Chapter Nine: Willow Pt. 1

She stared at the man blankly, not uttering one word.

"I am sorry," she said, "What did you call me?"

The man chuckled; a very sweet smile was spread across his face. His eyes seemed to be glowing with delight, a delight she knew not where it came from.

"Willow," he repeated, "like the tree. I don't think you have them here, but we have some in England. They are quite majestic, like you."

"Oh, right." She said, she was still staring at the man, blankly.

He sighed and folded his arms across his chest. The carriage had begun moving and Amira immediately took a glimpse outside from the small window. They were soon leaving the prison behind and the bright city of Damascus.

As if reading the nostalgia that spread across her face, the knight, lt. Aldrich spoke to her in a very reassuring voice. "We are taking you to the hospital right now. The wound in your head has to be treated and your foot might need some bandaging. You will be taken to Jerusalem when that is taken care of."

"Why are you here, sir?" she asked ignoring what he had said.

"Well, truth be told, I just wanted to see you myself. Unlike you I cannot see you in my dreams." Her eyes widened, how would he know what she could see? But at least that cleared up one thing, he was indeed, the man in her dream.

"Let me tell you a story, the hospital is not too far away, but I think you might enjoy it." He smiled at her, looking at her dearly. He looked at her like if she was a treasure – shiny and useful, but an object nonetheless. In his eyes, she was not much of a person; she was below him, below anybody else. In his eyes, she was not Amira, she was willow.

"There was once this girl in Rome. She was the daughter of an average man, and an average woman yet, there was nothing average about that girl. She had dark hair, curly and soft. Her skin was very pale, yet it was soft and smooth. Her eyes were especially beautiful, they were a shade of green and blue combined – a color no person had seen before. She was quite smart too, very lively and charming. She could have been called the perfect girl in that wretched empire, but she had one terrible flaw. She was very stubborn. She wanted only one thing in life, only that one thing. She wanted to be a princess, or anybody from a distinguished social status. She wanted to be admired by everybody, her beauty exalted and praised. She wanted to be pampered with beautiful and expensive things. She wanted to live in a mansion with no comparison and be treated by hundreds of maids. And she had let her father know that the only way for her to be happy was if she became the princess she strived to be."

"Her father, being a kind man, tried his hardest to treat her like a princess. He very well knew that, given their social condition, getting her to marry to the nobility would be a very difficult task, if not impossible. Still, all of his efforts were in vain for no matter what she did, the girl would never be pleased. On the verge of desperation he decided that if him, a mere mortal, could not accomplish such a task, then the gods might capable of doing so. The man went to one of the temples and prayed to the god – though I cannot recall which of their many gods was called upon. The god, claiming to be benevolent, presented himself to the poor man. He heard his request and asked him to bring the girl, if she was like he described her, she would be granted her wish. The girl was presented to the god, her beauty was able to match the one described by her father but her attitude was a tad different. She showed up in the temple demanding – not pleading or just, you know, saying please – that her wish was granted. Infuriated, the God told her that she would not have anything. But the man, quickly got on his knees and begged, with his heart in his hand, to ignore her and to do such a thing for him. It was his idea after all, and it was him who would be willing to pay the price. The girl, unmoved by her father's sacrifice, simply stood there smirking at the God. Again, to honor his self-proclaimed benevolence, the God gave in to the man's pleadings."

"He was going to give her what he wanted; he was going to marry his daughter to an important and wealthy general in the army. But he was also to add something else, a little perk. He was going to borrow something from her, something he said he would return only when needed. And she would need them, when he bestowed the curse upon her. Eager, without even wondering about the curse and what she was to lose, she agreed. At that very moment, the God stretched out his hand, and placed two of his fingers on the girl's closed eyes. When she opened them again, once his hand had been pulled back, the aquamarine color that made her eyes gorgeous had faded. Her beauty remained intact, nonetheless."

"That same day, as she left the temple, she stumbled upon the man that was going to marry her. He was handsome, he was kind, and he was definitely wealthy. He was the man she had always wanted, the man who would treat her like a princess. That very same day she moved in to his mansion. Her room was splendid, beautiful, and overwhelmed by the luxury that surrounded her, she suddenly started feeling very sleepy. She lay on the bed and the moment she closed her eyes she entered the dream realm – a place that the gog that had granted her wish could easily manipulate. In her dream she could see as her mother died a horrible death. She woke up scared but realized that it was a mere dream, nothing that might come true. But how wrong she was, the next morning someone had told her that her mother had been killed and it had happened just like she had seen in dreams."

