The sun was hot on his back as Sirius strode towards the small city. It wasn't as big or as crowded as Cairo but it still had all the necessities, and a few other things that weren't so much of a necessity. He knew the way to the little stall by heart, having pestered the young girl everyday since his first visit. His sandaled feet showed the way, a bouquet of Nile lilies in one hand. Today would be the day that shy young woman told him her name. He was whistling softly to himself, not looking forward, but as his head tilted up, the sight that greeted him made him stop short, the smile dying on his face. The stall looked as if it had been ransacked, the tables overturned, the handmade jewellery scattered across the packed sand. A woman dressed in a hijab knelt, weeping into her hands, while an older gentleman tried to comfort her. Something was definitely wrong, the young girl was nowhere to be seen. Sirius knelt beside the woman, the lilies forgotten.
"What happened…?" Sirius reached out to touch the woman but the man swatted his hand away. In broken English, his accent thick the man scowled down at Sirius.
"Leave, not your business. Family."
"Please, sir…What happened to the young girl that works here?"
At his words the woman started wailing, "They've taken her!!! My Little Kiya! They've taken her!"
"Who? Who's taken her?" But Sirius could get nothing else out of the woman, her cries echoing around the bazaar.
Feeling useless and out of place, Sirius stood, stepping back a few steps, his mind racing, trying to find some way that he could help this poor couple and their daughter. There wasn't really much he could do, in a strange land he didn't understand all the customs and traditions of.
"Psst…young man!" A weasely voice sounded behind him and Sirius turned, a small man in a red fez, the black tassel hanging in front of his face beckoned to him. The man looked more like a rat then a weasel. With his whisker-like moustache and jittery demeanour he reminded Sirius of Worm-tail in mid-transformation. "You want to know where the girl is, yes?" The man rubbed his hands together and nodded as he talked, as if he already knew Sirius' answer…which he probably did.
"Tell when where she is…and who's taken her."
The man tsk-ed with a shake of his head, the tassel flopping about as his head moved. "Such an impatient young man. I know where she is. And I will tell you…" An oily smile spread across his face, "For a price."
Sirius opened his mouth to say he wasn't going to pay the man a cent, but found himself asking "how much" instead. He reminded himself that he was now the proud owner of several vaults at Gringots. The wizarding money held within their depths had been collected by the Black's for years, and most of it was probably blood money. Even if Sirius became a frivolous spender, there would be no chance of spending it all in his lifetime. The least he could do was try and use it for some good. The man seemed to be overcome by glee, rubbing his hands together again.
"How much?" Sirius repeated again, his voice was hard, none of his normally casual demeanour remained.
"Three of those gold coins you carry in your pocket."
Sirius raised an eyebrow at the man's knowledge. Indeed there were galleons in his pocket. He carried a few with him just in case he came upon a wizarding shop. But he'd yet to take them out of his pocket, which meant that this small man must have gone in there for him.
"I'll give you one now, one after you tell me where she's been taken, and one after I've gotten her back." The coins were solid gold and where quite a bit larger then regular muggle coins. Sirius knew for a fact that they were worth far more to the muggles, then they did in the wizarding world, having hawked off a few during summers spent with James.
"No deal! All now or no information!" Sirius was no fool and had proven it, upsetting the man who now understood that Sirius was not an easy score.
"Suit yourself." Sirius kept his voice calm, his face neutral, it seemed there were benefits from being a Black after all, the ability to show a lack of emotion. "I'm sure there will be someone around here who will accept my offer." Sirius made to turn and leave but the man held him back, his bony hand surprisingly stronger then it looked.
"Fine, deal sir…I accept your offer." With his hand still on Sirius' arm, the man led the boy through a few winding streets. "I'll do you one better…I'll show you where she's kept. There's not much time if you want to get her back."
"Not much time? Where has she been taken?"
The man cackled gleefully, "You do not know our ways young man. You are still innocent. Her parents, the merchants refused to pay Abdul Singh…He's a very wealthy and powerful man, who offers the merchants protection from thieves and brigands. Everyone knows that the thieves themselves work for Abdul." The man gave a shrug, "But such is life here. You want to continue business around here, you want to protect your merchandise, you pay Abdul. They refused to pay, their daughter was taken in payment. She'll fetch a nice price in the slave market. Her parents will not have to pay Abdul for quite sometime after he's made a profit off of the girl."
"Slave pits! They're selling her?" Sirius was shocked, this sort of thing did not happen in England, the servants were willing, well, the human ones, and the house elves were given a slight amount of freedom depending on their owners, but to have actual slave pits? He'd heard about it, knew that it went on in certain countries, but had not expected to be a part of it.
The alleys twisted and turned, making Sirius become quite lost after only a few minutes. Without the steady grip of the man beside him, he'd have no idea where to go. He'd have to offer him a few more galleons to take them back to the bazaar. Suddenly the small man stopped, pulling Sirius into a dark alcove. He pointed one gnarled hand up ahead to what looked like a dilapidated building. It was made of the same yellow sand-like material as the rest of the small city but seemed even more run down, chips and cracks showing in the sand coloured walls. Two burly men stood on either side of the doorway. They were dressed in the traditional garb but with one difference, at their hips hung great black rifles. Sirius didn't know enough about muggle guns to know what type, but he knew they could do quite a lot of damage.
"There, is the realm of Abdul Singh. I will take you inside." He looked Sirius up and down, "I have the feeling that you will not succeed in this task without me. Can you speak Arabic?"
"No…I've not been here long enough."
The man tsked and shook his head again, "Then I shall translate for you. Well get the girl…and you can pay me my third coin."
Staring at the building Sirius spoke, "I'll give you two more if you escort us back to the market." He couldn't very well Aparate with Kiya in tow.
"Very good, very good. My family shall eat well for weeks. Please, allow me to go speak with the guards."
The man slipped out of the alcove and walked towards the two men. He lifted his hands, the billowing sleeves of his clothes moving to show that he hid nothing up his sleeves. The two men trained their guns on him. In rapid Arabic, the three men exchanged words while Sirius watched from the shadows. He had no idea what has happening. For all he knew the small man could be telling the guards that they need only kill Sirius to find all the gold they needed. He cursed softly and made a note to learn their ruddy language. The man turned and beckoned to Sirius who cautiously moved away from his hiding spot. The two guards were smiling as they allowed Sirius to pass inside the darkened doorway. It wasn't exactly the welcome he had been expecting.
"What did you tell them?" Sirius whispered to the small man.
"I said that you were looking for your first concubine. You plan on building a harem that they will be allowed to visit." The man was smirking.
"But I'm not planning – "
"They don't need to know that. Come." Once again, the man led the way, seeming to know exactly where to go.
"It seems you've been here before."
"Many times…it's where I met my first wife."