We made our way to the main room where the girls sat themselves with elegant ease, one at each side facing the stair. The centre of the room had been decorated with a profusion of gorgeous flowers including papyrus and lotus blooms, while several large earthenware jugs of wine stood ready along with a hoard of gold and silver goblets. Even by the standards of Malkata palace, this was impressive.

Around the walls, Leah's male servants stood ready; there were ten of them and below the stairs, sitting discreetly almost out of view, I saw her huge Nubian. Doubtless there to keep the peace. Moments later Leah descended the stairs looking serene, dignified and regal. She would have made a fine queen. She was dressed in a black, gold sequined robe with a collar in the Egyptian manner; made all of electrum. She caught my eye almost immediately and indicated that I should join her.

“Do you play a musical instrument?”

“Why yes, the double harp and the flute.”

“That is well. When the musicians arrive sit with them and ask to borrow a flute. Tell them it is my wish.”

“I will.”

She then looked with mild disapproval, at the clothes and jewels that the girls had adorned me with. “And if, in the course of the night, any man gets it into his head to fuck you, dressed as you are, tell him that you are my daughter or seek out Mahler there by the stairs. I will charge him with your protection.”

I was a little taken aback by this, considering what she had said to me earlier, but at that moment I couldn’t help laughing. I nodded to Maheri who responded with a slight bow. With such a man as my guardian, surely I had nothing at all to fear.

“I will Leah, thank you.”

Moments later the musicians filed in, carrying a rich variety of instruments. At their head was an older man who turned out to be their leader. I quietly introduced myself to him. Once I mentioned Leah's name and told him her instructions, he bowed and let me choose a fine, ivory embellished flute from the selection that they had brought. The troupe quickly set themselves up on a low dais by the rear wall and I sat at the very back corner.

More servants now entered bringing all manner of exquisite dishes in great quantity along with several smaller jars of wine. The ebb and flow of people went on for what seemed a long while. I took the opportunity to test my flute; playing several scales and short improvisations. I smiled when I noticed some of my fellow musicians greeting me with approving nods. Then I was about to make an inquiry of the leader on some musical point, when I noticed Tanit enter leading a group of finely dressed ladies.

I tell you truly, dear reader, that the words died in my throat when I realized who these ladies were. There before me, in all their finery and splendour, were five of my noble friends! Golden skinned Sitre led them, with Renpit and Tuya at her side; demure, softly spoken Tuya, even she ! Tetisheri followed and last of all that arch-mischief maker, Neith. I was too astounded to speak for several moments and fought the urge to confront them. I of course realized that if they saw me, my mission would be in dire jeopardy. So I remained seated, my face blank. The sight of Leah discreetly greeting them brought me back and I continued practicing my flute.

The ladies seated themselves singly on the cushions near the centre of the room. Evidently they were to be at the centre of the night's proceedings. Thanks to my position by the back wall, they could not see me directly but I was well placed to observe them. Although they retained their poise and composure, they seemed to be right at home in this remarkable place, which until this morning was totally unknown to me.

They have been here before! What have I been missing? But then I heard my uncle's voice whisper in my mind, “You have your regal dignity and your exalted name Anath.”

Oh, tush uncle!

Now there arose a faint murmur in the room. This could only mean one thing; the magnificent arrival of the noble Khefti ambassador and his retinue.

Waenre, the heretic, once wrote that the Sun God had created not only the land of the Nile, but all nations and that all men were equally his children. Now, many years after his death, most of his writings have been lost, but this I have read amongst the secret books that my uncle keeps. Now do not misunderstand me gentle reader, I do not share most of Waenre's beliefs, nor do I condone his actions while he sat upon the throne of Geb, but some of his tenets, it must be admitted, hold more than a grain of truth. To see these fine men now from distant Khefti; from far across the great green sea, is to believe that the god has indeed fashioned their limbs lovingly and wrought their handsome features with exquisite care.

They were five in number, all tall, fine looking noblemen. The eldest I took to be some forty summers old. He was the ambassador, with dark, tanned features and long, elaborately coiffured hair. He wore a variety of jewels and a golden ceremonial dagger adorned the belt of his kilt. All the men wore brightly embroidered kilts with loin cloths, large, golden rings and each wore a sacred seal-stone at his wrist. Notable among them was the youngest of the group who took care to walk one pace behind the ambassador at all times. This was clearly his son. He was a beautiful, lithe boy of perhaps nineteen or twenty summers, muscular and as fine featured as his father, to whom he bore a strong resemblance. I was well pleased with the sight of these Keftiu.

