Authors: Theodora Koulouris
Pleased with my response, Billal smiled from ear to ear.
“I must get back to work. I have a million and one things to do today. Enjoy your day, my lady,” he said, with a twinkle in his eyes as he turned gracefully and exited the room.
I lifted my hand and admired the bracelet, knowing I had to take it off and hide it before Nidal came back, for I knew that he would be enraged if he saw it. I walked over to the bed, sat on it, and unclasped the bracelet. I examined the beautiful item as it shined in my hands. At that moment, I heard footsteps outside my door, and I quickly hid the bracelet underneath my pillow, afraid that someone might see it.
Nidal walked into the room, and I was pleasantly pleased to see him. I ran to his arms and threw myself at him. The bracelet was quickly forgotten. My prince wrapped his arms around me and held on to me for dear life. When our lips met, no words were needed. It was magical as always. Nidal swept me up in his arms and took my breath away as he laid me tenderly on the bed and took my clothes off my heated body. Recklessly, I pulled his shirt over his head and untied the strings to his pantaloons as Nidal kicked off his boots. His hands skillfully caressed my entire body, igniting a fire within me that threatened to explode. I felt him hard and ready and held my breath, knowing he would enter me and take me to heights of passion that would have me screaming his name for mercy.
Nidal pushed hard inside me, breathing heavily as he called out my name hoarsely. “Loula!” he cried passionately.
He pushed harder and faster and moaned and groaned, and everything inside me exploded. Liquid fire coursed throughout my entire body as I trembled in ecstasy. I felt Nidal’s hold on me tighten as he also reached his peak. As he slowed down and relaxed his body on top of mine, our eyes met and locked, and his lips came crashing down on mine.
Afterward when we cooled off, Nidal looked tenderly at me, and I noticed a shiny glint in his eyes. He was up to something.
I looked at him curiously. “What is on your mind?”
He straightened up next to me and took my hands in his, and I held my breath waiting for him to speak. My heart was pounding so loud that I thought it would burst.
Nidal looked deep into my eyes and spoke in a serious, loving tone, “Loula, you know how I feel. You know I cannot exist in a world without you. You are the very reason for my existence. I love you with all my heart and soul. I waited patiently for you all these years until you were ready for me.” He took my hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. My heart pounded rapidly. “Loula, you know how much I love you,” he whispered with deep emotion. “I want to make you my wife, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to have my children. I want to grow old with you. Loula, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” he asked hopefully as he waited patiently for me to answer.
He took my breath away, my prince, the love of my life. He looked at me now as if his life depended on my answer. He stopped breathing, not wanting to disrupt my response.
“Nidal,” I whispered his name softly as tears of joy sprang to my eyes, “I love you so much, and I could love no other. It is you to whom I lost my heart to, and it has always been you,” I cried. “Yes, I will marry you. I want desperately to be your wife.”
I threw myself in his arms and sealed our love with a passionate kiss. It was a moment that neither of us would ever forget, a beautiful moment full of love and promises. I treasured every second I had with Nidal. My heart burst with joy. My prince had asked to marry me, and I felt blessed.
After sharing this beautiful morning with my lover, I was reluctant to get out of bed. I wanted his warm body next to mine forever, but he announced that he had a meeting with his men. He slid out of bed and picked up his clothes. I stared at his lean, muscled body as he dressed, and for the life of me, I could not tear away my gaze. He looked so sexy that the butterflies in my stomach started dancing again. Nidal noticed and gave me a wolfish smile, and my eyes begged him to come back to bed, but in that instant, I noticed that Nidal was staring at something other than me. I followed his gaze and saw that his eyes had rested on the bracelet that Billal had given me. It had somehow made its way to the other side of the bed. My heart stopped beating as Nidal leaned over and grabbed it.
He held it in his hand and examined the expensive trinket. He lifted his gaze to me and asked in a low, dangerous tone, “Where did this come from?” I froze, knowing not what to say. “Where did this come from?” he barked again and shook the bracelet in my face.
