Queen of the Sun

by J A Armitage

  "If that is what the Princess desires."

  "My desires, I'm afraid are much more complicated than that. But I've found I do my best thinking when I am walking in nature."

  We made our way outdoors into the gardens, past the door for Genie’s room. My heart thudded as we passed, and I made a note to speak more loudly as we did. It was childish and pathetic and beneath me, but I couldn’t help myself. Genie had hurt my feelings, and in a small...or not so small way, I wanted to hurt his. Actually, that wasn’t it at all. I never wanted to hurt him; I just wanted him to understand that I could be lost to him. He probably didn’t even care.

  “My father died when I was a child,” Jamal said as we stepped out into the sunshine. “My mother moved back home with her father, who'd been widowed when she was a child. Sadly, we didn't have her with us for very long. She became sickly and died. So, he was faced with raising yet another child on his own. I'd like to say he did great, but the jury is still out on that.” He laughed, once again, revealing his entrancing dimples.

  We walked on the path under the tree cover. "He passed away before my sixteenth birthday. But he'd already shown me everything he knew. I suppose it didn't hurt that I was an eager pupil. I mean, when you lose the ones you love, I guess it forces you to mature in ways you didn't even know were possible." He paused and looked around, spreading his arms. "This is all wonderful."

  I nodded in agreement, eager for him to continue.

  "By the time I'd turned eighteen, I'd established meaningful trade relationships within other kingdoms. I grew the business more than my grandfather could have ever dreamed of, and now, happily employ over one hundred people, fulltime, not including the household help."

  His story amazed me. He’d lost both his parents and then his grandfather, striking out on his own when he was sixteen. I studied his face. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. What he’d achieved was nothing short of a miracle.

  We walked through the gardens as he told me of the expansion of his business, and I listened intently to his stories of trips to other kingdoms. Maybe my mother had chosen wisely, after all.

  I was surprised at how easy Jamal was to talk to. Although I'd only just met him, I felt comfortable in his presence. And despite my initial reluctance, I wanted to get to know him more.

  Maybe it was because everything he had, he’d earned. Unlike the sheik’s son, he’d not had everything handed to him on a plate.

  I ignored my feelings about Genie all afternoon, pushing them down deep in my belly as I talked to Jamal. The man had it all. Looks, charm, intelligence. If I’d written down everything I wanted on paper, he would be my perfect man, and yet it wasn’t perfection I craved. I wanted perfectly imperfect.

  Later, after a delightful afternoon, I retreated to my room. A small squawk greeted me as I closed the door behind me. Looking to his perch, I saw that Asher looked even worse than he had before

  I passed him a seed, which he ignored. My magic dimmed as my hope dimmed.

  I was going to lose him. I’d lost Genie in a way, and now I was going to lose my best friend too. I remembered Genie’s promise to speak with me later, but I no longer had the energy. He’d made himself clear. I was going on a date with someone else. It was about time I concentrated on that.

  “I don’t need Genie,” I said to Asher. He ruffled what was left of his feathers and then tucked his head under his wing, ignoring me completely. I couldn’t blame him.

  20th June

  Freya came to my room early at the request of my mother that she help me prepare for my date.

  “The sultana requests you wear something benefiting a princess on a date,” she said as she opened my closet doors and walked in.

  “You pick something,” I called to her as I dragged myself out of bed. I didn’t really care what I wore. Clothes were not something I really cared about. Asher, on the other hand, I did care about. While Freya was picking out my outfit for the day, I did what I could for the phoenix. He’d molted more feathers in the night and was now almost completely bald. He was a shell of his former self. He looked up at me with doleful eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Asher.”

  “How about this, Your Highness?” Freya asked, bringing out a thin pink outfit with gold trim.

  “It’s fine, thank you. What time is Jamal expecting me?” I asked, taking the outfit from her.

  “He’s taking breakfast with your mother at the moment. I think they are expecting you to join them.”

  I glanced down at my watch. My mother usually had her breakfast at nine, and it was only eight-thirty, which meant she must have ordered it early, especially for Jamal. It also meant I had half an hour to go and speak to Genie.

  I’d spent half the night, tossing and turning, trying to decide whether to see him or not. My heart was already in tatters, and I wasn’t sure if it would take another beating, but I had to know how he really felt about me. I needed to hear it said explicitly.

  I threw on the outfit and pulled my hair into a quick braid, before dashing out of my room.

  I ran down the corridors in bare feet, not wanting to draw attention to myself. As I rounded the corner to Genie’s suite, I ran straight into my father.

  “I’m sorry, my dear girl,” he said. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “Father, are you ok?” he was dressed in a very peculiar outfit of gardener’s pants and a purple waistcoat with no shirt underneath. “Have you just been to see Genie?”

  My father’s eyebrows knotted together. “Who?”

  I raised my hand to his forehead. He didn’t feel hot, but there was something definitely wrong with him. I took a deep breath and asked him a question. “Do you know who I am, father?”

  He narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to place me.

  “It’s Gaia, your daughter,” I prompted. All of a sudden, comprehension dawned on his features.

