(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], Summer, 1397)

John, having decided to walk past the door guarding the chamber, from within which desperate cries in a foreign tongue were emerging, suddenly stopped when he thought he heard, amongst the alien words, the clear name of the Ottoman Sultan, ‘Bayezid’. Surprised curiosity rather than the earlier meek discretion about what was happening in the room consequently overtook the boy.

John returned to the sturdy wooden entrance and without knocking, for he was, after all, the Emperor’s second son who, in his young opinion, had the right to explore anywhere without restriction, opened the door and entered the chamber. The pretty fair-haired 7 year-old boy was immediately surprised and shocked by the scene that now befell his serene sky blue eyes.

(Central Asian steppe [modern Kazakhstan], north of the Timurid Empire, 2 weeks later)

2 weeks later, equally lovely but currently tearful brown eyes closed in a faraway location on the vast Central Asian steppe. The naked, bound and gagged Teimuraz had quickly emerged from his humiliating orgasm when he felt the cold metal of the shaman’s sharp knife begin to press into his young, smooth, vulnerable and currently discoloured and tightly tied scrotum.

Knowing that the patron saint of Georgia, George, had failed him and that there was nothing that he could do to save himself, the spreadeagled Teimuraz had therefore closed his sensuous brown eyes to await his initial fate at the shaman’s cruel hands, namely imminent conversion into a eunuch. The 14 year-old boy also appreciated that far worse was to come over the days ahead to meet the priest-apothecary’s medicinal requirements.

Proceedings were, however, suddenly and surprisingly interrupted by a loud scream from a woman in the watching crowd. The shaman looked up to see the clearly frightened female concerned pointing to the brow of a low incline, which bordered the southern edge of the pastureland upon which the nomadic tribe was currently encamped.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], 2 weeks previously)

The Imperial castrator had just made his initial incision into the centre of Petŭr’s pleasantly shaped smooth scrotum when he had been surprised by the sudden opening of the door to his ancient workplace, where he and his predecessors had created many thousands of eunuchs over the past centuries. The man saw a fair-haired 7 year-old boy with sky blue eyes enter the chamber, with a look of clear horror on his gorgeous young face.

The Imperial castrator reluctantly stopped what he was doing because he had immediately appreciated the identity of his surprise guest. As a palace employee, the man had seen the boy at court ceremonies and functions on a number of occasions and, although such sights had usually been gained from a distance, he could not fail to recognise instantly the magnificent features of the delightful 7 year-old.

Before the surprised castrator could ask his own question of his young visitor, John enquired politely "What, Sir, are you doing to that boy?" The mentioned, naked 13 year-old was, of course, the gagged Petŭr. However, before the man could answer, the similarly nude, frightened and tearful 8 year-old Mehmet, standing nearby between the restricting arms of two strong palace guards, resumed his desperate entreaties to be spared the gelding knife because of his real status in life.

Mehmet had stopped his pleading temporarily because of his own surprise at the intrusion of the 7 year-old into the castration chamber. However, fear of what was about to befall him and recognition that the immaculately groomed and dressed boy might be of importance had speedily spurred the 8 year-old to resume begging in his, to the Byzantines present, strange tongue.

Mehmet’s appeals were eventually brought to another halt by John, who, now alerted to the presence of a second naked boy in the chamber, turned to the 8 year-old and, putting his right forefinger to his rosy lips, commanded "Shhhhh!" Although the Ottoman prince was not accustomed to and, in fact, would normally be affronted by the impertinence on the part of any boy, especially one more junior in age, imparted by the universally understood expression, the young Muslim obeyed the 7 year-old Orthodox Christian’s order.

Having re-established quietude, John then turned back to the adult knife-holder and repeated his original question. The man replied "I’m castrating these two boys, Majesty. In fact, I’m performing the task so that they can serve you!"

It was now John’s turn to be surprised. His Imperial parents had not told him that they planned to supplement his current adult servants with a couple of similarly aged boy slaves to play with, plus an older one issued with limited authority, even over the young prince, to keep them all in line. The Emperor and Empress had decided that such gifts might discourage their adventurous second son from wandering their huge palace alone.

"What does ‘castrating’ mean," John next asked, "and why does it have to be done to these two boys so that they can serve me?" The 7 year-old had heard of eunuchs. In fact, most of his adult male servants were classified as such but he had never really understood what the term meant, although he had noticed they were invariably clean-shaven whilst most other types of men, including his father, were fashionably bearded. The adult knife-holder tried his best to explain the answer to both of the inquisitive prince’s questions but naturally encountered difficulty in doing so to someone so young and innocent.

Advising a 7 year-old why the culture of the Byzantine court had created the need for many eunuchs over the centuries was truly arduous. For example, it was awkward to describe to a boy not yet aware of the facts of life the requirement to eradicate the sex drive of anyone who might have access to the females of the Imperial household. It was also hard to detail to one so immature how the Emperors liked to make sure that their most important officials could not produce children who could reduce their devotion to their masters by making them ambitious for their own lineage. Being without such offspring, and being denied any realistic personal aspirations to the throne because of their gelded status, usually ensured that the loyalty of such important servants always remained with those who had granted them their positions.

John was appalled to learn what castration entailed. The kindly and intelligent boy could also not accept as being moral the partly understood reasons provided for the genital mutilation of his young slaves-to-be. The 7 year-old therefore commanded the castrator to stop his work and repair the scrotal wound already perpetrated on the 13 year-old bound to the sanguine workplace table.

The castrator hesitated to comply, as he was sure that the command would be overruled. However, the perceptive John, appreciating the reason for the man’s indecision, reassured him "Don’t worry, Sir, I’ll clear my instruction with more senior palace officials and ultimately with my father if necessary!"

