Caliphate

Castle Noisvastei, Province of Baya, 10 Rajab, 1533 AH

(9 June, 2109)

The word "houri" meant, among other things, "having lovely eyes." It did not necessarily mean, nor was it related to, the English word

"whore" or its Teutonic antecedents. Notwithstanding, the girls at the castle were all called "houris" by the staff and the management, even though they were just whores.

After Latif had turned Petra over to a member of the staff, the first day had been taken up with inoculations and other medical treatment. The houris had value, it was explained to her and a dozen other new girls, most of them of about her age, and so it was worth while taking better care of them than it was with the usual filthy Nazrani.

Fortunately, Petra had had little opportunity to experience candy in her life and so she was spared more than the most cursory dental treatment. Some girls were not so lucky.

Each of the new girls was then assigned to an experienced, older houri for training. There was something about the idea of a line of a bakers' dozen kneeling twelve-year-olds, practicing fellatio in cadence, under the supervision of a washed-up whore, that offended even Latif's atrophied sensibilities.

Petra's teacher was called Zheng Ling and Petra thought she had the most beautiful, exotic eyes she'd ever seen, almond shaped but very large.

"I've never seen anyone like you," Petra said, in wonder, as Ling showed her around the castle.

"I'm an import," Ling said. "Bred in a brothel in Shanghai and sold here when I was four."

"Four!"

"I was a maid for five years before they ever put me to 'work,'" Ling said. "Even that pederast, Latif, has some scruples. He was my first.

"What did he pay for you, by the way?" Ling asked.

"About three hundred dinar," Petra answered.

"That's a lot!" Ling said admiringly. "No wonder they assigned you to me; they always give me the best girls to train."

"Train me, how, exactly?" Petra asked.

"There are many things to learn," Ling answered. "To clothe yourself, to wear make up to make yourself beautiful, to use your mind and your body to please men—"

"My body was already used to please men," Petra said, her face wrinkling and her eyes lowering. She shivered with the vile memory.

Ling chewed at her lower lip. The way this new girl had said it she assumed her first experience with men had been a bitter one. Should she ask about it? Perhaps not, but . . . "You can talk to me about it if it will help. Now or later."

Petra just shook her head, rapidly. She definitely did not want to talk about it.

"Okay," Ling answered. "Let me tell you up front, though, that whatever happened to you will not save you from having to use your mind and body to please men now. It is your only reason for existence, from now until you grow too old to earn a fee. At that point, if you've saved any money they may let you buy your freedom. You may be able to get work here, on the staff. But if you're frivolous, if you fail to please your clients so that they do not tip you, you can expect to be tossed out in the cold without so much as a blanket.

"I'll teach you what to do to make men want to tip you and to keep yourself up so you can earn the highest fees."

"But the very idea of it makes me want to throw up," Petra said.

Ling smiled, mostly sadly. "It isn't necessary to like it, only to be good at it. For enjoyment, we houris have each other."