There were two things she particularly disliked. Perhaps those were the only opinions she still had. She was distraught by what they’d done to her genitals. She never quite felt right in her pussy, whether just walking around or having sex, without her inner lips. It made her look child-like and noticeably, significantly reduced the sensitivity of sex play. It also made penetration feel different and less warm, welcoming, and cozy. That might be alright while in the harem, where she had no say in who her sex partners were. However, if she were eventually reunited with Elliot, she knew their sex would also feel different and meaningfully less intimate. And she’d be embarrassed for Elliot to see her beauty lips changed and reduced, as they now were. She struggled to get past what was forever lost.

  Her other dislike was her nose ring. Not only did it provide her masters with a convenient way to punish her, but it constantly reinforced, by feel and appearance, the fact that she was a slave in the control of the Emir and his lackeys.

  The next time in the Emir’s chambers, there were two guards lying naked on the bed. Claire and Saida were each told to stimulate one of the guards to a full, hard arousal. The last one done, Claire in this case, received a switch to her bottom. She was told to mount the guard from above and then bend partially forward, supporting herself with her hands on the bed, with his manhood thrust deeply into her. This was the first time she was instructed to fuck a man, not of her choosing. In her mind, there was no doubt that she would do as she was told. After all, it was ridiculous to think that her pussy was hers. Nothing was hers. Rather, she belonged to whomever she was given by the Emir or his minions. Claire owned nothing, including herself. Her sex was public property to those in the harem who were above her.

  As she leaned forward, impaled on the guard’s manhood, her knees still beneath her, she felt the second guard remove her butt plug and enter her ass. Her sphincter easily accommodated the second guard. She’d become so used to having her hole plugged that she felt no discomfort.

  It was her first time being double-penetrated. She instinctively moved up and down on the guard beneath her, while the other guard plunged in and out of her rosebud. She felt full and deeply aroused. This was, after all, her purpose in life now. She was one of the Emir’s whores.

  Saida was told to straddle the lower guard and fondle Claire’s nipple rings while the guard licked Saida’s pussy from below. Claire built her pleasure to near climax. Not having been given permission, enough fear set in to hold her back from the edge. The complex, filling, dominating sex was magnificent! Her body shook with arousal. Within her the need to cum battled against her resistance to unsanctioned climax.

  Aziz, ever the onlooker and instructor, cautioned her not to climax, though he realized that C’amila had by now, because of the drugs and conditioning, become almost entirely incapable of having an orgasm without permission. He watched her absorb the attentions of the determined guards. Finally, Aziz, being in a generous mood, mercifully allowed C’amila to cum.

  Claire’s orgasm was gripping and violent. The guards had to hold her tightly to maintain control as she thrashed about in a climax of nuclear force. Her screams of pleasure were long and loud. Her entire conscious focus was on the astounding waves of pleasure emanating from her pussy, ass, nipples and breasts.

  After Claire’s climax was spent, the two women switched positions. Saida did not want to be double-penetrated. Once again, Aziz noted her slow response. He pulled her aside and beat her several times with the whip, demanding that she obey immediately when told, and to be sure she at least appeared to be enjoying it. She was to do it exactly as C’amila had, or she and C’amila would both be punished.

  Saida mounted the reclining guard, tipped forward, and held perfectly still as the second guard removed her plug and entered her ass. Claire, a look of true sympathy on her face, began to lovingly fondle Saida’s breasts and nipples, while her soaking wet pussy was being devoured by the guard from below.

  Claire was still so aroused that the attention of the man’s tongue on her clit and clit ring brought her close to climax. Since Saida hadn’t cum when licked, Claire was denied orgasm. Eventually, Saida reached orgasm and tried to duplicate the aroused abandonment Claire had exhibited without even thinking.

  Eventually, the session ended. Aziz was not pleased with Saida, and determined to punish both members of the sex team, starting with C’amila. His feeling was that Saida would feel so remorseful, seeing her friend hurting, that she would learn her lesson faster than her own pain would teach her.

