While his unruly steed impatiently pawed the sandy ground with the hoofs, the sultan stern-facedly scanned the skies once more for a signal that was obviously never to come. This should have been the triumphant conclusion of a very successful campaign, though the army was now far from home and reliable supply lines, and the dreaded jungle fever had claimed too many of the soldiers to risk an open assault on this gigantic fortress without help from the inside. Even more bothering, the prince was nowhere to be found, and no one had seen him leave the camp last night. His only son such a coward? But then he had been so eager for battle just a day ago, even demanded to join the fray at the main gate to fight amongst the elite troops…
The sultan's musings were suddenly interrupted when one of the scouting patrols returned, escorting a young Indian woman in most exquisite clothes and the two menservants accompanying her before him. She was an outstanding beauty, and the golden rings she wore around her neck, arms and feet were definitely worth a fortune. While the servants put down the baskets they had been carrying and threw themselves to the ground, the woman looked him straight in the eye and nodded her head imperceptibly, raising her hands to greet him as was customary in this country
"My lord and father, the Maharajah, bids you and your men welcome to Jaipur oh mighty king Shahraman, your fame and tidings of your strength and your soldiers' bravery have indeed spread far ahead of you. My name is Farah, I am a princess of Jaipur, the Maharajahs only child and here to conduct you a message of my father: my lord wishes not to wage war against the powerful sultan of Persia and rather invites you as a guest and friend to come and eat at his table, as he understands you must be weary from your perilous journeys. Though you also be warned that the arrow you are waiting for is not to come. The traitor is dead, Jaipur is prepared and will not fall to you easily. I am to offer you these gifts as a sign of good will, even myself as a hostage, and until he hears your answer my father hopes you will treat me as a guest, as he assures you he does with your son in the meantime..."
"The prince?! What of my son?" the sultan interrupted her sharply.
"Your son is one of the noblest men I ever had the honour to meet" she responded with another bow, "and I owe my very live to his bravery and skill with the blade. He asked me to hand you this helmet of his, so you see it is only the truth I speak. Be assured that the prince is treated with befitting reverence and free to go as he pleases…"
"Then why isn't he with you?" Shahraman raged, drawing his sabre and waving it menacingly above his head "Do you believe me a fool? This smells like a trap!"
"To violate the right to hospitality is an abhorrent wrongdoing our gods would never forgive, no one would dare lay hand on you, if you decide to come in peace, for as long as you're under my father's roof. And of course, noble Shahraman, you might keep your weapons and bring any number of soldiers you feel necessary to guarantee your safety with you," Farah tried to calm the situation, desperately hiding her fear. She had done the best she could, now she prayed that the gods might smile upon her and everyone else in Jaipur to see another day.
There was a long pause as the king conferred with his counsellors on the matter, leaving the princess alone to her dread for what seemed to her an eternity, until Shahraman finally dismounted his horse to meet her on eye level,
"Well spoken, young lady. It is settled then" he announced, proudly throwing back his head "let the maharajah know that king Shahraman and fifty of his best men will come to his palace at sunset, we will eat, then we will talk."
…