The girls' hovel was nothing more than a little hollowed out space in an abandoned building, but it had been their home for many years.
They had tried to make it homely with thin blankets lying on the floor as beds and a small wooden table with a worn purple cloth draped over it.
They also had chipped vases with roses in various stages of wilting in multiple places and a ragged piece of pink fabric for a curtain that hung haphazardly over a hole.
It had a magnificent view of the palace, and Leila often sat on the ledge and stared out at it and the city while daydreaming.
Which was what she was doing; once they had returned home and Leila was eating the bunch of grapes while Inaam and Dalia were fencing with the stolen swords.
Leila smiled as she thought about how Inaam always stuck by her throughout the years since their parents died.
Their father had wandered into the desert for reasons they never found out and was presumed dead. Their mother died giving birth to Inaam when Leila was only five years old.
It was a secret shame and guilt the younger girl had felt for years, but Leila had never blamed her for it.
The girls had lived with their grandmother, but her health was never good and Leila, at only five, had to learn all the things that her grandmother couldn't do and take care of her sister.
When her grandmother eventually died when Leila was ten and Inaam was five, the girls, penniless and homeless, were forced to fend for themselves.
They soon learned to steal to get food, clothes, and homely items and rescued Dalia from a cruel organ grinder that severely mistreated her.
For all they did, they considered themselves lucky that they hadn't had their hands chopped off or ended up in the boarding school.
They could've been thrown in prison and executed by beheading or hung by a noose. It was the worst fate of all for any street urchin or criminal in Alzawaya.
Leila's thoughts were soon interrupted by the loud noises of trumpets playing and people cheering outside, which Leila could hear all around the hovel.
She peered out, wondering what all the commotion was. It could be the sultana visiting the city (which was unlikely) or the crown prince returning from a diplomatic mission.
Inaam joined her on the ledge, and despite not seeing anything, the sisters looked out curiously.
It was rare to have something like that happen, but Inaam knew it was something to do with the crown prince, and it wouldn't end well.
'Oh boy, another victim,' Inaam muttered.
'What do you mean by that, Inaam?' Leila said, confused.
'Another princess is coming to woo the prince unsuccessfully and will end up getting pranked by his younger brother and clawed by his tigers!'
'She's the sixteenth one that's come this week! Don't you hear all the screams when the princesses run out humiliated with their clothes torn to shreds?'
'No, and how do you know all that?' Leila said quizzically.
'I've heard people talking about it in the streets,' said Inaam, 'you'll be surprised at what you hear passing by; it's hilarious!'
'I'm sure it is, but I think that's just some silly rumour; we don't know why that happens.
Sooner or later, the prince has to choose a bride. It is the law after all,' Leila said.
'Well, let's check it out anyway; we don't want to miss all the fun!' Inaam said as the girls and Dalia left their hovel by sliding down the steps.
They then made their way down to the streets and pushed through the vast crowds of people who were gasping in awe.
They cheered and smiled at seeing a beautiful but snobby-looking young woman sitting haughtily on top of a grumpy-looking camel, followed by her montage of servants who were throwing lotus flowers everywhere as loud music blared from the trumpets.
'Wow, what an elaborate show,' Inaam muttered, ' Do you think she's compensating for something?'
'Well, as Grandmother used to say, 'The more elaborate the person is, the more likely they're compensating for a hollow existence,' Leila said.
'Yeah, she sure looks like it!' Inaam hissed, 'Everything about her screams out, 'Look how glamorous and filthy rich I am! I'm so much better than you worthless peasants! It doesn't matter that I'm a mean and bitter person inside!'
'And look at that camel! I'll be grumpy too if I had to carry that snobby piece of garbage!' said Leila.
She and Inaam snickered quietly and bumped their fists together as the princess kept marching on, holding her head up as if she didn't even want to breathe in the smells around her.
She had shiny long black hair and a turquoise feather headdress with a veil and wore heavy makeup, and her overwhelming perfume smelt of practically every scent imaginable.
She wore a patterned turquoise midriff top that showed off a lot of her stomach, which was inappropriate for a princess and a matching low-cut skirt and overlay.
