by Lynn, Sophia
The woman behind the bar, solid as an oak door and with a scar on her cheek, glanced at her mistrustfully. Frannie stood out as the only white person in the cafe, or perhaps it was more because she was pregnant.
"Excuse me, but do you know..." She realized that Jameela might have given a false name. "A girl, about seventeen? Long black hair, pretty, big green eyes? She's got a little mole on her cheek..."
The woman looked her up and down, and she seemed to come to a decision. "You family?"
"Yes. I am married to her brother." It was a lie, but Frannie would have said worse to get what she needed.
"Give money."
The woman accepted the twenty euros Frannie produced. Between it and the cab fare, she was almost out of the cash she’d had on her coming to Beian. It felt strange to handle money. For so many weeks now, everything she could possibly want had been given to her.
The woman nodded decisively. "Good. Her man, he's bad all the way through. Take her home. Room two, up those stairs."
Frannie felt a flood of relief go through her, though the woman's mention of a man made her nervous. She climbed the stairs, soothing her restless twins with a pat on her belly before knocking gently on the door the woman had indicated.
The only response she heard was a stifled sob, and she rattled the door handle.
"Jameela," she hissed. "Jameela, let me in!"
The door opened immediately, and suddenly, Frannie's arms were full of a weeping, terrified teenager.
"Oh, thank heaven you're safe. Come on, Jameela, you have to come home, everyone's worried about you!"
"i can't, I can’t come home!"
Frannie stared at her. "Of course you can! Your brother..."
Jameela broke into fresh tears, and Frannie pushed her back into the room, closing and locking the door behind them.
"Sweetheart, what's going on?"
"Frannie, I have...I have a boyfriend."
"Um, that's not the end of the world. Your brother will understand..."
"No, no he won't..."
In fits and starts, the story came out. The boy that Jameela had been sneaking out to see was actually a twenty-five-year-old man, an Englishman who was in the country for research purposes. Jameela had thought they were in love, but apparently her boyfriend had only seen her as a means to an end.
"He said…he said he would tell the whole country that I had slept with him...if...if I didn't bring him something good."
"And...that something good was those photos you saw," Frannie said, her heart sinking.
Jameela nodded miserably, and though Frannie knew she would be furious later on, right now the teen looked so upset that Frannie didn't have the heart.
"And now he says that if I don't stay here, he'll publish those photos and—"
"Let me tell you something about dealing with head cases, Jameela. They will always find an excuse to do what they want. Come on. We're getting out of here. Your brother will know what to do."
Frannie was relieved that Jameela nodded meekly and followed her to the staircase. That relief evaporated like morning fog when the teen gasped at the man coming up the stairs. Frannie had a moment to capture a glimpse of a lanky man with a kind of faded colonial charm, pale hair and pale eyes, and then she saw the rage rise up in him.
She acted on instinct, grabbing Jameela and dragging her back into the room, slamming the door shut with a terrible bang.
"He has a key!" Jameela cried, wringing her hands, and Frannie grabbed at the shabby dresser by the door.
"Come on, help me!"
The two women dragged the dresser into place and then leaned onto it with all their might. Despite the man's lankiness, there was a terrible kind of strength as he pounded on the door, shouting horrible things through it.
"Come out here, you slut! I'm not going to tolerate this kind of crap from you, I bleeding own you!"
Jameela shook at his words, and Frannie felt a grim rage settle on her.
"He doesn't. I am not going to let him hurt you. I swear, Jameela."
Frannie jumped at the first crashing blow to the door. She stared at the hole he had left in it. It was only thin wood, and through the hole he had made with his bloodied fist, she glimpsed his furious face.
"We just have to hang on."
The man tried to reach through the hole he had created, and Frannie acted on instinct. She reached up and clawed at his hand with her nails, and there was skin and blood under her nails when he withdrew with a howl. His smashing on the door redoubled, and Frannie pushed against the dresser with all of her strength.
"We can't do this forever," Jameela gasped, her back flat against the dresser and her eyes screwed shut. She was so terrified that it made Frannie want to let the door open so she could strangle the man on the other side.
"Don't worry. We just have to do this until—"
"Until what?"
There was a roar from the other side of the door. If the man's insulting cries had been the yelps of an offended little dog, this was the rage-filled howl of a wolf. There was a sound of thudding footsteps up the stairs, and then an abortive cry of panic.
Jameela looked at the door wide-eyed, but Frannie only smiled. Some things she knew in her bones, and this was apparently one of them.
"Until the cavalry shows up."
In her heart, Frannie knew who was on the other side of that door, but she still waited until there was a knock.
"Frannie? Jameela? Let me in, it's Khaliq..."
They tugged the dresser away from the door, and then Khaliq was filling the space with his presence, the rage only falling away when he saw that they were both safe. He took Jameela in his arms, but his eyes were on Frannie. There was something there she couldn't read, but then Jameela was pointing a shaking figure at the man on the floor.
"He has pictures..."
Frowning, Khaliq knelt to rifle through the man's pockets, and his eyebrows rose when he found the pictures that Jameela had taken.
