and The Queen of Sheiba
Part 4 of the tales
Sheherazade was glad that her plan was working. She rested all morning and woke up only late afternoon. Dinarzade spelt next to her. The sisters were calm, and even in the face of the danger looming over their heads, they were at peace. They had a plan, and it seemed to be working, bit by bit.
Shaharyar, the Sultan, could decide to end her life any day of his choosing.
Dinarzade clung to her elder sister, unwilling to leave her side with the looming threat. She slept next to Sheherazade.
In the afternoon, when they woke up, Sheherazade and Dinarzade were greeted by her seven maids. Sheherazade was celebrated as if a godsend. She was bathed in milk and water. She was fed the best of fruits and food from the lands. Dinarzade was given a similar royal treatment as Sheherazade.
Later in the evening, the sisters met the Vizier.
“O, father,” Sheherazade hugged Vizier and was glad to see him.
Dinarzade followed and hugged the pair.
“O, my benevolent Allah. I thank you a million times for bestowing your mercy on my daughter.” Vizier prayed for her daughter.
He kissed Sheherazade’s forehead with love and tenderness. Then he kissed Dinarzade’s forehead with the same love. He thanked Dinarzade, “I love you even more for sticking with your sister in these difficult times. May God bless you long life.”
They sat and chatted for a couple of hours before it was time for Sheherazade to get ready for the Sultan.
After an hour-long massage in scented oils, Sheherazade was cleaned in a mixture of milk, hung curd, honey and water. Sheherazade wore a beautiful mesh veil. Her neck was adorned with pure pearls strung in a thread. Her breasts remained half-covered behind her jewels. A string of gold chain held on her waist a small silk loincloth that covered her pussy mound and little else. Her thighs were shone with sparkling gold dust. Her anklets announced her moves. She was dressed to allure and entice.
Dinarzade was dressed in little more than Sheherazade. She took it all in with delight. She was pampered just like Sheherazade, and she loved it.
———
When the anxious Sultan came to meet his wife, Sheherazade, he was pleased to find her waiting in his chambers. As expected, she looked beautiful. Sheherazade looked radiant in her ensemble, and her smile when she saw the Sultan was more than welcoming.
The Sultan could not imagine how Sheherazade, a woman of such young age, knowing that she could soon face death, seem so fearless. The fact that she was welcoming Sultan instead of being scared of him was even more mystifying to him. Sheherazade was enigmatic in her attitude.
Upon seeing the Sultan, Sheherazade got up and bowed a little and welcomed him, “o great Sultan. My greetings.”
Sultan smiled towards her and took off his cummerbund and his overshirt.
As the Sultan sat on the bed, on one hip, resting his elbow on the pillow, Sheherazade walked to the tray kept for him. She poured his wine for him and got a bowl of fruits along with it.
Sultan looked at Sheherazade’s back, admiring her unblemished skin and glow. Her back was bare from her shoulders to her ankles, encumbered only with intermittent threads of her jewelry and her loincloth. Her figure drew Sultan’s excitement.
To a man who had barely slept over the last couple of nights and had attended his royal duties all day, he seemed refreshed. Sultan had trained himself to work with limited sleep because of his long campaigns. Sheherazade came next to him and sat a level lower than him on a stool. She took off his wristband and his anklets. Then she started massaging him slowly on his calves.
Sultan picked up a piece of fruit and sipped some wine.
Sheherazade waited for Sultan to say something first, as was customary.
Sultan asked, “Sheherazade, are you being treated well?”
Sheherazade replied smiling, “O, great Sultan, most graciously. Everyone is kind and respectful to me and treats me like they would a Sultana.”
Sheherazade made a blunder referring to herself as Sultana. The Sultan remembered his beloved Morsal, the original Sultana, and immediately, his expression changed to disdain and anger.
Sheherazade instantly realized as the Sultan tensed up. She tried hard to compensate.
It took the Sultan long to calm down.
To change the direction of the conversation, Sheherazade offered on her own, “O great Sultan, If you want, I can continue the story that got left half untold.”
Sultan was surprised at the confidence of Sheherazade and nodded. She did not seem to care that the end of the story also meant the end of her life at daybreak.
When Alibaba, Afsa, and Liba regrouped later that night, she told them everything and what she had done.
Afsa and Alibaba both protested and told her, "Liba, you should not have done that. Putting your own life in danger was not a smart thing to do. No amount of money, gold, or wealth is precious to us than your life.”
Liba tried to explain, but it was all in the past now. She had exhibited extreme courage and presence of mind at that moment.
All three of them resolved that they would face danger together. Alibaba said, “Under no circumstances, any one of us would be left alone now. No matter what. We stay together at all times."
Alibaba was trying to be brave, he had never been in such a situation before. Violence was not a natural trait of his.
On the one hand, they stayed indoors, not venturing out. On the other hand, they ensured there were always many people coming and going to their home, so as to deter the thugs from making a move. Slowly they added some arms to fight back, added a couple of servants who were strong and well built.
The bandits, on their part, were perturbed at the development. When the leader came to know of the cross sign incident made of coal, he understood instantly what was going on. He knew that their plan to strike has got revealed. So he changed the strategy to figure out the intruder’s house and to take revenge
The leader appointed four of his trusted men from the forty thugs and deployed them to spy and investigate. Their task was solely to find out the home of Jamaal and his family.