She also had gold jewellery, which probably weighed more than she did.
'It's such a shame that the princess overdressed for the occasion, not knowing that the tigers will soon shred it!' Inaam muttered while Leila smiled, and Dalia snickered.
'Don't talk like that, dears,' a woman said, 'that's Princess Samirah, the latest suitor for our fine young prince, and she may very well be the future queen.'
'Yeah, until the pranks and tigers get her!' said Inaam.
'Oh, hush, that's just nonsense, dear,' the woman said as the princess continued her way towards the gates that led to the palace while completely ignoring the crowd.
The people smiled and waved at her, and the boys wolf-whistled, but she only gave them a sneer of disgust and a disapproving sniff.
She even refused a tatty bouquet that two little girls held out to her and flicked them away with her perfectly manicured nails.
The little girls then burst into tears as the princess shooed them back to the crowd.
'How rude!' Leila said, not entirely quietly, while Dalia blew a raspberry at her, which caught the princess's attention as she looked at Leila with disgust.
'How could you be so ungrateful and make two little girls cry when they gave you some flowers and throwing them away like they were nothing? You should be ashamed of yourself!' she growled.
'You've got some nerve talking to me like that, street mouse,' the princess said, sneering, while Dalia blew another raspberry at her.
She then sneered at the monkey, who returned the favour by sticking her tongue out at her, making the princess flinch.
'Well, I'm surprised that with all your riches, you didn't spare a penny for manners.' Leila said.
'Oooh, need some ice for that burn, Princess?' Inaam said, and the sisters exchanged high-fives while Dalia and a few of the boys laughed.
'That's Princess Samirah to you, and I've got better things to do than exchange pleasantries with filthy peasants like you.
I'm going to the palace to court Prince Nadir and, if all things go well, which I know it will, I'll soon be the queen of all of you!' the princess said.
'Well, do you know what you're getting yourself into?' Leila said, interrupting, which earned her a glare from the princess,
'From what I heard, the prince's younger brother pranked the previous princesses, and his tigers scratched them and ripped their dresses...'
'Don't tell me what to expect, street mouse!' the princess said, 'and it is insulting and disrespectful to interrupt a princess!
Maybe I ought to teach you some manners since you can't afford them!'
She snapped her fingers, and one of her servants came over and cruelly pushed Leila into a mud puddle while the crowd and Samirah laughed.
'That'll teach you to talk back to me!' the princess said without a trace of sympathy.
'Hey, leave my sister alone, you overdressed, spoilt and snobby brat!' Inaam shouted as she helped Leila up.
'Oh, how cute, your little sister is helping you up,' the princess said in a mocking tone to Leila as she scowled at her,
'The only person that cares about you because nobody else does!
You're nothing more than a worthless street mouse, and that's all you'll ever be until the day you die, and only your little sister and your fleas will mourn you!'
With one last snooty sniff of her nose and glare of disgust, she carried on her merry way while Leila was left covered in mud and with her pride hurt until the party finally entered the gates to the palace, which then promptly shut.
'I am not worthless, and I don't have fleas!' Leila shouted, 'and I hope you realise that camels spit at you!'
Inaam replied, 'And I hope that the prince's tigers get you!'
Dalia chipped in with a long raspberry at the gate and squeaked with anger as she jumped up and down furiously.
'Come on, Lei, let's go home. She's not worth our time,' Inaam then said, and the girls silently slid through the crowd.
'Inaam,' Leila then said once they were alone, 'I'm not worthless, am I?'
'Of course not, Lei!' Inaam said, 'don't let the guards, that stupid princess, and the people get to you because I know it's not true.
I know that you are the most kind-hearted, sweet, generous and friendly person, and I'm not just saying that because you are my sister, but all you need is the chance to prove yourself, and I know you can do it, I have faith in you.'
'Aw, thanks, Inaam, you always know when to make me feel better. I don't know what I'll do without you,' Leila said, which made Inaam smile as they took one last look at the gate and headed for home.
Behind the high shining bronze gate that separated the palace and the city, the grand and majestic building's white marble towers, gold roofs and clear amber windows gleamed brightly in the late afternoon sun.
