The Sultan and the Storyteller, part 1-A Title: The Sultan and the Storyteller, part 1-A/31 By: Arionrhod and McKay Rated: R Pairings: Remus/Severus, Regulus/Kingsley, Bill/Tonks Summary: Non-magical AU. Professor Remus Lupin finds himself a captive of the sultan of Slythistan, but what is really keeping him there? The bonds of coercion or the bonds of growing love? Notes: This story is complete, but because it's based loosely on the Arabian Nights, we're posting one part per day through November to pay homage to the original tale. Illustrations by karasu_hime. Written for lore on the occasion of her birthday. Happy birthday, lore! We hope you enjoy it! Word count: ~11,800 this chapter/ ~180,000 overall
There was someone pounding on a drum right by his ear, and Remus woke up, sitting up and yelping in protest as his head throbbed in time with the beat.
Becoming vertical so suddenly turned out to not be such a good idea, and he moaned as he put his hands to his head. The drumbeat seemed to accelerate until he wanted to scream, but when he opened one eye and peeked around, he realized that he was quite alone. There was no drummer, and, in fact, it seemed that the pounding was nothing more than the beating of his own heart.
That realization didn't do much for his pounding head, nor did it explain why his head was pounding in the first place. Or how he had gotten into a soft bed that was definitely not the hard, lumpy mattress from his hotel. He winced, swallowing hard as the unanswered questions made him feel nauseated, and then he started to breathe slowly and deeply, in through his mouth and out through his nose as he'd learned to do with the migraines he'd had back in college. Bit by bit, the pain began to recede, at least enough so that he could crack his eyes open and take somewhat limited stock of his situation.
The room was dimly lit, but what he could see of it didn't give him any clue as to where it actually was. The sheets appeared to be silk, and the bed was enormous, and when he lifted the sheet covering him, he realized to his shock that he was naked. He never slept naked, and that, more than anything, convinced him that however he'd gotten into this bed, wherever it was, he'd not put himself there.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Remus yanked the sheets up to his chin when the door opened and Regulus, the man he had met in the museum the night before, entered the room, bearing a tray.
"Good morning," Regulus greeted him quietly, as if aware of his headache, but cheerfully, and he approached the bed. "I have brought you some aspirin and some breakfast, if you feel hungry after your headache subsides." Regulus gave him an apologetic look. "It is a regrettable side effect of the soporific, but I assure you, no lasting harm has been done." He put the tray on the bedside table and picked up a glass of chilled water and a bottle of aspirin, offering them to Remus.
Eying the glass and the aspirin as though they were snakes that might leap out and bite him, Remus narrowed his eyes and glared at Regulus. It wasn't an expression Remus was used to adopting, but it wasn't as difficult as it might have been, given how painful his head was and how angry and humiliated he felt at what had been done to him.
"You tricked me!" he said, the events of what must have been the previous evening coming back to him. At least he hoped it was the previous day, but there was really no way to be sure how long had passed or what had happened to him since he'd had that drink. "You drugged me! What in the hell was that for? I've not done anything wrong, and you have no right! Where are my clothes? I'm getting out of here at once!"
In reality, Remus wasn't certain he could even stand, given how his head was spinning, but Regulus didn't need to know that.
"Your clothes are hanging in the closet," Regulus replied mildly, still holding out the water and aspirin bottle and seeming unperturbed by Remus' wrath. "We had them cleaned, of course, and we sent for the rest of your belongings from your hotel. I took the liberty of checking you out and paying your bill myself. You have certainly not done anything wrong," he added with a reassuring smile. "The sultan wishes you to remain, and he thought stronger means of persuasion were necessary. He will be along shortly to explain further."
It wasn't quite the truth, but Severus had instructed Regulus to pretend that he was responsible for the drugging instead; Regulus wasn't certain whether to take this as a hopeful sign or not, but he hoped it meant Severus was giving serious thought to trying to convince Remus Lupin to remain at the palace.
"He... he did this?" Remus' eyes widened, and he felt a sudden sense of betrayal, his head rocking back as though he'd been slapped. He was quite ready to believe that Regulus had been the author of whatever had been done to him, but to think that the sultan, who'd seemed so friendly and had smiled at him, could have enacted this outrage upon him was almost too much for Remus to bear.
