Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) (2 page)

Karim stepped out from behind Elijah and shook his head. “Apparently so.”

Firas suddenly burst out in laughter. “Come on! You’re almost there! Keep climbing!”

Firas’s words marked the struggling man’s halfway point, but he moved slower and slower as the minutes ticked by. Elijah had been observing in silence. “Would you like to do the honors?” Karim boldly declared his intention. “I would have it no other way.”

In a matter of seconds, Karim sliced through the rope. A loud
thud
was followed by a roar of laughter from behind the roof’s edge.

No longer interested in his prey, Elijah motioned to the others to quickly gather up the two ropes. “Come on! Let’s get some grub!” In a flash, the gang bounded from their perch and started jumping over the other rooftops on the way to their hideout. Their laughter drifted into the crisp coolness of the desert air.

The fleeing group made their last jumps to one of the highest rooftops in the city. Elijah stood there for a moment, gazed toward the palace, and marveled at the beauty of the flickering lights. He especially enjoyed his panoramic view and often stood in this exact same place, night after night, taking in the pleasurable sight. Inside, the group had already dug into the bag full of Elijah’s catch. He was the first to speak as he entered their humble abode. “Well, how is it? The food, I mean.”

With a mouthful of bread, Bayan replied, “Delicious!” He then quickly reached over and grabbed another hunk of cheese.

“You think everything is delicious!” Firas took another bite of sweet bread.

But Karim wasn’t quite as excited. “It’s all right. I’ve tasted better.” Nonetheless, he forced down a mouthful of cheese with a huge gulp of red wine.

Rasha didn’t hesitate to say, “It’s good.”

Smiling, Isabelle chose a seat beside Elijah. “It’s perfect.”

Suddenly, Nizar’s neck veins started popping out. “This is the worst-tasting grub I have ever tasted!” Without warning, he launched his food off the table and onto the nearby wall. Blank stares filled the room.

Rasha immediately tensed up.

Firas whispered under his breath, “It’s not that bad.”

But Nizar banged his clenched fist onto the table. “It’s not bad? It’s not bad?” Rasha quickly pushed herself away.

“I think that’s what he said.” Bayan’s half smile caught on with a few of the others.

Nizar abruptly stood up. “Shut your mouth! Here we are, living as thieves! The city guards chase us every day! We have to steal our food to survive! We live from day to day! Am I the only one who sees this?” Everyone but Elijah stared at the man’s red face.

Rasha suddenly shouted out with her shaking voice, “Please. Stop yelling.” Tears started to fill her eyes as she glanced around the room.

Nizar stared at Rasha as he shouted, “Someone has to speak out in this madness!” His eyes formed into narrow slits.

“It’s okay, Nizar. We are still alive, friend.” Karim walked in between Rasha and Nizar.

Nizar took a step backward. “Yes. I guess we should be thankful for that now, shouldn’t we?” A small smile appeared as he curled his upper lip.

Elijah finally became involved. “Get some sleep, Nizar. You will be fine.” He glanced around the room and realized the negative impact the bold man was having on everyone.

Just as he turned toward Nizar, the man abruptly spun around and thrust out his pointed finger. “You! You are leading this masquerade!”

Elijah leaned back in his chair and replied, “You say it as if it’s a bad thing.”

“How is it not?”

Elijah leaned forward and continued, “It feeds you every night, does it not?”

“Oh, that’s right. The man with the plan. You have a plan for everything, don’t you, Elijah?” Nizar continued to glare.

Elijah paused and slowly exhaled. “Only when I need one.”

Isabelle, seated in between the two, started fidgeting in her seat. She quickly shot him a nod of approval. Elijah smiled back, but turned back to Nizar.

“Then, what will you do tomorrow in the parade for the princess?” Nizar asked.

Elijah slowly wrung his hands together. “What?”

Nizar crossed his arms and kept glaring. “Oh, you haven’t heard? The princess is coming out of the palace for the first time in her life. It’s her eighteenth birthday. She is going to meet the people of this city. What do you plan on stealing from her?” His eyes slowly narrowed.

