by Jade
"Are you thinking of becoming an assassin? I've heard tales of men in the far east who execute traitors by piercing them with a thousand needles."
Maram dropped the needle in surprise. "Father?"
"I have another gift for you today, but it will not fit in here. You must come with me if you wish to see it."
A squad of guards waited outside, and Maram hastily secured her veil, realising they would be leaving the palace, for neither she nor her father required an escort so large within the palace grounds.
Father filled her in as they walked. The prince had asked for her hand, and promised her a palace, just as she'd asked for from Hasan.
"A palace he tells me he has already built – here," Father said with a flourish as the building came into view.
Maram's breath caught in her throat. How had she missed it this morning? Too intent on her thoughts, she supposed, as her men fought their way through the crush outside the palace.
A second palace sat beside her father's, grand and gleaming in the sun. The open gates beckoned her in, and Maram could not refuse the elegant invitation. The scent of rosewater reached her nostrils – whoever owned the palace had seen fit to perfume the entrance steps, a delightful touch.
As she stepped inside, she expected servants to come rushing forward to greet her and offer refreshments, yet there was no sound but the echo of her and her father's footsteps on the tiles. They were alone in this palace. A palace that easily outshone her father's.
The tiled floors were so perfectly smooth, they seemed to be made of a single piece of stone. Every room had a different ceiling mosaic, so lifelike it seemed she was staring up at the real sky and not a picture of it. And the bathhouse...tears sprang to her eyes to see her dreams made real, in a way no man could have known she wanted, for she hadn't even told her father how much she wanted this. The bathhouse was as opulent as the rest of the palace, but it was also familiar – if the bathhouse she'd visited that very morning were made anew, then surely it would look like this. A copy of the place on the day it opened, all those centuries ago...but no one could know such things!
Shaking her head at the impossibility of what her eyes were telling her, Maram no longer knew what to think.
"Come and look at the garden," her father called.
Only now did Maram realise she stood alone in the bathhouse – her father had ventured into the courtyard without her.
A courtyard or a garden? Maram wasn't certain until she saw the light glint off what she'd taken for grass. No, the ground was covered in grass-coloured tiles, while jewelled shrubs and trees dotted the courtyard like the harem gardens at home. A jewelled replica of the harem gardens...a place no prince had ever visited, for her brothers had been given their own garden for their boisterous play. The only men who had ever visited them were sultans, like her father, or traitors like her mother's lover, Amani. There was magic at work here. Magic meant to delight her, and her alone.
Maram's mouth was unbearably dry. More than ever, she wished for a servant to offer her refreshment, but no one granted her wish.
"Father, whoever this man is...whoever built this...I must meet him," she said. Because if he was even the slightest bit better than Hasan, she would scream her YES to his proposals before he could repeat them to her.
A shape stepped out of the shadows. A shape wearing a crown in the folds of his turban. The prince threw himself face down on the green tiles. "I am honoured by the presence of such a beautiful princess and her father in my humble home."
Maram glanced around, only to find her father nowhere in sight. Had he gone, leaving her alone with this man?
It seemed he had.
Maram took a deep breath. "Rise, Prince of Tasnim, for I am the one who is honoured. Why would a man I barely know offer me such a magnificent gift?"
"Because Hasan does not deserve you." The prince rose stiffly to his feet, only to lose his turban partway up. It clanged to the tiles, crown first, and rolled away.
She couldn't hide her smile. "And you do?"
"No," he said, raising his head to meet her eyes. "But I could think of no other way to free you of both slavery and your betrothal to him."
Maram's breath caught in her throat and she couldn't seem to draw another one. This couldn't be. It couldn't. Yet...
"Aladdin?" she gasped.
TWENTY-FOUR
Aladdin stood invisible by Kaveh's side, watching the Sultan and Princess Maram marvel over the palace the two djinn had built. Now, Aladdin truly believed she was as precious to her father as he'd said. The Sultan spent more time watching his daughter's reactions than looking at the place. She meant more to him than whatever diplomatic assistance she provided to the court.
For a moment, he wished he'd told the Sultan about Hasan instead of creating such an elaborate scheme. He would never give the daughter he loved to that man if he truly knew what Hasan would do to her.
"What? Did you spot a mistake in the tiles?" Kaveh demanded. "Why do you look so miserable?"
"I should have asked the Sultan to call off the engagement, not offered a new one. She will see through this for sure." He waved at his silk clothes. They felt so slippery against his skin he worried they would slip right off and leave him naked. Not that it mattered when he was unseen, but...
"Don't be daft," Kaveh snapped. "Once the Sultan's given his word to the Vizier, he can't break the engagement, unless a better offer comes along. You made him the only offer he could accept. And once he sees the audience chamber, he will."
"But the princess will hate me for trying to deceive her. I'd hate me for making a bargain with her father without knowing I had her consent first. If there was a way I could speak to her before her father..."
Kaveh nodded. "Here she comes. I'll take him up to see the audience chamber, and you take a moment with your princess." He strode across the courtyard and materialised on the steps to the upper levels. He bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, my master bade me to greet you and show you anything you wish to see. I would recommend the audience chamber..."
