The Awakening, Zuleika and the Barbarian (20 page)

"When will you return?" the khan asked her quietly.

"When my father is dead, and I have overthrown Haroun," she told him.

"You will need my help to overthrow the prince," Amir Khan said. "What if he attempts to retain you as a guarantee of his inheritance?"

"He has no power over me as long as I possess the genie," Zuleika assured him.

"Then you must fetch the bowl, but I would prefer you return to me as quickly as possible. If your father is dying you can be of no further aid to him. Is it possible your cousin poisoned him?" the khan wondered.

"Anything is possible," Zuleika agreed, "but I do not believe Haroun would have acted so swiftly, or before he has found a suitable bride to be his sultana. His favorite, Golnar, knows she will not have that position however she importunes him. But she will want to help him choose the girl. No, this is simply fate at work. But I must remain in the city as long as I can be a comfort to my father, my lord Amir."

"Then I must come with you," he responded. "It is too dangerous otherwise."

"Nonsense!" she told him. "You must remain with your men. I could not trust Haroun if he had you in his grasp. No, my lord. It is too dangerous for the khan. Rafa, however, can be our go-between, for I have now decided I shall go into the city dressed as I am, and with nothing else. I will tell my cousin that Rafa must go back and forth with changes of garments for me, for the Khan will not allow me to take my possessions from his tents. That will sound most barbaric to him, for he would not permit his women to travel without everything they own. Give me a good horse to ride, and have one of your men accompany me. Haroun will see you already value me by this."

"I will send two men with you," the khan replied, "for I do value you very much, my princess." He pulled her into his strong arms, and bending his head, found her ripe lips with his own.

She soared with the touch of his mouth on hers. For a brief moment she closed her eyes and let him become her world. It was a good feeling, and she would have wished it could go on forever, but it could not. With a reluctant sigh she drew away, reaching up to caress his cheek with her hand, a little smile on her lips. "Can I really trust you, Amir Khan? Or will you betray me once you have Dariyabar?" she asked.

"Those are questions that you must answer for yourself, Zuleika," he responded with the utmost seriousness. "There is nothing I can say that will allay your suspicions. Your heart must decide." He loosed her from his embrace. "Go now, my princess, but be careful, and be on your guard."

They brought her a beautiful golden gelding with a full black mane and an equally luxuriant black tail. The black leather saddle was decorated with bright brass studs, and turquoise. Zuleika introduced herself to the beast, murmuring softly in his ear and rubbing his soft muzzle before she gave it a kiss. Then to his surprise she mounted without any aid, springing lightly into the saddle and fitting her feet into the stirrups. She gathered the reins into her hand, smiling with her approval. "You barbarians have the finest horseflesh," she told him. "What a magnificent beast you have given me to ride, and how unfortunate he is gelded. He would breed up wonderful colts."

"His sire has," the khan told her. "And he is his sire's image. He is called Sunrise, and he is yours now. He has never before accepted a new rider. It is obvious he has been waiting for you."

Zuleika patted the gelding's slim, arched neck. "One stallion is more than enough for me, my lord," she said with a chuckle. Then she urged her horse forward, and flanked by two of the khan's men she headed back into the city.

"Can she trust you?" Rafa asked him when he had returned to the tent.

"Yes," Amir Khan said quietly. "Now go to the tent of my general, Sabola, and help the lady Bahira while the princess is gone."

Hiding her smile, Rafa departed the khan's pavilion. He was a proud man, just as the princess was a proud girl. No. Zuleika was now a woman, and obviously none the worse for her initiation into her adulthood. "Where is the tent of General Sabola?" she asked the guard at the entry to the pavilion.

"It is the one flying the blue and silver pendant, lady," the guard said politely.

"Thank you," Rafa said, and hurried toward her destination.

