On a cold lonely night in the desert, far from the hustle and bustle of the marketplace and the pungent smells of cinnamon, saffron and other exotic spices, three shadowy figures trekked through the sand that seemed to get deeper with every step they made.

Not a sound could be heard, except for a light breeze blowing through the sand and the loud squawks of a parrot who was complaining as it followed the other two figures while they trekked towards the Forbidden Cave.

'I'm telling you, Jawahir, it's not going to work,' the parrot said in a silky and annoyed feminine tone,

'This is the fourth time you have tried this, and it's going to end miserably like it always does. When are you going to give up on the stupid lamp?'

'Oh, shut up and stop your complaining, Tala, or you will have one less feather tonight,' Jawahir, a middle-aged woman dressed in red and black, said, which made Tala gulp in fear.

She was a scarce and beautiful breed of parrot, and she was well aware of it since she was very vain and loudly proclaimed it to anyone who would hear.

And the one thing about her that she was proud of was her impressive plumage of feathers in all the colours of the rainbow, which she loved to show off by fanning it into people's faces.

Unfortunately, she had lost some of them through Jawahir's punishments for her defiance and back-talk, which the woman hated, and Tala paid the price for it.

'This better work, Jawahir,' Tala said, 'I can't afford to lose any more of my beautiful feathers!'

'It will, for I have found the perfect stooge,' replied Jawahir, as the trio made their way across the desert.

Their unwilling companion was a timid young woman they had forcefully dragged from the streets, and she silently followed from behind, terrified about what was about to happen.

'As you know, Tala,' Jawahir said, 'the reason that we failed to get the lamp is that we used men to try to get into the cave.

The men were humble thieves hoping for riches, but the cave swallowed them up, and they never saw the light of day again. I'm hoping that if we use a woman this time….'

'And the cave has already told you that only a 'street diamond' may enter, but you refused to listen….' Tala interrupted,

'And that's why, our friend,' Jawahir said, grabbing the woman who let out a squeak of fear.

'Our friend will help us in exchange for riches and food to feed her starving family. Isn't that right? Uh, what is your name again? Not that it is important.'

'Jana, madam,' the woman said, nervously,

'I'll do whatever you say, just please don't hurt me. I only want to give my children food, as we haven't eaten for days, and it's hard on my own since my husband died….'

'Oh, spare me your sob story, woman,' Jawahir said unsympathetically, 'you should have thought of that before you became peasants!'

'Nobody cares about you or your little brats!' sneered Tala, as she bit poor Jana on the finger, which made her yelp in pain.

'Oh, how I loathe those who live in the streets. They're nothing but nasty and grubby lowlifes who desperately try to sell rotten fruit and cheaply made junk! It makes me sick just talking about them!' Jawahir said.

She hated poor people with a passion and usually had as little to do with them as possible, but this was an exception as long as she got the lamp she desired.

And she didn't care what she had to do to get it, and if she had to use an innocent person and hurt them, it didn't bother her at all, for this was only the beginning.

A while later, Jawahir, Tala and Jana had finally made it to the Forbidden Cave, shaped like a giant tiger. The eyes of the cave glared at the trio as they approached the mouth.

Jana started to make a run for it, but Jawahir grabbed her by the arm as she grinned deviously at her.

'Now, Jana, all you have to do is enter the cave and grab the lamp. You can keep any other riches that you may find, and that will be enough to put bread into your children's bellies, but the lamp belongs to me. Understand?'

'Yes, madam,' Jana said and nervously approached the cave while Jawahir and Tala watched.

'Fourth time's the charm, Tala,' Jawahir said while Tala rolled her eyes at her.

'WHO DARES APPROACH THE FORBIDDEN CAVE?' the cave boomed as Jana looked up, clearly intimidated.

'It is I, Jana, a humble maiden from the streets of Alzawaya,' she managed to say with her voice wobbling,

'I come to seek the lamp,'

The cave looked down at her, scowling as it did so. Its eyes glowed in fury and anger, and Jawahir groaned in despair while Tala smirked at her.

'YOU SHALL NOT ENTER!' the cave boomed again, which made Jana jump in fear,

'ONLY THE STREET DIAMOND MAY ENTER THE FORBIDDEN CAVE, NOW, BE GONE AND NEVER RETURN!'