  He took them to a dark, cell-like room below the palace. The arms of the two women were manacled behind their backs at wrists and elbows, forcing their arms back and their breasts out. Then their manacled wrists were fastened to black, iron rings mounted in the wall behind them. From the wall only a few feet in front of them, Aziz pulled two bungee-like cords and fastened them to each of Claire’s nipple rings. They pulled firmly on the delicate rings and Claire let out a cry of pain. Additional cords were similarly fastened to her nose and clit rings. The pain in her clit was so intense that Claire feared that the ring and her clit would be torn from her. She tried to move forward as much as possible, but the tension on her arms was already at the extreme of what she was able to endure. She cried out and then began to whimper in pain, tears running down her cheeks. Aziz made sure that Saida realized that it was her lack of cooperation that had brought C’amila to this punishment.

  Claire was told to extend her tongue. She did so immediately, more fearful of not quickly obeying than of the additional pain she knew would follow. Aziz fastened a metal clip, studded with several sharp needles at the top and bottom, to Claire’s tongue. The needles pierced her tongue as the clip was tightened. Then the clip was fastened to another bungee cord, pulling her excruciatingly-pierced tongue with steady force. Claire thought she would faint from the torment. She wondered if she’d ever be able to speak properly again.

  Saida was beside herself with grief for her friend and begged Aziz to stop and punish her instead. Aziz, now finished with Claire, fastened Saida’s rings and tongue in the same manner, and left the two of them to suffer throughout the night, but not before assuring Saida that the punishments would continue for both of them until she became the willing, enthusiastic concubine she was required to be.

  Under the influence of the punishments and her drug-addled mind, something broke in Saida that night. Any residual strength she had to resist being absorbed into the harem vanished. Any personal aversion to the sex acts she was instructed to perform evaporated. For the first time, she became only a concubine, the property of the Emir, and his willing slave.

  In the morning, Aziz released the two houris, to resume their daily routine. It was a week before the swelling in their tongues abated enough for them to be able to speak understandably. Even more days passed before they finally healed.

  Over the next few weeks, the exercises with multiple sex partners, for the eventual entertainment of the Emir or as practice to accommodate two or more of his guests at once, continued unabated. Both accidental concubines became increasingly comfortable with their role as sex slaves, and actively looked forward to the sessions, always with the hope that, as sometimes happened, Aziz would allow them to climax. The focus of their formerly full, rich, and complex lives had narrowed to the only interesting activities they had: sex and eating.

  Any reluctance Saida had shown had vanished entirely. Both she and Claire had come to be at home in the seraglio, and at peace with their lives as odalisques.

  * * * * *

  On one otherwise normal morning, the palace was visited by a paramilitary group representing the conservative, loyalist faction. They were searching for members of the radicals, whom they thought might, through the Emir’s good graces, seek sanctuary within the palace. They were also looking for any foreigners, all of whom they accused of inciting Western-style liberal discord among the people. Saudi’s were of particular interest, as were any western Europeans. Most of all, of course, they were rooting out those seditious Americans who, they were sure, could never resist meddling in the affairs of other sovereign peoples.

  After searching throughout the palace, the officer-in-charge informed the Palace Agha that they would now search the seraglio. He informed the Agha that this significant break with tradition was necessary to insure that no one was hiding in areas deemed untouchable.

  The Palace Agha was aghast. Arabic men never discussed their harems with anyone, and rarely even allowed close friends to enter the seraglio. Strangers were never admitted. The Palace Agha tried everything to dissuade the commander, including telling the man that his life would surely be forfeit when the Emir learned of the incursion. His entreaties did no good. With a gun to his head, the Palace Agha opened the door and the band of armed men entered the seraglio.

  The Grand Eunuch was instructed to assemble all of the women and the other eunuchs in the courtyard. The women were to be naked, for inspection. The eunuchs would be taken to a side room and examined individually. Meanwhile, the soldiers would search the harem for anyone in hiding.