It did not take long for them to find this out. A week later, the house had been identified, and a plan was getting chalked out. Their cross strategy having got discovered it was clear that they had been made out. The leader of the bandits assumed the members of Jamaal’s family must have prepared for an attack by now. So he ruled out a straightforward armed attack, unsure of the possible fightback.
Having identified the house, the leader took it upon himself to lead the plan. He disguised himself as a trader and reached out to Alibaba. He shaved himself clean and presented himself well dressed. At first look, Alibaba could not recognize that this was the gang’s leader.
“Alibaba, I hear you are trading in wood. I live in Ankara. I trade in commodities like oil, wood, spices. Do you have ready stock? I would like to purchase, if you do,” The gang leader asked.
Alibaba, on impulse, was excited to hear that he was receiving a big query from a trader. These don’t come often. All his sales were usually local.
He welcomed the trader in his shop, and an hour and a half later, they struck a deal. An advance of hundred gold coins was handed over to Alibaba as a token for the purchase.
Alibaba, a humble man, offered, “It seems you have been traveling. Please consider my offer to have dinner with me at my home beforeyou leave.”
The gang’s leader readily accepted. As planned reaching late in the afternoon helped this natural response.
Around dinner, he rolled out the next part of the plan.
“Alibaba, can you suggest a guest house or an Inn around here, so I can stay the night? It’s late today, and I do not see it safe to travel through the night with my cargo in the carts.” He asked Alibaba.
“Why bother with the formality. You have been a good customer and if you want to stay for just the night my home is available for you. We have enough room.” Alibaba offered.
Once again, the gang leader did not need too much convincing to accept this.
Later that night, before retiring, he said, “my carts are full with a few barrels of oil. If you allow them to be unloaded in your barn or your compound, I would be able to sleep at peace. There is always a risk of oil getting stolen. I shall be very grateful for this small favor.” Alibaba found no reason to object.
Sheherazade started working her hands on Sultan. He had got drawn into the story and was looking forward to hearing the rest, in anticipation of something interesting. Sheherazade refilled his glass and walked back to her place, snaking her hand into his thighs and reaching for his balls. She played with him with soft hands.
Before going to the guest bedroom, the gang’s leader got his barrels of oil unloaded inside Alibaba’s courtyard. He paid the cart drivers off for helping unload and send them away. He would not need them for the next part.
He pleaded with Alibaba, ”Alibaba, I am tired from a full day’s journey and want to rest for an early morning start, tomorrow. Do you mind if I go rest early?”
Alibaba immediately replied, “Most certainly, you must rest. You are welcome to retire now if you want to, and do as you please.”
There was no oil in the barrels. The thugs had hidden themselves in all the barrels. As was their plan, at an appropriate time, the gang leader would signal them later in the night, at which time the thugs would come out of the barrels and kill the family, take revenge and recover their lost gold and jewels.
Sheherazade felt Sultan tense up. The thrill was catching up to him.
Before going to sleep, as had been a ritual with the family now, they all checked the doors, windows, alerted the servants. All three of them did their part. While going about doing this, Liba crossed the barrels in the courtyard. As she looked at the barrels, her sixth sense felt something was amiss. But she could not put a finger at what.
Instead of going back inside the house, she hung around the barrels and observed them closely. She stood looking at each one of them and suddenly realized they had a few holes.
As soon as she focused on the holes, she deduced that the barrels, most certainly, could not be filled with barrels. It did not take her long to figure out that the barrels were hiding men inside. Instead of panicking she acted nonchalantly and dimmed the torches in the courtyard and spoke to the servants and Afsa, “All is fine at the front and in the courtyard. Let’s go sleep.” She was loud enough for the thugs to hear her and convey that they were not in suspicion.
As soon as she was inside the bedroom, she huddled together with Alibaba and Afsa, “listen carefully,” she whispered. “The barrels are not full of oil or filled with anything of the sort. The barrels have men inside. The count of barrels is also in line with the thugs that you had told us about,” she looked towards Alibaba.
It instantly dawned upon Alibaba, the leader of the gang is the trader sleeping upstairs in their guest bedroom. “I knew I had seen that face somewhere. But he had disguised himself so well, I could not connect that the gang leader is indeed the trader.”
“Now that they have infiltrated our home, what should we do?” Asked Afsa, clearly panicking.
They thought about it for a while, their nerves calming as they planned.
“We have a lot of oil stored in our stock. What if we fill the barrels with hot burning oil and kill the men inside?” Afsa said.
The plan was thrashed, there were many holes in the plan and the barrels.
Liba said excitedly, “I have a better idea.” She asked Alibaba to rush instantly and fetch the king’s guards. There is a bounty on the head of these bandits. If they are caught and jailed, not only will we stay safe today but also forever in future.”
It seemed like the best plan. But, it had to be executed swiftly, before the bandits come out of the barrels, otherwise, the family would be dead first.
Without wasting a second further, Alibaba silently slipped out from the back door. He went into the stables and got onto his best horse, and rushed to fetch the king’s guards.
Liba and Afsa bolted the gang leader’s door from outside, so he could not come out to signal to his gang hiding inside the barrels. Additionally, they both stood guard at the gang leader's door.
