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Tucking the skirts of her robe around her shins, she watched the couple help each other with their tasks, content to be in their simple home. She had known them since she had stumbled upon their shelter as a small child out riding with her father. The emperor and his young daughter had been parted from their guards and companions during a rare rainstorm. The couple had welcomed the grand strangers, and shared tea with them by their fireplace. The young Elishiba had delighted in the couple and the goats they reared.
Her father, Ramsis, was a ruler who appreciated the most humble and heartfelt gestures of all his subjects. He knew that wisdom and loyalty could be found more easily among the modest than the mighty, and Elishiba had followed suit. At least once during the thirty day moon cycle she would ride up to visit the shepherd and his wife, bringing them wine, fruits, and leavened bread from the city.
She watched as Fahima took some precious jasmine leaves from a carved box and sprinkled them into a metal pot, which she handed to her husband. The young kid followed her, bumping against her legs as she went. Basim filled the pot with water from a jug and latched it over a hook, which he swung over the lighted fire, before pulling two more stools closer toward its hearth.
"He is a headstrong young fool, this one,” Fahima chuckled, lifting the restless goat between her capable hands and gesturing with him. “He butted his mother until she would have no more of him and we had to bring him in here instead.” Fahima rested the jittery kid down by Elishiba's side, and she fondled the creature, which nuzzled up to her in return.
Fahima brought dishes to the fireside and then settled beside them. “Tell us, how is your father? We have heard little news of him."
Elishiba shook her head. “It is not something we wish spread to our enemies, so we speak little of it. I'm afraid his health continues to weaken. I was hoping he would be able to travel with me to Karseedia, and to stay while I negotiate, at least for a while. But he will remain in Aleem when I leave."
"We did not expect to see you at all,” Basim said.
"I had to come, to say goodbye.” Elishiba hurried on, but noticed the tears glistening in Fahima's eyes. It made her heart stronger though, for it was for people like this for whom she made her quest. “I will ensure that someone calls on you from the city, as I have, but this will be my last visit, at least for some time."
Fahima wrung her hands. “Karseedia is a treacherous country, my Empress, a place ruled through evil and wrongdoing—it will be our saddest day when you go there."
"What you say about Karseedia is true,” Elishiba agreed, with a soft laugh. “But there are worse threats further afield, and we must strengthen Aleem in defense against them.” Her thoughts turned briefly to the many half-made plans she harbored, plans of gaining security for her people, without sacrifice.
"This union between you and the Emperor Hanrah,” Basim ventured, his eyes watchful. “It is something that was first spoken of when you were just a child."
Elishiba nodded. “Oh yes, my father and the Emperor of Karseedia considered the implications of such an alliance, but so many lives had been lost on the battlefield. The wounds were still fresh. The match was unpopular with the people on both sides, and it was never promised."
"So why is it that you must go now, Mistress Elishiba?” Fahima asked, impatiently.
"It is not without a great deal of thought that I have come to this decision.” Elishiba accepted a dish of tea from Fahima's hand. “It seemed at first the only way to ensure negotiations move forward, on relatively friendly ground. Although I think ... I hope,” she glanced at them, “that there may be other ways to resolve the situation. I promise you, I will find the best way forward, for us all.” She sipped the warm, fragrant liquid and nodded appreciatively at Fahima.
Fahima sighed. “I do not want you to marry this man."
Elishiba smiled at her simple statement. “You should understand that I renewed consideration of the match myself. It was a matter of necessity. Aleem has always been vulnerable; our place on the trade routes has deemed it so."
She shrugged lightly before she continued. “Allying ourselves with an enemy we have the measure of is the more sensible thing to do. The envoys of Karseedia informed us they would not enter into further discussions on the matter, without some grand gesture on our part, some ... sacrifice.” She rested the dish down on the floor.
"My father did not encourage it, but he understands why I have chosen this path, and he respects my efforts. A little while ago, he began communication with the new Emperor of Karseedia, Hanrah. The union has been agreed. In the passage of a few moons the escort party will arrive to take me there. Once arrived, I will begin to assert my own demands, in earnest."
Elishiba noticed it was easier to be strong and focused when she was in the city, living her sophisticated, decadent court life, surrounded by her followers and with Aleem's elite army, the Immortals, nearby. Away from there she had to be braver, but she still had to face it. This is what life would soon be like all the time—full of doubt and not a little fear. Leave her home, she must. Fight, she must. Besides, Fahima and Basim were as much part of Aleem as they all were, and she had vowed to find a way to draw a protective shield over the land and people she and her Father governed.
"If you must marry this man, will you ever be able to return to your homeland?” Fahima asked, with a note of reluctance, as if she did not even want to voice the question.
Elishiba nodded. “If the union takes place—although it is my will to find another way, if it is possible—I will have it written in the contracts that I shall be able to govern Aleem, as before—and alone. I will travel back and forth, if necessary."
In her heart of hearts, Elishiba knew that another way had to be found. If the pact were sealed by marriage, she would be bound to Karseedia forever. Marriage, to a man she did not know, who came from a long line of power-hungry warmongers—if she thought on it for too long, her belly tensed. But no matter how difficult, if it were the only way to protect her people, she would do it.
The wind wailed outside, rattling the door on its hinges, and a somber silence descended over them. The young goat leapt to its feet as if it, too, had been listening and butted up against Elishiba, making her heart soften. She smiled and fondled the soft locks beginning to sprout around its ears. “If the gods are willing, I will be back in my homeland before this little one is full grown."
She turned back to Basim and Fahima. “How many trips have you taken to the Souk these past weeks, Basim?” The conversation turned to the more everyday news they shared on her visits, Elishiba secretly treasuring each moment in their company. Her will was fiercely strong, but she knew her promise to them wasn't built on the certain knowledge of what might actually transpire. She could only guess what lay ahead. They must be prepared for everything and anything.
When the winds died down, she took her leave of the couple, drawing her headdress low on her brow and across her face to hide her identity. Her father and others at the palace thought she shouldn't travel alone this way, and she didn't wish to draw attention to herself. She untied Fidda's reins, glancing toward the distant outline of the city.
Dust hung in a gray pall around the outer walls, beginning to settle. Mercifully, it had been a shallow windstorm, after all, but it would wreak havoc enough among her beloved people. She mounted up, setting off as quickly as Fidda could negotiate the path, praying to the gods.
"How I wish I could protect my people from the insidious dust, and from every other foe and tribulation that exists,” she said to Fidda, her hand tangled in his silver mane. The horse whinnied, tossing his head left and right.
As she stroked him and reiterated the prayer, a massive peal of thunder rolled across the skies and a flash of light broke through the darkness. She started, her hand lifting to shield her face. The gray sky illuminated strangely from within, and the clouds opened. Soft rain began to patter around her, splashing onto the rocks, cleaning the dust from their surfaces. Relief seeped in
to Elishiba's bones.
Fidda lifted his head, enthusiastically snorting the fresher air. She urged the horse on, faster, thanking the gods of the elements for hearing her prayers. Sometimes Elishiba's faith in the gods waned, but in that moment she almost believed she had the power to make them hear her words. She smiled to herself, wishing it were true. “A power such as that I could surely use,” she murmured.