"Seriously? I appreciate the concern, but there are much worse pictures of me out there. I take it neither of you knew much about my wilder days..."
Jameela choked back on a giggle, and Frannie suddenly felt lighter than air. The pressures and horrors of the day seemed to lift off of her all at once, and she put out a hand to the dresser to steady herself.
Then she realized that she really did need the dresser to steady herself, and for some reason, the edges of her vision were going dark. Then everything turned upside down, and she was slipping down into a dark hole.
Somewhere, someone was calling her name. She wished so very much that she could answer them, but it was too late, far too late.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Frannie
Frannie wandered through the halls of the palace of Beian, feeling a strange sort of emptiness eating at her insides. No matter where she went or what she said, no one was paying any attention to her.
At first she thought it was because they were snubbing her, and it wasn't as if she didn't have experience with that. However, not long after, she realized that they weren't ignoring her because they thought she was beneath them. They were ignoring her because they didn't know she was there at all. She was like a ghost, and she could shout all she liked, they weren't going to pay any attention to her.
She walked faster through the halls of the palace, a deep worry rising up inside her, and a panic as well.
Where were her girls?? Where could her girls be?
Where was...
She gasped when she turned a corner into what looked like a luxurious garden. There was Khaliq, and in his arms was a plump and pretty little girl with his dark hair. She kicked her legs happily as her father threw her into the air and caught her again, and for a moment, Frannie was so taken with the charming image that she paused, dazzled. Then she heard what Khaliq was saying.
"Don't fuss, precious. Your mother will be along with your sister in just a little while here..."
No, it's me, I'm her mother
! Frannie wanted to shout, but then there was a step on the path, and a woman was walking down it, an identical little girl in her hands.
She was gorgeous, blonde, and petite, and perfectly gracious in the exact way that Frannie wasn't. She walked right past Frannie, not seeing her at all, and she gave Khaliq a kiss.
"There you are, and here we are together with our two little darlings.”
NO!
The thought filled Frannie's mind with panic, and it was so strong that it made her sit up, breathing hard in the bed at the palace clinic.
It took her a few moments for her thoughts to clear and for her to realize where she was. Her heart was still beating too fast, and she felt as if she were covered with sweat when Dr. Rai came in.
"Hello, my dear. You gave us quite a scare."
“Dr. Rai! I was... Jameela! Is Jameela okay?”
“Calm down, Frannie. I do not know all the particulars of that decision, but I do know that Jameela is at home safe. She and her brother have been having many long talks, but that is all I know. I was more worried about you.”
“Me? Oh... I fell over, and I passed out.”
Before she could start to panic about what harm she might have done to her daughters, Dr. Rai shook her head.
“You're fine. You had some blood pressure issues, but from what Khaliq told me, that was natural. I am very tempted to confine you to the palace for the rest of your term, if you will not otherwise stay calm, but for now, I think you'll be all right. Just try to take it easy, all right? For most parents, the real stress comes after the babies are born. This should be the easy part.”
Frannie sighed. “It's hard to imagine them giving me more stress than anything I've been doing lately.”
“Ah, about that. Speaking of more stress, you have visitors. The former queen and the sheikh's brother have been waiting outside for some time. Will you see them? You do not have to, but they have been waiting for a while.”
All Frannie really wanted to do was to sleep, or if she was being entirely honest, she wanted to see Khaliq. She knew though that there was only so long she could put off seeing the pair of them.
“Send them in please.”
She was braced for another shouting match, but to her surprise, Khaliq's mother had tears in her eyes, and his uncle looked grave and repentant. Frannie gasped when the older woman seized her hand, squeezing it hard.
“We are sorry,” Khaliq's uncle said, his voice serious. “We have...treated you unkindly, and we will not do so in the future. You saved Jameela.”
“I don't want your apology if Khaliq forced you...”
“No!” said Khaliq's mother in shock. “No, he did not force us. We are here because we are sorry. So sorry. And you have my eternal thanks for saving my daughter.”
It was awkward, it was uncomfortable, and in the end, Frannie realized, it was family. She didn't trust either of Khaliq's relatives, but maybe, just maybe, she could see a time when she might. They left quickly, and she thought that had gone surprisingly well for what it was.
I'm obviously doing better at fitting in if I can cope with that…
There was a knock on the door, and before Frannie could call for the knocker to enter, Khaliq swept into the room like a desert wind.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he began.
“I...I am sorry, I just...”
“Do you have any idea how terrible it felt to realize that you were both in danger? To see that maniac pounding on the door where you were hiding?”
“Wait, is that what you were worried about?”
Her surprised comment brought Khaliq up short. “Of course it is. What are you apologizing for then?”
“The pictures! The ones he was going to use against you and Jameela!”
Khaliq snorted impatiently. “Far worse has been printed about me, most of it true. I don't care about that. What I care about is you.”
Frannie stared at him, and Khaliq sighed, scrubbing a hand across his face and shaking his head.