In the event, clearing John’s command with his father was not immediately necessary. Having confirmed with the elderly senior palace eunuch, who had bought the intended young castration victims at the local slave market, that the boys were, with another already gelded, to be surprise gifts to him from his parents, the prince and the official agreed to keep matters unresolved for now. The Emperor and Empress had not specifically ordered three young eunuchs for their second son, although the provision of geldings would have been normal for their posts. The genital status of the new slaves could therefore be discussed later with the Imperial couple, after the presentation of the human presents to their child.

The facade of a supposed surprise parental gift could thereby also be maintained, as long as John played his part successfully, which no one involved doubted that the clever, resourceful boy would do. The elderly senior palace eunuch had agreed with the young prince that it would be better not to risk engendering Imperial anger by advising the Emperor and Empress that their offspring had discovered their secret intent. The gelded bureaucrat, who had originally been surprised to discover that his orders about castrating two new slaves had been countermanded, entered into the bargain fully aware that such ire, although unlikely, would, if induced, only be targeted at the palace officials not at the beloved second son. Such knowledge had been amongst the reasons that had encouraged him to acquiesce to the 7 year-old’s wishes.

Another reason had been a fervent desire on the part of the elderly senior palace eunuch not to argue with the highly important boy over such a petty matter, especially as the 7 year-old’s significance might someday become even more considerable. Although the young prince had been kept deliberately ignorant of the news so that he would not become upset, his older brother, Michael, heir to the Byzantine throne, had always been sickly and there was much court speculation that the child might not live to succeed his father. This situation made the healthy John the likely next Emperor.

Mehmet had remained silent throughout John’s earlier discussion with the castrator. The young Muslim had somehow recognised that Allah had kindly sent someone to his rescue, or rather to that of his balls, and he was therefore also subsequently content to retain the secret of his identity.

The happy event had enabled Mehmet to rekindle his hopes of somehow escaping unharmed with Vladimir without becoming a hostage of the Byzantine Emperor. The young Ottoman was aided in his stance by John giving up attempts to discover why the naked 8 year-old had mentioned the name of Bayezid amidst his earlier shouted entreaties. The 7 year-old’s decision resulted from the boys’ current lack of shared language and a newly formulated mistaken presumption that the Turk had invoked the appellation of the enemy Sultan in order to suggest that somehow that ruler would someday avenge what was being perpetrated on his captive subject.

Meanwhile, Petŭr was suffering acute agony, resulting from the delicate stitching of his genital wound. However, the 13 year-old also recognised, despite the pain, that the patron saints of his Bulgarian homeland, Cyril and Methodius, must finally have heard his desperate prayers and influenced the Christian version of the Supreme Being to come to the surprise salvation of his boyhood.

(Central Asian steppe [modern Kazakhstan], north of the Timurid Empire, 2 weeks later)

A row of over 100 fierce-looking cavalrymen, on bigger horses than are normally found on the Central Asian steppe and heavily armed, with swords, spears and bows and arrows, had surprisingly appeared on the brow of the southern incline. The shaman took one look at the main banner held proudly aloft by one of the new arrivals and screamed just one word, with obvious terror in his voice.

A massive scramble then commenced amongst the tribal grouping, which far out-numbered the arriving cavalry. Most of the younger men sought their arms and steppe ponies in readiness to enter imminent battle. The more elderly tried to organise the urgent decamping of the large temporary nomadic village, full of round felt tents, and the shepherding of their previously playful children and peacefully grazing animals in order to try to make a rapid escape.

Soon, a surprised Teimuraz had been left completely alone, still naked and bound, spreadeagled to the trellis table, with his previously rampant cock softening, whilst the cum on his cute belly and chest was gradually drying under the hot overhead sun.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

The gelded elderly senior palace official, with, as previously agreed, John standing beside him for support, was advising the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Palaeologus, and his Serbian wife, Helena Dragash, that two of their second son’s new slave boys had not yet been castrated. It was the Empress who then expressed dissatisfaction at the surprise news.

"I thought that it would be clearly understood that I wanted young eunuchs to serve my second son," the Empress not unreasonably commented, "as geldings have always filled similar positions. Such slaves live and work in the inner palace, amidst the ladies and girls of the Imperial household. You, of all people, should have known that this would be the desire of the Emperor and me!"

The elderly palace eunuch did indeed appreciate that the provision of gelded slave boys for John would be the wish of the Emperor and Empress. After all, as a child, he himself had been castrated to serve in a similar capacity. However, he was ready to receive such Imperial scolding because he had conspiratorially entered into a plot with the young prince to overcome such parental objections.

"The older 13 year-old boy," the Empress insisted, temporarily forgetting the presence of her second son or, in front of the youngster, she would have diplomatically re-phrased her words to something less specifically blunt, "must in particular be gelded quickly. If he can’t already lustfully impregnate a female now, he’ll soon be capable of doing so!" Helena Dragash then had cause to recall that John was present when he interrupted to say "But, mother, I don’t want my new friends to be castrated. I’ll vouch that neither Petŭr nor Mehmet will ever do anything naughty!"

Helena Dragash blushed at being drawn to remember her second son’s presence and how crude her last sentence had been in front of the innocent child. The Empress was also surprised to discover that the 7 year-old appeared to know what castration entailed. However, she rapidly recovered her composure to reply patiently "My love, it’s a court tradition that goes back centuries. It’s also for the ultimate good of the boys, as it removes a temptation that might lead them into a lot of trouble. Their future palace careers will additionally prosper more if they become eunuchs, as Nicephorus here can testify!"

Nicephorus was, of course, the elderly senior palace eunuch. He had progressed from being a boyhood companion of Manuel II Palaeologus’ late father, John V Palaeologus, to being the official in charge of the thousands of servants in the Imperial household.

A polite debate now ensued between Imperial mother and second son, with the father diplomatically keeping out of the argument. The discussion finally appeared to come to an end when Helena Dragash resolutely looked into John’s gorgeous sky blue eyes and firmly announced "My love, despite your pleas, my mind is already made up. Both of your new slaves, who are not yet eunuchs, will be castrated without further delay!"