An hour later, with an ear on the door, the gang leader tried to listen to any noise from outside. The ladies talked and chatted, joyfully, to dissuade the gang leader to come on out. He was supposed to assume the family hadn't slept yet. He decided to wait for some more time.
Another hour later, Alibaba arrived back home with over fifty fully armed guards. The guards first arrested the gang leader from the room. He cried and shouted in anger.
A short while later, the guards loaded barrel after barrel onto the carts. The barrels were only opened once they were unloaded inside the jail cell.
All forty dacoits found themselves behind heavy bars, deep inside the jail. The squabbled as to whose fault was.
Sheherazade's hand was wrapped around Sultan's dick. He was excited at the progress of the tale.
Afsa and Liba sighed in relief at the turn of events. Alibaba praised Liba and said, "Liba, your presence of mind saved us all. Not only that, now the crooks are behind bars for good. We have nothing to worry about, ever."
Liba smiled. Afsa hugged her and thanked her as well. Liba said, "There is nothing you have to thank me for."
As the family settled down into their routine, it was Afsa who raised the subject with Alibaba. She said, "it is customary and you must take Liba as your wife now."
Alibaba was surprised and asked, "Won't you have a problem with it - if I take a second wife?"
"problem? not in the least. I love Liba, as much as she loves me like her younger sister." Afsa acted as if Alibaba has asked a dumb question.
A week later, Alibaba took Liba as his second wife in presence of the town elders and the priest.
Sheherazade's hand around Sultan's dick started to work.
Liba was beautiful beyond comparison, very smart and intelligent, and the recent turn of events had shown she was courageous and confident. Alibaba had always appreciated her but at the end of the day she had been his sister-in-law and the distance was always maintained.
Her amorous night with Afsa had changed that and the marriage had been a gift from god. Alibaba's feeling towards Liba had turned kinder, loving, and appreciative, more recently. He had met his match.
Sheherazade turned and climbed Sultan. She lay straight on top of him, crushing his member and her breasts between them. Her face inches above his as she lowered her voice for the next part.
Alibaba held Liba in his arms on their first night together. Both looked into each other's eyes. They gazed into each other's eyes, and face, appreciatively and slowly moved forward kissing each other. Their affection grew each second and moments later they were kissing passionately.
Alibaba held Liba's head in his hands and pulled her into his mouth and at that moment he realized how he had longed for this moment. The few weeks that had passed since that momentous night with Afsa, and Liba. And now, she was in his arms, naked.
He rolled over and got Liba on her back. His lips found Liba's again even as his hands left Liba's back and held him up slightly over her. After kissing her a few more times, his tongue entered her mouth and they made beautiful love with their tongues.
Alibaba left her mouth and lowered himself on the two beautiful, plump, and soft breasts on her chest. He kissed his way onto her nipple. his lips and tongue caressed each millimeter around her areolae and then he pulled in the nipple inside.
Sheherazade lowered her breast into Sultan's mouth, who hungrily sucked on it.
Sheherazade went on, as Sultan played with her nipple.
Alibaba switched breasts plenty of times and played with Liba's breasts. And then he lowered himself into her navel and licked around her tummy.
His tongue left a trail from her navel to her pussy mound and Alibaba reached the top of her pussy lips, without finding a single hair on the pussy. He was surprised but pleasantly so.
Sheherazade had changed her stance and had climbed on her knees and was lowering her pussy into Sultan's mouth, who appreciatively licked her hairless pussy mound.
Alibaba's tongue had longingly reached out to trace the inside of her pussy lips and slowly it found the heavenly entrance. He did not waste any time and went in, poking his tongue deep into her pussy.
Sheherazade lowered herself on Sultan's pussy, getting him to thrust out his tongue into her pussy.
Sheherazade moaned, "mmmmmmm."
Sultan brought his hands on her buttocks and pulled Sheherazade into his lips.
Alibaba licked, kissed, and sucked Liba's pussy for a long while until she had climaxed from her very core and delivered big gulps worth of juice into Alibaba's mouth.
Liba lay shaking and whimpering next to Alibaba.
Dinarzade picked up the story when Shehherazade fell silent in her orgasm.
Sultan was amazed that he did not see Dinarzade come in.
Afsa who was sitting next to Alibaba and Liba the whole time, smiled and looked at them both. She caressed Liba and comforted her after the climax.
Then she turned towards Alibaba and held his dick that was coated with Liba's juices. She dropped forward and took him in her mouth. She could barely get the large dick inside her mouth, so she compensated it by first sucking just the crown...
Dinarzade took the crown of Sultan's cock in her mouth and gave it a good suck.
Then she licked his cock clean of Liba's juices.
Dinarzade licked clean his cock of Sheherazade's juices.
Afsa held Alibaba's cock from the base and licked clean all around it.
Afsa then decided to get a move on and shifted on her knees to sit astride Alibaba. She sat on the length of Alibaba's cock and caressed it between her pussy lips, her wet pussy lips. Coating it with her own leaking juices, moving forward and back, she delivered a thick layer over the length of his dick.
With renewed urgency, Afsa raised herself and released his cock from under her. She then held Alibaba's cock in her hand and directed its head into her pussy lips. Her eyes never left Alibaba's gaze. Both deep in the throes of lust and desire.
