Dear Reader,

This chapter is very short, as is the next one. Unfortunately, they are both essential, for it has been a long while since we have heard from Ja'far and Nazihah about their thoughts on current events.

-LunarLitLover

Preview for Next Time: Nazihah's feelings about the Princess's escape and her new type of servitude to Ja'far

Recap: Yasmine has been rescued from the Sultan's camp by a angry Ali and company that finally know Yasmine's true identity as the Princess.

PART THREE

Chapter 17: Ja'far

Positioning People and Preparing Plans

Princess Yasmine has escaped again.

Sultan Zaim was furious once more, but this time he was even angrier with himself for letting it happen. The guards were also livid because she escaped, and with the aid of outsiders, from under their noses. However, my party of servants was happy about Yasmine's departure; they get their large tent back. The cooks were also contented with the disappearance of the Princess; they had not looked forward to feeding another picky royal.

I myself am not sure how I feel about her leaving. Her surprise arrival certainly did not please me; here was a returned royal that I would now have to dispose of. So I suppose seeing her gone again is a bit of a relief, yet this time I know she is certainly not gone for good. I am sure she will be caught again. Eventually, probably sooner as opposed to later, she will return, and be reinstated to her place in line for the throne. Then, I will not only have to get rid of Zaim, but of Yasmine too in order to become the Sultan. Such a thought certainly does not appeal to me.

But at least now I get time to plan and prepare. If Yasmine was still with this royal party, the pace of her marriage and ascension to the throne would speed up. As it is, with her departure, there has been a delay in these proceedings. I can use this time to position my people and prepare my plan.

Of course, I will have to adapt and change my plan. I must now configure a cunning princess and a vigilant Sultan into the equation. Now that the two royals have aged and learned some valuable lessons, they will be a bit harder to deal with.

All these thoughts flying in my head, I got quite a headache. I needed to forget about the stress for a while, for none of the matters were extremely pressing. In order to do so, though, I needed a distraction. I saw the slave Saihah moving around gracefully and saw a perfect distraction.

"Out," I ordered to my servants. "OUT! Except for you Saihah."

Saihah stopped and looked at me. It seemed for a moment as if a look of sadness entered her gorgeous eyes, but it was gone before I was certain of it. She sat on the bed, knowing exactly what I wanted from her. As soon as all of the other servants left, I crawled on top of her. I let out all of my physical and mental stress onto her. It felt wonderful; even after all these months, she was still my favorite bedmate.

My headache had quickly evaporated. In the late night, I arose from the bed and began to make my plans.