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<\/a><\/p>\n(4)<\/p>\n
We stood out there all day upon the rocky hillside. The sun beat down mercilessly upon us and the posts were uncomfortable. But no one complained.<\/p>\n
There was the occasional moan and a head would be turned in that direction. But a gallant smile was the only response. We held up courageously all through the day.<\/p>\n
The heat of the day gave way to the chill of the night. It was impossible to sleep but for a few moments here and there. There were more moans and sighs of weariness. But there were no words of complaint, nor were there any requests to give in to the demands of the king. And once again there were no betrayals to the ever present guards.<\/p>\n
In the middle of the night the palace guard came out with torches. They walked among us, listening intently for some sort of word, some betrayal from a body weakened by hunger, thirst or cold. But none among us gave such a word. In that darkest hour I never felt such kinship as I did among the queen\u2019s handmaidens\u2026<\/p>\n
(5)<\/p>\n I sensed danger when the king came out with his palace guard the next morning. Surely by now he must have known we were not going to divulge the identity of our queen! The presence of two men with cruel whips confirmed as much!<\/p>\n They wasted no time randomly picking out a girl! Her name was Dianthe, meaning god-flower. I gasped in alarm as Queen Asparia recoiled in horror.<\/p>\n Dianthe said not a word until they began to beat her with the whip upon her chest and belly. Her screams penetrated my heart and I saw the queen wince in agony. But still Dianthe did not betray her mistress.<\/p>\n Asparia could bear it no longer, could not bear the beating of one of her beloved handmaidens. \u201cI am queen of the Hellenes!\u201d she cried out, and I feared the cruel tactic had worked.<\/p>\n Scant moments later another female voice cried out, \u201cI AM QUEEN OF THE HELLENES!\u201d Then another\u2026 and another!! The guards looked around in confusion and dismay and I nearly laughed as I lent my voice along with all the others. We were all proclaiming ourselves to be the queen of the Hellenes!!<\/p>\n Queen Asparia could not bear the thought of them returning to Dianthe\u2019s beating. So she cried out again\u2026 \u201cNO \u2013 I AM QUEEN OF THE HELLENES!!\u201d Others loudly took up that same cry, I among them… \u201cNO \u2013 I AM QUEEN OF THE HELLENES!!\u201d \u00a0We were determined not to give her up to these barbarians! Even Dianthe lent her voice to the cry!<\/p>\n I saw Queen Asparia look all around with tears in her eyes. I was never so proud to be called among her handmaidens as I was at that moment. Together we had made that terrible place a noble hillside.<\/p>\n The captain of the guards looked around admiringly. He was a handsome man, and a strong warrior I could tell. \u201cSurely they ALL are worthy to be the queen of the Hellenes,\u201d he acknowledged. But the King of Babylon was furious.<\/p>\n \u201cFETCH THE OIL!\u201d he roared. \u201cI will teach these Hellenes what it is to make a mockery of the king!\u201d Our voices fell silent and I felt a terrible dread\u2026<\/p>\n (6)<\/p>\n Men were quickly dispatched back to the city. We could not help but look at each other, wondering the meaning of this new development. There was alarm in Queen Asparia\u2019s eyes when they locked with mine, and I knew she feared for her handmaidens.<\/p>\n The soldiers returned with a large barrel of oil. Torches were lit as those two with the whips returned to Dianthe. There was a loud gasp among us when her chiton was cruelly ripped from her shoulders, leaving her fully exposed to the elements.<\/p>\n Those horrible men dipped their hands into the oil and proceeded to massage it all over into the skin of poor Dianthe. She moaned and whimpered as they roughly handled her fine breasts with their dirty, oily hands. One of them even fingered her womanhood deeply, making her writhe and moan in total humiliation. Then the king handed over a torch.<\/p>\n There was a pause as though those barbarians were awaiting her final answer. But Dianthe gave none. There was fear in her eyes but she proudly lifted herself up to her full stature. Then the king angrily cried out, \u201cBURN HER!\u201d and a torch stretched out to touch her skin.<\/p>\n Dianthe began to shriek in absolute horror. Then the flames caught the oil on her body and she was totally consumed, becoming as the flame of a giant candle! She began screaming in absolute terror, causing the rest of us to wail in grief and horror.<\/p>\n Queen Asparia was beside herself, unable to stand the loss of one of her handmaidens in this manner. She began to scream, \u201cNO \u2013 NO; I AM THE ONE \u2013 I AM THE ONE!\u201d<\/p>\n I was sure this would identify her; I was also certain this would doom the rest of us to a similar fate. But scarce had she gotten out the words before others began screaming, \u201cNO \u2013 NO; I AM THE ONE! I AM THE QUEEN OF THE HELENES!!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNO; IT IS I!!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNO \u2013 NO; IT IS I!! I AM THE ONE!!\u201d By then Dianthe\u2019s screams had abated and she had slumped against her post, her entire body aflame.<\/p>\n The king motioned and those two moved to another girl at random, one I knew as Eugeneia. She stiffened and shuddered as her chiton was ripped off her body. The others continued the chant of \u201cNO \u2013 NO; I AM THE QUEEN OF THE HELENES!\u201d even as they rubbed oil all over her body, making sure to work it into her womanhood.<\/p>\n Queen Asparia let out a wail, causing others to cry out the same. Even now they refused to identify her at the cost of their own lives! The torch touched Eugeneia and she lit up as a large flame on the morning hillside in the midst of horrible, anguished screams.<\/p>\n A third handmaiden was set aflame\u2026 and then a forth. The king raised his hand to pause the proceedings as though expecting the identification to be made at any moment. But there was nothing forthcoming save crying and sobbing now.