Gritting his teeth and ignoring Regulus - courtesy be damned for once, this was their fault, not his - Remus moved the sheet back and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He flushed, knowing that he was naked to the other man's sight, but no doubt it wasn't anything Regulus hadn't already seen when he'd put Remus to bed. It must have been Regulus, because Remus couldn't imagine the sultan undressing him.
Remus drew in a deep breath and groped for one of the bed posts, then slowly and with great deliberation, he hauled himself to his feet. It was probably one of the hardest things he'd ever done, and his vision swam with spots as his head protested the movement, but he didn't let that stop him. Nausea rose again, but Remus concentrated more on remaining upright than on suppressing it. If he did throw up, he'd simply make certain to vomit on Regulus.
Once he was vertical, walking seemed like an impossible challenge, but Remus was tough. He reached toward the bedpost at the foot of the bed, lurching for it and then clinging to the wood as though for dear life once he managed to get there. Regulus started forward, but Remus turned to glare at him again.
"Don't you dare touch me," he said fiercely. Or as fiercely as he could, given that his voice was breathless and faint.
Regulus shrugged and backed away, and he put the water and aspirin back on the tray, seeming not to notice or care that Remus was naked. The same could not be said for Severus, however, when he opened the door and walked into the room, having been notified that his new guest was awake.
He paused in the doorway and took in the view, pleased to have been given an unexpected opportunity to preview what he intended to make his own as soon as possible. Remus' skin was as pale as milk, but he was not soft or flabby; if pressed, Severus would guess that he walked a great deal, for his legs were well-sculpted, and his backside was firm.
"Good morning," he drawled, once he had ended his leisurely perusal of Remus' body. "I hope you are not feeling too many ill effects this morning. If so, I instructed Regulus to bring aspirin, which will help."
If Remus could have whirled, he would have; as it was, the best he could do as he heard the sultan's voice was to glance around sharply and cling for all he was worth to the bedpost. There was literally nothing he could do to cover himself, and every inch of his skin flushed pink with humiliation.
"I don't want anything except to get out of here right now!" he said, his voice strangled. He couldn't believe this was happening to him, and his betrayal showed in his blue eyes. "I thought you liked me!"
"I do like you," Severus replied in the sort of patient tone he might use to explain things to a small child. "That is why you are here." He crossed the room and stopped in front of Remus, his dark eyes boring into Remus; he saw the hurt lingering in the pale depths of Remus' eyes, and that gave him slight pause, making him feel a twinge of guilt for taking advantage of Regulus' duplicity simply because he had taken a fancy to Remus, but he continued on in hopes all would work out for the best. "I have a proposition to make, one which I thought you might need time to consider, hence the unorthodox means of making certain you remained here overnight."
"Did you think to try asking?" Remus wasn't certain how much longer he could keep himself upright, but he would be boiled in oil before he'd let himself show any sign of weakness in front of this man. He had never considered himself proud or stubborn before, but there was something about the situation and about the sultan that suddenly made him determined to resist whatever this proposition might be. "I'm hardly likely to be favorably disposed toward anything you say after what you did to me!"
"How unfortunate." Severus moved to sit on the bed, arranging his long limbs and the drape of his flowing robes to their best advantage. "I did consider asking, but I guessed you to be the eternally polite type who would courteously refuse and be on your way, and that would not do. If I was wrong in my assessment, I offer my regrets."
Hurt and anger welled up again, and Remus frowned and shook his head. "Regrets? You drugged me! You kidnapped me because you didn't like the fact that I might say no to whatever you wanted to ask me? I thought I'd fallen down the rabbit hole, and I suppose I did. You're all mad! You can't do this to people! It's not right!"
Severus leaned back on one hand and regarded Remus, his eyebrows climbing at the display of temper. So the professor had some spirit; that was rather promising. "You were given a sleeping draught, nothing more, and you were tucked into a comfortable bed and left unmolested during the night. Your things were fetched and cleaned, and your hotel bill was paid. Your passport and other important documents are right where you left them, and as you can see, the door to this room is unlocked. I also fail to see any manacles on your wrists or ankles, therefore I must ask what has been done to you that is so horrific that you must shriek like a fishwife about it?"
The words stung, and Remus tilted his chin up, refusing to be made to feel bad about his behavior when he was the one who had been violated. That thought led to another, and his eyes widened as he did a quick mental self examination, wondering suddenly if he really hadn't been molested as the sultan claimed. He didn't feel any different, and he relaxed minutely as his pounding heart began to slow again.