Afsa sank in on his large cock and kept slowly going down until he was completely inside. The base of his cock touched her pussy mound.
Sheherazade picked the story back, even as Dinarzade whimpered her approval with a long moan, "MMMMMMMMM."
Afsa moaned in delight, "mmmmmmmmm."
It did not take long for Afsa to adjust to an extremely excited Alibaba inside her pussy and she started to buck and dance on his cock.
Afsa too was excited having seen Alibaba and Liba making love. She took charge of the fucking and took Alibaba on a good joyride.
Long before Afsa started cumming, Alibaba spurted his cum and jizz deep inside her.
Sultan grunted while spraying inside Dinarzade, "UUUNNNGHH," excited to match Alibaba's speed.
Alibaba held Afsa's hips and prompted her to keep going. She wasn't interested to stop anyway.
Afsa bucked and humped Alibaba until she was ready to have a full-scale orgasm. She announced it to the world, "MMMMMMMMUUUUUUNNNNGGGGHHHHHH."
Sheherazade synced her story to Dinarzade's climax.
Afsa kept going until she was exhausted and she sank on Alibaba, resting her head on his chest. Alibaba kissed the top of her head.
All three of them laid and rested for a long while.
Sheherazade had recovered earlier and she caressed Sultan and Dinar as they lay embracing.
She slowly got up and walked to the refreshments tray.
She picked a couple of glasses of wine again and brought them back to bed.
She handed Sultan one as he raised himself, Dinarzade still clinging to her.
Sultan's dick had plopped out of Dinarzade.
Sheherazade looked into Sultan's face and he nodded, asking her to go on.
Sheherazade smiled.
Alibaba, Liba, and Afsa stayed together after that relieved that they had nothing to worry about. Most certainly, not on the account of the crooks.
It was Liba, again, who one day, after a month, asked Alibaba, "If all the crooks are in jail, what happened to the treasure of those bandits?"
Alibaba was confused. he had no answer but he was sure the entire lot must still be in the cave.
Afsa, Liba, and Alibaba consulted for days as to what must be done.
It was decided all three would go check out the cave and see what has happened.
For more than a week, the three of them would go to the cave daily and stake it out, to see if there was anyone who was left out from the group of thugs.
It took them two weeks to gain confidence and then Alibaba decided to enter the cave and check it out. all the treasure was there, intact.
The next few days were spent deciding what was to be done with all the wealth.
"Should we take it?
"Should we lead the king's men to it?"
"Should we return it to original owners?"
"How do we fin the original owners?"
After much deliberations, they all decided that they themselves had sufficient money, wealth, and love amongst them and needed no more to be happy.
But they also concluded that leaving all the wealth in the cave to rot was not a smart thing to do either. So they decided to take it all, put it to good use.
The wealth was so much that they would attract way too much attention in this town or the next.
In the next couple of months, the entire gold, ornaments, artifacts, and silver were collected and packed. They shifted many hundred miles south and made a good living in AlUla. They went far away from drawing attention from anyone who might know them or from even the thugs, in a perchance of any of them getting out.
The town AlUla welcomed the arrival of a big noble family into their society. They projected an image of a benevolent aristocratic family. Every day, they distributed alms, clothes, food, and help to the poor and needy. Alibaba traded in rare goods and the facade of a rich man of many generations was maintained.
Their life could not have been happier. Liba and Afsa loved each other, as much as they did Alibaba.
Sheherazade looked at Sultan before launching into her next spool.
Amongst the artifacts that they had recovered from the treasure in the cave was a carpet. At first look, it was just that, a carpet. A splendid design, exquisite weaving, and fine craftsmanship. Even at first look, it seemed special, somehow. Because it seemed innocuous Liba had kept it for the family.
Instead of using it as a carpet, Liba hung it in her bedroom as a decorative piece. The carpet's design and craft were captivating and she liked looking at it.
Alibaba, Liba, and Afsa lived a long happy life. They loved each other. Afsa gave birth to twin daughters, Liba gave birth to a son. Their life was content in every respect. Alibaba's business grew on its own given that his stature in the country and the region was that of a respectable and trustworthy trader. The family had decided to ensure the treasure collected is duly distributed to the poor and needy and they created a sustained system of charity and noble causes.
Alibaba's great-great-great grandson's name was Ali. With a few generations of fine work, benevolence, social good work, the family's stature had risen over time. With many droughts and storms around AlUla, their family had found a home up down south in a region know as Sheiba.
Before they arrived to this historic region, the area was known only for the sea links nearby but little else. The ruler of Sheiba was Qasim, an old dynast with no lineage left to follow. With the arrival of Ali and his wife Mannat, the region started gaining prominence because of their social work and charity. They also brought along with them, jobs for many. They were revered by many. Ali got anointed ruler of Sheiba with the death of Qasim, ending his dynasty. He took Qasim's only daughter, Noor, as his second wife.
Ali became the most ideal ruler in every respect. Under his rule, there was a lot of increase in trade and commerce of Sheiba. His subjects liked his governance style. There was a lot of participation from town elders. There was rotation in the administrative roles and no autocracy at all. The sea trade flourished and Sheiba became an extended part of the trade routes that connected to other regions and kingdoms.
The family itself traded in spices, incense, and silk. It never benefitted from the town coffers.