<\/p>\n I saw Queen Asparia look around at her handmaidens, saw the anguish in her eyes. But she nodded proudly at them and refused to cry out after that. The others settled down to whimper and await their turn, for surely that was what the king intended.<\/p>\n He did not disappoint\u2026<\/p>\n One by one we were stripped of our chitons, oiled up and then set on fire. No sooner would the screams of the dying be silenced when new screams of the burning would fill the air. But we no longer chanted that we were the queen of the Hellenes.<\/p>\n It no longer mattered\u2026<\/p>\n The hillside grew warm from the flames of the burning handmaidens. All I could do was pant heavily for breath as the terror grew at awaiting my turn. I could see now we were all doomed to destruction.<\/p>\n It was horrible when Queen Asparia faced her turn. But she stood resolute upon that hillside. I could see she was determined to go out proudly along with each of her handmaidens. The heaviness of living with this upon her conscience would be too much even for her to bear. So she did not give herself away\u2026 not even then!<\/p>\n I watched as they molested her naked body with oil, watched as they fingered her womanhood. Then they set her on fire with the torch. Those of us remaining screamed right along with her until we were all screamed out.<\/p>\n One by one I lost my friends: Frona the self controlled\u2026 Kalliope the beautifully voiced one\u2026 Lois and Lysandra. The hillside grew intensely warm from the flames, although bodies were beginning to burn out and crumple into small piles of embers upon the ground. They all went until I alone was left.<\/p>\n By then the king had departed in a rage. It had become quite clear to him that the only thing he had succeeded in doing was destroying valuable slave labor. Only a handful of the soldiers remained to conclude the day\u2019s work, along with the captain of the guard who had been entrusted to complete the gruesome task.<\/p>\n He finally came to me when I was the last. I was all but devastated, a despairing shell of the woman I was. Seeing all my friends burn, seeing my queen in fiery agony and death, had almost been more than I could bear. He seemed to sense this in me.<\/p>\n \u201cBabylonians,\u201d he breathed in disgust, shaking his head. \u201cWhat name is that now but one of barbarism and cruelty? What have we become that we must stoop to such evil?\u201d Then he looked at me with a strange kindness.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is your name? You need not tell me if that is what you wish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does it matter now?\u201d I sighed with a heavy heart. \u201cYou have destroyed my queen and my friends. I am Talitha.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTalitha,\u201d he repeated as though searching his mind for some meaning. \u201cDamsel\u2026 maiden\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYoung lamb,\u201d I added quietly, \u201c\u2026like a lamb unto the slaughter.\u201d It was ironic and I had to smile.<\/p>\n One of the soldiers came to oil me but the captain roughly pushed him aside. \u201cI will do this one myself!\u201d he said angrily. Then he dipped his hand into the oil.<\/p>\n He was not rough like the others. He touched me with a fondness\u2026 a certain affection. \u201cYou are a noble people,\u201d he said softly, \u201c\u2026perishing on a noble hillside. Truly we are barbarians. Our reign will not last long.\u201d He seemed almost regretful.<\/p>\n He massaged my breasts like a lover and I felt soothed. He was tender with me as he rubbed the oil all over into my body. Then he reached in to oil his fingers.<\/p>\n \u201cForgive this intrusion,\u201d he said apologetically. But I felt I had found someone worthy of soiling me. If it had to be a Babylonian then I wanted it to be him!<\/p>\n I willingly spread my legs for him. \u201cYou may have it,\u201d I said submissively. There was a fondness in his eyes as he began to finger me.<\/p>\n There was something gentle in his touch, the way one is touched by a lover. I sighed and whimpered as I thrust against his fingers. He let out a little smile and nodded as though it was the only small gift he could think of to bestow upon me before carrying out his grisly task.<\/p>\n I glanced at his belt and noticed the dagger that hung there. \u201cKill me with the blade,\u201d I murmured quietly, hopefully. \u201cThen you may burn me. I wish to join my friends and my queen. All I ask is that you do it quickly.\u201d Then I thrust my breasts outward, offering myself to him.<\/p>\n He looked around as though seeing who might be watching. But I despaired as he hefted the torch. Then he surprised me when his hand reached down for the dagger.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be done, little lamb,\u201d he said softly. Then once more he glanced around to make sure no one was watching closely.<\/p>\n I felt a small joy at his kindness and I became thankful he was the one who had oiled me\u2026 the one who had given me a very small pleasure. For now it was enough. Then I thrust out my breasts even more.<\/p>\n He furtively glanced around one last time before quickly plunging the blade into my left breast. It pierced my heart and I sighed with gladness. I was barely aware of the torch touching my body a few moments later – the fire beginning to consume me – before my soul left to be with my noble and exalted queen\u2026<\/p>\n (written for Hitomi Apr 20 \u201914 by riwa)<\/p>\n (Inspired by, and vidcaps taken from, Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon. Vidcaps are used for illustration purposes only.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Queen Asparia of the Helenes and her handmaidens are taken prisoner in a raid and sold to the Babylonians. When the King of Babylon learns of this he tries to find out who she is among the women so as to force her to marry him as part of a new alliance. But will her handmaidens give her up when they learn of the dangers of remaining silent? 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