Dear Reader,
This chapter, like many of the last ones, was put together in a hurry, and could be better. I think it's not bad, though, and I hope you enjoy Ali's feelings about being betrayed by Fatima/Yasmine. Also, be happy, because I am in Alaska and actually got online to update. However the next one won't be until I get back. But enjoy this one!
-LunarLitLover
Preview for Next Time: The mission and coping with the change
Recap: Yasmine was recognized by a guard and taken back to the Sultan. She has no means of escape on her own and regrets her lie now. Ali, Admin and Ayska were shocked by the news that their Fatima is Yasmine.
Chapter 15: Ali al Din
An Angered Argument
The Princess? Fatima is really the Princess!
I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't. I had lived with this woman for nearly a year, saved her life and cared for her! Yet I had no idea she was the Princess! I was angry at her for hiding such a large secret, but I was angry at myself, as well, for not asking more about her past and for not noticing the fact that she was concealing such a giant fact from all of us. See, none of us knew; not even Ayska.
As the troop of horses took her away to the northeast, our entire group stood at the camp's edge to watch. All of us were shocked beyond belief, and waited to disperse until the royal group was out of our range of vision.
It was now dark and most of the others congregated near the fire to eat and gossip about what had just happened. I had wanted to join them all, but the conversation had not turned in a direction I favored.
"…she was with that Ali al Din…"
"…they have been living together for some time, if you know what I mean…"
"…I hear she's remodeled the place, but I wonder what else she's been doing there…"
"…thePrincess and a commoner…"
"…I mean the Princess, the actual Princess…"
"…I wonder what a woman like that saw in him…"
My face got redder and redder as I walked around the fire. I decided that I did not want to be stared at and talked about any longer, so I retired early. I entered the tent I had shared with Fatima – I guess that's not her real name, so then, the Princess – Admin and Ayska, to find both Admin and Ayska there, drinking Shai tea in privacy.
I began to draw back, but then Ayska saw me and said, "No, Ali. Join us. We were discussing Fatima."
"Big surprise," I replied sarcastically as I sat down. "But her name's not really Fatima, is it?"
"Well, she told us that that was her mother's name, which may be true," Ayska replied. "But she also did tell us to call her Fatima and I will do so until told otherwise."
Admin grinned and shook his head.
My face was getting hot. It was as if Ayska was not blaming Fatima – the Princess - at all. "It seems like you're letting her off the hook, Ayska."
"Of course I'm not! She lied to us and should be held accountable for that. But I do also understand why she did what she did."
"So do I!" I yelled. "She did it because she couldn't trust us! And because she wanted to use us!"
"Use us! Ali, be reasonable! What in Allah's name would she need to use us for?" Ayska counter-argued.
"Well, for medical help!" I yelled back. "And for a place to stay!"
"She could have gone any number of places for those things, Ali! But I think she was grateful to you for saving her, and so she hung around until she got to know all of us really well. She may not have the same name as we knew her by, but we still know her! She is still our friend!"
"How can I be friends with someone who's lied to me and who doesn't trust me!" I screamed.
"I don't think she lied because she couldn't trust you," Ayska replied.
I looked at her puzzled. Admin just sat near us quietly, keeping out of the argument.
"I think she probably couldn't trust you at first because she didn't know you, so she lied. She ran away for a reason and didn't want to be turned back in; it was in her own interest she did that. I think she had every intention of telling us the truth once she got to know us, but that is often easier said than done. We already knew her as one person, and I don't think she wanted to disrupt the peace by completely changing everything. I also don't think she wanted us to change our minds about her or treat her differently. I bet she was thinking of telling us soon, after the wedding, perhaps, but obviously, didn't get the chance. But I don't think she ever expected the lie to go on this long. And, after all, she has sort of become Fatima. I mean she's not really the Princess anymore, is she? So Fatima is like the name for her other self."
"So you think all these reasons excuse the lie?" I accused again.
"Ali, again, no, I don't. I think she needs to explain and repent that mistake. All I'm saying is I understand it - it makes sense what she did."
"Well, not to me," I replied nastily, fast running out of good arguments.
"Just think of yourself in the same situation, Ali. You're a royal who hates life like it is, so you leave and try to incorporate yourself in the normal culture. Your father wants you back and is searching the streets for signs of you. You are not about to tell the first person you meet your true identity. So you lie. And then you have to keep up the lie. And then the lie is so large that turning around and undoing it is much harder than continuing with it, so you do that for a while. And before you know it, it's too late."
When Ayska put it that way, it made much more sense. Maybe Fatima – the Princess – had been doing the smart thing after all. But that still left the situation of her and me. It was illegal for a princess to be associated with anyone before marriage, and when she did marry, it would have to be to a prince. Being with me violated both of those laws. Yet it had been her who'd started it all; she was the one who'd kissed me after Admin and Ayska's party. And she'd seemed happy when we were together, and had even said that the best times of her life were the ones with me.
Yes, I supposed, I did truly know her, even if I didn't know her real name. And she was precious to me, no matter who she was. And with this resolution, I knew there was only one thing for it.
We had to rescue her.
