This chapter is dedicated to Glitterpoison, faithful reviewer and first mate. lol. Hope you enjoy!
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The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon as Fassad made his way back into the palace gardens. The morning light glittered on the water fountains and the leaves and flower petals sparkled from the spray of water. Already the sun was beginning to heat the air and Fassad hurried into the palace, where he slipped in unseen.
Once in the palace he slowed his footsteps and watched the ground, his mind turning. Dameer had revealed to him her plan and despite his wanting to please Dameer, something sat unsteadily within him, causing him to second guess his own actions.
Soon Fassad found his way into the king's chambers, where he had been told to meet Bahram last night. The king was still in bed, though awake. He looked up slowly, his blue eyes dulled by the loss of his daughter.
"Fassad." he croaked, his voice crackly from dryness. A servant offered a glass of water which Bahram gratefully took.
"Any news of Xerxes yet? Or Amira?" Bahram asked. Fassad forced himself to meet the king's eyes as he lied.
"No your majesty." he said distinctly. Bahram nodded in acceptance and leaned back on his pillows.
"Tell the servants not to bother me today." Bahram said after a long pause. "I am feeling weak." With those last words he turned away and the servant left the room. Fassad bowed deeply and exited the room, his emotions mixed with worry and triumph. Had Dameer caught a twelfth girl already? Or was the king just weak from lack of sleep and healthy food? Secretly, a fact that even Fassad refused to acknowledge, he hoped it was just from lack of care.
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Amira and the rest of the girls returned to their imprisonment, tired and worn out. Amira looked about the room in which the ten other woman were imprisoned with her. It was very large, and there were twelve pallets laid out on the ground. The walls were the same dark marble as the room Amira had been placed in before and the floors were a polished grey.
Noting the twelve pallets, Amira counted the girls in the room, the total sum being eleven including her. She turned to her mother, who had prepared a pallet besides Amira.
"Why are their twelve pallets? There are only eleven girls?" Amira asked her mother quietly.
Malakeh looked closely at her daughter. "I am not sure." she replied truthfully. Amira nodded and lay her head down on the cushion. To her surprise the pallets were soft and warm, something Amira did not expect after being stolen from her home and kept prisoner. Slightly troubled, Amira eventually slid into a deep and dreamless sleep.
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Sahar took some of the leaves from Xerxes's hand and looked at them closer. They glittered despite the lack of light and seemed to emanate a light of their own. Sahar fingered them in wonder before pocketing several of them in her pouch, placing them besides Laheeb's lamp.
Damis looked ahead and glanced back at Sahar and Xerxes. He too was tempted by the beauty of the diamonds, but he felt an urgency to reach Amira, like something big was going to happen. He reached into his pouch and pulled out the invisibility cloak the old woman had given him. He motioned for Sahar and Xerxes to come over and they complied.
"We had best hurry, lest the guards return." he whispered. Sahar and Xerxes nodded in agreement. Swiftly Damis threw the cloak over the three of them, hoping that their feet would not stick out from under the cloak. At once Xerxes pulled it off, protesting.
"What do you think you are doing?" he asked in his pompous way. Damis sighed.
"This cloak will shield us from being seen." Damis explained. Xerxes squinted at him before letting the cloak be thrown back over his body. Together the trio made their way down the stone passageway that led through the diamond forest. They soon were presented with another door. Again Damis pressed his ring into a small indent and silently the door opened.
They stepped forward into a room that glittered bright gold. Damis shed the cloak and they three looked down the long passageway that Damis hoped would inevitably lead to another door, this time into where Amira was being kept. Xerxes forced air through his nose and sat down on a random rock and put his chin in his hands. He looked up at Damis and Sahar, who were waiting patiently for Xerxes to explain himself.
"We have been traveling forever." he moaned, his blonde hair falling in front of his blue eyes. "Can we rest?" he asked.
Damis glanced over at Sahar, who, though still standing seemed to be weary as well. Damis himself was tired, but he was afraid to rest, afraid something would happen while he slept. Sighing to himself he nodded.
"Alright. Let's rest." Xerxes smiled in triumph and the three found their way away from the stone path towards the back of the gold leafed forest. There Damis lay out his cloak and settled onto his back. Xerxes followed suit and was soon asleep, his snores echoing against the trees. Damis rummaged through his bag for something to muffle the noise and found cloth which he had used to wipe away sweat. Shrugging to himself he used the cloth to cover Xerxes's mouth, muffling the snores enough to content him. He leaned back and closed his eyes, imaging how Amira would react when he saved her…
Sahar placed her things a little farther away, trying to distance herself from Xerxes. She watched as Damis stopped fidgeting and turning before assuming he was asleep. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the diamond leaves she had harvested from the earlier forest. She placed them on her pallet which she had laid out and stared at them for a few moments. She then stood and walked over to the nearest tree, the gold leaves shimmering in the light. In the near darkness she squinted and looked up.
Standing on tiptoe she reached up her hand and gently pulled on several of the leaves. They came off easily, with a slight cracking sound. The leaves were indeed gold, hard yet malleable. Smiling to herself Sahar turned around to return back to her pallet.
The torches had suddenly gone out, and in the complete darkness Sahar heard footsteps. She turned about wildly, trying to find her way back. A hand reached out in front of her she began feeling her way in the direction she thought she came from. Another footstep was heard and Sahar froze, her heart beating heavy in her chest. She listened hard into the dark, yet nothing but the heavy silence could be heard. She let out the breath she had been holding and stepped forward, her arm still reached out in front of her.
She stumbled slightly as her foot caught on one of the small stones that protruded from the floor of the place. Her hand grabbed wildly in the air as she fell forward and grabbed a handful of fabric. Hands reached up and covered her mouth as she opened her mouth to scream.
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Dameer smiled as she watched the struggle in her water basin. Sahar had such a strong mind, it had been hard to find something that could enchant her. Yet Dameer knew the soft spot women had for finery and riches.
Dameer stilled the water and covered it with a black cloth, turning away from the basin. Sayad lay at her heels, her loyal servant. She wandered across the room to the bookshelf and ran her hands along the books and bottles stored there. Her hand stopped on one bottle, a tall thin one which held a black, iridescent liquid. Dameer lifted it and caressed it lovingly before placing it back on the shelf.
She didn't need the poison. She had her twelve dancing maidens.
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Reviewers: A disappointing two! Where is everyone else? No matter, I have decided to post regardless, so you who didn't review had better soon! lol.
monkeys-and-bananas76: glad you loved it, hope you love this one too.
Glitterpoison: heres your promised update.