There was only one problem. Ali did not have a son from either Noor or Mannat. From his second wife, he had a daughter, Bilqis.
The family was rich, content, and happy in their own way and not at all touched by power or greed. When the time came, Ali passed away one fateful night at a ripe old age of eighty. The court decided to christen a general as the next ruler. This was the fearless warrior Babur.
Sheherazade weaved the image of the kingdom of Sheiba for Sultan.
For the first couple of years, things went just as they should have.
Bilqis was a young girl when her father had died of a liver ailment. Not long after that, Noor passed away from a stomach infection. Bilqis grew up under the guidance and training of Mannat. Of course, Bilqis was much loved and adored as a child. Bilqis was an inquisitive one. She wanted to learn, read, travel, and discover.
The power and authority that came with her family's money meant little to Bilqis. She had little interest in it. Mannat only encouraged her to explore and grow as an individual. Mannat arranged the best tutors for her in the learning of the scripts from the world, in physical wellbeing, in trade & commerce, and in handling arms. Bilqis's heart found solace in the latter the most, though she learned all.
By the time she was twenty-two, she was an accomplished herself in sword-fighting and combat, she was even more revered for her charitable works than the family was ever known for. The more she gave away, the more god was kinder to her by way of windfalls in her trade and commerce transactions.
While she was growing up, the nation of Sheiba was deteriorating. Babur started well, but intoxicated with power and control he started to mismanage the kingdom. The taxes on the subjects were high, trade of the state declined against other kingdoms, his diplomacy was the worst as he treated other sultans and kings with disdain and contempt. He became a womanizer and a drunkard and his responsibilities in the court suffered. His court staff realized the problem but dragged their feet for many years.
Sheherazade lay next to Sultan and caressed Sultan's chest as she lay her head on his shoulder.
Sultan was intrigued by the next story.
And, it was just midnight as yet.
A retired old general who had served under Ali the great, Bilqis's father, was following her progress and her development on instructions of Mannat. He prompted Bilqis to have a meeting with Ali. His ulterior objective was to have Bilqis recognize the state of affairs.
On his nudging, Bilqis sought a meeting with Ali. She was promptly rebuffed. Another attempt a few weeks later was dismissed. Bilqis was somewhat aware of the deterioration but hadn't really applied herself to do something about it. The retired general's nudge had made her inquisitive and she started to investigate deeper.
What Bilqis learnt disgusted her. The kingdom was in decay, she got to work almost immediately. Over the next few months, she met with each of the court's staff and sized them up. She figured out which ones of those had got corrupted, and who was still honest.
Sheherazade's hand reached Sultan's dick. Her soft hands played with his limp member and his balls, as she carried on with her story.
Within six months, she had her future court ready; she had the blessings of senior and old generals and more importantly that of Mannat.
Bilqis took charge of the kingdom with as much ease as she needed to walk in a garden. On the day of reckoning, she walked in uninvited into the court. The throne was empty and in full attendance of the court she strolled and sat on to the throne. Even the couple of belligerent court staffers watched muted the change of power. It did not take long for Babur to be arrested and sent to an outhouse outside the kingdom with a few whores, and many barrels of wine. A few servants, loyal to Bilqis, accompanied Babur ensured that he believed that he still ruled Sheiba through his loyal court, even as he enjoyed his life.
Bilqis took charge with vigor. Her energy was infectious to the level that her court was efficient, her subjects found food, clothing, and shelter, the outer walls of the kingdom were secure, her army was re-equipped and charged.
Bilqis became the Queen of Sheiba.
She became the epitome of governance, much-revered by her court, much-loved by the people of Sheiba; all at the young age of twenty-five.
Bilqis recognized that she had much to thank her father and her family for the love of the people. Her own identity was an extension of her family's goodwill. She needed more.
Across the red sea was Abyssinia, an ill-managed kingdom under a bumbling buffoon of a dynast, Qadir. Upon hearing that Bilqis had taken over Sheiba, Qadir, who was seeking credibility himself, sent a missive to the Queen of Sheiba. He demanded that she become his wife, accede to subjugate under the kingdom of Abyssinia.
Bilqis could not have found a better opportunity. She and a small army of a couple of hundred soldiers crossed the red sea and reached his kingdom. The armies fought for fifteen days and Abyssinia was captured. Instead of extinguishing Abyssinia, the Queen of Sheiba extended her rule into Abyssinia as well.
Bilqis's stature grew manifold and she truly became the Queen of Sheiba and Abyssinia. She was famous far and wide for her good governance, her style of functioning, and even more importantly, for her status as a warrior Queen.
Sheherazade gripped Sultan's dick and pumped him playfully and slowly.
As a child, Bilqis had a faint memory of a Persian carpet, a family heirloom, on a bedroom wall in the palace when she was growing up. It had since been rolled and kept in storage for a long while. After she and Mannat moved back into the palace, the carpet amongst other precious artifacts was dusted up. The carpet was going to be hung when Bilqis happened to be in the bedroom along with Mannat.
Instead of the carpet, Bilqis ordered her father's picture to be hung up. The carpet was rolled to be taken back when she said, "keep the carpet here. Next to my bed."