  The houris were called together and told to line up in tulip position. Claire and Saida could see what was happening. They were frightened at first, then recognized that they were indistinguishable as concubines from the rest of the women, and were, in fact, a part of the harem in actuality. Their fear vanished and they relaxed, kneeling in tulip with the others.

  The commander went up and down the line, inspecting each of the women for their belly and wrist tattoos. He checked and tugged every nose ring. Some of the women had additional piercings like Claire and Saida. In each case, he would tug on the rings or studs to insure that they were real.

  He next had all the women stand and went down the rows again, asking each houri to spread her outer lips so that her intimacies could be inspected. Having seen this harem’s custom of trimming, he checked each girl for any trace of inner lips, or any sign that the area was still tender from recent trimming, in an attempt to hide a woman not belonging to the harem.

  When he came to Claire and Saida, he asked the Grand Eunuch, “Are they twins?”

  “They are a matched set, to please the Emir. Their looks, gestures, movement, and expressions are exactly alike,” the Grand Eunuch responded gruffly.

  The commander spoke to Claire in Arabic, “Who are you and from where are you, girl?”

  By now, Claire had learned a considerable amount of Arabic. She understood the question and answered, eyes downcast as though speaking to a master. “I am C’amila, Master. I am from Bosnia.”

  “Spread,” he commanded. Both women spread their beauty lips in exactly the same way at exactly the same time. Beneath, they were both smooth and displayed matching rings through their clits. The commander gently tugged their rings at the same time. Both women cooed with pleasure and involuntarily moved their hips in invitation.

  “These two are remarkably sexy,” he couldn’t help but mention it to the Grand Eunuch. The commander found their full figures and coordinated looks and movements to be unusually arousing. “The Emir is a lucky man to have such a pair.”

  The Grand Eunuch grunted with displeasure. He considered it barbaric for this man to even be in the harem, let alone touching or commenting about the Emir’s concubines.

  The soldiers found nothing and no one to interest them in the seraglio. The commander, in an attempt to mollify the Grand Eunuch, thanked him profusely and left the harem. The Palace Agha showed them out, making sure that he had the full information about the commander. The Emir would hear of this, and would not be pleased.

  For Claire and Saida, the things they’d endured within the harem almost seemed worth it; they had successfully deceived the military and remained safe within the bosom of the seraglio.

  * * * * *

  Claire and Saida had been in the harem for ten weeks. The Grand Eunuch summoned Aziz and Majid to discuss the progress of his most important project, the training of the matched pair for the eventual enjoyment of the still-absent Emir.

  “I’ve observed their training,” he noted. They both seem to have taken the responsibilities, the rewards, and the punishments of the seraglio to heart. Credit to you, Aziz. I know you’ve had to endure difficult, challenging times with these two. I know you’ve worked through the night many times to punish, prepare, or plan for them. Your performance has exceeded my expectations.”

  Aziz seemed about to explode with pride. All he could manage was a weak, “Thank you, Grand One. They are ready for the return of His Highness. They’ll continue to train and practice. Of course that will always be a significant part of their lives here.”

  “I can see how incredibly well-matched they are in actions and appearance. Majid, where are we on getting them to weight?”

  “They are, right now, at exactly 171 pounds each, Grand One. They are nicely plump, soft yet pleasingly proportioned, if one likes that sort of look. The Emir should find them arousingly different, fleshy, feminine companions in bed and in sex. Aziz and I have discussed whether they are at an acceptable weight, or whether we should add a few more pounds. We both feel we could go a little farther, while weaning them off the appetite stimulants, but would greatly appreciate your opinion.”

  The Grand Eunuch looked at the multiple pictures of the two odalisques, their bodies displayed in many positions. They were pleasantly chubby. Perhaps, just a little more, he thought. “I agree with the two of you. Let’s take them to about 180 pounds, and hold them there. Wean them off the appetite stimulants between now and when they reach that point in two or three weeks. If, after we examine them, we think we’ve gone too far, we can drop them back five pounds or so.”

