"You will stay for lunch of course," his father said, indicating the table, which Anwar now saw had been set for four people. This was odd, given that there didn't seem to be any guests in the house, and they couldn't possibly have known that he and Rina were going to be there. This, coupled with the uneasy looks his mother and father kept passing between them, triggered the suspicious part of his mind, something that was rarely used. There was something going on here, something that probably wouldn't be good for any of them.
"Yes, please stay," his mother urged, pulling out a seat, and beckoning Rina from the corner of the room where she had been trying to remain inconspicuous.
Rina joined them at the table, piling her plate high with food, and then ate her way quickly, albeit neatly through the whole amount. Anwar had noticed that on the ship, she would take her plate of food away from the rest of them to eat, as if she were worried that someone would try to take it away from her before she could finish. From what Anwar had learned earlier today, it now made sense that she did this – living on the streets would have meant always keeping an eye out for people trying to take things away from her.
Helene looked faintly disgusted by the haste at which Rina ate; his mother was very strict about manners and table manners in particular. But she was also polite enough to not say anything directly about it to a guest under her roof.
"So, Rina, what do you do?" she asked in an effort to break the silence that overwhelmed the group.
Rina stilled, a hunted look passed across her face as she met Anwar's eyes. He gave a small shake of his head, and she replied, "I'm in the jewellery trade." This was true enough, except she was in the habit of relieving rich people of their jewels and then selling them for her own gain.
Rina swallowed her mouthful, and in an effort to keep the conversation going, said "You must be very proud of Anwar being a doctor."
His mother gave a short laugh. "Oh, Anwar isn't a qualified doctor. He's only a student doctor. We were so worried when he ran away to sea before he completed his studies."
Anwar choked as the water he had sipped went down the wrong way. He had been careful never to say that he was a qualified doctor to anyone on the ship, but also hadn't corrected anyone who assumed that he was. And he liked how the others looked up to him because of it, even Sinbad. It was the one thing he could contribute to the crew. Sinbad and Gunnar were the muscle, Cook was, well, Cook, Rina was the street-smart thief, but he was the doctor that fixed them up whenever they needed medical assistance.
Now Rina was looking at him like she'd never seen him before, and he wanted to take back the last few hours, and not come to rescue his parents, who didn't seem to be at all concerned about the situation in the city, and that would mean that Rina would not have found out about his secret, and she wouldn't be giving him that accusing look. Thoughts ran round in circles in his mind, and he missed part of what his father said next.
"…university tutors to accept him back." He gave his wife a satisfied smile. "It's not open for discussion."
Anwar opened his mouth to argue, and then closed it again without saying anything. He knew from past experiences that arguing would get him nothing except banishment to his room, and he already felt like a foolish child. Rina gave him an angry and disappointed look across the table, and his stomach turned over. She was going to leave him, go back to the ship and tell everyone the truth, and he would never be able to show his face there again.
Rina shook her head quickly, muttered, "Excuse me," and pushed her chair back from the table then stormed out of the room.
"Don't follow her, son," his father ordered. "We need to discuss certain matters. We are expecting you to complete your studies this year, and not go running off with these new friends of your again. And we certainly don't want you bringing girls home before your studies are done. There will be plenty of time afterwards for your mother to find you a suitable wife."
It was the last sentence that made up Anwar's mind. He was happy to let his parents organise his life for the most part, but he had very definite ideas when it came to marriage and who would be a suitable wife. "Thank you very much for the meal, but we really should be leaving now. We have things to do before sailing tonight."
He sketched a bow to his parents and followed Rina from the room. He hoped that she hadn't left the house entirely; he'd never find her again if she had. And that was something he did not want to think about.
She was pacing up and down the corridor, inspecting the small items on the shelves lining it. "Finally!" she hissed. "I thought I'd have to come back in there and drag you out." She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him further down the corridor. "Think about it Anwar. They haven't even asked you where you've been. Why? Because they know!"
He shook his head slightly, and crossed his arms in front of his body.
She continued, "They enrolled you in university starting next week. How would they have known you were going to be here unless someone told them?"
"My parents wouldn't do that," he insisted, even though he saw the sense in what she was saying. Two pairs of footsteps came along the corridor, stopping at the bottom of the stairs opposite where the two of them stood.
"Anwar, you've made a terrible mistake, but Akbiri promised that no harm would come to you. You have a bright future ahead of you. Please," his father pleaded.
Rina was right. His parents had betrayed him, and all his friends. "No," he said in disbelief.
Rina stalked forward, "Don't you understand? There will be no university when Akbiri becomes Emir."
"How dare a common thief like you talk about these things?" his mother said haughtily, her face screwed up in an expression of distaste.
Something inside Anwar's chest broke at those words. "She's not a common thief," he spat back. He could see Rina from the corner of his eye, looking at the floor as if she was ashamed of herself. "And even if she was, how would you know that?"
Their attention was caught by noises from the courtyard. It sounded like a group of men, probably guards as there was a distinct metallic ringing underneath the tramp of feet.
"They're here," his father said. "Give her up son, it's for the best."
"No." An involuntary immediate response. He wouldn't give Rina up for anything or anyone. If they were going to take her, they'd have to take him too.