"Fine, then," he said, drawing in a deep breath and turning to gauge the distance between the bed and the closet door. It was too far, but there was a dresser half-way along the wall; perhaps he could make it to that. He had to get out of here quickly before sleeping draughts became poison. Which was probably an unfair thought, but if he'd mentally insulted his host, the man had only himself to blame.
It cost him dearly, but Remus managed to release the bedpost and stumble his way inelegantly to the dresser. He grabbed on to the dresser as though it were a life raft in a stormy sea; he knocked over a vase of flowers, but he didn't care. He needed to pause there to recover, and he didn't turn around as he spoke again. "If you will please excuse me, I'll just dress and leave. And believe me, I will never forget your... hospitality, your highness."
Rising with swift grace, Severus moved to the dresser and wound his arms around Remus, helping him upright and supporting his weight. "Pretty and proud, but foolish," he murmured in Remus' ear, holding Remus close. "You are not in any shape to go anywhere, and you have not even heard my proposition yet."
Finding himself suddenly held in a tight embrace, Remus stiffened in shock. The sultan as murmuring in his ear, but the words made no sense to Remus' reeling mind. He was naked and the sultan was holding him, and it was very, very wrong. Probably the most wrong thing Remus had ever experienced, even though his traitorous body wanted nothing more than to relax in the sultan's strong arms. Which was impossible - impossible and terribly, terribly dangerous.
He said I was pretty. The words suddenly sorted themselves out in Remus' brain, and he laughed somewhat shakily, torn between giggling and screaming. "I don't need to hear it. The answer is no!"
"Regrettably, I never take no for an answer," Severus replied, stroking Remus' bare stomach gently. "However, I will give you a fair chance to convince me that my efforts are in vain - if you give me a fair chance to convince you to stay."
Remus trembled. He couldn't help it, not when Severus' long, warm fingers were caressing him more intimately than anyone had ever done before. His mind screamed at him to pull away, but his body refused to obey, and that left him no choice but to shake. Nor was his mental state much better, not when the sultan was saying the most nonsensical things!
"What?" he asked, then shivered. "Why would I want to stay? Why would you want me to stay? I thought you said I wasn't a prisoner and that I could go!"
"I said the door was not locked, and you were not shackled," Severus corrected him, still caressing Remus' stomach, his fingers straying to the clean jut of Remus' hip bone. "As for why I wish you to stay, it is quite simple. I want you to join my harem."
"WHAT?!?" Remus knew his voice had gone up perhaps two octaves, but there was no help for it. He'd just been shocked more thoroughly than he'd ever been in his life, and he turned his head to regard Severus as though he'd just sprouted a third eyeball in the center of his forehead. "Are you out of your mind? I'm not gay, and even if I were, I'd have no interest in being some, some..." Remus' voice trailed off as he tried to find some word horrible enough for what he thought of Severus' 'proposition'. "Gigolo!" It wasn't quite right, but it would have to do, and Remus glared up at Severus.
For the first time, there was a dangerous undercurrent of anger in Severus' voice when he replied. "Ignoring your self-delusions for a moment, let me remind you that I am a war hero and the ruler of this country, not some common gigolo. What I am offering you is one of the highest honors I can confer, and there are men who would gladly kill for the privilege and the prestige that being one of my harem brings."
There was no mistaking the danger in the sultan's deep voice, and Remus was reminded quite forcefully that, wrong as he believed this situation to be, the sultan probably could make him disappear and no one would ever be able to determine his fate. He didn't like to think that the man he'd found so charming and knowledgeable the previous evening could be quite that bloodthirsty and vindictive, but there was no way he could know for sure. His instinctive comfort with the sultan must have been a self delusion, and Remus knew he'd better mind his wayward tongue if he hoped to get out of this situation.
Of course, it was difficult to be dignified when he was naked in the arms of a man who was asking him to join his harem, but Remus knew he'd best give the effort his damnedest. Drawing in a deep breath, he spoke in as polite and deferential a tone as he could, not realizing that it was the same voice he'd used when he'd finally given in to his parents' urging to marry Dora.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me for being a bit... out of sorts, but this is a most unusual situation," he said. "However, I must politely decline your offer. I'm certain it is the honor you say it is, but it is an honor I must refuse. I've no interest in privilege or prestige, even if my sexuality ran in the same direction as yours, your highness. And I've no interest in being one of many, either."
