Authors note:

Thanks for those of you who reviewed or put the story on alert. I hope there will be more reviews once the story picks up a little. Chapter 2 is on Keyla again but we're about to have our first encounter with Dastan and Tamina with the next update :-D. Hope you like it - please keep the reviews coming.

Now that she had made a decision, Keyla's mind started to work again and she realized with horror how carefree she had been to stay on the market for so long. The foreign traveler certainly was either searching for her or some guard he could tell his misfortune to. She needed to get away from here. As important as leaving for Alamut and confirming what she had just heard from the two women was to her, she needed to stay free to achieve that. Avoiding an arrest was the best way to achieve that.

She hated the fact that she had to take a direct route through the streets and alleys of the slums. A woman alone, especially one carrying this many groceries was an easy target. But being loaded with the merchandise she had bought, getting back the way she had come here - on rooftops - was not an option. She knew the streets of the slums, she had grown up there and she knew how to defend herself. Maybe she was just being paranoid anyway. It was a cliche that one could not enter the slums without being attacked or robbed. Actually most of the people living in this part of town were occupied enough already with taking care of their own every day struggle for survival as to care too much for other people. As long as they were left alone, they left everyone else alone. Of course there were always exceptions but Keyla was sure she would be able to avoid those.

What she needed right now was a plan - a good and a quick plan because she did not want to lose any more time. If the soldiers had actually come back bearing a message for the king and the two women on the market had been right and king Sharaman would be leaving for Alamut today, she needed to hurry. She wanted to be in Alamut before the king arrived, before that wedding - if there truly was one to be held - would take place. She needed to make sure before everything would be over. She needed a chance to talk...

It took her longer, which actually Keyla had no time for right now as she wanted to leave as soon as possible, but still she kept to the small back alleys to get back to her home. This way she barely ran into any of the citizens of this quarter of Nasaf and she reached the ruin that was her home without running into any trouble. Maybe she had been too nervous. She was actually surprised she had made it back here without any trouble from guards or thieves or other criminals. In all her life it had maybe happened four or five times that she had been close to getting arrested or had to fight of an attack from some sort of criminal pack. All in all her life had been pretty uneventful - at least in that regard.

In the alley that was right next to her house, Keyla pulled of the cloth she had used as a veil and made a crude bag out of it, stuffing all of her shopping items into it and then tied it around her upper body. The only way to get back into the house was through the trap door on th roof, which meant she had to get up there now. She would never be as careless to let the rope ladder down when she wasn't here, even if it would have been easier to get back home this way.

The house next to hers was a ruin as well - as it had been damaged when her place, or half of her place to be exact, had collapsed years ago - and nobody lived there any more. Keyla was lucky this way and it was one of the main reasons why she had chosen this spot as a place to live. Nobody ever came here and it was easily accessible without people actually noticing that she came and went. The staircase in the other ruin was still intact - at least to a certain extent, some of the steps were to weak to set foot on and some of them had already broken through.

But Keyla knew very well where to step to get up on the roof without injuring herself. She reached the rooftop of the house and reached for the small wooden board that lay right next to the edge of the roof. She adjusted it so that it was now forming a passageway between this and her house and carefully walked over it before pulling the board in on her side of the house and using the trap door and the ladder to get back to her room.

She pulled of her bag and emptied all it's contents on the cot, spreading them out. If only she had known about that wedding rumor earlier... Most of the things she had bought were pretty much useless on the trip she was planning to make. She could not take fresh fruit or vegetables with her but neither could she store them until she was back... With her newly found plan of leaving for Alamut, most of her shopping had been pretty pointless. Keyla sighed softly.

"Damn you, Dastan..."

Maybe it wasn't a completely lost cause, maybe she would be able to trade some of those things. If she wanted to get to Alamut and if she wanted to get their fast so that she would arrive before the king, she needed a good horse. It would have been safer to travel in a group, with a caravan of some sort, Keyla knew that but she couldn't do that. She didn't have the time... And apart from that she couldn't risk to travel with a guarded caravan, chances were that one of the soldiers or guards recognized her... It was too dangerous. Of course traveling all alone - especially as a woman - was dangerous as well but Keyla was willing to risk that.

