Then, Ríma looked back at her niece and glowered. A hard amber stare glared at her.
Nalini’s skull tightened to a crack. Her vision spun. Her balance in the saddle began to fail.
Just answer me, aunt Ríma. Have uncle Talekh rule the Kingdom if he must. Just answer me. Please.
11
-Rule The Kingdom-
(Nalini)
“No blood needs to be spilt today,” Ríma said. “Provided the charges of treason against my husband are dropped and your son is placed into our care until he comes of age.”
Nalini’s guts twisted. Of all the demands Ríma could have made, this was the one Nalini had hoped she would not make.
“My husband and I,” Ríma continued. “Fear that Payam may be led astray by his father, or by the vice that grips the capital. For his spiritual wellbeing, we insist he come back with us to Date-Palm. He will be with family and cared for as an honoured guest.”
A hostage more like.
Nalini’s blood simmered. Her head pounded. Every sinew in her wanted to refuse her aunt conditions. To agree to them would mean that the witch had leverage over her. Moreover, Nalini could not just give into Ríma’s conditions either. That would give away the situation. “And the men you have gathered, what of them?” Nalini asked, repeating what she had practiced with Lord Krarim, with a flatness that betrayed the heat building up inside of her. “Indeed, what of the three thousand men that my brother lent you? Will you send them back to Flourish?”
Ríma smiled, but her smile was not as wide or as menacing as it had been only moments earlier. It lacked conviction, mirroring her lack of certainty. “His Majesty, Sultan Razilan, May He Be Worth of Abyar,” she said, slowly and carefully. “Gave them to me on the provision that we would declare a holy war to take back Zenith.”
A provision that you broke when you used them against the Crown.
“The Crown,” Ríma continued. “Still intends to conquer Abyar’s holy city, I hope? And if this is the case, it is best that the three thousand men he gave me remain under my husband’s command, so that…”
Nalini shook her head and Ríma trailed off. “Only the Sultan can declare a holy war,” Nalini said. “Until the new sultan is born and comes of age, no war can be or will be declared. You have no need, therefore, of those three thousand soldiers.”
Ríma pursed her lips and stared at her niece. “Where is your son?” she asked.
The pounding in Nalini’s head sharpened, like it were a knife stabbing her brain. She knew what she had to say, but to say it cut her as acutely as the piercing pain in her head. “Payam is in Flourish,” Nalini said. “Nevertheless, if you agree, I will have someone escort him to Fort Orchard within the month provided uncle Talekh takes his armies back to Date-Palm Port and, as he does, he leaves you and the Crown’s three thousand soldiers at Fort Orchard. There, we can do a swap. My son for the three thousand men. What say you?”
Lady Ríma flicked her eyes at the men and the dust clouds behind Nalini. She narrowed her eyes, like she had seen something.
Nalini’s stomach flipped. Her arm jerked and she tightened her grip on the reins to keep control of herself. If Ríma learned the truth now-
“Lord Talekh and I look forward to having your son as an honoured guest,” Ríma said, cordially. “I will await his arrival at Fort Orchard in a moon’s turn.”
Emotion tightened Nalini’s throat. She gulped, forcing everything back down inside her. She did not want this deal. Yet, what choice did she have? There was more at stake than her motherly sentiment toward her son. “Once the exchange takes place,” Nalini said, with as much dispassion as she could muster. “I will clear uncle Talekh of all the charges. You have my word.”
Lady Ríma gave her a wide, ominous smile that sent a chill down Nalini’s spine. “In a month,” Ríma said. “I hope we can put our misunderstanding behind us to bring stability to the Kingdom. May We Be Worthy of Abyar.”
Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? Ríma had tried to seize power for her husband, so that her son, Samu, would one day become the Sultan of Al-Jaraba. There was no misunderstanding at all. “I am sure we will,” Nalini said, instead, for diplomacy purposes. “May We Be Worthy of Abyar.”
Subsequently, Ríma nodded, before turning her camel around and trotting back to her husband’s armies. Nalini, though, stayed where she was.
When her aunt was two dozen paces away, Nalini let go of the reins that she still held tightly and exhaled. She had not realised, but she had been holding her breath.
The tension around her temples loosed. Yet, her body shook, her eyes watered, and her stomach rose to her gullet.
“You did it!” Emilio exclaimed, coming from behind. “You have a stomach of iron. You did it!”
Nalini gasped. Her husband… no-one could see her cry or vomit. Nalini wiped her eyes before the tears streaked down her face, and she swallowed the acrid puke in her mouth. “No, I don’t have a stomach of iron,” she said, tasting its acerbic contents, as Emilio halted beside her. “I don’t know how I did not give our situation away.”
