Dear Reader,
Although this chapter could be better, I enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it. And, also, thank you for all your reviews and support! It was great to get all of the reviews whenI returned from Alaska!
-LunarLitLover
Preview for Next Time: Awakwardness between "the Princess" and Ali as well as life and traveling with the Bedouins
Recap: Admin and Ayska and their wedding party are on their way to Jiddah, when royal guards search their belongings for a missing diamond. They do not find the diamond, but recognize Yasmine instead and take her back to the Sultan, revealing her true identity in the process. She has reunited with her father, but does not wish to stay with him, for he still wants her to have a life of imprisionment. Ali, Admin and Ayska have decided, even though they are angry with Y/F's lies, they must rescue her.
Chapter 16: Ali al Din
Rescue with Relief
The activity in the royal camp was mostly dead when Admin, Ayska and I arrived. It was very quiet, with only the sounds of a crackling fire and restless camels. There was no movement that we saw, although we were fairly certain that there were guards around.
It was fortunate that the moon was new; otherwise, we surely would have been spotted miles away. The royals, or perhaps their knowledgeable advisors, had chosen their camp well; there were no massive dunes anywhere near it, which guaranteed that any newcomer would be spotted long before they reached the camp. In the daylight, anyway. As it was with us, we came in the dark of night, on a night lit with many stars but only a miniscule sliver of moon. And since there were only three of us, with a fourth hopefully to come, we only rode two camels, which made us more conspicuous. Undoubtedly, no horde of thieves or bandits traveled in such a small group.
It was due to Allah's grace with these factors that we made it to the edges of the camp without detection. We slid off the camels a few meters out and placed a small bit of food in front of them so they would stay put. We then headed into the camp.
All of us were wary and alert, perhaps even more so by the unusual lack of guards. However, there was a more pressing problem I had to wrap my mind around. How were we going to find the Princess? I could think of no solution to this problem that would include us leaving the camp undetected and unscarred. I knew no other way to discover the occupants of a particular tent than to open it up and look in. Obviously, this wasn't a great idea; we would surely wake up half the camp in such an attempt.
Luckily, fortune struck again. We had passed only the first row of tents when we encountered a guard. He was farther down the line of tents but headed our way. I, being in the lead, drew back and held my arm out to stop Admin and Ayska from continuing. They halted as suddenly as I had, and the three of us drew breath, sharply but quietly. The guard continued pacing, heading our way.
He came closer and showed no sign of stopping before reaching the tent we were on the side of. I began to panic; what should we do? We had no room to hide well, but we would have a chance to escape detection, but no guarantee, if we hid behind the tent. Yet there had to be a better way…
But miraculously,the guard stopped in his tracks a few tents before ours. I was puzzled at the reason for this, but that, too, was quickly provided.
A taller but thinner guard than the one who'd been near us came rushing from the center of the camp. He stopped before our guard and said, "It's time to rotate duty. They want you at the entrance to the Princess's tent."
Our guard nodded, and my heart leapt. This was our chance. But it was too dark for me to be able to tell the guard from many others; I could not wait and then hope to recognize him later. No, I had to follow him now if I wanted any chance at finding the Princess's tent. The only issue with this, of course, was the risk of getting caught.Such a riskwas quite high when I was running around a camp that had moving guards, while trying to follow one myself. Plus, I had to escape the detection ofthe otherguard nearly three meters in front of me. This would certainly be a challenge. Yet it was my best hope of finding the Princess.
When the stockier guard set out to the Princess's tent, I was prepared to follow, no matter where the other,thinner guard was. It turned out that I was lucky once more. As soon as the guard I'd pegged started out, the skinny guard turned around and began to pace in the direction opposite us. I gave no communication to Admin and Ayska, but set out after the stocky guard without a word.
My friendsdid not follow me, and I was relieved, for the three of us together certainly would have been caught at some point or another. I myself had a few near scrapes, one where I nearly walked right into a passing guard but slunk into the shadows just in time. I made it all the way to a large tent in the center of the camp when the stocky guard halted and took over the position of watching the entrance with another guard. I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I had been lucky to make it this far undetected. The ease was, in part, due to the fact that the patrols were not designed to catch one lone man, but aimed at protecting the important royals from thievery or kidnapping by a large group of bandits. Still, it was lucky that I'd made it to the center of the camp without one ill incident.
