The Lustful Empress

Crackos II squat bulk was barely contained by his gold and silver gem encrusted throne. He was a singularly unpleasant creature, even for a Zoglite. His large cranium was hairless. Drool constantly leaked unheeded from his rubbery lips. Rarely did he bathe. The air around him was permeated with a scent some described as akin to rotting meat. His bloodshot eyes peered myopically from his wrinkled mottled face as he gazed around the throne room. "Where is Ider?" he demanded of an aid.

"He is on his way from the Aero-Fleet Center, Sire. He should be here shortly."

"Good...Good."

The Empress Calala sat on a gilded throne next to her repulsive husband. She tried hard to keep a smile of satisfaction from her face.

Nearly fifty years Crackos junior, she was his seventh wife, and by Zoglite standards, a rare beauty. She had wide spaced eyes, thick dark hair, a small pouting mouth, and a long shapely figure. She held the perilous position as Empress for three years, since the death of the Emperor’s sixth wife—also a young beauty—executed for treason by removal of collar.

The Zoglite collar encases the wearer from chin to shoulders. Its original purpose is unknown, but because of its existence for generations in every caste the Zoglites neck muscles have deteriorated to such an extent that it has become impossible for them to hold up their large craniums without it. Collar removal then became a popular means of execution for once a victim’s collar is removed their head lolled forward causing the air passages of the throat collapse. The result is asphyxia; but it is a long slow process, for although weak, adult Zoglites do have some strength in their necks. Victims therefore can struggle for hours to breathe.

Calala was acutely aware her esophagus was constantly in peril of being closed and did her utmost to make her repulsive husband happy. She had seen his cruelty close hand and did not want to become the object of his displeasure. She knew all she had to do to insure her safety was to survive him, and the Emperor was ailing. His age and habits were catching up with him. With luck and planning she would be around long after he was gone.

Calala was intelligent, but she was also young and daring. She had the wants and needs of a young healthy woman that the cold infrequent embrace of the ancient Emperor could not begin to quench. She realized within the first year of her marriage that she needed a lover, but not a stupid fool like her pathetic predecessor chose.

The former Empress was as shallow as she was beautiful. Her intellect was once described as, "Tramish." Her wanton behavior, and inability to hide it, became her undoing. An Emperor could not allow himself to be a cuckold, especially by a common soldier of the Imperial Guard. This man, poor fool that he was, found himself the object of the Empress’ affection. Perhaps he was overwhelmed he could have the woman of the man who ruled Zogl. He simply could not help bragging. In the end he was dispossessed of his collar and sexual organs. He died beside his mistress beneath the cruel myopic eyes of her husband.

Calala had no need for such a fool.

The Empress chose her lover logically. She coldly eliminated those she felt incapable of her rigid standards. The Emperor’s three sons were as stupid and cruel as their father. They could have any woman on Zogl, so why would they want her? She knew they would spurn her and more than likely inform on her to curry their father’s favor. They were quickly crossed off her list.

The Emperor’s military men were puppets. They followed Crackos blindly. The lesser nobles of the Bararvarish court were shallow creatures. They lived in a world of soft cloying power and could not be expected to challenge the Emperor over his woman—and after all she was just a woman.

She was forbidden fruit.

After studying it she decided there was only one man on all of Zogl, she felt would be a suitable paramour. That man was Deval Ider. As Commander of the Imperial Guards he had the power to oppose her husband if the need arose. He was also a man she knew she would never dominate. He was ruthless, arrogant, self-centered and ambitious. He had a dark reputation. He was a logical choice for her lover.

It was not just lust that prompted Calala however. She knew it would not be long before Crackos joined the other Bararvarish rulers in the burial vault beneath the Royal Palace. When that happened she would need a protector. The Emperor’s three sons greedily eyed the throne and she was in their way. Deval Ider was the only man on all Zogl who could stand against them.

Less than a year after Empress Calala made her selection; Lord Deval Ider’s became her lover. Their discreet affair was one of controlled passion. Both had enemies at court and had reason to fear for their lives.

The Empress could barely control her excitement as the door to the throne room opened and Lord Ider was announced. He marched to the foot of the dais, bowed to the Emperor, then to her. She felt an inner glow as he related his experiences on the moon’s surface to her husband.

Deval Ider had returned to Zogl wrapped in glory. The successful mission to the moon’s surface and the capture of sixteen moon people made him the most famous Zoglite since Crackos the First.

The Empress was proud.

Now, nothing would stand in their way.

Tonight she would be in his arms, and one day soon they would rule Zogl together. 

Next Chapter: Chapter 16