“Your idea was genius!” Emilio said. “You made it seem like we had twenty thousand men with the amount of dust in the air! Whoever would have thought that dozens of camels with rakes, scraping dust enough to choke us, could fool an experienced military commander and an army double the size of the one facing them?”
Like a pendulum, emotional weight swung at her. Nalini wanted to respond, to state her appreciation for his words, to tell him the price they were going to pay. But she did not have the strength.
All that came to Nalini’s mind was what she had not been able to achieve. “But I did not defeat them,” she said. “In addition, I forgot to get my aunt to agree to stop enforcing Abyar’s harshest laws as part of the agreement.”
“Achieving everything that we want is never possible,” Pallab said, suddenly next to her. “Under the circumstances, how could you have done more than you did?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like I have compromised too much.”
“That is the nature of compromise,” Lord Krarim said, emerging between Pallab and her. “You were brave, Princess Nalini. More so than you realise.”
Brave? How? Nalini had only done what she could with the resources at her disposal. Somehow, she had managed to trick her aunt and get a precarious agreement out of it. That did not sound brave at all.
“You outwitted the best commander in the Kingdom without drawing a sword,” Lord Krarim added, as if he had read the question going through her mind. “You stood true to your principles, yet you made a hard sacrifice at the same time. There are few today who would have done that. Many more would rather fight and die in a vain attempt to get everything. You should be proud of yourself. You have saved thousands of lives, as well as the Kingdom from another fanatic on the throne.”
“I have only saved Al-Jaraba for a time,” Nalini said. “When Lord Talekh and Lady Ríma find out that they have been deceived-”
“We will be ready,” Pallab said, with his usual smirk and confident tone. “And hopefully by then my brother and your cousin will have dealt with the raids and skirmishes on the Kingdom’s western borders. Then, they will be able to back up the royal forces should Date-Palm come again.”
Nalini chewed on her lip and looked ahead again. Her aunt, uncle and their armies were riding east, disappearing into the horizon, back from where they had come.
Nalini exhaled again, and the pounding in her head lessened to a dull beat. “I hope you’re right,” she said. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about. “We’ll stay another night at the Azure Lake,” she added. “And we’ll light double the number of campfires necessary, just in case that witch convinces my uncle to change his mind and attack us. I don’t think that will happen. But we should make sure, all the same.”
Lord Krarim chuckled in a rare show of emotion. “Your father gave the same order during the revolt,” he said. “It seems you have learned more fr
om him than you give yourself credit for.”
Nalini smiled wryly. “I did spend much time beside his bed in the months before he died,” she said. “I could do little else but listen to him.”
“Everything he said could have gone over your head, too,” Lord Krarim responded. “But that is not the point. Since your arrival at court, whether as treasurer, war counsellor, or general vizier, you have worked hard, and have shown fairness and courage in testing circumstances. And you are the Sultan’s daughter. That is why, for the foreseeable future, until the new sultan is born and comes of age, we want you to rule the Kingdom.”
“Me!? But I can’t rule Al-Jaraba. I am a wom-”
“If any fanatic or fool questions your capability or right to rule,” Emilio interjected. “Remind them that nowhere does Abyar forbid women to be in positions of power. Even I know that much.”
Nalini opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to tell them that she had almost soiled herself whilst parleying with Lady Ríma; that she was unworthy of ruling the Kingdom of Al-Jaraba.
But emotion overwhelmed her again, and the words caught in her throat. “Thank… you,” she said. It was all that she could manage to say.
“Well,” Pallab said. “There is no point staying out here any longer. The sun will only burn us if we do. We should get back to the lake.”
Nalini wiped her eyes with her hand, as she would sweat on her brow, and nodded. Wordlessly, she pulled on the reins, turned her camel around, and began the ride back to the encampments.
“When we get back,” Emilio said. “We should give the men some cheer and open up the barrels of wine. I understand that believers of Abyar are not supposed to drink or celebrate when in mourning. But we are all still here, alive. Considering the odds even an hour ago, that is reason to celebrate. Don’t you agree, Nalini?”
Nalini internally groaned. The thought of drinking and celebrating ached her. Her body hurt, like every muscle were bruised; and her head swam, like it had been filled with water. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her hut, lie down and sleep; to shut out the world for a while and put an end to her pain.
Moreover, she sensed that she would need to rest as much as she could, and recover her strength. She had little doubt that, soon, her aunt and uncle would return; and then Nalini would need to come up with another creative way to stop Date-Palm from seizing power.