The sweet smells of jasmine, roses, sandalwood and musk drifted through the palace, giving the still air a pleasant aroma breeze.
The Sultana, Saira, had spared no expense as she spent her money freely on exotic scents, expensive clothes, makeup, jewellery, rosewater and dolls for her collection.
She also had her favourite flowers, jasmine, roses and lavender, for every room, marble pillar, garden, and anything else she and her two sons wanted.
She felt that she had deserved her life of luxury since she had fought hard as the first female ruler of Alzawaya due to her father not having any male heirs.
Although she had claimed that she loved the city and was a firm and fair ruler, she was oblivious to the suffering of her subjects, having never been outside the palace walls and preferring to rule from the throne room.
But the palace had one thing that the citizens longed to have- privacy and silence with the only noises coming from the princes' pet tigers and the imported wood chimes that blew in the breeze.
And today was no exception as Saira took a quiet stroll down the corridors, smelling the jasmine and roses that grew around the marble pillars.
She had just met the latest suitor for her eldest son, Prince Nadir and had left the two to be acquainted with a formal lunch.
She might be middle-aged with fading black hair, but she was still beautiful for her age, albeit with a few wrinkles on her face, almond-shaped brown eyes, and blue eye-shadow.
She was also wearing a beautiful light blue patterned silk dress with a dark blue belt that had tassels on it, a sheer dark-blue cape with long sleeves and gold trim.
On her head was a cream mini-turban with a turquoise stripe, jewel and feather with a sheer dark-blue veil flowing behind her head.
It was a clear symbol of her status as sultana, and she was a no-nonsense, prim, proper and practical one but was kind at heart and had a fun side, but it didn't come out often.
Saira smiled as she continued strolling down the corridor, relishing in the silence of the palace and hoping that Nadir would finally choose a bride.
She was also confident his younger brother, Adil, was being looked after by his governess to avoid misbehaving.
However, she frowned when she saw Nadir out in the garden, sitting near the fountain, stroking his pet tiger.
She wondered why he was out there instead of engaging with the princess.
Then she heard female screams, the growls of a tiger cub and fabric ripping from the dining room, and the sultana sighed as she had a bad feeling about it.
She then hurried over to see what was going on, and she met Princess Samirah, who was now a sobbing mess with her skirt and sleeves shred to ribbons and claw marks on her arms and face.
And she was making a hasty exit towards the door as she huffed and sobbed.
'I've never been so humiliated in my life!' she wailed as she hurried along as Saira desperately tried to catch up to her.
'Oh, Princess Samirah, you're not leaving now, are you? You've barely been here for an hour!' Saira said.
'What happened to you, dear?' she then said.
'I'll tell you what happened, Your Highness,' Samirah began, composing herself the best she could,
'Your son walked out during lunch because he found me a complete bore and insulted me, and his bratty little brother put scorpions on my chair and chilli powder in my soup which burned my mouth so severely that I could hardly talk!
As if that wasn't bad enough, his ferocious tigers attacked me! They ripped my beautiful clothes to shreds and then scratched me!
Look, I'm a complete wreck thanks to your bratty sons and their tigers!'
'But that's impossible, dear; Adil has been with his governess all afternoon. There is absolutely no way that he could have done those pranks on you.' Saira said.
'Well, your governess must be useless if she lets him run wild and escape from her watch! Adil was in the dining room with us the whole time!' Samirah wailed.
'Oh, Jawahir..' muttered Saira under her breath and then said to the princess, who was just about to open the door,
'Please don't leave now, Princess! You're our last hope in getting Nadir married!'
'No, I'm not staying here another minute! I hope that Nadir NEVER gets married and forfeits the throne!' Samirah huffed and walked out, slamming the door behind her despite Saira trying to appease the girl, but she was having none of it.
The frazzled sultana sighed heavily and tried to stay calm, although her anger was bubbling inside her as she trotted down the corridor, hoping to find Adil.
'Oh, Adil, what am I going to do with you?' she said exasperatedly.