Nevertheless, John was not ready to concede defeat despite this statement and the fact that, in the end, there could only ever really be one winner in the argument between an Empress and her 7 year-old son.

(Cairo, Egypt, Mamluk Empire, same time)

Ahmad Jalayir was now languishing in exile in the capital of his Mamluk allies, Cairo. However, the former Sultan of Baghdad’s mind frequently gave thought to how he could return to power in Mesopotamia.

It was also no surprise that Ahmad Jalayir often also thought of how he would love to torture to death a certain young Kurd eunuch called Haluk, if the pleasant opportunity ever arose.

(Georgia, same time)

In a remote fortress in the Caucasian Mountains of north Georgia, Vissarion’s 8 year-old cousin, Alexander, who shared the young Georgian’s impeccable features, was playing with a friend. The latter was the similarly aged son of an important noble resident at King Georgi VII’s court.

"Do you think that Georgia will ever be free again?" the friend asked, during a break the two boys had taken amidst their energetic play. Alexander pondered the surprise question for a while before replying "I truly don’t want to sound big-headed but I somehow know that it’s my destiny to ensure that our homeland does someday regain its freedom from Tamerlane’s suzerainty. However, I don’t how I’ll achieve the feat against the conqueror’s mighty forces. Perhaps God will grant me a miracle!"

Alexander, who was second in line to the Georgian throne as a result of Vissarion’s selfless disinterest in the position, had not yet been acquainted by his father, Konstantine, or uncle, King Georgi VII, with the surprise news that his older cousin was still alive. However, if the beautiful and clever 8 year-old had known the equally gorgeous and intelligent 20 year-old’s circumstances and character, he might have gained an inkling of the manner in which God would grant him his desired miracle.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

Happily for the boyhoods of Petŭr and Mehmet, Helena Dragash was eventually forced to concede defeat in the face of her beloved second son’s entreaties. The 7 year-old’s sky blue eyes invariably gained victory in such circumstances, especially when they became slightly damp, in readiness to shed a tear or two.

The agreement between mother and son, involving the future preservation of the boyhoods of Petŭr and Mehmet, would, however, depend on the two young slaves managing to discipline their developing libidinous masculine urges. For the 8 year-old Turk, this should, of course, be relatively easy to achieve, at least for the foreseeable future, but for the 13 year-old Bulgar, whose lively teenage hormones were already creating sperm and causing his cock to be regularly unruly, the task was not so simple. However, no females currently had to be wary of his burgeoning lustful desires.

The feminine body did not yet tempt Petŭr. The boy’s surprising secret sexual appetite, currently fairly well disguised and suppressed, apart from the development of an occasional erection, thankfully hidden beneath the rich garments of a palace slave, frustratingly centred elsewhere.

13 year-old Petŭr’s libido was besotted by the delicious forms of certain 7 and 8 year-old boys, with whom he spent virtually all of his waking hours.

(Toledo, Castile, Spain, same time)

Petŭr was currently not the only person to be frustrated. However, Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo’s frustration was not of the sexual kind but instead associated with the fact that his King, Henry III of Castile, had again turned down the royal chamberlain’s request to undertake an embassy to the distant court of the dreaded Tamerlane.

Ever since his return from his mission to the Principality of Muscovy, Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo had frequently remembered the beautiful Nicolai and Teimuraz, whom he had been surprised to find deep in the dense forests of southern Rus. The royal chamberlain’s regular recall did not stem from lustful thoughts, as he was strongly heterosexual, although he had to admit that the two boys were exceedingly pretty. Instead, such recollection had been brought about by his deep desire to accept their invitation to visit the travelling court of their lord and master, Tamerlane.

To the adventurous Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who was always eager to explore and experience different lands and cultures, the idea of undertaking such an exotic expedition was overwhelmingly tempting.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

John was now playing hide and seek with Mehmet and Vladimir in one of the many, large, resplendent gardens of the Imperial palace and whilst under the watchful supervision of the secretly lustful Petŭr. The latter revelled in the surprise that was his new, very pleasant life and responsibilities, serving such a beautiful and pleasant boy as the young Byzantine prince amidst such luxury. The 13 year-old could almost forget that he was now a slave, as such a servant’s existence, working for such a master in such surrounds, was much better than anything he had known when free. The young Bulgar’s only problem was trying to restrain his lascivious urges, which were becoming worryingly stronger, despite nightly manual release of his frustrations.

A week previously, having been formerly introduced to his three new young slaves and been left alone with them in his palatial quarters, John had gestured to his new companions to sit with him. The 7 year-old prince did so considerately, politely and amicably, without any hint of superiority or arrogance.

Such harmonious traits were to be features of John’s future relationship with his three new young slaves. The latter were already extremely grateful to the prince for saving the boyhoods of Petŭr and Mehmet and so such treatment only further endeared the 7 year-old to them.

John asked Petŭr if he knew some Turkish as well as Greek and the young Bulgar answered affirmatively, having acquired the skill as a result of the Ottoman conquest of his homeland. The 7 year-old prince therefore requested a happily compliant 13 year-old to act as translator for conversations with the two new 8 year-old slaves, Mehmet and Vladimir, until the latter learnt to speak the Hellenic tongue, for which part-time lessons had already commenced.

John next asked Petŭr to tell him briefly about his previous life, which the young Bulgar was content to do, albeit with the more nasty and obscene elements suitably censored for such young ears. Having then learnt the basics of the 13 year-old’s sad history so far, the ever-inquisitive 7 year-old subsequently requested the older boy to convey a similar solicitation for a brief bibliography to Mehmet and Vladimir.

When Petŭr competently obeyed John’s request, his Turkish being better than his Greek, Mehmet’s jaw dropped in horrified surprise. The young Ottoman now realised that the young Bulgar must have understood his entreaties in the castration chamber and therefore his real identity. However, the 8 year-old could not work out why the older boy had not so far revealed his knowledge to others, which could have earned him considerable rewards.