The Sultan cut him off. "I had begun to think the palace was empty. Let us see this chamber." He headed up with Kaveh.
"Father, whoever this man is...whoever built this...I must meet him," Maram said, stepping into the sun. She blinked, blinded.
Aladdin could not have asked for a better opportunity than this. He threw himself at Maram's feet.
At her command, he rose, taking his time to meet her eyes and the complete lack of recognition he expected to see there. A princess would not remember a poor boy she'd met in the bathhouse.
"Aladdin?" His name was music on her lips.
He wanted to sink to his knees again, and give thanks to whatever deity had helped him this time. But he forced himself to stay on his feet, for she had ordered it.
"How did you manage to build such a place? So lavish, so perfect, so fast?" she asked. "When I last saw you, you hadn't eaten for days, yet now..." She ran a hand down his tunic.
So that's why royalty wore silk. The feel of her fingers through it was pure bliss. Aladdin wanted to moan in pleasure, but he knew he only had a moment before her father returned. "I cannot tell you, for you would not believe me. I scarcely believe it myself. What I can tell you is that I ventured out into the desert and found a priceless treasure. A treasure that made all this possible, though it nearly killed me to return here. It's for you, Princess. All of it. If there is anything you wish changed, name it, and it shall be done. You don't even need to accept me – the palace is my gift to you. All I ask in return is that you don't marry that brute, Hasan."
Maram's eyes hardened. "Why would I not want the man who risked his life for me, to give me this, to save me from that brutish fool? I've been to the bathhouse every day, sent men out looking for you...by all that's holy..." She tore the veil from her head and threw it on the tiles. Maram shook her hair off her face – a night-dark river Aladdin longed to stroke – then wrapped her arms around Aladdin and kissed him.
She tasted sweeter than before, more intoxicating than the finest wines in Tasnim, and more arousing than any of the erotic murals in the prince's harem. The softness of her body in his arms made him wonder if he truly had died and gone to paradise after all.
"Maram!"
At the Sultan's exclamation, Aladdin reluctantly released his angel and held his arms out wide in surrender.
Maram waited to finish one last kiss before she unwound her arms from Aladdin. "What, Father? I'm going to marry this man. He'll see more than my face and hair, soon enough." She bent to retrieve her veil, trailing her fingers across Aladdin's groin. "Soon enough," she repeated softly.
Aladdin's cheeks grew as heated as...he could hardly face the Sultan while he had a tent in his accursed silk pants. A normal tunic would have hidden everything, but in this finery...he forced himself to retrieve his turban and hold it before his groin to hide the effect Princess Maram had on him.
She winked as she wound her veil around her hair, leaving her face uncovered. "Prince Aladdin wishes to know if any improvements should be made to his palace. It appears perfect to me, but you have seen more of it than I have."
The Sultan stared from Aladdin to Maram. "What about Hasan?"
She frowned. "What about him, Father? I doubt he has laid so much as a single stone on the palace he promised to build, but if I'm wrong, I will happily compare the two. We already know who will be the victor in any competition."
"What will I tell his father?"
Maram shrugged. "Tell him you received a better offer from a prince. He's your adviser. If he advised you to accept a vizier's son over a prince, he'd be a fool, and out of a job. You needn't tell him right away. I will need at least four weeks before my wedding. You'll have some time."
"Four weeks?" Aladdin blurted out.
Maram smiled mischievously. "Four weeks until the wedding, yes. It will take that long for my dress. A royal wedding is worth celebrating." She winked. "Don't worry, my prince. I shall have my things moved to your palace tonight. From this moment, I am yours."
Oh, how he longed for that to be true. But it was not. "No, you and this palace will not be mine until we are married. Until then, this palace belongs to you alone, Princess. I will stay with my mother but, with your permission, I shall visit you, if you wish."
Maram's shock brightened into a smile. "Oh, I do wish."
The Sultan coughed. "It seems my daughter has made her decision, and what father would argue with a woman in love? Shall we meet on the morrow, Prince Aladdin, or will you accept my answer now?"
Aladdin bowed. "I will accept whatever Your Majesty is gracious enough to grant me."
The Sultan laughed. "My favourite daughter, it would seem. Just like her mother, I can refuse her nothing. But I will add one thing." His expression darkened. "If you hurt her, if my daughter sheds a single tear because of you, I will have your head severed from your body so fast, you will not have time to blink in surprise before your heart stops beating."
Aladdin met the Sultan's eye now, not a subject to his sovereign, but a future son-in-law to a protective father. "If I ever cause harm to come to Princess Maram, I will offer my head to you myself, for I will deserve such a fate."
He opened his mouth to ask what the Sultan would do to Hasan, but he'd taken his daughter's arm and already started walking away.
Hasan no longer mattered. Maram would marry him, and make Aladdin the happiest of men.
"I'd have risked killing myself, crossing the desert for her, too," Kaveh said fervently. "You are one lucky man."
Yes. Yes, he was.
TWENTY-FIVE
When they returned to the Sultan's palace, Maram knew she would have a lot of questions to answer. But for the first time in longer than she could remember, she did not care. She'd seen him, she'd kissed him and by some incredible change of heart from fate, she'd get to keep him. Aladdin. The only man who'd ever touched her heart.