Fearing the worst, I jumped out of bed and searched for my clothes, ignoring his question. I slipped into my gown, and with shaky fingers, I fastened the clasps to the front of the gown and frantically looked around for my slippers. Nidal’s patience ran out.
He marched up to me and asked again a third time, “Where did this come from?”
Again, I ignored him because I was afraid to tell him the truth. Just that second, I saw Nidal’s face tighten as he finally realized on his own. I waited for the explosion that was for sure going to follow.
“This is from Billal, isn’t it?” He took a step closer to me. “You dare to accept a gift from the traitor as soon as my back is turned? Like a fool, I trusted you and asked you to be my wife! You are not loyal to the love that I thought we shared for one another! I will never marry a tramp like you!” he roared.
If he had stuck a knife in my heart and twisted it, the pain would have been less than what I felt at this very moment. With trembling lips, I said simply, “Then don’t, but I tell you this. You are making a mistake talking to me in this manner. I shall never forgive you!”
Nidal threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly. “Madam, the only mistake I have made was falling in love with you.”
Those words cut deeply into my wounded heart and killed everything I held dear in this life. “No, Nidal, it was I that made the mistake, not you.” I was unable to stop the tears that flowed down my face.
Nidal’s jaw clenched, and his eyes turned a darker shade of blue. I turned and walked away, not knowing what else to do. Nidal grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him. Then he grabbed my hair with his two hands, twisted it, and pulled me forward. Our foreheads touched, and I cried out in pain, but he did not loosen his grip. He held me in this position. His hands were still holding my twisted hair tightly. I could feel his heavy breathing on my face. A single tear escaped and rolled down his face as he looked deep inside my eyes, searching for answers that would stop the agony in his heart. My head went numb as I stared into his beautiful eyes. My heart already regretted accepting the gift from Billal.
What was I thinking?
A few minutes later, Nidal let go of my hair and dropped his hands to his sides. I saw the muscles on his face relax. He silently walked over to the bathroom and entered it, thrusting the door shut behind him. I bolted for the door. Blinded by tears, I ran down the long corridor, exited through the back doors, and went around to the stables.
A beautiful black stallion had his head in a bucket and was drinking water. I approached him slowly. His head bobbed up, and he took a few steps backward. Not wanting to scare him, I reached over and caressed his neck, whispering softly to him. When I saw that he accepted my friendship, I slowly grabbed his reins and pulled him gently toward me. I kicked over the bucket, and the remaining water spilled. I turned the bucket upside down and placed it next to the horse. I stepped on it, climbed on top of the horse, and pulled his reins. And off we went.
It’s a good thing I know how to ride a horse.
The horse galloped away from the palace. The warm breeze brushed against my skin, and I closed my eyes, allowing the tears to travel down my face, another reminder of the pain that tortured my heart.
After riding for a while, I had no idea where I was headed to, and as I looked around, I realized I was lost. I did not know which way would lead me to a safe haven. I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to focus and see where I had come from, but as I looked around, I saw nothing but grass, trees, and hills. A new set of tears spilled forth, and I was tired of riding, so I decided to stop and rest a bit instead of moving forward. I jumped off the stallion and found a nice spot under a tree that offered some shade and a decent resting spot, but to my dismay, the stallion did not want to be a part of my adventure anymore, and he ran away. I panicked and called out to him, but it was of no use. The beautiful stallion had quickly disappeared from my view.
Now what?
A new set of tears were threatening to spill forth, but I knew that crying would not help the situation. After much thought, I decided not to waste any more time, and I started walking down a dirt path, hoping it would take me to the village I had once visited with Nidal. I walked the whole entire day with only a few rests along the way. It was almost sundown, and from a distance, I saw many lit torches, which indicated a village was down that road. I picked up my pace, and I was relieved when I finally reached the village.
Almost immediately, I noticed this was not the same village I had visited before. Nothing here looked familiar as I walked down the empty, cobbled streets. The shops were closed, and the streets were deserted. I looked around, and a lump formed in my throat. Teary-eyed, I continued walking through the neighborhood and realized I had made a mistake in coming here.