Now that I had reached my destination I knew naught what to do to actually get to the Princess. Fortunately, (Allah was truly shining on me this night) the solution came to me quickly. There were plenty of guards at the front of the tent, but none on any of the sides. They obviously only expected trouble from the official entrance. I knew there would be guards patrolling the nearby areas, but I thought I could act quickly enough to get away with it. The only issue left that I hadn't yet solved was Fatim - the Princess's – surprise. Upon my unexpected and unorthodox entrance, I might frighten or startle her; shemight possiblyscream and wake up half the camp. However, no matter which way I entered, this was a danger,but alsounavoidable; it was just a risk I was going to half to take.
My mind made up, I quickly sprinted between tents and made it to the back of hers. There was indeed a guard on that side but he was several tents away, with his back turned. Yet I knew I would only have a minute or so to get in, get her and get out. Even at that, I could easily be detected.
I cut the tent fabric quickly and quietly. Once I had made and opening big enough to slip through, I did just that. Upon entering the tent, I saw that it was elaborate and spacious; perfect for a princess. There was a bed of sorts in the center of the space and I was sure the Princess was resting upon it. It seemed she had remained asleep during my entrance, and I was grateful for this. Yet I was wrong, for in an instant she'd sat up straight and turned to face me. But no sound escaped her lips. I stood and began to make my way over to her, yet she seemed to recognize my silhouette, and was out of the bed and to my side before I'd even gotten within the distance for her to clearly see my face.
She had reached me, though, and we could then both see each other's faces fairly clearly. She looked unsurprised to see me, but still obviously relieved. I also caught the unmistakable signs of crying on her face; there were tear stains there and her eyes were a puffy red. It was then that I knew I'd done the right thing in coming back for her. She'd obviously been distressed at her return to her royal origins, and although my anger was great for her lie, I could not stand to see her suffer.
We said nothing to each other; instead, a silent understanding fell over us in those brief moments. I had come to save her; there was no question about that from either of us. And I knew she would follow my lead, no matter where it took us.
Although I felt both awkward and repulsed by the idea, I grabbed her hand to lead her out of her quarters and through the maze of tents. She followed obediently, her ears alert for any commands of mine and for forewarning whispers from any approaching guards.
We reached the edge of the camp with no problems, and I started out towards Admin and Ayska, who had mounted the camels and were waiting for us.
We were just past the very outer layer of tents when I heard movement behind us. I turned and saw it was a guard. He was as utterly shocked to see us as we were to see him,but it took him a moment too long to take action. I have no idea if he recognized the Princess or not, but he had enough sense to know that intruders sneaking around was a bad thing.
He opened his mouth to shout, but never got to it. I had seized his moment of hesitation; my knife was out in an instant and near his throat. "If you shout, I will kill you," I warned. His mouth shut immediately, and I looked at the Princess for conformation that I could still do what needed to be done; kill the man. Her eyes opened wide in shock and disapproval, but I knew I had to do it, or all of us would be caught and killed (with the exception of the Princess.) Yet I couldn't bring myself to do it; I couldn't kill the helpless man. Instead, I took my elbow and banged it against his head to knock him unconscious.
I knew he wouldn't be out for long, maybe only a half hour or so, yet I hoped it would be long enough for us to get far enough away. The rest of the wedding party had been warned as to our actions, and were hastily packing as we spoke. We intended to leave tonight and travel nonstop until we met the Bedouins; it was the only way we could prevent being caught up with by the royals. I only hoped the guard who could warn of our departure would stay out cold for a while and not be found too soon. Allah had given us much luck that night; I prayed he would bless us with a bit more.
After taking care of the guard, I jumped on the camel and grabbed Fatim – the Princess - by the waist to bring her up as well. With that, we set off at a hasty gallop to return to our camp.
Once we had cleared sight of the royal camp, the Princess spoke softly in my ear. It was a very seductive whisper, which caused my anger to melt a little, but it seemed manipulative and deceptive as well, so it also spiked my fury. However, her actual words were neither seductive or manipulative. They were honest and grateful. "Thank you so much, Ali, for rescuing me," she said sweetly."I cannot tell you what it means to me. You put yourself on the line for a traitor who had lied to you. I will never forget such kindness and unselfishness. Please accept my apology and my gratitude. Both come from the depths of my soul and the bottom of my heart." And with the conclusion of these words, she kissed me lightly on the cheek.
Yet I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon, and I did not respond to her words nor her gesture of affection.
I could not.