Nevertheless, for the umpteenth time in recent months, Nalini decided against speaking her truest thoughts. Instead, she sought a compromise. “When we return to the capital,” she said. “A cup of wine would be a lovely way to celebrate.”
Author’s Note & Acknowledgements
Dear Reader,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for purchasing The Sultan’s Daughter and for reading it. I am humbled, truly. I have dreamed, prayed and yearned for the day that I would publish a book since I was fifteen, more than half a lifetime ago. Now that that day is finally here, I just want you to know how appreciative I am to have you as a reader. So, thank you again. You have helped me to fulfil a lifelong goal.
As a story is meant to entertain, I sincerely hope that you enjoyed The Sultan’s Daughter. I also hope that you believed in Nalini as a character, and that you felt that her journey was genuine and plausible.
In addition, as I believe that a tale should have a moral to it, I hope that you can take something from the story. I’ll be honest, I wrote The Sultan’s Daughter with a moral message in mind. But now is neither the time nor the place for me to say it. For the moment, I would rather you interpret the story as you see it. In my opinion, that is what art is for. So, if Nalini said or did something during the narrative that inspires you in a positive way, I will be very happy and honoured.
Now, I would like to thank the people who did their bit to bring The Sultan’s Daughter to life. I will start with Martin from Cover Art Design, who created the front and back covers for me, as well as the book’s marketing materials. With regards to the front cover, he surpassed all my expectations. I may have given him directions on what I wanted, but he took the image I had in mind to another level and made it more beautiful than I could have imagined. So, Martin, thank you! (I have left Martin’s links in the contact me section, at the end. Suffice to say, have a look at his work when you have a moment as he’s so talented. Plus, if you are looking for someone to create a cover for you, look no further.)
Next, I would like to thank Vanessa Garland, who drew The Chartered Map for me. Like Martin, she has done an amazing job and deserves all the praise she gets. (Again, Vanessa’s links are in the contact me section. Take a look at some of the other brilliant maps she has created. Similarly, if you need a map drawn for your fantasy world, turn to her.)
Going slightly back in time, I would like to thank the Cornerstones Literary Consultancy for finding me my former mentor, Sophia McDougall. Sophia was integral to my development as a story writer. She showed incredible patience with me years ago while we discussed another fantasy series that I am still working on. Sophia’s ideas, insights and suggestions were invaluable. Indeed, she transformed the way I write for the better (especially, by coincidence, when it comes to fleshing out female characters). I should also add at this point that Sophia is an author, herself. She has written the terrific Romanitas trilogy. Please, check out her books as well.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family, friends, family friends and relatives for their unwavering love, support and encouragement over the years. They have all given me the foundation upon which to achieve my ambitions. I wouldn’t want to think about where I would be without them.
P.E. Gilbert
2nd July 2020
Points For Discussion
1) What is the moral of The Sultan’s Daughter?
2) What do you think are the subliminal messages within the story?
3) How would you approach entering into negotiations if your hand were as weak as Nalini’s?
4) If you were Nalini, would you have retreated at the Azure Lake, or would you have gone ahead with her risky tactic of deception?
5) To what extent do you consider Nalini’s agreement with Ríma a success?
6) If you were Nalini, would you be happy with the compromise she reached with Ríma? If not, what would you have done differently?
7) Do you consider Nalini a ‘strong’ character?
I gave all of these questions considerable thought as I planned, wrote and revised The Sultan’s Daughter. I would be greatly interested to hear your thoughts on these questions.
About The Author
P.E. Gilbert is from London, United Kingdom. He studied history as an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham and then spent the next decade writing a fantasy series, making a boatload of mistakes and learning his craft.
Now, he is a blogger, YouTuber and writing consultant, wherein he gives writing tips, using practical examples from fiction and fantasy, to help others create more engaging stories. The Sultan’s Daughter is his debut novella.
Contact P.E. Gillbert with any questions, comments or to discuss his writing consultant services in the following ways:
YouTube – P.E. Gilbert Author
Instagram – @pegilbertauthor
Facebook – P.E. Gilbert Author
E-mail – [email protected]
Blog – http://paulsfantasywritings.com
Website – www.pegilbert.com
Contact Martin
If you liked the cover design and are looking for someone to make a cover for your book, please contact Martin from Cover Art Studio in any of the following ways:
Instagram – @cover.art.studio
Email – [email protected]
Website – https://www.coverartstudio.com/
Contact Vanessa
If you liked the design of the map and are looking for someone to create one for your world, please contact Vanessa Garland in any of the following ways:
Instagram - @v.j.garland
&nbs
p; Email – [email protected]
Write A Review
Please could you write a review of The Sultan’s Daughter on Amazon? I am a self-published author and every review helps.
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