Princes 3

Chapter 3 – Enslavement

(Constantinople, January 1484)

The assembled boys had not understood a word of what the Moor had said but recognised that they had reached the end of their voyage and that the morrow was likely to be an important day in their lives. Edward knew that sometime, somewhere, he had passed his thirteenth birthday, as well as Christmas and the new year of his own faith, whilst on the galley. The Prince wondered where he would be when he became fourteen. He was determined that, whatever now befell him and his brother, they would try their best to stay together, although it was probably too much to expect that their new friends, with whom they had experienced so much joy, would remain with them as well.

A heady mixture of worry and excitement meant that all the boys slept fitfully that night, even the older lads who shared bodily pleasures for one last time. They were happy when dawn arrived and they could have a final play before the arrival of the black servant to supervise their ablutions and redressing in pristine white briefs and tunics. The man was even more meticulous than usual and, unprecedentedly, the Moor came to closely examine the finished products. He was more than pleased by his observations, particularly of the young royal personages, and told the servant to proceed to take them ashore.

The boys were ferried, under a warm sun despite the fact that it was mid-winter, in two large rowboats across the clear blue waters of the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus at the entrance to the Sea of Marmara, to steps on the long busy quayside. A large covered wagon, drawn by two horses awaited them. After supervising the loading of the wagon with its precious young cargo, the black servant joined the driver at the front and the horses were encouraged to launch the party on its way. Some of the boys had never been to large villages, let alone a huge magnificent city such as Constantinople which, like Rome, was built on seven hills. The great metropolis was now more cosmopolitan than ever after its conquest by the Muslim Ottoman Turks, under Sultan Mehmet, thirty years before. The great ruler, known for his achievements as the ‘Conqueror’, had died only two years earlier, being replaced by one of his sons, Bayezid. Mehmet had wisely maintained many of the previous Byzantine administrators and their systems in place and also provided an environment in which much of the original Greek population felt that it could remain. As a result, the city had become the richest and busiest trading centre in the known world.

All the boys were therefore amazed at the exotic sights they observed through the opening at the rear of the wagon as it progressed along the narrow streets. They were particularly intrigued at the variety of skin colours and clothing, including peculiar headwear, they saw amidst the thronging masses through whom they passed and by the splendour of some of the buildings. The wagon eventually arrived at one of the city’s largest markets. However, it did not sell manufactured goods, produce or animals as its speciality was human beings, for slavery was not only a major feature of the Byzantine Empire but also its successor. This was where some of the lads’ ignorance relating to their futures would be removed, along with much optimism they might have nurtured.

The boys’ concerns were first increased when they were unloaded from the wagon by the black servant, helped by the wagon driver, and herded inside the building and along a couple of extensive passageways to a large room, empty except for a long wooden platform against the left wall. The eighteen lads were led, via steps on the lefthandside, onto the stage and stood in line about a pace apart, near to and facing the front with their hands at their sides. They had all been positioned above metal rings embedded in the stage floor in height order, which more or less approximated to their ages ranging from 6 to 14, with the shortest and youngest nearest the stairs. The exceptions were the young Princes who were located next to each other on the righthandside.

The black servant clearly indicated by hand signals that the boys should stay put and still, and remain quiet. He then left the room, leaving the boys in the driver’s care. The man was very tempted to have a private preview of what was under some of the tunics but decided that it was too dangerous. The Moor, despite his outward disposition, was not someone you wanted to displease.

The servant returned with the Moor and several of his crewmen, who had apparently spent some time on their personal grooming for this event. The crewmen assumed a guarding role at the back of the platform whilst the servant opened some double doors at the centre of the wall directly opposite the wooden structure. About forty men, in various garb and seemingly of several nationalities, both unfamiliar to the boys, entered and made for the front of the platform to have their first looks at the commodities on offer. The Moor’s annual auction of north-western European boys was an occasion eagerly anticipated by the slavetraders for his very rare goods never disappointed in quality. However, they knew that they would have to pay very high prices if they were to secure any, and then only after a certain person, who would easily outbid them all, had made his selection. They now had to await this man’s arrival before proceedings could progress further.

The wait lasted about a third of an hour, during which time the concerns of the boys intensified for the black servant removed their tunics and placed leather collars, with chain manacles, around their necks. The boys had always been treated well and with respect by both the servant and his master but this seemed to signify a sinister change of mood and attitude. This perception was significantly increased when their hands were attached behind them to the manacles, so that their wrists were half way up their backs, and further shackles were applied to their feet and the metal rings. However, it was noticeable that the bulges at the front of some of the older lads’ small tight white briefs increased in size and, to his shame, Edward’s was one of these.