Even though these were the slums of Nasaf, there were a couple of good places around here to trade and buy things. She knew of a merchant with his own stable, selling good horses very close to her living place. She knew a good horse when she saw one but getting this merchant to trade her a horse for the supplies she had bought maybe would be difficult... But she did not want to pay him in cash. The money she had stolen from the foreign traveler would be needed along the way. She couldn't spend it here... She could always steal a horse of course... Maybe that was the better solution... but that meant to wait until nightfall...

Keyla sighed and cursed again. She would trade the groceries she had bought for supplies she would need for her travels - food that would still be good if it had been packed into saddlebags for several days, water, blankets - and she would steal a horse and hopefully be able to leave the city through one of it's gates without getting arrested and losing a hand or even her head for her crimes. She had no time to lose... Keyla groaned softly, annoyance and frustration soundong from her voice and repacked her groceries before turning to the chest at the other end of the room. She didn't have many things to call her own but what little she had, she did not want to leave.

The only piece of jewelry she owned was a ring that had belonged to her mother and she had her father's sword, both of which she put down on the cot next to her shopping items. She changed again into a more sturdy pair of pants and a white linen shirt that was to wide for her - which was no surprise as it didn't actually belong to her. She packed a second shirt and pants and the only dress she had, a fine work of embroided silk that she had only worn once before... But if there was a wedding, proper attire seemed sort of necessary... A sarcastic chuckle escaped Keyla's lips thinking about that gossip again... It was just too unbelievable to be true... Maybe she would be making this whole trip for nothing... And if she did somebody would have to pay for it...

"Damn you, Dastan. You, your king, that stupid war and that princess..."

She took her two bundles with her groceries and her stuff, took the dagger and her father's swords, putting them onto the leather belt she had put on with her new attire and secured them. Would she have had a mirror she would have realized that she looked quite scary. Having her hair pulled up and hiding it underneath a dark bandana, with her sturdy clothes and her weapons she actually looked more like a young man than a woman. She was aware those clothes made her look more masculine. But for the trading she had still to do, this was a good thing.

She had one last look around the room she called her home before she climbed up the ladder to the trap door in the roof again. She felt like leaving all this behind but she knew that was an idiotic thing to think. She would be back in just a little while... Alamut and back here would take about eight to ten days, depending on how long she would stay in Alamut. It wasn't even two weeks and she would be back home... Keyla took a deep breath before closing the trap door and securing it. She took the board to walk over to the next house again and climbed down the staircase, getting out on the streets of the slums of Nasaf.

The merchant was a couple of streets away and there was an outpost of royal guards near the gate that lead out of the city. Those guards worked in four shifts, each of them for six hours, which meant that they would change shifts at noon. It was a perfect opportunity for Keyla to steal one of their horses. She knew the guards were provided with good horses and in the turmoil of the changing of the guard she had a good chance to get away with one of their horses without anyone noticing. At least she hoped so...

She walked the streets to the merchant's place where she wanted to trade her supplies and was surprised to find both grown women and especially children shying away from her. The glances she got from the men were half angry half threatened. It seemed she really left a rather... scary impression the way she looked now but she knew it was mostly due to her father's sword. He hadn't been a rich man but he had been a soldier in the Persian army and the sword she now called her own had been a gift from her father's commanding officer that he had given to him after a battle in which her father had saved said commander's life. It always made her grin sarcastically when she thought about how different her life would have been if her parents were still alive... She would have embraced the Persian royalty and bureaucracy, being a part of it more or less... Instead now she was fighting against it with everything she did in her daily life. To them she was a criminal after all and she was about to conduct yet another crime...

She reached the merchant's house and was surprised to find him so forthcoming when she entered. Maybe he was just as scared of her as the rest of the people out on the street and Keyla was glad to hear that apparently her clothes and the way she had been hiding her prominent features, fooled this man as well. He was mistaking her for a man as well.

"What can I do for you young master?"

"I came to trade those for supplies. I'm going... I have to travel east and I need food and water and whatever else is needed for such a trip."

"It would be easier to chose if I knew where exactly you were going. Would you tell me?"

"No."

The merchant seemed startled for a moment but he forced a smile on his face and nodded. He was definitely afraid of her... or of her weapons more so. At least that was what Keyla assumed. This was a good thing though. It would make trading easier for her. If the merchant was afraid she was dangerous and maybe even willing to fight him for what she wanted to have, he would hopefully be willing to trade what little she could offer him for some useful supplies.

"Let us have a look then."

