Protecting the Desert Princess

by Carol Marinelli

  Zahid did what he knew he should not: he handed Trinity his phone.

  Trinity almost flew from the second palace. She chatted politely with the King for a few moments and then asked how Layla was.

  ‘She is very…’ The King halted. ‘Layla has accepted all her punishments instead of fighting me.’

  ‘Can I speak with her?’

  ‘Of course—she is not a prisoner.’

  Trinity smiled at Jamila, who opened the door of Layla’s room as Trinity approached.

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more,’ Layla said. She was lying on her stomach, reading the card Mikael had sent with the flowers. ‘If I do I will cry, and I don’t want to be sad when I think of him. I have this.’ She handed Layla the card. ‘This makes me smile.’

  ‘Do you want me to read it to you?’ Trinity offered.

  ‘No, Mikael did, and I remember every word. “Layla, thank you for an amazing end to a difficult day and an even more amazing night. Mikael.” And he gave me three kisses.’

  Trinity smiled, but then frowned at the ‘amazing night’ part. ‘I thought the doctor said…?’

  ‘Trinity…’ Layla would let her in on a very big secret! ‘You don’t have to have sex to have an orgasm—there are other things you can do.’

  ‘I’ll bear it in mind.’ Trinity laughed—she just loved Layla.

  She handed her Zahid’s phone.

  ‘You wanted to speak with him one more time,’ Trinity said as Layla stared at it. ‘Mikael just called Zahid to see how you were and asked if he could speak with you.’ She put the phone down on the bed. ‘I will go out on the balcony.’

  Trinity couldn’t hear the words, just the love and tears in Layla’s voice as she tried to be brave and not break down, as she tried to sound upbeat for Mikael.

  It was enough to make Trinity cry as she did her best not to listen to one side of their final conversation…

  * * *

  When his phone rang and he saw that it was Zahid Mikael answered it on the first ring—and then nearly folded when he heard Layla’s voice.

  ‘Mikael.’

  ‘Layla.’ Thank God. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Of course I am.’

  ‘How was your father?’

  ‘Disappointed, cross. I am to choose a husband tomorrow…and I cannot use my computer ever again. But I will work on that soon. Trinity has smuggled me Zahid’s phone. This will be the last time we speak.’

  ‘Don’t say that.’

  ‘It will be,’ Layla said, and knew, for his sake, that she had to somehow keep this a little light—for even Mikael could not fix this. ‘Our minds might meet now and then, but we won’t speak or see each other again.’

  Mikael frowned. Was she talking about dreams?

  But Layla had changed the subject. ‘How is work?’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about work. What do you mean, our minds will meet?’

  ‘You will work it out,’ Layla said. ‘Now, I want to know about your work—how is it?’

  ‘Nauseating,’ Mikael admitted. ‘I’m crossing to the other side.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘Prosecuting the bastards.’

  ‘Go you…’ Layla smiled.

  ‘How are your students?’

  ‘I am banned from teaching at the moment. After the wedding perhaps I will get to teach again, but I don’t think so.’

  ‘Layla?’ he asked, and she closed her eyes at the depth of his voice. ‘Did I look after you?’

  ‘Beautifully.’

  ‘Is there anything you regret?’ he said, for he worried that they might have gone too far.

  ‘Just one thing,’ Layla said. ‘That I laughed when you proposed. Mikael, I laughed only at the impossibility, not the sentiment.’

  ‘Can I please speak to your father?’

  ‘You will not get a fair hearing.’

  ‘I thought he was a fair man?’

  ‘Not about this,’ Layla said. ‘There is something else I regret—that I did not let you say I love you and that I did not tell you that I love you, and that I shall for the rest of my life.’

  Mikael felt his heart squeeze in pain, and then the knife in it twisted as she continued.

  ‘I wish you had been my first. Then I could perhaps have been punished and made a spinster…’

  ‘Layla…’

  ‘I have to go. Jamila is knocking at the door. Abadan laa tansynii,’ Layla said.

  ‘I’ll never forget you either,’ Mikael replied.

  ‘And I will love you for ever,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll love you for ever too.’

  Mikael’s answer was honest. His response immediate.

  He walked out and past Wendy and gave a shake of his head that said not now.

  He went straight to his car and smiled at the scratched paintwork before gunning it to the airport.

  Layla loved him.

  Which meant he was going to Ishla to plead his case.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  ‘RETURN OR ONE-WAY?’

  ‘Return,’ Mikael said, and then changed his mind, for he could not imagine returning without Layla by his side, and in dark superstition he said, ‘One-way.’

  ‘It’s actually cheaper to buy—’

  ‘False economy,’ Mikael interrupted. ‘I’m going to be fed to the dogs when I get there.’ As he had with Alina, Mikael smiled again at another woman who was not Layla—for that was what Layla had done. She had been in his life for less than a week but, despite the pain of living apart from her, in ways he was happier than he had ever been for she made the world a nicer place.

  ‘Enjoy!’ The stewardess smiled back and handed the good-looking man his first-class one-way ticket to Ishla.

  Mikael would not be enjoying the flight.