  “Of course I know who you are, Gaia. What a silly question. Are you quite alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Just like that, he was back, but the last few minutes had scared me. “Have the doctors been to see you?”

  “Doctors? Whatever for? I’m in the prime of health.”

  “I think I should take you back to your room to rest, just in case,” I said, taking his arm in mine.

  I monitored him closely as we walked through the palace back to his room. He spoke normally the whole way and answered any question I threw at him. By the time we’d gotten back to his room, I’d begun to wonder if I was worrying for nothing.

  “Where were you heading earlier?” I asked him as I helped him into bed.

  “Like you said, I was speaking to Genie. I wish you wouldn’t fuss so. I’m perfectly fine.”

  I left him in his room by himself, but once I’d left, I instructed one of his door guards to fetch the palace physician. A quick look at my watch told me it was too late to go and see Genie now. Perhaps it was for the best, after all.

  I found Jamal and my mother having breakfast in the dining room.

  “There you are,” my mother said. “I rather thought you’d be down here earlier. I expected Freya to bring you.”

  “I was on my way down here when I ran into Father. He’s not well. I had to help him back to his room.”

  My mother stood up, wiping her mouth on a napkin. “If you’ll both excuse me. I should go and see how he is.”

  I felt much better knowing my mother was going to be with him. With any luck, the palace physician would already be up there and would know what was wrong with him.

  “I’m sorry to hear that the sultan is unwell. My visit, it seems, was an untimely one.”

  I looked toward Jamal. He was as good looking as I remembered, and even though his presence didn’t make my heart leap the way Genie’s did, he was still a very welcome sight.

  “Not at all. It is a pleasure to have you here. I’m sure my father will be better soon.”

  “I’m glad to hear it’s nothing serious. May I b
e so bold to compliment you on your beauty this morning?”

  I’d heard all the compliments, and this one was my least favorite. I was called beautiful all the time. By the papers, by the royal subjects, by the myriad of men that turned up on the doorstep, asking me to marry them on a whim. It was all rather boring.

  I lowered my head into a nod, wondering if I’d made a mistake about him after all.

  “You don’t like being called beautiful, do you?”

  I glanced his way, intrigued by his comment.

  “What makes you think that?”

  “It is such an obvious thing to say. Your beauty is so obvious that I almost think you yawned when I mentioned it. And yet I saw beauty in the way you spoke to your mother about your father. Your eyes showed such compassion. I saw how beautifully composed you were when yet another stranger was introduced to you. I know I’m not the first man here, and yet you listened to what I had to say and didn’t dismiss me. I found beauty in the way the light danced off your skin in the garden yesterday, but more than that, how you seemed to glow from it. The way you stopped to inhale every flower we passed, the way you spoke kindly to your staff, the way you knew so much about the wool trade despite not being in it. All of that I found beauty in, though none of it diminishes the beauty of your features and your grace.”

  Typically, I was aloof to the comments on my looks. They always felt insincere. Yet Jamal's was like a breath of fresh air as if hearing it for the first time.

  "Why, thank you."

  He smiled back at me, his achingly beautiful face split into a grin that showed his dimples to great effect. "I’ve heard wonderful things about the Kisbu spice market. I’d love to visit it."

  “Then we shall,” I said with a smile. “Just as soon as I’ve finished my breakfast.”

  After I had eaten, I went to find my mother before I went on my date. I found her, or rather she found me along the corridor to my parents’ suites.

  “Gaia. I thought you would have gone by now. If you are worried about your father, he’s fine. The doctor is with him. A little rest and he’ll be back to normal.”

  I thought back to how he was this morning. He’d not known who I was. I wasn’t sure any amount of rest would help that, but I had to believe the physician knew what she was doing.

  "I'm glad we are finally out of the palace. It's been a while since I've had the pleasure to venture the streets of Kisbu." I said later to Jamal as we walked through the palace gates flanked by four palace guards with Freya walking in front. It was a little white lie, but my night time adventures didn’t count. Not really.

  "Your Royal Highness, do you not get out of the palace often?" Jamal quizzed.

  “Not as often as I would like, and when I do, it's typically by order of Their Majesties.” Due to my nocturnal outings, I knew these streets like the back of my hand in the dark when only night dwellers walked them. During the day, with all the hustle and bustle, they were as much a mystery to me as they were to Jamal.

  We continued walking in silence as the street goers opened their arms wide and bowed in my presence. Freya walked a couple of steps behind us, and the guards my mother had ordered kept back further still.

  Our presence didn’t go unnoticed. As the princess, I was hardly difficult to spot, especially with the armed guards, but I noticed that after the people looked at me, their eyes quickly fell on Jamal where they stayed. Especially among the women.

  I couldn’t hear everything said, but caught the words hot and gorgeous enough to know they weren’t talking about me. More and more people came out to see the mysterious man at my side. I was under no illusion that I wasn’t the one everyone wanted to see. The women we passed positively gawked at Jamal, and the longer we walked, the more whispers I overheard. Jamal really was the man of the moment.

  Jamal was not deaf to the talk and gossip all around us.

  “Would you feel better if we were to head back to the palace?” he asked.