"Ohh, you have come at last!" Bahira said with a smile when Rafa entered. "My possessions have already been delivered. Come and help me sort through them. Who brought them? My parents? Did they weep with my loss? The general is an incredible lover. A bull! But I finally wore him out. Where is Zuleika?" The words tumbled forth excitedly from her mouth.

"I can see that you have survived your first foray into womanhood well," Rafa noted dryly. "The princess has gone back into the city. Her father took ill in the night, and is not expected to live."

"Haroun?" Bahira's big blue eyes were wide with her curiosity.

Rafa shook her head. "More than likely the loss of his last child, and the knowledge that Haroun is to inherit, and would prefer to do it sooner than later," Rafa replied.

"Is Zuleika safe?" Bahira inquired, concerned.

"The princess is more than a match for her cousin. Especially as I forgot the bowl, and she will have it with her."

Bahira's hand flew to her mouth. "Ohh, Rafa! How could you?"

"Your parents came weeping with your things just as I was about to pack it. Then the guards hurried me out before I could remember," Rafa admitted. "Do not remind me, for until my mistress returns with the bowl I shall not be content."

"She will be back in the city now," Bahira said.

And Zuleika was. The people greeted her warmly as she rode through the streets, but their eyes were worried, she could see. She dare say nothing to reassure them. It was not her place yet, and she dare not have such behavior reported to Haroun. It would but arouse his suspicions. She rode through the great open gates of her father's palace, and dismounting, told the slave to take the beast to the stables. Then she hurried inside, going directly to her father's quarters. The guards bowed, nodded, and immediately permitted her to pass.

Maryam, the slave woman who cared for her parent, came forward. "Ahh, princess, it is good you are here. Did the prince send you word?"

"Nay. It came with Rafa, and my possessions," Zuleika answered. "You have a place in my household," she reassured the slave woman.

Maryam bowed, her eyes relieved. "I will take you to him," she said, and led Zuleika into her father's bedchamber.

The elderly sultan was awake, and his eyes lit up at the sight of his sole surviving child. He was seated in a chair, viewing his gardens.

"Now, what is this?" Zuleika teased him gently. "I am gone but a few hours, and you take to your bed?" She knelt by his side.

"What is left for me to live for, my daughter?" he responded.

"Dariyabar!"
she told him.

He shook his white head. "Nay, Zuleika. I am too ancient, and far too frail now to carry the burden of Dariyabar upon my shoulders. I long to be with your brothers, and your mother."

"Would you leave me, then? Would you deny yourself the pleasure of knowing your grandchildren?" she demanded, half-angrily.

He laughed weakly. "I have no doubt you will bear the khan many strong sons, but you will not be here in Dariyabar, my daughter."

She was silent for a moment. One could not be certain who was listening. "Khanistan is not that far away. They are on our northern borders," she finally replied. "Do you think I should not come to visit you, my lord father?"

His gaze grew suddenly sharp as he looked at her, realizing there was much she was not saying.
"Kansbar?"
he whispered to her.

"Safe,"
was her soft reply.

"Keep him so," the sultan said, a small smile upon his thin lips. This strong, intelligent daughter of his, he now realized, would not easily give up her heritage. "The khan treats you well?" he asked.

She nodded. "Very well. He is a man of honor, I am certain. He rules his own people well."

"And his wives treat you well?"

"He has none.
Yet,"
she replied.

"Ahh," the sultan said, immediately comprehending what it was she was telling him. "Bahira? Poor Abd al Hakim and his wife are devastated by her loss. My vizier no longer thinks kindly of your cousin."

Zuleika laughed. "Bahira has completely wrapped the khan's general about her plump little finger, my father. The vizier and his wife need have no worries about her. I shall tell them that myself."

"How long will you remain with me, my child? Will the khan permit you to stay?" the sultan asked.

"I will be with you, my father, as long as you need me," she promised him. "Now I must go to my apartments, for poor Rafa was so distracted by our sudden move she left one or two of my possessions behind."

"I will sleep now," he told her, and closed his eyes.