"I would find it far easier to believe your protestations of heterosexuality if it were not for the fact that a straight man would have already removed my hand from his body by now," Severus replied, a faint hint of amusement in his voice as he smoothed his hand down Remus' chest to illustrate his point.
A strangled sound escaped Remus' lips, and he wondered wildly how he was supposed to remove Severus' hand without falling over. "My sexuality isn't anyone's business but my own," he managed to get out, since Severus seemed determined to ignore everything else he said. "And it's not something that's available for the asking! It will be something I share with my first lover, when that time comes."
Severus was not easily surprised, but the fact that Remus had just confessed to being a virgin did surprise him greatly - and it spoke to something primal and possessive inside him, making him desire Remus as his lover all the more. Remus was offering him a challenge, which was a rare experience, and Severus was determined to triumph, no matter what it took.
"I happen to agree bestowing one's virginity is not something that should be done lightly or carelessly," he said at last. He grasped Remus' shoulders and turned him so that they faced one another. "Especially when one has held onto it for so long," he added, giving Remus a knowing look. "Thus I will give you two options. First, you will remain here in the palace for one month, and you will give me the opportunity to court you properly. During that time, you will be given unlimited access to the artifacts and antiques in the palace, and you will be allowed to photograph, catalogue, and study them. You will be the first Western scholar given access to these items, and you will be free to publish your findings when and where you please. At the end of the month, if I have not convinced you to remain, you will be free to go. I will even pay your transportation fees and double what you usually make in one month in compensation for your time, along with your research on the artifacts of the palace."
Remus couldn't help but boggle at Severus' proposition. It was shocking enough that Severus wanted to court him, as Severus put it, in a effort to coax him to give up his virginity and join Severus' harem, but to be offered what amounted to a scholar's dream in return was completely unfair. The items he'd seen so far in the palace were priceless beyond measure, and to be allowed to study them, write about them, and publish his work... why, it would be as though he were Schliemann in Troy or Carter in the Valley of Kings! More than improving his academic credentials, it would cement him a place in history, lifting him from the rank of a teacher to that of a discoverer, someone who would be remembered for his contributions to his field.
He looked at Severus, trying to wrap his mind around all of it and not quite succeeding, although he felt that no matter what, accepting the offer would be like striking a deal with the devil. "What... what's the second option?" he asked faintly, wondering if the stick were to follow the carrot.
Severus' smile was wolfish and not at all reassuring. "You will have the choice of living the rest of your life either in my dungeon or as a eunuch," he said.
It was an entirely empty threat; Severus was not the kind of man to abuse his power in such a way, but Remus didn't need to know that, especially if it herded him toward accepting the option Severus wanted him to accept.
Remus' eyes almost popped out of his head at that, and his heart hammered in his chest. This wasn't a stick; it was a bloody damned redwood tree! He felt a moment of sheer panic, wondering if he ought to try to make a run for it, leaping out of the palace window and hoping there was a tree to catch his fall, but unfortunately, he knew he wouldn't make it a single step without falling flat on his face.
"All that... just because you want to have sex with me?" he asked faintly, trying to wrap his mind around the concept and failing. "This... it's really a joke, isn't it? Things like this don't happen to men like me! I'm just a tweedy professor, not... not someone like you! You could have anyone you want, you told me so. You're having me on, aren't you? It's really very funny!"
The only urge Remus felt to laugh, however, was a hysterical one, and he told himself firmly to get a grip on himself before he lost it completely. No doubt the headache was contributing to his disorientation, and he wondered if, in reality, he'd fallen and hit his head and was hallucinating the whole unbelievable situation.
"To be such an intelligent man, you really are quite dense," Severus said, shaking his head with amused exasperation, and then he snapped his fingers. "Regulus, fetch a dressing gown."
Although Severus was enjoying the view, he thought it might be easier and more comfortable for Remus if he weren't naked, and as soon as Regulus fetched a warm, luxurious dressing gown from the closet, Severus helped Remus into it and led him back to the bed, urging him to sit down.
"Let me explain," he said, adopting the patient tone again. "The harem - or at least, my harem - is not merely about having convenient warm bodies with which to copulate when I feel the urge. I have three men in my harem, and they are all my friends as well as my lovers. One of them I have known since I was very young. They provide companionship and conversation, and I chose them for their intelligence as well as their looks. They are my confidantes as well, and I seek advice from them. They have jobs, and they are free to come and go. The days of gates and seclusion are long over. I chose you because you are attractive and clever, and I believe we could become friends as well as lovers." He smoothed a stray lock of hair back from Remus' face with gentle fingers. "I have a weakness for tweed-wearing scholarly types with glasses, you see," he added in a low, intimate voice.