"Upon hearing the news she rushed to the God's temple and asked him just what was happening to her. 'It is your curse,' he replied, nonchalantly, 'what is worse, girl, for a man to be stuck in a dream that he can never wake up from or for a man to not be able to dream at all?' he asked in return. The girl dropped to her knees, crying. 'Most would not consider such thing a curse, for I am letting enter the realm of time and space,' the God explained, ignoring her tears, 'You are entering a place that no mortal has ever been to. As you experience yesterday, the person who can enter to that place can witness events from the future before they happen and, though this you don't know, the events from the past as well. Normally, those who have access to see these things have the power to change them but you will not be allowed such a thing. You will only be able to see tragedy, disease and destruction, for if you ever speak about it, or try to fight it, your life will be extinguished instead.'"

Amira had been so absorbed in the story she had not noticed the carriage had finally stopped moving. They were standing outside the hospital.

"We are here," the lieutenant whispered, his voice changing from the melodic and poetic tone of voice he had used whilst reciting the story to the normal, relaxed voice of his. She looked at him, incredulous.

"You are not going to finish?" she asked him, her pulse racing eager to hear more. Aldrich laughed, and the pink on his cheeks grew stronger.

"I will when they are done with you in the hospital. So, come on, off you go." He said opening the door for her. He stepped down first, and held his hand for her to use as a support. She landed neatly on both feet, though the fall was not more than a meter high, the pain that shot through her ankle was obvious in her face. He grimaced when he noticed and ended up putting her arm around his shoulders.

"I'll help you get there." He said, not allowing her the right to refuse. They entered the hospital in such a fashion, earning some good stares from the people inside. Upon seeing his uniform, the men inside rushed to help the girl. She looked back at him, as they took her away to the examining room. He waved his hand at her and smiled.

"Wait, lieutenant" she said, the man holding her halted and Aldrich, who had already turned his back to her, turned back around. "What was her name?"

He smirked at her, and shot just one more smile at her, before responding: "That you'll find out later." He motioned the man to resume to their job as she sighed in disagreement. They took her through some curtains, which led them to the examining room. The place was cold and empty, giving off quite the unhealthy vibe. The medic that was to treat her stepped inside, he had a very soft and very calmed face. He started working on her, placing certain herbs on her cuts, which he assured would help them cicatrize. He did much of the work in silence and so, time seemed to drag out longer for her. She was inside for about four hours, though it seemed like ages to her.

When she stepped outside, she saw the man who had accompanied her throughout her journey, talking avidly to another man, one of the hospital's staff she assumed. He quickly noticed her, standing upright by the curtains, the pain on her foot was completely gone and as such, she could stand perfectly. He excused himself from whomever he was conversing with, and joined her as she exited the hospital. To her surprise and greatest discontent, the carriage she had been riding was gone, and replaced with a simple cart.

"A cart?" she asked in disbelief. "I am going to horseback ride all the way to Jerusalem?"

"No, no, you will not have to such a thing," Aldrich assured her, patting the cart, telling her that she was to ride in it.

"You can't be serious? Only condemned prisoners undergo the shame of riding in a cart!" She exclaimed. Aldrich looked at her, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Oh, right." She muttered hopping into the cart. A man which was sitting in a bench across from them quickly got up when he saw her doing it. He jumped into the horse and looked back at the girl sitting behind him. He smiled politely and then turned around.

"So you are not riding with me?" She asked the lieutenant.

"No, I am not riding in the cart with you, but I am to escort you. I will be riding my own horse." He explained. She sighed and stretched out her hands for him; he smiled at her and shook his head. "No, restraining you will not be necessary," he assured. He let out quite the loud whistle and three more men, every one of them in their horses arrived. One of the men was pulling a beautiful black stallion with him, which she immediately assumed belonged to the lieutenant. He hopped on the horse, with ease, and the man pulling the cart started moving forward.

The lieutenant placed himself to her right, the position closest to her, while another one of his men placed himself to the left. The other two were covering the rear end of the cart, side by side. She sighed again, and took a glance at the lieutenant.

"Be patient," he ordered her, "this may be the last time you see this city, so enjoy it. Once we exit the gates I will resume." She took a deep breath and, making herself as comfortable as she could, started doing as he'd ask. She was trying to burn the image in her mind. She knew he was right; even if she did not get executed there was still a chance she might never return to Damascus. She never liked the city much; she thought it was dusty, hot, dry and dirty. It was until that time, as she was riding to uncertainty that she finally appreciated the beauty of the 'Golden City of Damascus' as her father used to call it.