Knowing that John could not understand them, a worried Mehmet replied to Petŭr that he must already know his background. In response, the young Bulgar looked rather perplexed until recall came to his bright mind.

"You’re not still going on about being Mehmet," Petŭr asked, "fourth son and heir of Sultan Bayezid I? I thought that was just a desperate lie to try to save your balls, as I’m sure that I’d have said similar stupid things to save mine if I hadn’t been gagged. However, if you’re still maintaining the fantasy, I have to assume that you’re simply mad!"

Mehmet’s face blushed and he stuttered "I’m sorry. I was just teasing!" The young Ottoman then gathered himself and proceeded to provide a carefully constructed but nevertheless occasionally faltering fictional biography, cleverly based on suppositions probably already given to the Byzantines by the Arab trader who had abducted him. The 8 year-old lied that he was the son of a Turkish nobleman from Bursa, whilst Vladimir had been his slave.

The damage, however, had already been done. The perceptive Petŭr, whilst still translating Mehmet’s tale for the benefit of John, began to wonder whether the vehement protestations overheard in the castration chamber might somehow miraculously be true. After all, the 8 year-old’s shouted objections to being gelded had, on reflection, been convincingly full of forceful belief, and the city from which he claimed to have been abducted did possess an Ottoman palace that was second in importance only to that in Edirne.

By the time that Petŭr had completed the translation of Mehmet’s verbal biography for John, he was convinced that he had just conveyed a pack of lies to his new master. The 8 year-old’s name meant nothing, as it was very common amongst Muslims. However, there were three other reasons for the young Bulgar’s conclusion.

First, there had been Mehmet’s earlier, clearly horrified reaction when discovering that Petŭr knew Turkish. Second, there were the desperate pleas that the 8 year-old had rendered with such forcefulness in the castration chamber. Third, there was the more recent suspiciously faltering rendition of the young Muslim’s supposed history. However, before taking any action, the patient young Bulgar decided to wait awhile to become better acquainted with the younger boy in order to try to confirm his suspicions.

Petŭr did not like the idea of commencing his service for such a lovely prince as John by being party to deception. However, the young Bulgar also did not want to be unwisely precipitate. Nevertheless, by the time that the 13 year-old was unobtrusively supervising the game of hide and seek in the palace garden a week later, he had become even more sure about his conviction.

Petŭr had carefully watched virtually every move made by Mehmet over the past week. The two 13 and 8 year-olds, along with Vladimir, shared the same quarters, which were within those of their young Imperial master. The trio was also always together when with their prince.

Petŭr simply came to recognise, from Mehmet’s conduct, mannerisms and reactions to certain situations, many of which were clearly subject to strenuous attempts to subdue true feelings and behaviour patterns, that the younger boy was much more than he had declared. The young Bulgar’s conclusion was happily confirmed when he had furtively overheard Vladimir, presumably forgetfully, once referring to his fellow 8 year-old as "Majesty" rather than "Master" or "Sir". The latter would have been appropriate to their former mutual status if the young Turk had truly been the son of a Bursa noble but the title actually used could only relate to a prince.

Whilst supervising the game of hide and seek, Petŭr finally decided what he should do with the knowledge he had gained about Mehmet’s real identity.

(Central Asian steppe [modern Kazakhstan], north of the Timurid Empire, same time)

The shocked and surprised shaman’s terrified one-word exclamation had been "Tamerlane!" He had recognised the most prominent banner amongst the arriving horsemen and the proudly fluttering flag had been the personal standard of the dreaded conqueror.

The shaman knew Tamerlane’s banner because he had once served as a mercenary in the conqueror’s army before eventually deserting. As a result, he had become acquainted with the associated Turkic dialect, which was why he had been able to converse with Teimuraz.

The shaman, who had not realised or bothered to discover Teimuraz’s association with the clearly currently bellicose Tamerlane, now tried to make his escape with the women, children and elderly of his people, whilst the numerous tribal warriors confronted the dreaded conqueror’s much smaller force.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

After the conclusion of the game of hide and seek, Petŭr took the opportunity of a friendly wrestling match on the garden lawn between John and Vladimir to confront Mehmet alone. "You truly are the son of Bayezid I," the young Bulgar whispered bluntly to the surprised younger boy, "aren’t you, Majesty?"

Mehmet’s lovely but suddenly worried brown eyes then glanced into the blue versions possessed by Petŭr. The Ottoman prince initially intended to answer negatively but the young Bulgar’s facial expression clearly indicated that the secret was truly known by the 13 year-old. The concerned 8 year-old therefore decided on another desperate tactic.

Mehmet acknowledged the truth and began to beg once more, this time to encourage Petŭr not to reveal his secret. The 8 year-old outlined that it was his hope not to become a hostage of the Byzantine Emperor and his and Vladimir’s ultimate intent to escape somehow. However, the young Bulgar, whose ethnicity provided him with a natural dislike of Ottoman Turks, replied "I don’t want to deceive Prince John or create any chance that he might somehow be endangered by you or your ambitions. I therefore consider it my duty to reveal what I know!"

"Oh, please don’t," Mehmet pleaded, with panic in his voice, "but instead allow me and Vladimir at least one chance to escape. My father’s blockading armies are just outside Constantinople’s western walls. We therefore haven’t far to go. I also promise on the sacred Koran that no harm will ever come to John by our actions. We...." The young Ottoman’s entreaty then tailed off. However, Petŭr was intrigued by what the younger boy had been intending to add and so asked him directly what he was about to say by repeating questioningly "We?"

"We, meaning both Vladimir and I," Mehmet then announced with sudden shyness, feeling sufficiently trapped to have to make the confession, "simply like John too much to allow any harm to befall him!" Petŭr, who, of course, now felt similarly about the 7 year-old Byzantine prince, could not prevent himself from smiling in response to the declaration.