The carpet was duly rolled out on her bedside. Despite it being generations old, there was not a speck of dust on the carpet. It was a beautiful Persian carpet with exquisite design. The red carpet with a blue and gold design was captivating to look at. The threads on each end were touseled and the gems strung on each bunch of these threads.
Bilqis went about her work and got busy. Later that night, when the torches had been dimmed, Bilqis was resting thinking about her day and planning for the next. She turned on her side, trying to sleep, and her eyes caught a glimpse of the carpet next to her bed.
Bilqis was amazed to see the carpet had a soft glow that seemed to come from within it. It was as if the carpet was lit. Bilqis got up to check this mystery. She lifted one end of the carpet and turned it around. She turned each end and found it to be an exquisite design, yet a normal carpet.
Out of curiosity, Bilqis stepped on the carpet. She remembered it to be the most comfortable and plush carpet she had ever felt.
Ever since it was weaved, many many years ago, no one had ever stood or sat on the carpet. Bilqis was the first one.
Trying to satisfy her curiosity, Bilqis sat on the carpet. Bilqis brushed her hand on the fabric to feel it. Suddenly the carpet came to life. Bilqis, still sitting on the carpet, rose a few inches above her bedroom floor.
Bilqis felt this strange phenomenon and was even more intrigued. She got off the carpet and as soon as she did, the carpet fell back on the floor. As if it had never levitated.
Bilqis went up the carpet and brushed her hand on the fabric, again the carpet rose a few inches up. She got off and the carpet fell back on the floor. Amazed, she did this, again and again, multiple times, with the same result.
Eventually, Bilqis decided to test something else. When she was a few inches above the floor, she brushed the carpet some more and it rose up further. Bilqis giggled.
Bilqis then rubbed on the extreme right corner, and the carpet turned along with Bilqis. She tried this with all directions virtually steering the carpet into the direction of her choice.
After an hour of play, Bilqis was not only levitating on the carpet, she got it to fly forward and backward. It did not take her long to test ride it around the palace where she was flying about six feet above the floor.
Exhilarated with flying on it, Bilqis naturally took it outside for a run. She flew out of the window tentatively and then into the night sky with confidence.
The fact that she, the Queen of Sheiba, could fly, was amazing in itself. She took the carpet flying towards every corner of her kingdom and saw from above the minarets of the mosque, the beach near the red sea, ships floating in the water carrying cargo and people, she waived at people below, though none could see, or hear, her. Bilqis was mesmerized by what she had discovered. The magic of the Flying Carpet was overwhelming for her.
Once she felt comfortable and satisfied, after many hours, she turned the carpet around and reached safely back into her palace through the same window that she had come out of. No one knew what she had done and what she had experienced. The entire adventure for her was exhilarating.
Sheherazade's grip around Sultan's dick had tightened and she pumped him steadily.
Sultan's dick was coming to life.
Bilqis used the carpet each night to travel to distant corners of her kingdom, on some occasions as far as Abyssinia. Each time she traveled further, each time her return was later, and each time she searched for something new.
Initially, she thought she would tell about the carpet to others, including some trusted members of her court. But then she decided to keep the Flying Carpet secret to herself.
The only person she wanted to inform had been told, “mother, I want to tell you about something I found.”
“What is it, Bilqis?” Asked Mannat.
“The carpet that has been in the family for decades is in fact a magic carpet. It can fly when we sit on it.” Bilqis informed her excitedly.
“So what is new about it?” Asked Mannat without any surprise.
“What? You are aware of it?” She asked her mother in surprise.
“Indeed," Mannat responded.
“Okay, so have you ever sat on it and flown?”
“No, Never.” Replied Mannat. “In fact, the stories about the Flying Carpet have been somewhat vague, but at least this much is known to me that the carpet can be used to fly wherever you want to, without having to walk or on go on a camel. You can travel at the speed of air and reach distant places in hours which would otherwise take you days or weeks,” said Mannat.
Surprised at the detailed knowledge of the carpet, Bilqis asked, “who made it? And How did we get it?”
“There is no known knowledge of this in the family but we have the carpet in our family for many generations and we all know it has to be kept safely… I do hope you have kept it safe.” She remarked, more than asked.
“Yes, I have. But I want to know who made it? Can we get more of those? Are we the only ones who have it?” Bilqis had many questions.
“I don’t have the answer to all your questions, but no, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only piece there is. No other carpet matches this quality of flying.”
Bilqis was glad for what she had heard, but she remained inquisitive for a long while later. Over the next few months, she called for carpet weavers from all across her kingdom, from neighboring kingdoms, and then from far away lands. She quizzed every possible carpet weaver if they had heard of something of the sort that resembled a Flying or a Levitating carpet? Each carpet weaver denied knowledge of such craft.
Her daily routine was demanding, including court duties, governance, and managing an army. Bilqis was glad that she had her Flying Carpet that was unique to the best of her knowledge.
The search continued, as did her daily routine. One day, she interviewed a carpet weaver who was in torn clothes but had stories and tales to tell. He claimed to be from the family of carpet weavers who go back hundreds of years, and they knew the craft of magical and mystifying carpets and rugs.
Bilqis commissioned him to make her a carpet without telling him that she owned one. No matter how much the weaver tried, he could not produce one.
After eighteen months, Bilqis let him go without punishing him or taking back the advance she had given him.
Bilqis was sure the carpet was indeed unique.