All the boys felt humiliated at having to stand in this manner in front of the assemblage, most of whom seemed to be discussing the lads’ attributes with nearby colleagues. However, the crowd quietened when a small retinue of men appeared at the double doors. The clear leader was a distinguished-looking fair-haired, clean-shaven, middle-aged man, with striking blue eyes, who was dressed in flowing purple and blue robes embossed with rubies and sapphires. The Moor went to greet him and did so with a reverential bow. The man acknowledged the welcome but made purposefully for the platform, apparently wanting to acquit this business quickly so that he could go on to deal with more important matters. The Moor talked quietly to him as the small party progressed to the stairs of the stage, but the man proceeded up the steps alone.

The black servant awaited him at the top and bowed as the man reached it. He remained at the left of the platform as the man walked along the row of boys carefully examining each one in turn. The man ran his right hand through their hair and over their cheeks. He forced open their mouths to look inside, before running both hands over their chests, sides and stomachs, gently pinching their nipples on the way. Without exception, these administrations caused the boys, even the two 6 years olds, to become aroused and this humiliatingly showed through their briefs. The lads’ shame increased when the man, with deliberation, felt the shape of their expanding bulges. He did not bother feeling the boys’ legs, for that would have meant kneeling, but satisfied himself with a visual check before proceeding to their rears, where he ran his hands over their backs and the sumptuous curves of their backsides, intensifying their erections.

Robert and then Edward were the last to receive these degrading attentions and the man seemed to linger longest over their immaculate forms. After he had finished, the man nodded to the black servant who then finalised the boys’ degradation by swiftly moving along the line from the left, pulling the blushing lads’ briefs down to their ankles. Some of the younger boys who had received the man’s earliest attentions revealed re-softened penises but the latter older boys, including Robert and Edward, revealed hard-ons of some degree or other. Edward’s, in particular, was full and would become fuller as the man now proceeded, in reverse order down the line, to perform his inspection of the boys’ loins and bottoms again but in their naked state and with the latter including a check with eye and finger of their virgin sphincters as they were made to bend over. The man seemed to pay particular notice to the shape and form of the lads’ genitalia, causing the young Dane to shudder and cum over the very expensive robe. The red-faced 13 years old was so embarrassed and frightened that he began to cry but the man just ignored both reactions to his administrations and proceeded to the lad’s rear, although he did allow the black servant to use a cloth to wipe his robe clean of the evidence of the youngster’s over-excitement.

The boys had all traumatised by the sudden greatly demeaning change in their circumstances, being made to stand nude, some with obvious signs of sexual arousal, not only before the man fondling them but before more than forty others with lecherous looks. However, the man did not exhibit such a look himself for his eyes suggested that he was totally indifferent to the lovely attractions before him and was instead examining them as he would cattle.

The man left the stage and spoke to the Moor whilst pointing at some of the boys, including the Princes. The Moor bowed and the man and his retinue left. The black servant released six boys from their shackles, including Edward and Robert and the former’s Danish friend, his cock still leaking semen, but not the latter’s French one. The six was completed by another Scandinavian, this one aged 7, and a 9 years old German and 11 years old Lowlander, all blondes with blue eyes. The servant indicated to the sextet that they could cover themselves again with their briefs, the Dane soiling his with sperm as he did so whilst Edward stained his with precum for his penis remained embarrassingly hard. The servant and the wagon driver then escorted the six off the platform and out of the market, leaving the other twelve boys to be sold into slavery on the wider market. The six were never to see the other twelve again or, for that matter, the Moor who, as he observed the boys leaving, was very content for he believed that he had fulfilled his promise to the Spanish captain whilst, at the same time, making a substantial profit.

As the sextet, now attired just in briefs, were returned to the back of the wagon to be transported along more streets, they wondered where they were going and what destiny had in mind for them. They were particularly intrigued about the identity of the richly robed man. One of them would quickly discover that the man originated from his homeland and spoke his language. All of them would soon learn that he was also the second most powerful person in the Ottoman Empire, after the Sultan, for he controlled all access of both people and messages to the exalted ruler. The man was entitled ‘Kapi Agha’ or ‘Chief White Eunuch’.

(To be continued in Chapter 4:- ‘Topkapi’)