Rina's survival instincts kicked in the minute his father had said to give her up. She flicked a glance around the room, and met Anwar's eyes momentarily, before running down the corridor to the right, two guards in pursuit.
"Don't either of you dare say another word. If any harm comes to her, I'll never forgive you," he stated flatly. He followed the two guards at a flat run, hoping he wasn't too late to help.
He arrived at the balcony overlooking the street just in time to see four guards bundle Rina into the cage on the back of a cart and lock the gate. "Rina!" he shouted.
His parents had followed him out onto the balcony. His father laid a hand on his arm. "It's for the best," he said comfortingly.
Anwar shook his father's hand off and gave them both a look of pure loathing, before running down the stairs and into the street. The cart with Rina in the back rumbled off to the east, towards the Emir's palace. He quickly calculated the most likely place he could effect a rescue, and took off running to the west. One of the main roads between here and the palace ran alongside a two-storied apartment building, the second story had a balcony with open arches that he could jump from if he had to.
Praying that he wasn't too late, Anwar took the stairs two at a time to the second floor. He looked out one of the arches to see the cart with Rina and two guards about half-way along the building. He kept running, occasionally checking that they weren't going to take another street out of the square, and that his hastily put-together plan was going to work.
The cart reached the end of the building and turned right, as he had hoped. If he timed things just right, he would be able to jump off the building, and land on top of the cage, knock the two guards out and free the girl.
Alas, the best laid plans go oft awry, and Anwar's was not a best-laid plan. The cart turned the corner; he steeled himself and leapt into space. Missing the cart completely, he landed with a thud on the cobblestones. The wind completely knocked out of him, he thought it would be a very sensible idea just to lie there quietly for a few minutes and think of a new plan to rescue Rina.
Soft metallic jingling came closer. He knew that he should get up off the ground and defend himself, but he was still too sore. Maybe whoever it was would just ignore him.
A shadow fell over him, and someone tapped him on the shoulder. He groaned with the effort of turning over, but was rewarded with the vision of Rina standing over him, hands on hips and saying, "That was a rescue attempt? What was your plan? Hope they take sympathy on you and stop the cart? Really, Anwar." But she smiled, and that took the sting out of her words.
Still breathless, he asked, "So, how did you…?" his voice trailed off, and he ended up waving one hand in the air to indicate she answer. The other hand held onto his sore ribs.
"Oh, that," she said dismissively. "Idiot guards, forgot to check for my knife." She took the short-handled knife she carried in her waist-band out to illustrate her point before tucking it back away. Anwar was reminded that she had lived on the streets for a long time, and had no qualms about using violence to defend herself if necessary. "Almost feel sorry for them," she sniffed.
Anwar gave a grunt of acknowledgement at her words. She focussed back on him, "So, how's the family?" she asked.
"Pretty much disowned myself," he answered ruefully. Although, if he went back now, he may be able to smooth things over again. It's just whether he thought it would be worth it.
Rina gave a small quirk of her lips, not quite enough to be called a smile. "You're better off without them." Then she added, fearing she was being too nice, and that didn't fit with the persona she had been cultivating for years, "I mean, a failed rescue attempt like that would only bring more shame to the family."
She leaned down and offered her hand. "Come on then." Pulling him to his feet, she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in the front of his robes. "Thank you," she said into his chest, a few tears leaking from her eyes. Anwar was such a loyal friend, and she didn't deserve it.
"You're welcome," he answered in surprise. He tentatively encircled her with his arms, and let his chin rest on top of her head. They fit together well, and he let himself wonder momentarily what it would be like to be able to do this all the time. He also knew in his heart of hearts that while Sinbad was about and unattached, all the women would flock to his dangerous charisma, leaving Anwar to watch from the sidelines. And with Rina, he also had the extra attraction of actually saving her life, not just trying and failing at it.
One last sniffle, and Rina pushed away from him. He let his arms drop to his sides instantly, already feeling the loss of her warmth. If he wasn't careful, he would let himself fall hard for her, even further than he already had anyway.
"We'd best get back to the ship," she said, taking a few steps away from him and turning towards the port. "Either Sinbad will have defeated Akbiri and we can go freely, or Akbiri has won, and we'll need to leave as soon as possible. Either way, back to the ship."
She set off purposely down the cobbles, not waiting for him to acknowledge her plan. So, things returned to their normal state of affairs, with her taking the lead, and him following along behind.
XXX
Back on the Providence, the crew were at a bit of a loss. The enemy who had been pursuing them for so long was no more, and there was no longer any need to keep running. Apart from a desire to see what was around the next corner, or over the far horizon.
"Well, you missed the most amazing thing!" Rina exclaimed cheerfully from her spot on the deck between Nala and Anwar. "Anwar. Rescuing me. From a heavily armed prison cart!"
Sinbad smirked disbelievingly. "Really?" he asked sarcastically.
Anwar hid his face in his hands. He thought that they had worked things out, and now she was going to make fun of his patheticness in front of the rest of the crew.
"Really! I've never seen anything like it!" She grinned in his direction, and Anwar was relieved that she was not going to say anything else.
"She's exaggerating a little bit," he said. He looked over to her, remembering what it was like to hug her. He would have to keep that memory at the front of his mind, as it was unlikely to happen again in the near future. "Or a lot. But I was very brave." This earned him a laugh from all the crew, and all was right in his world again.