Leah now approached them and bowed low to the ambassador. I heard her utter a few words in the Khefti language, making the ambassador smile and bow.

The musicians and I played while the meal and wine were served. Leah had done her utmost to honour the Kheftiu with a banquet that would please a king. A shrewd woman, she no doubt would have made a lasting impression on this foreign delegation. Power lies in the subtle threads she weaves. I too would count myself her ally if my mission is to succeed.

After the main meal, the servants brought in platters of fruit and tiny cubes of spiced honeycomb, followed by sweet wines. The Kheftiu ate and drank with gusto while always maintaining their dignified bearing. The palace ladies too partook of the meal heartily and all bar Neith, were as restrained and poised as they always were in the presence of the queen.

My darling Neith, while doing her best to maintain a veneer of restrained respectability, downed goblet after goblet while sliding her body ever nearer to the ambassador's son. She was all smiles and beguiling looks and soon she took his hand. I saw the heavy gold ring that he wore momentarily catch the lamplight as Neith brought it up to her mouth. She kissed the ring and licked his palm as though a delicious drop of sauce had accidentally stained it. Considerate girl. The son laughed and made a quiet comment to the elder noble who seemed to be their interpreter. This man then whispered something to Neith who giggled and moved herself even closer to the son. The other ladies too now subtly turned their attention to the remaining four Khefti lords. If I didn't know better, I might have believed that they were all in Leah's employ.

Our host now quietly dismissed the majority of the servants and had a good proportion of the lamps extinguished. She extended an elegant hand to the august ambassador who accepted it graciously and rose from his place. Together they ascended the stairs to her quarters. I caught a glimpse of Leah whispering something once or twice in his ear but that was the last I would see of her until the next day. The departure of the ambassador has a visible effect on the remaining Kheftiu. His son in particular, now seemed far more relaxed. His attention turned to Neith.

The drummer who was my band mate then leant towards me and whispered.

“You play well my lady, it is an honour to listen to you, but rest yourself now. From here on we play Mitanni and Syrian airs.”

I thanked him and sat back against the wall upon my large soft cushion. No sooner had I done so than one of the servants handed me an earthenware goblet. A homely vessel it might have been but it was brimming with the most delicious wine. The servant placed a matching clay bottle by my side and departed. Although I could not see her, our host was evidently still looking after me.

The musicians now played their Syrian airs and slow dances from the fabled land of Mitanni. It was intriguing and complex music, as un-Egyptian as any I could imagine. I heard slow, dark and tranquil notes but with a distinct undertone of sensuality that quite carried me away. Our intrepid Neith too had found her way to exotic lands. She had slipped her hand under the son's kilt while he nibbled on her ear and throat. His hand cupped her breast as the noble kinsman tried to speak to him. He was ignored while his master threw his head back, clearly enjoying Neith's handiwork below.

She eyed him with black rimmed, hooded eyes; burning eyes that slowly traveled back and forth from his face to his growing cock. As Neith ntensified her efforts, the son was entranced and ensnared. How could he have been otherwise. Our Neith, after all, was this night the very soul of seduction. Now she looked at him again and this time he smiled and nodded slowly. From beneath his kilt a rigid, curving cock emerged, guided by Neith's sure and steady hand. She wasted not a moment. Her mouth swiftly swallowed that cock as though she were starving. Her head soon became a blur to me as she bobbed up and down, working his every inch from all sides. Her cheeks rippled and her lips pressed his shaft so that not a drop of her saliva escaped yet his shaft was soon glistening from end to end. But Neith showed rare restraint, such as I would have never expected of her; she slowed after a time, teasingly pausing and returning to her task only to pause again and use her hand. The son of Kheftiu did not seem to mind, he sat back and lolled about on the cushions as though time itself had lost all its meaning.

Now, as though by some secret pact and by virtue of some furtive sign, the ladies, my friends each turned to the Khefti lord that sat beside them. All of them, women and men, had of course been watching Neith and the prince intently, but rank and precedence forbade them from showing any sign of their growing arousal until now. I saw each of the ladies move with effortless grace and a total absence of inhibition. They were evidently just as at home here as they were in the Queen's apartments. They were indeed of one mind; acting in unison like a darting and weaving flock of lapwings. I saw each of them kiss the mouth of her lover, then they all unclasped their robes, revealing just enough to further inflame the passions of our foreign guests. I had seen all of them nude or partially nude before but nothing could have prepared me for this.