Despite Petŭr’s natural inclination to hate the conquerors of his homeland and the fact that Mehmet was a son of the leading perpetrator of such national subjugation, the young Bulgar had come to like the young Ottoman. Such endearment was only reinforced by this latest confession. The 13 year-old was therefore prepared to deal with the 8 year-old with some consideration, which was why he had first confronted him in the first place about what he had concluded rather than go straight to the relevant palace officials to share his beliefs with them.

Appropriate questioning, if necessary under torture, would then soon have elicited the complete truth from Mehmet about his identity. However, having experienced such torment, Petŭr’s liking for the young Ottoman prince had encouraged him to forego the prospective rewards for his disclosures by instead suggesting to the 8 year-old that he should himself reveal his real status.

The bright 13 year-old Bulgar was sufficiently aware of ‘realpŏlĭtik’, especially as there had been so many similar prior examples, to know that the Byzantine Emperor would not harm his important captive. Petŭr’s reasoning, which was actually shared by Mehmet, was that Manuel II Palaeologus would undoubtedly instead barter the young Ottoman in return for concessions from Bayezid I, probably involving the permanent lifting of the current Turkish blockade.

In Petŭr’s opinion, such a settlement could only better the circumstances of Mehmet and the young Bulgar’s new home, Constantinople, and, more importantly, new master, John. However, for reasons of personal honour, the young Ottoman instead preferred escape to becoming a hostage. Such disagreement now led to a rather fevered whispered argument between the 13 and 8 year-olds, whilst the young Byzantine prince and Vladimir continued their energetic friendly tussle on the grass nearby.

Petŭr, who was in a position to dictate a settlement to his differences with Mehmet if necessary, eventually came up with a compromise solution. "You tell John who you really are," the young Bulgar suggested, "and let him decide what should then be done about your predicament!"

Mehmet thought quietly about Petŭr’s surprise proposal for a little while before eventually responding "Alright!" His decision was, of course, influenced by his newly acquired liking for John. However, a more important factor had been proud awareness of his own high status in life, ordained by Allah, and a new belief that the younger 7 year-old prince might share at least some of the associated divinely gifted personal attributes.

Mehmet truly believed that heavenly inspiration was a characteristic of his own direct male lineage, regardless of the age of the individual. He was therefore persuadable that such a superior quality might be granted to certain members of other Imperial families, even if they were enemy Christians. Consequently, the Ottoman prince decided that his Byzantine equivalent might possess sufficient qualifications to decide his immediate fate, and anyway he really had little choice but to accept Petŭr’s proposal.

Only time would tell whether Mehmet’s preliminary judgement about John was to prove correct.

(Central Asian steppe [modern Kazakhstan], north of the Timurid Empire, same time)

"You are to remain here whilst we attack," Tamerlane firmly ordered his accompanying boys, comprising, in alphabetical order, Haluk, Nicolai, Rezan and Vissarion, now respectively 15, 16, 14 and 20 years of age, "or I’ll have you skinned alive!" "Yes Lord!" responded four young, still basically soprano voices in unison, all of the bright minds behind which fully appreciated that the conqueror would have no compunction in flaying some of those who were disobedient to his will.

Tamerlane, however, did not extend his command to Rahu. The conqueror knew that his brave ‘Little Limpet’ would only disobey, the nullified 14 year-old always being resolutely determined to be a constant protection at his master’s side.

Even from the distant perspective of the brow of the southern incline bordering the nomad’s grassy summer pastures, and despite the crowd surrounding the scene within the temporary village below, Teimuraz was identifiable from the elevated location as being the object of much tribal interest. Tamerlane and his boys, not least the highly alarmed Arman and Sibur, also recognised that the naked 14 year-old was certainly a very unwilling participant in whatever was happening. The conqueror therefore had no hesitation in ordering an attack against the capable warriors, who were mounted on steppe ponies and were now riding out to meet him.

Tamerlane and his boys and men had been brought to this place by the efficient tracking of Arman and Sibur and the clever theorising of Vissarion. The wise and beautiful blonde, blue-eyed young Georgian eunuch had preceded the fictional Sherlock Holmes by half a millennium when he had proposed that, if all other factors in an investigation were eliminated, the one that remained must be relevant to the solution.

Consequently, having checked all other ideas relating to Teimuraz’s mysterious disappearance and been left with investigating only the supposedly harmless nomads who had been encamped near Yasi, close to where the 14 year-old had gone missing, Tamerlane had agreed with his favourite’s surprise proposition. The wondrous 20 year-old had suggested that the small wandering tribal grouping should be found to discover whether they somehow knew why his fellow young Georgian had vanished.

The tribal warriors far outnumbered Tamerlane’s much smaller contingent of bodyguards, who mainly comprised mounted archers. The conqueror therefore, by his order, wanted first to make sure that his beloved boys were safe by not being involved in the imminent conflict, and were, in fact, ready to flee south into Timurid territory if the imminent skirmish was won by the enemy.

Satisfied that a certain four boys were indeed prepared to obey his command, Tamerlane then launched his assault on the enemy, with Rahu, Arman and Sibur at his side, along with the conqueror’s youngest son, 20 year-old Shahrukh, and his 17 year-old groom, Todo, who was Teimuraz’s older brother. Leaving Haluk, Nicolai, Rezan and Vissarion on the brow of the incline for safety, the small force galloped down the hill towards the enemy.

Haluk, Nicolai and Rezan then looked aside at the wise Vissarion, to whom they often deferred all matters of mutual importance for resolution. The resplendent young Georgian said nothing but instead withdrew his sabre in response.

Soon afterwards, a quartet of brave young warriors, flagrantly disobeying Tamerlane’s order, was also galloping down the incline to face the enemy.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

"Why didn’t you tell me before?" a highly surprised John, who was looking slightly dishevelled after his pleasurable and harmless tussle with Vladimir, asked of Mehmet, via his translator, Petŭr.

"I thought that I might try to escape with Vladimir," Mehmet replied, "without becoming a hostage of your father. However, Petŭr suggested that I should not continue to deceive you but instead put my trust in you to decide what to do, and I agreed!"

