Tyranny of Steel

Berengar stood in the middle of the Mosque of Cordoba dressed within the traditional wedding attire of the people of Al-Andalus. He felt out of his element, as he was not accustomed to dressing in such an eastern sense of fashion. Regardless he went along with the ceremony as he felt it would be rude to deny the customs of his newest wife and her people.

He waited on the arrival of his beautiful bride as he gazed upon the magnificent architecture, which was a testament to the supremacy of the ancient state of Al-Andalus. If not for this war, the city and this treasure of a Holy Site would not have fallen back into the hands of the Moorish people of Iberia.

In a way, Berengar was directly responsible for this event by propping up and aiding the once declining State of Granada. However, he felt it was fair, in this timeline, the Hagia Sophia remained in the hands of Christendom. Thus it was only natural that the Islamic people maintained their control over the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

As he waited for the bride to arrive, the young monarch stood next to his Generals Arnulf and Adelbrand. The two men were dressed up in their most luxurious service dress for this occassion. Though Berengar wanted to do this event secretly, he needed two male witnesses, as was the tradition for an Islamic Wedding. Thus he selected his two Generals and bound them to secrecy under pain of death.

After all, Berengar had yet to announce to his troops that he would be marrying the Granadan Princess, let alone his family back home. Though Berengar had fostered secularism and religious moderation within his own Kingdom, he knew there would be more than a few people who despised the idea of a Christian King marrying a Muslim Princess.

Especially his brides, he had not even told them he had taken on another lover while away at war, let alone that he had agreed to marry her. The entire thing was rather sudden; if not for the fact that the Kingdom of Portugal was rapidly descending into lawlessness, he might have been on the frontlines within the borders of Portugal at this moment, and unable to get close to Yasmin.

However, when left to his own devices, he naturally spent his time with a foreign beauty and thus had grown quite fond of the woman. Recognizing the need for more control over his ally to the West, Berengar had hatched a plan to place his progeny with the Granadan Princess on the throne.

At the moment, none of that was important within the mind of the young King; instead, what truly mattered at the moment was that he would be marrying a beautiful woman of significantly more emotional maturity than his current, younger brides. After all, what man didn't want a mature beauty among his harem?

After a while, everyone had arrived, and the bride was brought up to the groom by her brother; since her father was already deceased, it was up to Hasan as the head of their house to give Yasmin away to Berengar.

Yasmin was dressed in a Tyrian purple and gold kaftan, with a matching headdress and her usual face veil concealing her beauty. Berengar was dressed in similar colors, in the Moorish style of fashion. As she stood next to Berengar in front of the podium, the couple signed their names on the marriage contract.

After doing so, the Imam said a brief sermon about the holy texts of Islam, particularly pertaining to marriage, and then ceased. Unlike in a Christian wedding, it was not acceptable for the groom and bride to kiss during the ceremony, which would have to wait until after they were alone.

After concluding the brief ceremony, the gathered procession, who were essential members of Granadan society, returned to the Palace of Cordoba, which currently acted as the residence of Hasan, so long as he stayed within the city.

A feast began with all kinds of food being brought out. Berengar enjoyed the exotic dishes while drinking from a glass that contained fruit juice. Unfortunately for him, he was not allowed to drink at this event; after all, even though he may not be Muslim, the people who surrounded him were, and to make a good impression on his allies, he abstained from his usual vice.

Adelbrand and Arnulf began to converse with Berengar as he sat at the table next to his newest bride. A few days prior, they were made aware of Berengar's marriage to the Granadan Princess. However, after removing her face veil at the wedding ceremony, they were shocked to see that she was such divine beauty.

They instantly grew jealous of Berengar for adding another gorgeous woman to his harem. Arnulf was the first to speak to his monarch as he congratulated him upon his newest marriage with a bit of a bitter expression on his face.

"Congratulations, your majesty! You have claimed yet another bride for yourself, and with it, secured a long-term alliance with Granada!"

Berengar chuckled as he silently nodded in response; while he did so, he eyed Hasan, the man had a giddy smile on his face as he played with an exquisitely crafted 1422 Service Revolver. The gift that Berengar had decided to give his bride's family was such a weapon. This pistol, in particular, was a work of art, as it utilized hand-crafted ivory grips, which contained a golden 24k gold coin inscribed with the Granadan Coat of Arms within the center of the grips.

The blued steel metalwork was embellished with a sleek gold damascene finish, fit for a king. As for the hammer and trigger, they were fully covered in 24k gold plating. Berengar had become so fond of this pistol, which he had ordered to be manufactured during the months of his tenure in Granada, that he had a matching revolver made for himself that acted as a symbol of the two nations' unity.

The only difference between his revolver, and the one gifted to the Sultan, was that his weapon had a golden coin that contained the crest of Austria embedded within its ivory grips. Not only were these revolvers beautiful pieces of art, but they were also entirely functional firearms. The Sultan eventually walked over to his new brother-in-law and thanked him for his gift.

"My brother, this is an excellent weapon! I look forward to testing it shortly!"

Berengar laughed at this; he knew that neither Hasan nor his people would be capable of reproducing such an advanced weapon any time soon; as such, he was more than happy to gift a single revolver and a small amount of ammunition to keep his new brother-in-law happy. Thus he smiled and responded to the man he could now call brother.

"You are most welcome; I too am I lover of firearms, especially ones as beautiful as yours; I'll have you know I was so impressed with the end product that I had a matching revolver made for myself that has only a minor alteration to the coat of arms embedded in the grips."

Hasan nodded as he heard this; it was appropriate for the two Kings to have such masterful works of art. Thus he patted Berengar on the shoulder and said in a voice so low that only the two of them could hear.

"Have fun breaking in my sister tonight! I promise you that she is a virgin!"

Berengar rolled his eyes at such an inappropriate comment; he was already well aware of this fact as he had seen her naked many times and had even played with the other orifices of her body. However, he did look forward to finally entering that previously forbidden cave of wonders. Thus he smiled and nodded his head while replying.

"I look forward to it!"

After speaking with the Sultan and his guests for some time, Berengar and Yasmin retired to their bed chambers, where they were eager to strip their clothes and consummate their marriage. After fully undressed, Yasmin laid on the soft mattress with her legs spread as she uttered the words.

"Come, my husband, claim what is rightfully yours!"

Berengar gulped the saliva that had pooled up in his mouth as he witnessed the sight and hopped into action. He immediately started by stimulating her moist cavern with his tongue as she did the same to him. After they were both prepared, he took the first plunge into her depths and felt a state of bliss overtake him as he did so. Taking a woman's virginity was always an intense pleasure to a conqueror like the Austrian King.

After fully committing himself to his new wife, the young couple would continue to screw like rabbits for the remainder of the night. After all, Berengar wanted to imprint his mark on his woman's womb fully and hopefully impregnate her in the process. Yasmin would find herself having difficulty walking for days to come by the time the morning came.