She followed the merchant to his counter, making sure her father's sword always stayed in good view of the merchant's eyes. She certainly did not want him to forget why he was being so nice to her. She placed her bag of groceries on the counter and watched the merchant go through it. She could tell he had expected more and better things but he didn't say a thing. Instead he rummaged through his little store and came back with a couple of packages of dried fruit and meat, four bags of water and two woolen blankets. It wasn't much but it was all Keyla needed and it was actually more than she had expected to get for her groceries.

"That is all I can offer you."

"It's good. I'll take it."

"What about a horse?"

"Why? Do you have any?"

Keyla was actually surprised by the merchant's question. This was a store and she hadn't seen a stable nearby but then again she hadn't been looking out for one. If this man actually had horses - and given how afraid he had been of her so far - maybe she would be able to drive a hard bargain and get a horse without alarming the guards at the gates because she had stolen one. This would make her exit from the city way easier. Keyla eyed the man suspiciously and had to hide back a grin when he hurried to assure her.

"In fact I do. Do you want to have a look."

Keyla nodded her head and the merchant smiled a slick smile at her and lead the way to a backdoor of the store that was opening to the side of the building. Next thing Kelya knew, she found herself standing in a stable occupied by at least six horses. The merchant lead her to the entrance of the stable where a beautiful black stallion was tied to a medal ring on the wooden wall nervously prancing around. Keyla reached out a hand, gently caressing the horse's nostril and it calmed down almost immediately. Keyla smiled. It was a beautiful animal... She turned to face the merchant, her face all business again now.

"How much?

"The sword you're wearing."

"That sword is not for sale."

"Well then. 10 gold pieces."

Keyla had almost gasped when she heard the merchant's ridiculous price. She was already angry with him for having the audacity to ask for her father's sword but now he was only playing with her. It was a good horse but it certainly wasn't worth more than half the price the merchant asked for - and that was calculating in his favor. Keyla stared at him angrily and all of a sudden a plan formed in her head. She wanted that horse and she would get it - no matter what...

"I could buy at least for horses for that much money!"

"It is a really good horse!"

"How about I borrow the horse and bring it back when I'm done?"

"What?"

With one fluent motion, Keyla pulled her father's sword from her hip and rested it against the merchant's throat. She acted too quick for the man to even have a chance to counteract and he was just standing there, trembling, swallowing hard and trying to keep his rising panic under control. He succeeded but barely and Keyla could hear the fearful trembling in his voice when he finally found his speech again.

"How about it?"

"That... that sounds reasonable."

"Thank you good sir. Now turn around. Slowly."

The merchant stared at her with wide eyes but when Kelya put a little more pressure on his throat with the sword she was holding against it, he reacted instantly. She could tell he was afraid but she did not plan on killing him. Instead she rose her arm and forcefully let the sword's handle connect with them man's skull. It was the second time today that Keyla knocked down somebody and she knew she was being reckless. The foreign merchant would not be able to describe her and this merchant had taken her for a young man and probably would not go to the authorities anyway - he would not be a merchant in the slums of Nasaf if he could afford cooperating with the guards. But still she needed to be more careful. She wanted to get back here after all and she couldn't afford any trouble around here...

Keyla watched the merchant break down in his own stable right at her feet and stepped over him to get to the black stallion. The horse was remarkably calm like it had just watched the whole scene unfolding in front of it with interest. Keyla had to grin. This really was the perfect companion for her. She caressed the animal again and took one of the saddles at the opposite side of the stable, putting it on the horses back and securing it. She attached the harness and then put the supplies she had traded from the merchant on the back of the horse before untying the stallion.

"I think I'll call you shanse... And let's hope you'll actually bring me some luck..."

She patted the horse and then pulled herself into the saddle. The stallion was prancing again but only for a moment and Keyla had to grin as the horse carefully stepped over the merchant now. She had to bow down to pass through the stables door and then she was out on the street of the slums of Nasaf. The glances she got now seemed to be even more filled with fear now. It didn't happen very often that a traveler on a horse with weapons on his belt crossed the quarter. Keyla didn't pay any attention to the people though. She took the shortest path to the gate and arrived just when the guards were changing shifts. She was lucky. It was quite chaotic and nobody stopped her or even asked her a question. She passed the gate untroubled and was out of the city. Keyla took a deep breath. She was on her way...