  I put my arm in his, which only started more excited chatter among the people. “Not a chance. We’ve not been to the spice market yet.”

  He gave me a grin, and for the first time, I felt tiny flutters. Despite everything going on, I was beginning to enjoy myself.

  When we finally reached the spice market, the dust-coveredd streets were swarming with people. The guards pushed everyone back just so we could enter.

  I turned to Jamal and whispered in his ear. "You know, I really am not allowed to touch a man until I'm married. Public shows of affection are deemed inappropriate, especially for someone of the royal household, but this is all rather fun."

  "I thought all that changed when Sultana Jawahir became the ruler?"

  I nodded. "Yes. But there is still protocol. Their Majesties like to keep things traditional."

  “I’ll let go if you are worried?”

  I looked down at my arm and his intertwined. “Don’t even think about it,” I answered him with a smile. I was having so much fun. Who knew that Kisbu was even more interesting in the daytime than it was in the night?

  I was no stranger to the delicious aromas of the spice market after walking through it many times, but now, in the daytime, I could actually see all the spices I’d smelled so often. A myriad of colors added to the heady mix making everything so vibrant, so wonderful.

  Every stallholder we passed came to the front of their stall to offer us samples of their wares. Thankfully Freya had brought a purse of Rubees with her because I’d have felt guilty sampling so much without buying anything. Jamal and I tried so many delicious pastries, sweets, and aromatic teas that by the time we’d made our way through to the other side, I was sure I’d never want to eat again.

  “My father lived on the streets not far from here when he was a young boy,” I remarked to Jamal.

  “His past is legendary,” Jamal answered, passing me a piece of cake that smelled of coffee. “He is the reason I work so hard. He came from nothing and ended up the sultan of the whole kingdom. A true rags to riches story.”

  “No more than your own,” I replied as he passed a handful of Rubees to the stall owner and asked her to fill a bag with more of the delicious cakes.

  “If I eat any more, I shall pop,” I said as he handed the bag to one of the guards.

  “The cakes aren’t for you,” he said cryptically as we exited the market.

  People still followed us as we walked through the streets with no aim in direction. I was just happy to be free of the palace for a while, as was Jamal, judging by the way everything held his interest. It didn’t take long before the reason behind his purchase of cakes was made evident. A small girl, no more than four of five, came up to us. Her face was dirty, and her poor little body was emaciated. Jamal took the bag from the guard and handed her a cake. When she saw the size of it, her eyes went wide. She licked her lips in anticipation then ran off quickly with the cake before we changed our minds. Once the street urchins saw what was happening, they all ran forwards, and soon we were surrounded by children. There were so many of them, the guards couldn’t keep them away. Behind us, the adults of Kisbu were still following, and now they watched as Jamal and I gave out cakes. The street was packed as more and more people joined us.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the palace staff cut through the people and speak to the guards. The guard nodded, then pushed the children out of the way to get to me.

  “We have to leave, Your Highness.”

  “We can’t leave,” I said, gesturing to the hungry children around me. “We still have plenty of cakes to give out.”

  “Her Majesty’s orders. She got word of the number of people crowding around you and asked that you go home immediately.”

  “But she was the one who insisted I go on this date in the first place. What did she think would happen?” I kept my voice down, aware that hundreds of eyes were upon me, but I was livid. I’d done as she asked. No one was getting hurt, and yet now, she was demanding I go home. The guard only shrugged. />
  I nodded to the messenger. “Send word back to the palace that I’ll be back when I’m ready.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m sorry, Your Highness, but you’ll have to come with me.”

  Jamal was nonplussed by being made to go back to the palace, but I was angry. So much so that my newfound magic was beginning to burn in my stomach, and it took everything I had to keep it from erupting out of me.

  “Where’s the sultana?” I demanded, forcing my way through her offices once we were back at the palace. Two guards stood at the door, blocking my path.

  What on Badalah was going on?

  “Her Majesty is currently unavailable,” one of them said. “You’ll have to schedule a time to meet with her, per orders of the sultana.”

  “Since when do I have to schedule an appointment with my mother? Let me past.”

  The two guards gave each other a look, seemingly unsure on how to proceed, but they pulled back their staffs and let me through.

  My mother wasn’t in her office, so I carried on through until I got to her private parlor.

  I found her laid out on a chaise with a cloth over her forehead. “Gaia, my dear. How was your date?”

  “It was fine up until the point you ordered me home,” I shouted, feeling the anger growing again.

  “Please keep your voice down. I’m not feeling too well. I only asked the guards to bring you home because word had got back to the palace that you were being swamped. I was only worried about your safety. I take it from your angry outburst that you were enjoying yourself before I so rudely interrupted?”

  She sat up, and the damp cloth fell into her lap. The way she looked at me with one eyebrow raised made me laugh. I couldn’t be angry at her when all she was doing was looking after my own wellbeing.

  “I was, actually,” I replied nonchalantly, taking a seat next to her on the chaise.

  “I knew you’d like him. As soon as he came to the palace, I knew he wasn’t like the other men you’ve turned away.”

  “Most of the men, you’ve turned away,” I pointed out.