"But I’m younger than you and you’ve only really known me for a week," John, who was wise beyond his tender years, retorted to the similarly gifted Mehmet, "so how can you be so trustful of my judgement?"

"It was quite simple really," the slightly older prince replied, swallowing some of his inherent natural pride, "because, in the week we’ve known you, you’ve made such a big impression on us all. If I hadn’t been the heir to the Ottoman throne, I’d actually be very happy to remain your slave for life!"

(Central Asian steppe [modern Kazakhstan], north of the Timurid Empire, same time)

After a very bloody battle, which in retrospect was not a surprise to find was heavily one-sided, hundreds of dead bodies were strewn across the tribal summer pastures, turning the colour of the local grasses red.

(Great Palace, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

"Well, it appears that I have two key issues to balance whilst making my decision," 7 year-old John eventually concluded with remarkable maturity, after he had thought about the surprising news for a while. "First," the young Byzantine prince continued, "there has to be the welfare of Constantinople and of my family to consider. Second, however, there’s also your wellbeing, Mehmet, to contemplate. I believe that my conclusion will meet both objectives!"

Mehmet immediately presumed that John meant that the 7 year-old prince should surrender the 8 year-old version to the Byzantine Emperor. Although the young Ottoman would thereby lose some honour, he would nevertheless be safe and would eventually be returned unharmed to his father after a deal had been reached.

Mehmet was to proven very mistaken in his assumption.

(Central Asian steppe [modern Kazakhstan], north of the Timurid Empire, same time)

Of course, Teimuraz had recognised the handsome figures approaching him as soon as he had seen them gallop towards him from afar on their tall, black Persian steeds. However, because of his effective gag and bondage, the boy could not greet the pair in the manner that he would have liked. The naked 14 year-old instead had to endure the further humiliation of the two 20 year-olds jumping from their horses as soon as they came close and then, after checking that the young prone nude was alive and relatively well, circling the table on which he lay.

"Rather a delicious looking morsel," the grinning Arman suggested to Vissarion. "Yes," replied the latter, "but I prefer to eat beef!"

Despite being substantially greater in number, the nomadic warriors had been no match for Tamerlane’s bodyguards, who, given their positions, were amongst the conqueror’s best cavalrymen. The horse archers had first managed to kill or seriously maim many of the enemy or their ponies at a distance with arrows. The subsequent hand-to-hand combat between expert fighters on tall, fearless steeds and less experienced combatants on smaller, frightened animals had been similarly one-sided, quickly encouraging the surviving opposition to flee.

The fleeing nomads left behind hundreds of their dead and wounded. Several of the deceased had been surprised, just before blackness overwhelmed their minds, to receive their death blows from a ferocious boy whose age looked no more than about 12. Of course, Rahu was actually 2 years older. A few more of the enemy were equally amazed to be losing a fight with Tamerlane’s other four boys, whose weaponry skills, although previously little used in actual combat, had been well honed by expert tutors.

Tamerlane’s soldiers rapidly finished off the wounded, as the conqueror’s cavalrymen had no real scope or motive to deal with such captives, and then began the pursuit of the fleeing enemy. However, after listening to Vissarion’s compassionate counsel, the conqueror ordered his men to allow the subsequently captured but otherwise unharmed nomadic men, women and children to go free, with a warning never to practise their barbaric medicine again.

As an example of what would happen to them, if the conqueror ever heard that they had dishonoured his mercy by disobeying his demand, the tribal survivors were forced to watch the grisly demise of their shaman before they were released. It was the elderly priest-apothecary, rather than Tamerlane’s boys, who was now skinned alive. His amazingly still-alive flayed body was then left to die slowly, impaled on a sturdy stake, firmly embedded in the sanguine pasture.

Meanwhile, Teimuraz now felt obliged to show Vissarion suitable thanks for brilliantly producing the theory that had led to the 14 year-old boy’s salvation. Arman’s young groom had, of course, been present, accompanying his Armenian master, when his fellow Georgian had confessed, over a year previously, his true princely identity in order to save the people of Kutaisi in their mutual homeland from their foolishness.

Consequently, being privy to the secret, the eternally grateful Teimuraz now acquired the habit of occasionally furtively calling his fellow Georgian ‘Saint George’, which referred to Vissarion’s real name, which was Georgi in their native language.

(Bursa, Anatolia, Ottoman Empire [in modern Turkey], same time)

Bayezid I had not yet executed the black eunuchs or key military personnel who had supposedly been responsible for his youngest son’s welfare. The Sultan was currently too busy organising a fresh search for Mehmet and his similarly aged Slav slave, Vladimir, to have time to supervise the planned grisly and therefore lengthy ends of the unfortunately inefficient Imperial servants, who were instead fearfully languishing in the local prison.

Bayezid I had concluded that the theory about the boys furtively venturing out of the local palace in order to embark on a little adventure, but then being abducted by scoundrels involved with the trading caravan that was simultaneously passing through Bursa, was probably correct. Mehmet and Vladimir were therefore probably already dead or enslaved in some distant place. However, the Sultan had also decided to take no chances and so had organised a further thorough search of the city and environs, including the nearby port of Mudanya on the Sea of Marmara.

Bayezid I did not only use his Janissary and white eunuch bodyguards, the staff and pupils of Edirne’s acemi oglan or the members of military garrisons he had managed to enlist for his cause on the way to and in Bursa. The Sultan also forcibly recruited most of the able population of the city and surrounding communities. However, the local people’s participation in the search was more enthusiastic than reluctant because of the huge reward on offer for the return alive of Mehmet or definitive news as to what had happened to the young prince.

Unfortunately, a surprising, complicating and unwanted by-product of the search was the many urchins, similarly featured boys about the same age as Mehmet, who came from far and wide to claim that they were the missing prince. Some were destitute street orphans, whilst others were pushed by impoverished families into making their assertions, which were partly prompted by strong rumours, actually based on fact, that Bayezid I rarely saw his youngest son. The theory was that the Sultan might not therefore recognise an impostor, especially if the man was stricken by grief and might consequently be prone in his despair to accepting someone similar to the missing child.

