Friends!” he bellowed, pulling his hand in a wide circle. “Are you ready for a glimpse of paradise?!”
The room erupted into a hellish cacophony. Cups were slammed against tables as men hooted. The ones in the rafters cupped their hands, and joined within the dull roar of voices. The man on stage bowed deeply, his shaggy beard sweeping the ground.
“Then I-Sallah un-Dun-shall bring you that visage! From a land farther than your own comes peaks to rival even the highest!” said Un-Dun.
I clenched my jaw, and shifted against the wall. As I pulled my hands from the table, Li gripped my wrist. I looked up, and watched his jowls glisten as he shook his head. I gave a snarl, and slumped back against the wall.
Un-Dun gave another bow, and raised his hands. The chorus of cat-calls and curses lowered. Candles were extinguished until only the fire remained. I glanced around the room-and in it’s orange glow, saw the one thing that made me pause.
Rapt devotion to the stage. Devotion that was eclipsed as the dancer took the steps, and struck a pose.
The man in the brothel had been right. She was bigger. Her bust ended below her knees, the teats gracing the floor. She broke from the pose, and began to move with the ease of a gust. She jumped from one end of the stage to the other as her chest rolled. Each thrust of her hip sent them smacking against her, and out towards the audience. From somewhere in the dark, a pipe began to play. Not a man stirred, or spoke.
They kept their eyes upon her. Over every curve and fold, they watched as she cupped her flesh. As her face contorted with pleasure, her spine rolling back. Her thighs parted, the bush of her sex apparent in the tangerine light. The pipe picked up a manic pace, and the dancer bucked against it. Every thrust towards the audience sent her chest smacking against the floor.
Then it was my turn to grip Li’s wrist. He paid little attention to the first squeeze. But on the second, as I dug my nails within his flesh, he finally did. We rose from our spot, and exited from the open door into the street.
“Majesty,” he sputtered, only to stop as I pulled my hood back.
“Her. Now,”
“Let’s not be hasty, miss” he said, tossing a glance behind him, “This is a public place,”
“And it’s time the public be taught their place. Or should I do it for you, you damned eunuch?” I sneered. Li took a step back, his face solemn.
“Very well, your majesty…very well” he said. He turned back to the bar with a sigh, and stepped forth.
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Even in better light, I still hated her. Not because her breasts were bigger. That would have been petty. Not because she was beautiful, though she was. I didn’t hate her grace, her melodic voice.
I hated her because she made it easy. The moment she saw Li, she came willingly. Just as eager, just as honored as we told the others they should be. They didn’t even have to restrain her. In the dark and gritty belly of the tomb, she didn’t tremble. She didn’t beg, or plead. Not a single blade had to be raised against her.
She smiled. She looked at me in adoration, her hands clasped in the valley of her breasts. The way she gasped when the blindfold was pulled from her eyes? I almost vomitted.
“Oh my goshhhhh,” she cooed, every jiggling inch of her trembling. “I can’t believe this-I get to-I’m meeting you!”
I sighed, and looked over to Li. He shrugged his shoulders, his face bemused. He mouthed, play along, to which I rolled my eyes. I forced a smile, and tilted my head towards her.
“Yes, yes you are. Do you have any idea why?” I said.
The words hung in the air a moment, and I watched as the dancer thought. The smile faded, but only for a moment. She shook her head, her mountains of flesh swaying as she did. “Nope! Can’t think of why. But whatever it is, I’m up for it!”
I raised an eyebrow, and looked over at Li. His eyes met mine, and he lifted a chubby fist. He cleared his throat, and took a step forward.
“Her majesty took interest in your display. She’s curious as to if she could request another. Would that be within rea-”
“Are you kidding?! Of course it would be! W-when-” she said, her lips fluttering, “W-when would she like for me to?”
Li paused, and narrowed his eyes. He looked up towards me, and rose upon the steps. As he drew near, he cupped a hand over his lips.
“Remember when I said we owed the gods?”
“How could I forget? You remind me every time,” I said.
Li grimaced, and raised his hand back. “Let this one be-she’s too happy, all things considered. Let her dance, and dedicate it to them. No one gets hurt, and she walks away joyous. It’d help those rumors,”
I paused, and watched the girl. He fidgeted one hand within the other, her teeth sunk into her lip. She watched us, her eyes wide.
Even fearful.
My lips curled into a smile, and I tapped my fingers along the arm of the throne. I turned towards Li, and watched as puzzlement broke on his face.
“We’ll do that. But the girl? She stays here. For me. For personal entertainment. Understood?”
Li pulled away slowly, his eyes searching my own. He glanced back at the girl, his jowls rolling atop one another. He gave a slow nod, and took the steps down. He cleared his throat once more, and spoke to the girl.
I’d never heard a scream of delight so loud.
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Empires teach you many things. But the foremost among them is time.
Time makes things grow, and brings them down. It creates fortunes, only to have them disappear in an instant. But of all the things time teaches, the most important is this:
Everyone breaks.
For the dancer, it took a month.
The dance Li purposed went beautifully. She performed right there, moments after Li told her the news. Stark naked, with nothing but her bangles. Every clap of her breasts echoed within that hall, stifled by the earth. Stifled by the sand that had muted thirty screams. She danced until the flames grew too low within the hall to see. As she graced the floor once more, she landed atop her massive chest. Her eyes met mine, and I dismissed Li. As he walked from the hall, he cast one more glance back.
At her.
Time. Time breaks everything, and everyone. That same joyous girl hangs limp from her stocks. Her hands braced to the wall, her breasts swollen and tender. The skin is puckered pink from so many caresses. She’s even more massive than when she entered. Each day just makes her grow larger.
Because within this month, this brief stretch of time, I thought about what Li said. How stealing from the gods is bound to anger them. How a girl a day for a month rivals the hunger of even the largest crocodiles. I thought on that, and hatched a plan that day in the chamber.
It’s not stealing if you no longer have that which was taken.
Every day, I take my time approaching this forgotten tomb. Deep within the dunes, I come alone. Just as I had with each offering. Every day, I come to this very chamber where she now resides. I open the door, her head meekly lifting to meet mine.
I take a few moments, just to gaze upon her. Upon this rival of mine, who dared to tell me I was her inspiration. Who, even with the weight of the kingdom upon her, is eager. Then I step forward, and grip her chin. I raise it as I cup my diminishing wealth, and press myself within her mouth.
Then I say one single word. A command, delivered as a queen-not a thief.
“Drink,”
And so she does. Like a suckling calf, the gorges herself. She guzzles every drop, lowing as she grows with every gulp. With her eyes closed, she doesn’t watch my other hand. She doesn’t mind as it slips between my thighs, and stirs. When I pull away, her head hangs drunkenly. Full for the day. For this time, this visit.
My little sacrificial cow-she’s not so little anymore. Massive as she was, her legs can’t even touch the floor. She leaks constantly from her teats, the sand around her long since turned to muck. But there she’ll remain. Every day just like the one before it, until a time comes that I’ve nothing left to give her. Not a drop left to take blame for.
I wonder how the knife will glimmer against her milk white neck, then.
It takes time to rule an empire. To feign to gods, and pretend with mortals. But a good queen keeps her reign. She does what she must to keep her kingdom.
By flesh, or by blade.
Eagerness be damned.
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