She didn't have to go very far when she saw one of the perpetrators, a little Bengal tiger cub growling in front of her, holding the tattered remains of the princess's skirt and sleeves in its mouth.
'Oh, for Allah's sake, Salma!' Saira shouted as she tried in vain to wrestle the fabric from the cub's mouth.
But Salma stubbornly refused and growled as both sultana and tiger cub played tug-of-war.
'I'm getting fed up with your naughty behaviour! The same goes for your owner too! Where is Jumara when you need her?'
Jumara was Nadir's tiger and the mother of Salma. She, of course, was in the garden with Nadir.
'Let…go…Salma!' Saira struggled as she finally managed to get a piece of the fabric.
Salma scowled and growled at her before running off to Adil with the sultana following her while calling out,
'Adil! Come out this instant!' Adil, where are you?
She then heard some snickering from behind one of the marble pillars, leading her to find her wayward youngest son, petting Salma and laughing to himself.
He was eleven with short black hair and dressed in a light gold shirt, dark purple vest, gold and purple belt, orange trousers and wearing brown clogs and a gold and purple hat.
'Great pranks, eh, Salma?' Adil said, while Salma purred and nuzzled against him, 'we sure gave it to that snobby princess!'
'Ahem,' Saira then said, making the prince look up and smile sheepishly at his mother.
'Hi, Mama,' said Adil, sheepishly, but Saira raised an eyebrow and wordlessly held out the piece of turquoise fabric towards him.
'I assume that you had something to do with the hasty departure of Princess Samirah?' she then said.
'No, I didn't, Mama, I was with Jawahir all afternoon!' Adil said, trying to act innocent, but his mother wasn't buying it.
'Don't you dare lie to me, young man; I know it was you! Now, hand over the pranks right now!' Saira said.
Sighing heavily, Adil reached into his pockets and pulled out a jar of scorpions and a jar of chilli powder and handed them over to his mother, who frowned at seeing the offending objects.
'You cannot behave like this anymore, Adil!' she then shouted,
'Do you realise that these are HIGHLY DANGEROUS things that could've killed the princess? It was bad enough with the itching powder and the treacle with Princess Lamiya, but this is going too far!'
'But, Mama, she deserved it!' protested Adil,
'She was being rude to Nadir and rubbing Salma and Jumara the wrong way, and I had to do something.
It was relatively easy since Jawahir doesn't give two camel spits about what I do, so I slipped away from her and decided to have a little fun!
I couldn't stand by seeing my brother miserable about marrying a horrible woman just because a stupid piece of parchment says he has to!
And Salma wanted to have some fun by playing with that dumb brat!' he then said, as Salma purred in agreement while the sultana scowled at both of them.
'And don't think for a moment you're getting away with this!' Saira shouted,
'But I always do!' Adil whined.
'Well, not this time! Jawahir may let you run wild and do whatever you want, but you are well overdue for some punishment!
Don't you realise that you're hurting your brother's chances of finding a wife?
What would any other princess think when they come to the palace and hear tales about the prince's brother playing pranks on her and getting his tiger to attack her?
This little stunt will ruin our reputation, and no princess will ever want to marry your brother, and he'll forfeit his right to the throne, and our kingdom will be in ruins!'
'Why should I care? He's the one who has to get married, not me!' shouted Adil, 'I'm only the spare, and you never pay attention to me!'
'You're the sovereign prince of Alzawaya, and you need to act in a proper manner that befits your position,' said Saira,
'But Mama…' whined Adil,
'I don't want to hear any more, Adil, now, go to your room and think about what you have done. I'll deal with you later, and I shall have a stern word with both your brother and Jawahir, ' she said.
'That's not fair!' shouted Adil, but a very cross look from his mother convinced him that it was no use arguing anymore.
He reluctantly stomped his way to his room with Salma following him, sadly.
'It's just not fair, Salma,' he then muttered angrily, 'I want to have fun and help Nadir, and I get punished for it!'
Salma purred in sympathy as both boy and cub sloped miserably to his room while the sultana watched with guilt as they disappeared before trotting out to the garden calling out,
'Nadir, Nadir!'