Jana screamed in terror as she, followed by Jawahir and Tala, made a hasty retreat and ran across the desert, barely stopping to catch their breath until they approached the entrance to the city.

'Useless, stupid woman!' Jawahir screamed at the poor woman, 'you and your family shall starve for the rest of your days!'

'I'm sorry, Madam, please spare me. I have four hungry children who depend on me. Please have mercy. I did the best I could….' Jana stammered desperately, but Jawahir was having none of it.

'Get out of my sight, NOW!' she screamed, and the poor woman scattered away into the streets while Jawahir was left fuming at yet another failed attempt to get the lamp.

'I hate to say 'I told you so,' but... I told you so! I told you so! I told you so!' Tala said, repeating the same sentence repeatedly until Jawahir grabbed her and plucked another feather from her tail.

'No, not another feather!' she screeched as she watched it float away in the breeze.

'Let this be a reminder that I will NOT TOLERATE FAILURE AND DEFIANCE!' Jawahir screamed,

'I'm getting tired of your constant squawking and your vain behaviour. Unless you want to lose all your feathers, you will do what I tell you to do!'

'I had tried and tried to tell you over and over again that this would not work, but you were so pig-headed and that you didn't listen to me!' Tala said,

'Look at me! I'm so angry that my stress levels are through the roof, and it's taken its toll on my beautiful plumage, my wings have lost their sheen, and I've already lost several feathers all because you refuse to admit when you are wrong!

'You just don't when to give up!' she screeched.

'And you don't know when to shut up!' shouted Jawahir.

The two then argued and traded insults for a while until both were weary and realised that it wouldn't get them anywhere.

'Perhaps you were right, Tala; maybe I have been too hasty and impatient. Maybe we've been looking in the wrong place as Jana, and the others were not worthy….'

'Oh, you think? You dragged the woman kicking and screaming out of her house in front of her children!' said Tala.

'All while the real one is still out there…' said Jawahir.

'And it took you this long to figure it out?' Tala said sarcastically.

'Enough with the sarcasm, Tala!' Jawahir said as they walked through the streets of the city, which were still buzzing with activity, and vendors waved various fruit and objects at them.

'Would the lady like some sugared dates, figs and almonds?' a vendor said, holding out a plate of them to Jawahir.

Wordlessly, Jawahir knocked the plate out of his hands, and he shrieked as he scrambled to pick up many dates, figs and almonds off the ground.

She gave him a sneer of contempt as she hurried through, eager to get back to the palace as she had dealt with enough worthless peasants for the night.

'What a beautiful parrot you have, fine lady! I've never seen so many colourful feathers in my life!' a vendor selling silk scarves and shawls said, which made Tala squawk proudly, and she fanned them in front of him while Jawahir rolled her eyes.

'Its feathers will be perfect for a fine rainbow shawl I'm planning to make. I'll give you a lovely ruby silk scarf in exchange for it.'

Tala screeched in horror, and although Jawahir had wanted to get rid of her after the fiasco in the desert, she still needed her for her grand plan, no matter how annoying she was. She then said to the vendor, coldly,

'She's not for sale.'

'But I'm willing to..'

'No means no. Good night to you,' and turned her heel away from the stall.

'I can't believe you were going to do it!' Tala said as they got nearer to the palace,

'You were going to sell me to that horrid vendor who was going to turn my beautiful feathers into a cheap shawl! And for what? A lousy silk scarf!

I know I was harsh before, but you're not getting rid of me that easily!'

'And you should be GRATEFUL that I didn't!' Jawahir hissed, grabbing Tala's beak,

'For a moment, I wanted to since I was at my breaking point, but I still need you to help find that street diamond so consider yourself lucky!'

'If we ever find her, that is,' said Tala.

'Oh, but we will, my fine-feathered nuisance,' Jawahir said,

'We must be persistent and patient, and soon we will have the lamp that will give us everything we desire!'

'That'll be the day,' Tala muttered.

'You know, it's not too late to make it back to the silk vendor..' said Jawahir, which shut the parrot up as they opened the gates to the palace.