  He would be working the hardest that he ever had in his life.

  He asked for sparkling water with lime—their first drink.

  And he asked for a peeled and finely sliced apple and raspberries.

  He knew that he worked better hungry.

  As he prepared for the biggest case of his life he had no distractions. He would focus purely on Layla, on every meal, every conversation they had ever had—and he did.

  He went over and over it all in his mind, honing in on words, recalling with intricate detail every conversation that had been shared, and he worked out, too, who he might have in his defence.

  Trinity was a given, Mikael immediately decided, for she had smuggled the phone.

  Zahid?

  He loved his wife and had caused controversy himself, given that Trinity had been pregnant when they’d got married, and with Trinity buzzing in his ear… Mikael asked for more water and recalled proud Prince Zahid close to tears when he had been reunited with Layla and knew that he loved his sister.

  Yes, he had Zahid.

  But it was Layla’s father, the King, whose consent he required.

  What did Mikael know?

  He remembered Layla’s eyes filling with tears, for her father was sick.

  Noted.

  It wasn’t enough, though, Mikael knew. There was something he was missing—there just had to be more.

  Jamila?

  He thought of the old lady, who must surely love Layla, but she was set in her ways and would perhaps want tradition to be followed.

  There was something missing, but Mikael did not know what. He was going into the biggest fight of his life and yet he felt unprepared.

  Mikael pulled out his wallet and stared at the piece of paper she had given him and the dots and swirls that had proved so hard to decipher.

  Intensely private, he did not like to ask for help, and he had done his bes
t to work her words out for himself, quite content to spend the rest of his life learning Arabic if that was what it took. But now Mikael needed every detail.

  When the stewardess came round to ask if he would like his bed prepared for sleep, Mikael shook his head and said that he would be working through the flight.

  ‘Would you mind translating this note for me?’

  ‘Of course.’ She read it and smiled. ‘“Don’t ever forget me”,’ she said. ‘It is a love saying,’ the stewardess explained. ‘Then it reads, “Wahashtini Malikah”, which means I miss you, Queen.’

  ‘Princess, perhaps?’ Mikael checked.

  ‘No.’ The stewardess shook her head. ‘That would be Wahashtini Ameera.’

  It didn’t make sense, but Mikael tried to work it out with the stewardess’s help. ‘Could it mean: I miss you, from your Queen?’ Mikael frowned, for Layla had never said that in marrying Hussain she would one day be queen.

  ‘No.’ Again the stewardess shook her head. ‘I don’t really understand what is being said—just that it reads, “I miss you Queen”.’

  It was then that he understood her words.

  His heart was thumping in his chest as he took the small note back and stared at it with a smile.

  Clever, clever Layla, he thought. So that was what she’d meant about their minds meeting at times…

  It was her online chess name, Mikael was positive about that, but more than that—more than a future meeting of minds—he was starting to see that it was the Queen who was missing in his argument.

  The Queen who, despite her absence, was still a huge presence in Layla’s life.

  A queen who had apparently been very similar to the daughter she had never met—a woman Layla herself had said would approve of her plans.

  Mikael rested back in his seat and closed his eyes for a moment as his thoughts started to align.

  If she had been like Layla it must have killed the King to lose her. Mikael was certain of that, for in the days since Layla had been gone, despite the joy she had brought, his heart had closed, his curtains had been drawn, and the world seemed a very dark place.

  Mikael recalled Zahid’s words in chambers when he had told Layla off about Jamila.

  ‘That so-called lowly servant held you the day you were born. That lowly servant loved you when your parents…’

  Zahid had halted.

  Now Mikael was starting to understand Zahid’s hesitation.

  In his grief, had the King turned his back on his daughter?

  Did Layla not even know that he had?

  As the plane began its descent still Mikael continued working, examining every angle, refusing to let up as he prepared for the most important case of his life.

  The plane was on its final approach, but Mikael saw not the desert or the ocean, nor the clusters of buildings and streets, but the huge palace that looked out to its people.

  In there was Layla, preparing to choose the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life.

  It had to be him.

  He had to be right.

  The plane landed and the passengers disembarked, and Mikael was searched at Customs and asked the reason for his visit to Ishla.

  ‘I have heard it is a very beautiful land.’

  ‘You have no luggage.’

  ‘I want to wear robes,’ Mikael said. ‘I would like to blend in.’

  A female customs officer was going through his wallet and pulled out Layla’s note. She looked to Mikael. ‘Do you know anyone in Ishla?’

  ‘I have a friend who I play chess with,’ he said, and told himself not to break out in a sweat. He told himself not to falter or blink or react as the officers chatted in Arabic and laughed for a moment.

  ‘You are here for romance?’

  ‘Hopefully,’ he said, wondering if it was the right answer, if he would even get into the country, if this was the end of the line.

  ‘Enjoy your stay in Ishla,’ the female officer said, and handed the wallet back to him.

  He arranged a hire car and then stepped out into the fierce sun. But before heading to the palace he rang Zahid. As expected it went straight to voicemail.

  ‘I am in Ishla.’ Mikael left a message. ‘I suggest that next time you pick up.’