The only man who kissed her like he cared how he touched her, not wanting to consume her in his own blazing passion. Oh, Aladdin had passion enough, she was certain of it, for she'd seen it in his eyes as he kissed her.
But he didn't want to marry her for himself. Oh, no. He wanted to save her from Hasan. One day she would tell him how she'd planned to save herself, but not until after they were married. She didn't want to frighten him. Then again, Aladdin was not some soft courtier, to be frightened by a woman who took her fate into her own hands. No, he was a man who would risk everything – even his own life – for the woman he loved.
Her mouth became dry. Did he love her? He had not said so, but then he'd hardly had the chance to do so. Yet why else would he risk so much for her, if not for love?
"How do you know this man, and why have I never heard of him?" Father demanded.
Maram blinked. She'd been so lost in thought she hadn't realised they'd arrived in her private apartments, and they were alone. She pulled off her veil and shook out her hair. She would have to be careful, for her father thought Aladdin was a prince, and she had no desire to tell him otherwise.
"I met him once, briefly. I liked him very much then and I believe he liked me, too, but as neither of us were in a position to marry at the time, I thought such a thing would never happen. Evidently I underestimated both his affection and his wealth." She blew out a breath. She would not make that mistake again. Aladdin was not a man to be underestimated at all.
"What about Hasan? Why would you agree to marry Hasan if you loved this man so much?" Father persisted.
Ah, here was the crux of the matter. She was her mother's daughter, after all.
"I never intended to marry Hasan. He is a vicious brute who beats his servants and has wanted to do the same to me since the moment we met. I had hoped to bankrupt him by forcing him to build a palace that I would never be satisfied with. Then, when he was so deeply in debt he could no longer continue, perhaps he would give up his suit, and he'd be forced to release the servants he has abused for so long."
Father's eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into his jewelled turban. "How did I not know this about him?"
Maram lifted her shoulders in a delicate shrug. "Perhaps only women gossip about such things, or perhaps he hides it well from anyone outside his household. But you sent him with me on a trading expedition, where he tried to turn me into his whore. He did not succeed, and has hated me ever since. I had no idea you were unaware of his true nature, Father." Though it didn't surprise her. Vizier Ali must have known, and worked hard to conceal it from the Sultan.
He frowned, evidently deep in thought.
Maram let the silence build. Her father would fill it when he chose to.
Finally, he said, "So you don't wish to marry Hasan, but you do want this other man? This prince? He will make you happy?"
"Yes, Father. Aladdin will make me happy." He already had.
"But he will take you away from me, to his own kingdom."
Maram had never seen her father pout before, but he looked dangerously close to doing so now. "Father, I will make it my mission to make sure Aladdin likes it so much here in our city, that he never wants to leave his palace. You will have to travel a little further to see me, but not so far as you think."
He nodded. "I'll summon Hasan and his father, and tell them the news. They certainly won't be happy when they hear."
No, they would not. Especially Hasan.
"Can you wait until I have left the palace, Father? I fear Hasan's anger will make him do something...reckless, when he hears the news."
The Sultan smiled fondly. "Of course. I will wait two days – will you be ready then?"
Maram nodded. She was so used to travelling, she and her servants could have her room stripped in an hour, if need be, to catch the tide. But never before had she felt that leaving a room would change her life forever. Now, there would be no returning from a future that was so unknown. Could anyone truly be ready for anything the future held?
"I shall," she vowed.<
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TWENTY-SIX
All the way home, Aladdin should have been walking on air, but he couldn't help but worry. The man he'd seen this morning, beating his slave, would not like losing Maram. What man would?
If another man – a real prince, perhaps – were to appear in the palace and persuade the Sultan that HE was a better match than either Aladdin or Hasan, Aladdin would not simply stand by and accept it. Not unless he truly believed someone could make Maram happier than he could.
The moment he got home, he dug out the lamp and summoned the djinn. Without waiting for the djinn to ask for orders, Aladdin said, "I need you to protect the princess in the palace you built. She'll bring her own staff, I'm sure, but she'll need guards and...I don't know what. And you. If all else fails, I need you to protect her."
"As you command, master. If I may suggest..."
Aladdin looked up. The djinn wasn't normally any more helpful than he needed to be. Not like Kaveh. "Yes?"
The djinn ducked his head. "I suggest placing the lamp in the palace treasury, so I will always be close by if Princess Maram needs me."
Something in the djinn's tone made Aladdin suspicious. "You are not to speak to her, interact with her in any way, or permit her to see you, unless her life depends upon it," Aladdin added.
This didn't seem to upset the djinn at all. "Yes, master."
Aladdin decided he must have imagined it.
"If I may not speak to her...can you tell me if she liked the palace?"
Aladdin hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't see any reason not to answer. "Yes, she did. So much that she agreed to marry me because of it."
"Does she not reside in her father's palace?"
"Of course she does."
"Then why would she want another?"
Aladdin squinted at the djinn. He sure had a lot of questions about Maram. "Something about bankrupting the brute who expected to marry her. Not me, the other guy."
