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In the first display cabinet was an intricate knot of emerald and ore. Beautifully lit, it turned slowly, and Ethan gazed upon it for a considerable time. The stone was practically bursting out of the ore.
‘Amulets are a gift of potential,’ Merida explained.
‘Potential for what?’
‘Marriages were, and still are, arranged in Al-Zahan. The amulets celebrate a future love, and also promote fertility. It is said that they are a gift of possibilities not yet fulfilled. To cut and polish the stone would reveal too many secrets.’
He seemed interested now, Merida thought as they moved on.
‘The next amulet is Lapis Lazuli. Lapis was, and still is, ground to create a pigment for ultramarine—the colour used in Van Gogh’sStarry Nightpainting. When the then Sheikha Princess was studying here in Manhattan she saw the painting on display. It is said it was the recollection of the painting that started her on a mission to find the missing amulets.’
‘And did she find many?’
‘Indeed.’ Merida nodded. ‘At the time of her death she had made significant inroads—though of course there are many gaps.’
‘And she studied here?’ Ethan checked, more than interested now.
‘Yes—at Columbia.’
It was the same college where Khalid and Ethan had met. He had known that the amulets belonged to Khalid’s family, but he had not known that the late Queen had studied at Columbia too. It struck Ethan that he had learned more about the enigmatic Khalid from a stranger than from the man himself. He was more than intrigued as Merida spoke on.
‘Princess Dalila returned to Al-Zahan to marry. However, her fondness for New York City was the reason that her son, Sheikh Khalid, agreed to the amulets being displayed here.’
Ethan moved on—but not out of boredom this time, more out of interest. He stood peering into the next display. Embedded within a large, egg-shaped piece of marble was a ruby.
‘This one is my favourite,’ Merida admitted.
She took out some black gloves and handed him a pair, then, as she put on her own gloves, Merida told him its story.
‘Three hundred years ago in Al-Zahan there was a secret wedding,’ she explained, and Ethan found he was drawing nearer to hear her low voice, as if she were sharing a secret only with him. ‘Due to feuding between the two families there was no amulet given. Peace was finally restored, but after two years, when there were still no signs of a baby, it was decided that this was the reason. The Sheikh King, desperate for the lineage to continue, asked that the best stones be excavated. It took three years until what he considered a suitable offering was found.’
‘It’s stunning,’ Ethan said, and so was the voice that told the tale.
She handed the large stone to him; he weighed it in his hand and then held it between finger and thumb, bringing it nearer to his eyes to examine it more closely.
‘Careful,’ Merida said, and drew on yet another of her well-worn lines. ‘It ensures fertility.’
‘For a hen, perhaps,’ Ethan mused.
That tiny glint of humour made her smile. It reached her eyes, and they shone as beguiling as any amulet, and there was a single perfect moment when he forgot his hellish day.
Hellish because he should be in Dubai, finally kicking back, but instead would be heading to the hospital soon, where his father had been admitted in advance of some exploratory surgery that morning.
Ethan knew no more than that.
In an hour or so he would glean what he could, but for a moment or two he forgot the troubles awaiting him in the world outside. For now he focused on her smoky voice and the history of this beautiful stone, said to promote both love and fertility—two things he did not want.
‘And did it work?’ Ethan asked, handing the amulet back to her.
Merida nodded. ‘Yes, the Sheikha Princess went on to have the first set of royal twins.’
The tour continued to its conclusion and, having seen and held some more amulets, Ethan handed the final piece to her and watched as she carefully replaced it in the display.
‘The amulets really are beautiful—though it’s all fairy tales of course.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ Merida said. ‘All the marriages attached to these amulets were seemingly happy ones.’
‘The Queen died in childbirth,’ Ethan pointed out.