Remus almost could see, although he was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the casting of himself in the role of the one being pursued. Not that he thought he was unattractive, and he'd had more than a few women who had expressed their interest in him over the years, but he'd not returned their regard, at least not in the way they'd wanted. Deep down, he knew what he was repressing, but it had become such a habit after over thirty years that he found it nearly impossible to allow himself to think about it. He knew, however, it had a big role to play in his intentional distancing of himself from Dora. It was even possible his parents suspected and that it was as much behind their insistence that he marry as their vocalized wish to see their grandchildren before they died. Remus hated to disappoint them, since they'd sacrificed so much for him, but it was proving very hard for him to follow through on the planned marriage; the wedding night was something he refused to contemplate at all.
Yet this was something so far outside of his experience that he might as well have been suddenly asked to perform brain surgery or fly a rocket ship. He gazed at Severus, his thoughts both jumbled and troubled, but he somehow sensed that Severus meant what he was saying. Yet how could he do this, even if he was positive there was nothing Severus could do to persuade him into accepting his offer? He ignored the twisting in his stomach he felt at the thought of those other three men in Severus' harem; they simply didn't signify.
"If I accepted your first option," he said slowly, his eyes searching Severus' face intently. "What would be expected of me? Certainly you aren't just planning to turn me loose in the palace, and I would assume I'd not have the ability to come and go as I please."
"Not until I know I can trust you not to break our agreement," Severus replied frankly. "Your days would be your own, and you would be free to go anywhere in the palace and on its grounds. No door will be closed to you, save my employees' private quarters. I have security at all the entrances, and naturally, they would be ordered not to allow you to pass until otherwise informed by me, but if you prove honorable, we can re-negotiate at mid-month to allow you access to the rest of the city." He leaned back on both hands, relaxed and nonchalant. "You would spend each evening and each night with me. I will not approach you during the daylight hours; I have my own business to attend to, although you are, of course, free to seek me out," he added with a little smirk. "But once the sun goes down, it will be our time. From dusk until dawn, you will be mine, although I vow I will not take from you what is not either given or offered freely."
So that was it, then; in exchange for trying to get him to have sex, Remus would be allowed access to this historian's heaven. He wasn't certain Severus really wanted him to remain long term as part of his harem, and to be honest, Remus could not imagine himself being happy in such an arrangement. He had always imagined that he would fall in love at some point and find the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with - and that didn't include other people as part of the relationship.
As much as he liked Severus - and, despite everything, Remus was honest enough with himself to admit that he did like the sultan - he wasn't in love with him, and he didn't think that to be a likely outcome of any wooing. He'd also cherished a secret wish to give himself completely to the person he fell in love with, virginity and all, and so he thought himself safe enough on that score, given he'd been resisting all temptation for twenty years. Whether or not he bought the threat of being castrated - and he preferred not to wonder if Severus really would do it - it seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up. Severus would no doubt grow bored or frustrated long before the month was out anyway, and Remus would have the means to go back to Scotland a far more successful man than he'd left it. Hopefully with the sultan still a friend.
Finally, he held out his hand, his mind, for better or worse, made up. "All right. I accept," he said quietly. "You hold up your end of the bargain, and I'll hold up mine."
Sitting up straight again, Severus clasped Remus' hand and shook it firmly. "Then we have a bargain." Again that predatory smile flashed, and without warning, he tugged Remus forward and captured Remus' lips in a brief but unmistakably possessive kiss, and when he sat back again, he looked quite smug. "Regulus needs to return to his duties, and so do I," he said. "I will send someone to serve as your valet. I would suggest resting for a while and perhaps a bath later. You will have plenty of time to explore when you feel better." He rose and stretched languidly, radiating an air of satisfaction. "I will see you this evening," he said, his voice a throaty purr as he clasped Remus' hand and brushed a kiss to the back of it.
With a terse gesture to Regulus, he swept out the door, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Regulus glanced at him with undisguised amusement.
"A eunuch, Severus? There hasn't been a eunuch in the palace in over a hundred years, and the dungeon is a caved in ruin."
"Whatever works, Regulus," Severus replied calmly, draping his arm across Regulus' shoulders in a gesture of casual familiarity. "Whatever works."