Of course, the idea was ridiculous for Bayezid I, as well as his wives and many of his closest courtiers, would easily be able to recognise an impostor. However, the desperation of the young claimants was such that they promoted themselves as the missing Mehmet regardless, thereby taking up much of the precious time of the Sultan’s travelling officials. In the end, the latter, rather than investigating each false claim made by a scruffy urchin, simply resorted in frustration and annoyance to crops and whips to rid themselves of the mischievous, ragged fraudsters.

Meanwhile, the staff and pupils of the acemi oglan, including Kiril and Zoran, had been allocated the port of Mudanya in which to make their own contribution to the search for Mehmet and Vladimir. In order to assist local communications, the large school group had been allocated a military runner, a now 17 year-old Christian named Johann Schiltberger.

(Yasi [modern town of Turkestan in Kazakhstan], Timurid Empire, 1 week later)

The naked Vissarion shivered in surprise when he felt Tamerlane’s sharp knife run down the sensitively smooth bare skin of his cute, slim belly, the blade gradually approaching his gelded but still extremely pleasant, exposed genitalia. "I told you that I’d skin you alive if you disobeyed me," the conqueror reminded his favourite, "and, as I understand that, before the recent battle with the nomads, you led the revolt against my direct order, I’ll definitely have to flay you first!"

"Yes, Lord!" Vissarion answered rather weakly and submissively to Tamerlane’s threat. The naked young Georgian, having just been awoken from a short sleep by the feel of the knife and realising his master’s real requirement, then carefully helped the conqueror to put the weapon to one side. The peerlessly beautiful 20 year-old, still looking 5 years younger, subsequently dutifully buried his immaculate face in the conqueror’s hairy but recently washed and perfumed groin.

Tamerlane was soon moaning again. However, this time not in complaint about the disobedience of his boys, which he had forgiven as soon as he had seen them fighting ferociously, successfully and ultimately thankfully without harm in the brief skirmish with the steppe nomads. The conqueror was instead groaning whilst Vissarion once more brought him to climax, this time orally, as the man had already gained immense satisfaction from the young Georgian eunuch’s anal orifice earlier on this warm summer night.

It was actually Nicolai’s turn to perform his own expert fellatio on Tamerlane but he was sound asleep on the other side of his master from Vissarion and the conqueror had earlier decided not to disturb him, preferring instead to tease his somnolent young Georgian eunuch with his knife. The delighted man was also not going to refuse the 20 year-old’s subsequent kind offer of volunteering to perform the similarly featured young Muscovite’s oral duties.

(Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [modern Istanbul in Turkey], same time)

It was not only Helena Dragash who lost arguments with John. Such a fate had just befallen Petŭr. Consequently, the 7 year-old prince was sitting in the small boat with his 13 year-old slave, as the young Bulgar tried his best to row Mehmet and Vladimir to the eastern side of the Bosporus.

John’s surprise resolution to Mehmet’s situation was that the 8 year-old Turk must indeed be allowed furtively to escape with his slave, Vladimir, albeit, for their own safety, to the east rather than to the west. However, the young Byzantine prince, mature beyond his years, was not so unconcerned about the interests of his city and dynasty that he did not first reach a secret agreement about the future with his Ottoman equivalent.

If they had known about the situation, most people in Constantinople, including John’s father and mother, would have been appalled at the boy’s actions. They would undoubtedly have believed that the city would have benefited far more from holding Mehmet as a hostage and allowing the Byzantine Emperor to discuss an appropriate political trade with the Ottoman Sultan. However, sometimes such short-term adult solutions to problems do not match the wisdom inherent in longer-term youthful idealism, and this was to prove such an instance.

The small rowboat did not have to contend with passing the great chain across the entrance to the harbour of the Golden Horn, which divided Constantinople and was named after its shape and the colourful effect of the setting sun on the surface of the water. The formidable metal barrier stretched from the southern shore of the magnificent anchorage to the northern fortress of Galata, effectively preventing all shipping from entering or leaving until lowered.

The tiny vessel had instead set out on its perilous mission from a boat-shed actually located on the Bosporus, of which the Golden Horn was an inlet. The Imperial palace amenity had not been used since the arrival of enemy Turks on the opposite eastern side of the narrow strait and the commencement of the blockade. Nevertheless, John knew of its existence and how to reach there undetected when supposedly tucked up in bed.

The idea of smuggling Mehmet and Vladimir out of the well-guarded formidable western walls to the blockading Ottoman land army had quickly been dismissed as too dangerous. The odds that the boys would be detected and killed either by the Byzantines or the Turks, who would probably suspect that they were respectively spy escapees or infiltrators, was simply too great. John had alternatively suggested fleeing to the east by boat across the Bosporus. Bayezid I’s forces had captured most of the narrow strait’s Asian shore. However, the adventurous 7 year-old prince had insisted on travelling in the tiny vessel too, much to the horror of Petŭr, who had agreed to try to use his bigger physique to perform much of the necessary rowing.

The plan was for Petŭr to land Mehmet and Vladimir somewhere relatively safe on the less well-guarded eastern shore of the Bosporus before returning to Constantinople, as the young Bulgar now had no personal wish to escape his new existence with John. The brave 13 year-old had been prepared his risk his own life to fulfil the 7 year-old’s scheme, both for the boy himself and the almost equally pleasant pair of 8 year-olds. However, the additional endangerment of his beloved Byzantine prince had not featured anywhere in his agenda until a certain set of determined sky blue eyes had managed to encourage him very reluctantly, and much against his better judgement, to change his mind.

The boys had chosen their night carefully and well. Clouds hid the moon so that moonlight might not give away the presence of their boat on the surface of the Bosporus. The water was also relatively calm, although the strait was notorious for sudden dangerous squalls.