Zuleika moved with assurance through the palace corridors back to her own quarters. To her surprise all her furniture was gone, including the cabinet where the bowl was kept. Her heart pounded with fright at the realization, and then Haroun's favorite, Golnar, was by her side.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded rudely, her pale face suspicious. Her eyes were so light a blue that in some lights they appeared almost white.

"My father is ill. I returned to be with him. Where is my furniture? Rafa left some things behind."

"These are to be the new sultana's quarters," Golnar said.

"Oh? Has my cousin then chosen a wife?" Zuleika inquired casually.

"The vizier has a younger daughter. Her heritage is excellent, and he has decided that she will do," Golnar said.

"Tahirah?
She is only ten years old!" Zuleika exclaimed. How predictable of Haroun. He chose the easy and quick path. Perhaps he did have something to do with her father's sudden illness.

"Yes, Tahirah. She is young enough to be trained to please the prince, and he will not have to mount her for several years. She is said to be well-mannered and obedient. She will do exactly as she is told," Golnar said smugly.

"And you will retain control of the harem," Zuleika noted. "How very nice for you, Golnar. Has Haroun approached the vizier in this most important matter yet? He will be very honored, I have not a doubt. One daughter a concubine to the khan's general, and the other the new sultana of Dariyabar!"

Golnar, who had a peasant's cunning but was not particularly intelligent, was not certain if the princess mocked her, or was admiring. She chose to believe the latter. "Yes," she said. "It is a good solution for us all. When is the khan to leave Dariyabar?"

"I have been fortunate enough to please my lord Amir Khan," Zuleika explained in a manner that Golnar would comprehend. "He has said we may remain until the situation with my father is resolved one way or another. Of course that should be no problem, as we are no longer at war." Zuleika smiled. "Now, can you please tell me where the cabinet in my quarters went? Rafa left behind my foot basin, and I must have it! It has been mine my whole life." She smiled again almost apologetically. "You know how it is with the things we use to beautify ourselves, Golnar. Do you not have something you could not do without?"

Golnar nodded. "My hairbrushes," she admitted.

"And you have such beautiful hair," Zuleika admired. "It is like spun moonlight. My hair is just an ordinary black."

"But you have always kept it nicely," Golnar responded. "It shines like ebony."

"Ohh, thank you," Zuleika gushed. Then, "The cabinet?"

"It was taken to the storage rooms in the cellars," she said.

"I will go and get it," Zuleika replied.

"Would you like to stay in the harem tonight?" Golnar offered.

"Thank you again," the princess answered her politely, "but I think I will sleep in my father's apartments. You understand?"

"Of course," Golnar said. "The sultan's condition is very delicate, or so the gossip goes."

"Yes," Zuleika murmured, forcing tears to her eyes.

"Go and fetch your foot basin, princess," Golnar advised. "And if you want the company of women, please know you are welcome in the harem. I will instruct the women to pray to the Gods for the sultan."

"I never knew you were so kind," Zuleika said softly, struggling not to laugh. "Thank you." She took one of Golnar's hands, pressing it to her heart in a gesture of politeness. Then she turned and walked slowly away. As everywhere else in the palace, she was not challenged. She entered the storerooms, and searching among the bits and pieces of furniture there finally found her ebony cabinet. She opened the doors, and sighed with relief. There was the basin. She removed it, saying as she did, "Forgive me, Kansbar." The bowl quivered in her hands. Holding it tightly she returned to her father's apartments.

"Oh good!" Maryam said. "You are back. I would like a bit of time to myself, but I did not want to leave the sultan here alone. Prince Haroun has taken all his attendants, and I alone remain."

"When did this happen?" Zuleika asked.

"Yesterday, while we were all in the sultan's hall of audience. When I returned with your father afterwards everyone was gone. When I sought an explanation I was told that the prince had ordered it. I was very afraid, princess. If I leave him, what will happen?"