The Kheftiu all wore looks of wonderment and admiration, and so they should have; an Egyptian noblewoman was a rare prize indeed. The ladies soon made short work of the Khefti kilts and loincloths, encouraging their lovers to kneed their breasts and lick and suck upon their nipples. Not a giggle nor a whimper escaped the lips of my friends but they smiled and sighed as pleasure took their bodies in its inexorable grip.

The vestments of all five men and all five women were discarded by the time my fellow musicians changed their melody. Now I saw bodies embrace with growing conviction and lascivious intent. The Khefti lords looked at each other and exchanged a few quiet words. They could scarcely believe their luck, I'll wager, as sets of exquisitely manicured hands found cock after cock, and set to work bringing them rapidly to life. The lords found the ladies skills much to their liking, for even above the noise of the music, I heard the cadence of affection and admiration clearly in their low voices. I could not understand their words but what language does desire not speak ! Their mouths found delicately painted lips and rouged cheeks the colour of winter pomegranates. Supple arms clung to tanned muscles and snaky tongues traversed the canyons of many a fine, manly chest and many a soft, abundant breast, while each body rippled like the waters of the palace lake wherein I love to bathe.

I must admit, esteemed reader, that I was quite swept away. Envious? Well, perhaps a little, but missing more my own, all too briefly savored, man.

Neith by this time had all but done her utmost with her mouth. The son of Khefti kneaded her ass cheeks as she rubber his face with her breasts. His bronze-rigid cock was mere finger widths away from her pussy, it's head brushed against her cheeks but she was careful not to let it in closer. What restraint ! I doubt I could have equaled her.

The ladies on the other hand, found the dangerously delicious flavour of cock too hard to resist. One after another they dived like fishing birds onto the brazen shafts of Khefti. Their obvious skills amazed me; Renpit first licked and sucked her lover's balls then proceeded to take his ample rod deep into her throat, only to let it emerge glistening after a time, and to start again, over and over. Tuya, my dear demure Tuya, and Renpit of the lustrous lips, side by side, revelled in the embrace of their two lovers whose faces were buried in their pussies; licking and tickling; making the ladies moan and squirm with delight. But it was Tetisheri who surprised me most. She wasted no time in slipping her lover's cock deep into her pussy. Now she bucked and slid her hole up and down the rigid pinnacle that she herself had wrought from the raw stuff of Khefti. I saw her shapely ass, pale and soft as the morning mists, bring the full force of her desires down upon the Khefti peak. The man, that hapless soul, was totally obscured by her body but I could see his palms rubbing her sides like a sensitive sculptor hard at work upon a statue of costly alabaster.

Our fearless Neith meanwhile had further surprises in store for me. But for the moment she had allowed the esteemed son of Khefti to finally enter her golden palace. With a firm grip anchoring her to his lap, he thrust his total manhood into her. Never missing a stroke, the two of them were a fine pairing; moving smoothly and with rhythm. Over the sound of the flutes and tabors, I heard her come and cry out several times as the Khefti prince fought to keep his cock in its new found favourite home. She bucked and bucked; a colt untamed and frantic; this was truly she !

The other four had descended into a delirious tangle of legs, arms, asses, hips and cocks. After a while, gentle reader, I could not distinguish one of my friends from another, but I clearly saw the frenzied fires of lust burn in the very hearts of the Kheftiu. These women, I can say with pride, were the epitome of beauty and the soul of desire.

The night wore on and now a servant brought the musicians some refreshments. A generous serve of wine and food it was too. I would have expected no less of Leah's fine establishment. A few of the players paused to eat and drink and it is a testiment to their professionalism that the music went on. I too was about to take up my flute again when a servant handed me a plate of the choicest duck and fruit. So I sat back with my fine wine and enjoyed a leisurely supper. My attention was momentarily diverted from the fleshy festivities but then I noticed Neith's ass.

I must admit, dear reader, that at first I was a little concerned for our sister Neith. It seemed that at the prince's behest, her pert little posterior was now to be at the focus of the night's revels.