As the young intrepid quartet set out from the European shore of the Bosporus, Petŭr quietly prayed that no such unwanted weather surprises would arise on this night.

(Tashkent [in modern Uzbekistan], Timurid Empire, several days later)

Tamerlane and his relatively small entourage returned via Tashkent on their way back to Samarkand. No one in the conqueror’s entourage was surprised to discover that their master, who was not in any particular hurry to become reacquainted with his wives in his capital, had decided to linger awhile in the palace of his governor in the more northerly city.

"Keep still," ordered Haluk, as he carefully poured a little soapy water into the upright wooden funnel. The latter was currently protruding from Nicolai’s rectum.

As Haluk waited for the water to disappear slowly into Nicolai’s insides, the young Kurd could not help but gently stroke the literally outstanding smooth curves of his fellow eunuch’s buttocks. "You have a lovely bottom," the 15 year-old then announced, causing the 16 year-old Muscovite to turn his gorgeous head, crowned by a silky mane of golden hair and adorned by sensuous blue eyes, to respond with a smile "Thank you!"

Nicolai then truthfully added "Your bottom is just as lovely!" Haluk blushed slightly but, remembering his chore, did not return to the subject. The young Kurd instead ordered, as he removed the now empty funnel from the young Muscovite’s rear, "Clamp!"

Haluk was, of course, addressing his command to Nicolai’s anal muscles, which now had to try to contain the soapy water within his rectum for a few minutes before he moved to discharge the liquid into a waiting chamberpot. The 16 year-old was being subject to a regular enema, which was customary for those of Tamerlane’s boys who were scheduled to entertain their master’s cock inside their rear orifices overnight. The procedure would be continuously repeated until the expelled fluid showed no signs of discoloration.

As Nicolai later lay patiently to allow Haluk’s finger to perform another task on his rear, namely the gentle greasing of his thoroughly cleansed rectum, the young Muscovite felt his cock harden slightly, despite the gelded nature of his genitalia. Such a phenomenon had long been common whenever the magnificent 16 year-old eagerly anticipated the imminent entertainment of his prostate.

(Samarkand, Transoxiana, Timurid Empire [in modern Uzbekistan], same time)

Although Ulugbeg had recently celebrated his third birthday, the boy was always restless overnight when his beloved Vissarion was away and unable to show him the outside starry firmament and tell him a surprising tale as a precursor to slumber. The 3 year-old’s nurses had fruitlessly tried to replicate the young Georgian eunuch’s technique, which was invariably successful in inducing the child into deep all-night sleep.

Consequently, both Ulugbeg and his weary nurses, who were currently faced with the sad prospect of another night without much sleep, prayed for Vissarion’s swift return from his travels to the north with Tamerlane. Meanwhile, in a nearby bedchamber, someone else was also looking forward to the young Georgian eunuch’s return.

Tamerlane’s formidable Eldest Queen, or ‘Bibi Khanum’, Shadi Mulk Aka, was also waiting impatiently for the delightful Vissarion’s return to Samarkand so that he could relate to her some of his renowned stories.

(Mudanya, Anatolia, Ottoman Empire [in modern Turkey], same time)

Kiril and Zoran were, as ever, together as, in their smart Janissary cadet uniforms, they and other members of the acemi oglan searched for the missing Mehmet and Vladimir in the countryside either side of the road that led north from Mudanya. Despite the summer heat, the 9 year-olds were wearing their red felt caps, long white coats, or ‘dolarma’, reaching down to the ankles, with a cowl which could cover the head in inclement weather, similarly shaded shirt and trousers and black boots.

As Kiril and Zoran performed their duty, they noticed one of the eunuchs, responsible for overseeing their dormitory back in Edirne, using his crop on two filthy and dishevelled urchins, who appeared to be slightly younger than themselves. "Presumably", the young Bulgar commented to his Serbian friend in the Turkish tongue they now competently shared, "at least one of the boys must be claiming to be the missing prince". Such an occurrence was no longer a surprise, as many such children had made such desperately outrageous claims in recent days and felt the crops and whips of adults in return for their efforts. The young Janissary cadets invariably felt very sorry for the youngsters concerned, given that their appalling poverty must have encouraged them to make such fantastic assertions. ‘Perhaps’, the two 9 year-olds began to think, ‘life in the acemi oglan might not be so bad after all’.

Meanwhile, the current recipients of the angry crop ran away from the clearly annoyed eunuch. The boys concerned had become very untidy and dirty over recent days, after successfully furtively landing on the eastern shores of the Bosporus and creeping through the fortunately porous local Turkish army lines without harm. Furbished with some packed food, the two 8 year-olds had then begun to walk southwest towards Mudanya, thinking, probably correctly, that no one would accept claims relating to their true identities until they encountered someone who could recognise them. Such people only existed, in this part of the world, in Bursa and so, believing that being premature about the revelation might only cause them trouble, they set out for that city.

The young duo eventually came across, just north of Mudanya, a group of uniformed men and boys clearly searching for something. Having being grumpily told by the eunuch they first met that the search was for Prince Mehmet and his similarly aged slave, the 8 year-olds were naturally now immediately prepared to reveal their identities.

The filthy and dishevelled boys were then very surprised to be, in response to their declaration, at the receiving end of the angered eunuch’s crop. This was an unexpected reaction from which the 8 year-olds felt forced to run.

The tearful Mehmet and Vladimir then ran straight into Kiril and Zoran.

(Delhi, India, same time)

The two very pleasant 10 year-olds, Ahmed and Krishnan, technically respectively master and slave but in reality the closest of friends, were playing contentedly in Mahmud Tughluq’s resplendent Delhi palace.

Of course, the boys presently had no idea, and would be very surprised to learn, that terrible disaster would, within the next year, befall the Sultan and his family, as well as the magnificent city in which they all resided.

(To be continued in chapter 37 – ‘Delhi’)