  “We will do as you suggest, Grand one.” Majid agreed. “I also believe we can wean them from the submission drugs. Aziz feels that both of them have now accepted their situation and have become true harem slaves at a fundamental level. Taking them off the drugs should have little effect, since we’ve accomplished, through the drugs, discipline, and punishment, all that we sought in fostering their acceptance of their harem roles.”

  “I defer to your judgment,” the Grand Eunuch replied. “Wean them at a pace you decide.”

  “I will, Grand One. If we note any undesirable change when the drugs are reduced, I’ll reinstate them and inform you. Then we can decide how to proceed.”

  “Agreed.”

  “But,” Majid hastened to add, “I expect no problems.”

  Over the next two weeks, both Claire and Saida noticed a gradual increase in mental clarity, as though a light fog were lifting. It made their training and experiences more vivid, but had no affect on the attitudes and behaviors with which they’d been indoctrinated, and which they’d each personally adopted, during the time they were medicated. Majid interviewed each woman separately and the two of them together. He was convinced that they had integrated into seraglio life and had now accepted their position and purpose.

  He sensed that the acceptance wasn’t enthusiastic. That bothered him at first, until he came to realize that the two women were really not enthusiastic about anything. Some spark within them, if it had ever existed at all, had gone out. But as he probed, he did find that they were dedicated houris, determined to do whatever was asked of them. That determination came from both fear and their persistent desire to submit to the will of others. They were told to be dedicated, so they were. The fact that they were no longer on the submissive drugs apparently hadn’t regressed them at all. The combination of the medication, discipline, never-ending practice, and judicious punishment had effected the lasting change he’d worked towards. The therapy had been as successful as he’d dared hope. If only they had more passion, eagerness and zest for their lives here …

  The interviews with both women were remarkably alike. Their responses were so similar that Majid thought for a moment that they must have been rehearsed. That was, of course, impossible. Neither C’amila nor Saida had any idea what he would ask. Aziz had apparently been wildly successful in matching the actions and thoughts of the two. They were so similar that Majid would occasionally forget which one he was talking to. During the interview with them both present, they would answer in the same words at exactly the same time, more often than not. And neither of them found that to be either amusing or unusual.

  He prepared a summary of the techniques used, the results obtained, and the follow-up work for the Grand Eunuch. It would serve as a model for complex harem initiations in the future, and as a written record he and Aziz could reference in making a case for a nice bonus from the Emir.

  * * * * *

  Claire lay next to Saida, who was cupping her from behind, their naked bodies pressed together as Saida held her on their sleeping mat. Neither had quite drifted off to sleep. Claire pulled Saida’s arm more tightly around her, feeling her own and Saida’s very ample breasts at the same time. She found her newly plump body to be curious. She didn’t particularly hate it, but she didn’t like it either. Apparently, for whatever mysterious reason the eunuchs had, they’d decided that she and Saida would be chubby and well-rounded, so that’s what they were.

  Not having control over her own body bothered her when she thought about it, but not very much. She looked so little like the Claire of a year ago, that she was virtually a different person altogether. She was a rotund, pierced, tattooed, genitally modified, olive-skinned, black-haired, brown-eyed concubine of the still-unseen Emir. She was almost certainly now bisexual. She had little or no desire to make decisions for herself, and wasn’t sure she could even do that if asked. In fact, she realized, she actually hated to be asked her opinion or required to make a decision. She greatly preferred to be told what to do and to follow practice scripts in everything she was required to do in the harem. It made day-to-day life easy, and it greatly reduced her risk of punishment.

  She didn’t have the will to decide things or talk about them. Although it was no longer painful for her to speak, and her voice was otherwise quite normal, she found speaking difficult. She tended to stutter in both Arabic and English, especially in the presence of a eunuch or a guard master. As far as she could tell, the stuttering was getting more pronounced, not less. So she preferred to be quiet.