“I am doing this badly. I have been up for almost forty-eight hours, and—”
“Will you come here?”
Frannie patted the wide bed next to her, and after a moment of hesitation, Khaliq climbed into it with her. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to settle in next to him, and something that had been tense within her for what felt like years relaxed.
“This was what I've wanted for ages. Thank you.”
Khaliq chuckled a little, brushing a strand of hair back from her face. “I am glad. You are welcome.”
“Can we...just be a little quiet before you start to shout at me for taking risks with the princesses of Beian again?”
“I'm not going to shout at you for that. I was terrified when I realized you were gone, Frannie.”
“Because of my pregnancy.”
“No, dammit, woman. Because it was you.”
Frannie looked up at Khaliq in shock, her heart beating loudly in her chest. “What are you saying?”
“I am saying that when you were gone, when I realized that I could not find you anywhere in the palace, I was terrified. It felt as if my heart had been pulled out of my chest, and I could barely breathe. All I knew was that I needed you back immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
The words were uttered so calmly and in such a matter of fact tone that there was no arguing with it. Khaliq was telling her the truth, and Frannie felt lightheaded again.
“You...how?”
He shrugged, a slight smile on his face. “Is it so very hard to imagine? You are brave enough to go rescue my sister when no one else would listen to you. You are bold and sweet and beautiful. You look at me with those blue eyes, and I feel as if the only thing that matters in the world is pleasing you.”
“We've only known each other a few weeks.”
“You are in Beian, my love. We are known for our passion here, and I have spent much of the last few weeks coming to terms with the fact that when I am around you, I take leave of my senses. I love you, and I will not question it.”
Frannie was still, and Khaliq continued.
“I know that it has been too soon. This has been traumatic for you, even without the matter of Jameela. So we are going to take it slowly. We will grow closer, we will get to know each other. You will learn who I am, and perhaps sometime in the future, perhaps after the children are born, we will—”
“I love you, too.” The admission came out, and Frannie felt as if she could soar into the air. She grinned, and it felt so good, she had to say it again. “Khaliq, I love you. I have for a while now, and I finally know where I fit in your life. It took running around the city and helping Jameela and being in bed with you and dealing with your relatives, but now I know...I belong with you. I love you, and that alone would be enough.”
Khaliq's hand shook when he took hers.
“Say it again,” he demanded hoarsely.
“I love you.”
“That's three times you've said it. It must be true.”
She had thought that Khaliq's confession was a spontaneous one, but he took her hand and slipped a ring onto it. It was gorgeous, made in an ancient style. Instead of a diamond or a ruby on it, she gasped to see an old and precious turquoise set with a green jade stone. They were the exact color of her eyes and Khaliq's eyes. They would be the color of their children's eyes.
“I love you,” she whispered, and he drew her close, holding her so tightly that she knew they would never be apart again.
EPILOGUE
Frannie
Two Months Later…
Things were finally quiet. Everyone was gone, and Frannie and Khaliq were left alone in their suite with just the piles of gifts they had been presented with. The knitted blanket that Jameela had made the twins was thrown over the rocking chair close to the crib, and when Frannie came into the room after finally managing to get herself a bite to eat, she smiled.
The girls were
asleep, and Khaliq hovered over them in the semi-dark, a completely besotted expression on his face. They had talked about a nanny, but she had a feeling that whoever they found would be less involved than Khaliq initially thought. He had taken one look at the squalling, red-faced girls a moment after their birth and fallen in love.
She came to stand next to him, and she looked down at their children, feeling that deep rush of love she was only beginning to get used to. She had known she would love them, but she had not expected the depth of it. Ana had a small slip of blue ribbon tied around her ankle while Senya had a green ribbon around hers. Otherwise they were identical, and Frannie reached down to touch one downy head and then another.
“Marry me.”
She glanced up at Khaliq with a soft smile on her face. “I already did. Almost six weeks ago.”
“No. For real.”
“Are you saying that wasn't a legal ceremony?” she asked teasingly, and he snorted with impatience.
“Woman, I am serious. Marry me for real. A true spectacle. The country knows you, but I want them to honor you, to look at you and see what I see. I want... I want a wedding that will let the entire country know who you belong to. And that I belong to you.”
“You mean that?”
“I do. Marry me.”
For a moment, Frannie wondered how long this could last. How long could she be this dizzyingly in love with Khaliq? How long would she look at him and feel that ache in her heart, sweet and piercing as the first robin's song in spring? She thought for a moment that she was going to cry, but then instead, she reached for her camera sitting handily by on the desk. She had gotten a great deal of use out of it in the last few days.
Khaliq looked up as she took a picture of him there in front of their babies. His face was covered with stubble, and she was fairly sure there was some spilled formula on his shirt, but it didn't matter. He had never looked more handsome to her, and she knew it was a moment she would treasure for the rest of her life.
Khaliq blinked at her, tilting his head to one side. “I'm going to look terrible in that picture.”
“No. You look...utterly perfect. And yes. Yes, I love you, Khaliq, and yes, I will marry you.”