From then on, the Queen of Sheiba flew to various places on her Flying Carpet. It was no longer a secret. Her subjects, who already adored her, were now even more enamored by her. They revered her even more.
Queen of Sheiba was popular and renowned across the region and beyond.
———
The news of Sheiba and a kingdom ruled by a woman reached Sulaiman, the worshiped and exalted king of Shalem.
Shalem, many hundred kilometers north of Sheiba, was a kingdom of the god-king. Across many lands, it was known that Sulaiman was the anointed king by none other than God himself.
Sheherazade's story was going deeper, with big characters joining in. Her hand never let go of Sultan’s dick even as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Shalem was a rich kingdom; massive in size, powerful beyond compare, and well-governed. King Sulaiman had hundreds of thousands of subjects and all of them worshiped him, humans as well as djinns. His kingdom was an epicenter for everyone - for tradition, for religion, and for culture. The kingdom also had its own trade system which too flourished around common goods like scents, spice, perfumes, cotton, and livestock.
Some courtiers informed Sulaiman about Sheiba and the blasphemy of a woman who ruled a kingdom. “The sacrilege against god himself,” in their words.
Upon goading of his courtiers King Sulaiman sent his senior diplomat to check if this was true and asked him, “if it is indeed true, then investigate the credentials of this Queen of Sheiba and how she came upon to be the queen and then summon her to my court.”
The diplomat reached Sheiba and dug into the details about her and her family.
Upon reaching her court, he did not bow to greet her and instead gave her King Sulaiman’s message.
Many of Queen’s courtiers were fuming upset. She had to pacify them to not kill the diplomat that instant for not adhering to the protocol of not even saluting the queen.
“It is an insult, my Queen. His defiance to not salute you is an intentional gesture to disrespect.” Her general advised.
Another said, “I must behead him as soon as he leaves the boundary of Sheiba.”
A third said, fuming, “if they can’t salute a woman, he must understand the salute is to the throne and not the person sitting on it.”
The Queen was calm in her demeanor. According to her, “I think it is a test. I believe they are trying to provoke us.”
“In that case, let us be even more ready. We are not adolescent soldiers, we are warriors and know how to fight,” The general remarked.
The consultation lasted many hours. The diplomat was boarded in nice quarters to stay until he was provided with a formal response.
Later that night, Bilqis consulted Mannat. The advice received from Mannat was more acceptable to her, “attempt to placate King Sulaiman." Considering that he was a godman, a trader of religion, she decided to take her mother's advice and entice him with gifts and offerings. He was acknowledged far and wide, and antagonizing him would make more enemies than just Shalem.
When she attended to the diplomat again, she offered him many camel loads of gifts, gold, silver, and artifacts. Bilqis also handed him a message, “O great king Sulaiman, I am the Queen of Sheiba. I rule Sheiba and Abyssinia with the help of my generals and council. I value your invite, but I am unable to make this trip at this time. I instead send you some gifts as a token of goodwill from my kingdom of Sheiba.”
The diplomat took the gifts and smiled. He traveled back to Shalem.
Another message returned to Sheiba a couple of months later. The message read, “Bilqis, Queen of Sheiba. You sent me expensive and rare gifts. But I have so much wealth that I cannot spend it in this lifetime or the next, or many after that. So gifts are not what I want. Appear before my court.”
Sheiba got left with limited options.
The courtiers were even angrier than they were earlier. They wanted to wage war at the insults, but the Queen of Sheiba knew better than to annoy a God-king. She was amused and not really scared. If need be, she would take him on, but she wanted to give peace a chance.
A reply was sent, “The Queen of Sheiba shall travel to Shalem and meet with King Sulaiman in a month.” The messenger was as bewildered by the message as was King Sulaiman. The messengers were a set of expert horse-riders, operating in a relay, and even they, covered the journey between Shalem and Sheiba in four weeks. Even that could be achieved only when a horse-rider with the message would operate non-stop at full steam, handing over the message to the next one who would do the same.
Sheherazade slowed the pumping with her hands, feeling Sultan getting excited. His dick was at full attention.
Sheherazade left his dick and rubbed his balls, slowly squeezing them to slow him down. She played with his nuts for a while and slowed the story down.
She nodded towards Dinarzade, who got up and filled their glasses with some more wine and handed them to Sultan and Sheherazade. Her hands came off from his genitals, and the heat in his loins cooled down.
Sheherazade started again, in between sips.
As was expected, the riders reached in around four weeks. The message and its innuendoes were read with care, absorbed by King Sulaiman in the true spirit it was intended. The Queen of Sheiba was sending a message that she had mystic and supernatural powers to travel distant locations faster than normal, possibly wielded other skills and strengths.
The time left for arrival was just a couple of days, calculating from the message delivery.
King Sulaiman consulted with his courtiers and his senior staff. He summoned the leaders of tribes and those of the djinns, and asked them, “who amongst you can bring me the throne of the Queen of Sheiba.”
One tribe leader said, “O great King Sulaiman. I will do it. I will go and get it. I will start immediately if you command.”
King Sulaiman said, “No. I need it today. I need it Now!”
The leader of the djinns offered, “It shall be here before you say the next sentence.”
King Sulaiman nodded, and the djinn leader waved his hand in the air.