  He gave it five minutes and then called Zahid again.

  This time his call was answered.

  ‘It is better that you stay away,’ Zahid said, by way of introduction.

  ‘I am not staying away,’ Mikael said. ‘I am here to speak with your father.’

  ‘I cannot suggest strongly enough that you get on a plane and leave now.’

  Zahid was speaking the truth. If his father found out that Layla had been in any sort of relationship while overseas then all hell could break loose—not just for Mikael, but for Layla.

  ‘You need to leave Ishla.’

  ‘That is not going to happen without my first speaking with your father,’ Mikael said.

  Zahid looked over to Trinity and then looked away.

  ‘My sister chooses her husband this day.’

  ‘Then I need to speak with your father before she does—and you shall arrange it.’

  Zahid’s jaw gritted. There were few who would speak to him like that, and his temper was starting to rise at Mikael’s arrogance.

  ‘It is not just my father you need to speak with.’ Zahid’s voice was black with anger. ‘Layla is my sister and you will speak with me and explain yourself. How dare you lie to me and tell me she was nothing but an inconvenience? I want to know exactly what went on. I will send a car to collect you.’

  ‘No need.’ Mikael’s smile was also black, for he did not trust Zahid not to have him driven out to the desert and left there. ‘I’m in a car and on my way.’

  He would shout to Layla from the palace gates if he had to.

  Zahid ended the call and still he did not look at Trinity. Instead he called for Abdul.

  ‘We have a visitor arriving shortly,’ Zahid said. ‘His name is Mikael Romanov and he is to be brought straight to the King’s office, but he is not to be taken through the main entrance. You will tell my father to meet me there now.’

  ‘Your father is entertaining Princess Layla’s suitors and their families…’

  ‘This is not a discussion,’ Zahid said.

  Now he spoke to Trinity. ‘He wants to speak with my father. I will be there.’

  ‘Can I be there too?’

  ‘No.’ Zahid shook his head.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because he does not need to convince you,’ Zahid said. ‘You have already made up your mind.’

  ‘Zahid, please…’

  ‘Trinity, you do not understand how delicate this is.’

  ‘Your father has accepted me.’

  ‘Layla is his daughter!’ Zahid said. ‘You came and moved to Ishla—do you think Mikael will do the same? Do you think my father will let Layla leave the country?’

  Trinity blinked as it dawned on her just how impossible this situation was.

  ‘Never.’ Zahid shook his head. ‘My father will never agree to a commoner marrying his daughter, let alone taking her to live overseas. Go and help Layla get ready. You are not to let her know that Mikael is here.’

  ‘Zahid, surely she should be able to see him? Even if nothing can come of it!’

  ‘Trinity, I know my father and sister best, and I am asking you…’

  ‘Or telling me?’ Trinity challenged.

  ‘Both,’ Zahid said. ‘You have to trust that I will try to do the right thing by my sister.’

  Trinity did trust that Zahid would do his best.

  She just didn’t know if it would be enough.

  * * *

  Jami
la handed Layla a cloth to wash her private parts as she readied herself to choose her future husband.

  ‘You get to wear make-up today for the first time,’ Jamila said.

  ‘The second time,’ Layla corrected.

  ‘Ah, yes, you were wearing make-up that time you had a seizure.’

  Layla turned at the slightly wry note in Jamila’s voice and for the first time since she had returned to her family they shared a small smile. And then Layla’s eyes filled with tears, because Mikael was right: she loved Jamila too.

  Horrible, horrible love, Layla thought, hugging her handmaiden.

  ‘Please come with me when I marry,’ Layla begged.

  ‘You know that I can’t,’ Jamila said. ‘On your wedding day it will be my time to retire. Hussain will give you new maids and a new handmaiden. A young one who will help you with your babies.’

  ‘I don’t want babies,’ Layla said, and then defiance crept back as Jamila helped her out of the bath. ‘Anyway, who says that I am going to choose Hussain?’

  ‘You will do the right thing by your father and King, I am sure,’ Jamila said as she started to pull out all the rags that had been put in Layla’s hair the night before.

  ‘Have you ever been in love, Jamila?’ Layla asked.

  ‘I have never been married.’

  ‘Nor have I,’ Layla said, but she had been in love—she was in love and for ever would be—and she did not want to be with another man.

  ‘You are in a funny mood today, Layla,’ Jamila observed.

  ‘I don’t feel funny,’ she said as Trinity came in.

  It was a dangerous mood she was in, and Jamila had every reason to be worried—for she knew that Layla was volatile at the best of times.

  ‘Your hair’s so curly,’ Trinity said when she saw Layla. ‘It looks wonderful.’

  Layla said nothing, though her eyes glittered with suppressed rage as she forced a smile for Trinity.

  ‘How is Zahid?’ Layla asked.

  Trinity swallowed. ‘He is fine.’

  ‘Does he send his best wishes for me today?’ Layla asked with spite in her voice, for she was so jealous of Trinity and Zahid, and so cross that the rules were different for them. ‘Does he hope that my marriage will be as blessed and as happy as his? Because if he does he’s a hypocrite—as are you.’