I gazed along the path that led to another part of the village. I was getting a little nervous now. This part of the neighborhood did not look as inviting as the other side. The homes looked run-down and unkempt. A bad stench was coming from the side of the street that looked like an alley. Garbage was everywhere, and the torches were few. I slowly turned and walked the other way, hoping to find refuge before bedtime. As I walked closer to the nicer homes, the smell of fresh-baked bread filled my nostrils, and I wavered with hunger as my stomach growled, reminding me that I had not eaten a single thing today.
I debated if I should knock on someone’s door, and I realized I might be recognized and taken back to the palace. My shoulders slumped as I walked away from the village and headed back on the dirt road from which I had come. The moon was full tonight, and that gave me a little guidance. Feeling hungry, thirsty, and tired, I pulled off the dirt road, found a tree, and dropped beneath it. This would make a good sleeping ground until morning.
Not that I had another choice
, I thought dryly as my eyelids closed and I fell into a deep sleep.
I
n the morning, I felt something nibbling at my nose, and I immediately opened my eyes and screamed. I stared at my attacker. The little lamb looked at me with big, black eyes, startled as much as I was. Relieved that it was not someone or something that threatened my life, I slowly stood up and looked around for its owner. And sure enough in a distance, I saw him. The shepherd, a thin, young lad, was coming my way, and behind him followed a small herd of sheep.
The young man, who did not look a day older than twenty years of age, walked up to me, smiled, and asked, “What is your name, my lady?”
“Nadia.” I quickly answered. I could not tell him my real name.
The young man bowed before me, allowing his hair that was pulled back in a ponytail to sway forward as he introduced himself.
“My name is Abdul,” he said.
“What are you doing out here by yourself? Where is your chaperone?” He looked around suspiciously with his big, black eyes.
“I do not have one. I am all alone,” I said too quickly without thinking.
What if he alerted the villagers and they seized me and took me as a prisoner?
I feared the worst.
“My lady, I will tell no one you are here. Please do not fear,” he said innocently enough.
“Can you please help me, lad? I am lost and hungry, and I am scared.” I hoped he would come to my aid.
It only took Abdul a few minutes of thinking before he announced cheerfully, “Well, you can come home with me. My mother and I hardly ever have visitors, and I know my mother would be delighted to meet you.”
I believed him. His proposal sounded very inviting.
They have no idea who I am, so they will not alert the palace
.
So I eagerly accepted his invitation. Besides, had I not accepted, there was nowhere else for me to go. I followed Abdul as he herded the sheep toward his home. From a distance, I saw the little shack they called home. It was very small but looked warm and inviting. I waited patiently for Abdul to bring all the sheep to the stable, and then we went inside his home.
His mother greeted us at the door with a welcoming smile, exposing crooked, decayed teeth as she stepped aside for us to enter. Her gray eyes sparkled with curiosity as she closed the door and walked up to me. Her long, thick braid that hung low beneath her waist swayed as she tipped her head to the right and checked me out from head to toe.
Nervously, I threw her a smile and said, “Hello, my name is Nadia.”
Abdul’s mother wiped her hands on her worn-out apron, took my hands in hers, and held on to them. She seemed pleased that I was in their home.
“Please sit and break bread with us. We do not have much, but what the good Lord has given us, we will share with you.” She gently pulled me to the wooden table in the middle of the tiny room and motioned for me to sit.
Not wanting to offend her in any way, I pulled out the wooden chair and sat on it. I looked around the small room and noticed it was almost bare of furnishings. There was a table with three chairs and two beds, one on each side of the room. There was a woodstove to cook on and a sink with the only window in the room above it, which was decorated with an old, cotton curtain. They did not have much, but they seemed like good people.
After washing his hands, Abdul helped his mother set the table. A hot bowl of potato soup and a slice of freshly baked bread was placed in front of me, and there was a slice of cheese and a glass of milk too. I devoured everything. I was starving. I sat quietly at their table while mother and son ate their food in silence, and when they were done, Abdul’s mother removed the dishes from the table and dumped them in the sink. Abdul sat proudly in his chair, smiling at me.