Moments later the actual throne of Queen of Sheiba was in front of their eyes. Every one of them admired the beautiful turquoise and gold throne encrusted with precious stones like diamonds, rubies, and jade. The amazing feat of getting the throne was done in just a moment, complete with its silk cushions and throws.
King Suliaman smiled and nodded his pleasure.
He had scored in the game of one-upmanship. If the Queen of Sheiba could prove she was powerful by traveling faster than any human, then King Sulaiman had gone one-up on her by ensuring her throne had reached even before she could.
Sheherazade’s hands had crept back into Sultan’s groin and were now once again playing with his balls and his semi-hard dick.
Bilqis reached the outskirts of Shalem a day ahead of her schedule. A move planned by her. Her trusted Flying Carpet had delivered once again. She camped outside Shalem in her royal tents and her entourage.
A messenger was sent to King Sulaiman's court.
“The queen has arrived a day earlier than expected. She does not want to impose herself on Shalem and hence has decided to camp outside Shalem's boundary walls. She will be visiting King Sulaiman’s court tomorrow morning and by then she would have rested and would be ready.” An emissary informed Shalem court’s senior staffer.
The information once again had an underlying message was, that she needed an appropriate welcome.
King Sulaiman smiled at her move and ensured she had a grand welcome. The kingdom’s gates were bedecked with exotic flowers, the streets were strewn with petals and sprinkled with perfumed water to settle the dust and all of Shalem’s citizens were ordered to line up the entire course through which the Queen would arrive into Shalem.
The Queen of Sheiba’s cavalcade included a hundred elephants and camels, a thousand-strong army, palanquins loaded with gifts, jewels, artifacts, and a hundred girls carrying large trays of spices, and perfumes, all from distant lands, each one exotic than the other.
The humdrum increased with every few meters of their progress into the Kingdom.
If Bilqis planned to enthrall the audience with the magnanimous procession and gifts, then she would be disappointed. The murmurs, the gossip, and the whispers were all about her. The much-anticipated visit of Queen of Sheiba had happened.
Bilqis, the Queen of Sheiba, under thirty years of age, was a lady of immense beauty. Her physique was that of a fit warrior, her face was fair, and she looked as lovely as a dove, her eyes detailed with coal looked like those of a fish, her arms decked with gold bracelets were wrapped in a thin, fine silk scarf that rolled down from her neck, her bosom peeked deliciously from above her tight blouse, and it covered just the globes of her breasts, her slim waist was bare, and her navel puckered invitingly, the cloth around her groin and thighs, made of muslin, wrapped around her hips like a skirt, her ankles adorned gold anklets and feet colored crimson with henna.
The Queen of Sheiba looked every bit like a queen.
Sheherazade’s hand had worked Sultan to an erection. She turned around and sat astride him.
Sheherazade moved her hips foward and back, coating Sultan with her juice. Then she caught hold of his cock and aimed it into her pussy. Looking directly into his eyes, she sank lower.
The story had paused as Dinarzade, too, stayed silent and watched her sister take him in.
Sultan needed relief and sighed in pleasure, "aaahhh." He brought his hands on Sheherazade’s hips and helped her buck and move.
Sheherazade had other plans, she slowed down the rocking on Sultan’s cock, resting her hands on his chest.
She looked down into his eyes and restarted her story.
Every one on the streets of the kingdom of Shalem, who saw her, was mesmerized and each one hypnotized by her beauty. This was the Queen of Sheiba whose legends and tales had reached well ahead of her arrival. She was a worthy queen, undoubtedly.
“Long live the Queen”
“Hail the Queen of Sheiba”
“Long Live Bilqis, the Queen of Sheiba”
The streets roared in chorus and the people shouted on top of their voices, welcoming her to Shalem. Never before in the history of Shalem had anyone been welcomed with such fanfare, such fuss.
Sheherazade kept slowly rocking and moving on his cock.
Sultan was wound up, both in his mind and his body. He could take no more and started spraying his cum and sperm inside Sheherazade’s pussy.
He grunted, a low throaty celebration, "Aghh, Agh."
Sheherazade paused the story but kept bucking until the last drop of his cum was drawn in her pussy. Long after his sack was empty, she did not come off him and slowly rocked on his cock until he was limp.
Restarting the story, she came off him.
To think of the fact that King Sulaiman had summoned the Queen of Sheiba had been summoned for heresy and for blasphemy, she had turned the opinion around with aplomb.
Sheherazade restarted the story and looked towards Sultan before saying, “O great Sultan. We have reached a point where Bilqis meets King Sulaiman. The interesting meeting and their intertwined fate require to be justly told.”
Sultan nodded.
“Might I suggest that we start from this point tomorrow if you will allow me life for another day?”
Sultan smiled at the cheap bargain she was offering. He needed to rest for a couple of hours before sunrise.
Sultan nodded his agreement.
Sheherazade cuddled next to the Sultan as they took a short nap before sunrise.
———
When the news of Sheherazade’s survival for another day spread across the court, everyone was stunned. Their surprise was natural, and everyone rejoiced, elated. Their celebrations were cautious and muted, but they were celebrating nonetheless.
Vizier was ecstatic and offered meals and alms to a hundred beggars near the big mosque. He prayed inside the mosque for the life of his daughter and thanked Allah for being merciful.
Comments