At the Prince's prompting, a procession of the men began to gather before Neith's ass; like worshipers before the Benben stone. I was surprized to see the young man whom I had dubbed 'The Lion' was first in line and now, for the first time, I heard him utter a few quiet words to the Prince. The latter spoke to him encouragingly, causing the others to laugh. So this fine young man too hailed from the mystic land of Khefti. What other wonders might that island hold?

With delight, I saw The Lion plunge his beautiful straight cock into Neith's sweet little hole. Long adept at this particular pleasure, he was most intriguing to me as he moved his hips with the same dance like grace that I had earlier observed. His face too, soon took on that mystic, far-away look as though he were an initiate in some mystery cult. Neith obviously appreciated his efforts as she thrust her ass back onto his mighty spear harder and harder, reaffirming her grip on all fours. The Son of Khefti looked on for quite some time with obvious approval but after a while he positioned himself in front of Neith's face. Without an instant's hesitation, she took his cock in her mouth, licking and teasing his head then swallowing his whole length over and over. The Prince thus occupied, the others began to vie for position before Neith's little nest. Soon the Lion was replaced by one after another of the noble Khefti. The Lion took the opportunity to slide beneath her and enter her pussy. Neith threw her head back and sighed with pleasure. It was now the turn of 'Long Locks.' He fucked her hole with long, slow strokes then withdrew and grabbed her cheeks, spreading them wide to make her beautiful ass gape . Each man took his fill of her and soon Neith's ass was moist and slack. It had been fucked and fucked hard by four men but it wanted more.

It then occurred to me why she had so coveted The Horn. Its tapering shape stimulated her ass in just the right way.

After several moments of what must have been exquisite pleasure to judge by the look in his face, The Prince moved back to where Long Locks was still working Neith's hot tunnel. He withdrew and a few quiet words passed between him and his master. Recently returned from Neith's mouth, he now stood over her, placing his hands upon her shoulders. From where I sat I could admire the pleasing lines of his back, his compact, shapely ass and the tight package of his balls. Then the delicious curve of his shaft whose head was poised for an instant assault on Neith's sublime portal. Assault under way ! The Prince's cock, still glistening with Neith's own saliva, slipped deep into her ass with one swift stroke. He fucked her as hard as I have seen any man go and believe me dear reader, I speak from experience. Stroke after granite hard stroke and Neith was crying out; she swore in several languages then called on him challengingly to fuck her harder and harder. I doubt he understood her words but he renewed his efforts and then, with a torrent of groans, he came deep inside her.

His compatriots had been watching their master all the while stroking their cocks. At a signal from him they entered Neith in turn and filled her ravenous ass with their sweet juices. After them the Prince indicated that The Lion should do the same, what a gracious lord ! The beautiful young man complied. Now the Prince grabbed her ass cheeks as he whispered something into her ear. She giggled as he made her ass gape. An instant later a flood of juices poured forth from her and down her shapely thigh. The Lion dipped his hand into the glorious mixture and rubbed it back onto her ass. She laughed triumphantly and flipped over whereupon The Prince handed her a cup of wine. The smiles on the faces of all the noble Kheftiu indicated how absolutely delighted they were by our fearless Neith.

The pleasures of that night were manifold. Not only the lovely food and wine, the intoxicating music and the mingled aromas of flowers and incense but the sublime spectacle of men and women in passion's grip. All this made it a night full of delights, like no other I could recall.

My friends too had marveled at Neith's exploits; sitting regally nude as they looked on and enjoyed the festive fare and fine wines. After Neith's performance was over they flirted and entertained the Kheftiu long into the night. All of the ladies made love to one or other of the lords as the night wore on but I was most envious of Renpit, she of the lustrous lips. For Renpit lured The Lion away to a secluded corner where for a few moments I could see her kneeling before his naked loins. After that, who can say what exotic spice she tasted.

Long after midnight did the revels in the House of Leah of the Briber last. I was joined by Tanit, Arakha and Teia after the musicians had departed and the four of us kissed and sported, we drank, feasted, played and sang. My friends did not notice that I was amongst them in the same room and eventually everyone present; lords, ladies, whores and snake catcher's daughters, drifted off blissfully into a deep, profound sleep.

(Read of Anath's further adventures in Chapter 5 of 'The Snake Catcher's Daughter'.)