Elijah scratched his head for a second before he continued, “How many of you knew this?” Mention of the princess forced his thoughts away from his friends and this conflict. He felt himself drift away as he started to wonder what she was like. Often, he would sit and stare at the palace and dream of its abundant life. But his thoughts usually were cut short by the ever-present reality of finding food.

Everyone became quiet except for Bayan chewing on a piece of roasted chicken.

Elijah frowned. “Why wasn’t I told of this?”

Nizar abruptly bowed. “Oh, forgive us, Your Highness. We didn’t know that we answer to you.”

Elijah turned to Isabelle. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Isabelle fidgeted again and asked, “Who wants to see a tramp dressed in fancy clothing anyways?”

He’d heard her talk like this before and knew when to quit, so he turned to the closest one to her. “Firas?”

With his usual logic, Firas’s reply put a slight smile on everyone’s faces. “Well, we can’t go to the parade! The guards will be swarming! And unfortunately, you gave them your name, remember? It wouldn’t be a smartest idea if you went.”

Elijah shrugged his shoulders, but wouldn’t concede. “Fair enough. Bayan?”

Bayan grabbed another piece of dry bread and started to break it apart. “I forgot.”

Almost forced to smile, Elijah turned to Rasha. “I actually believe that. Rasha?”

She quickly shook her head and looked toward the floor. “Uh….same thing the guys said.”

He slowly rubbed his temple with his fingertips before he turned to Karim. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Rasha sighed. “Karim?”

His good friend nodded. “You really want to go and see the sultan and princess, to see how other people have been blessed with wealth and prosperity, while we look on in our ragged clothes with empty stomachs? No thanks.” Silence blanketed the room.

Elijah nodded back. “We are blessed, friend. Ever since we were too old to live in the children’s home, we have had each other, remember?” Then Elijah slowly looked around the room. “I want to see this princess for myself.”

Bayan stopped eating. Isabelle asked, “Elijah. But why?”

With shoulders held back, Elijah continued, “It’s not every day you get to see a princess. Who is coming?”

Veins still protruding, Nizar responded, “Count me out.”

Shrugging it off with a laugh, Elijah looked at the others. “Okay. Anyone else?”

Isabelle’s eyes sparkled for a second as she said, “I will go with you.”

Nizar threw his hands up in disgust. “Of course, she would!”

“Silence, Nizar!” Elijah clenched his jaws.

Karim looked at Elijah and, after a few seconds pause, replied. “I am in.” He and Elijah smiled warmly at each other before the leader turned to Bayan. “Sorry. I don’t feel so well.”

But Firas countered in support of Elijah. “Oh, come on, Bayan. Don’t be such a stick in the mud. Count us both in, Elijah!

“Rasha?” Elijah relaxed as he waited for her response.

“Okay,” she said.

Elijah seemed pleased enough now, but was still concerned about Nizar. “Well, Nizar. Are you sure? Everyone else is coming.”

Finally, Nizar’s attitude changed. “Of course.” Through gritted teeth, he replied, “Fine!”

Elijah’s face beamed. “Well, let’s get plenty of rest, we need to look our best. We are going to see a princess tomorrow!” He turned and walked out to view the palace one last time.

Chapter 2

E
xcept for the
gusty winds and blowing sand, the weather was nearly perfect for today’s regal affair. The last several days had been met with challenging sandstorms, but they seemed to have died down in anticipation of today’s historic event. The sultan had commanded a full garrison of stoic soldiers on majestic horses to line the parade route, setting up a border between the growing mass of town folks and the street. Three hundred men on horseback were the result of this, with another nearly four hundred men on foot. No one dared challenge the long spears or bows and arrows carried by each formidable guard.

The palace proper was the largest in this part of the world and certainly in the country. It graciously rose above the cityscape, but wasn’t overdone in its height. A new architecture bedecked its towers, that of onion-shaped domes. They were truly sights to behold, especially those covered in thin layers of hand-beaten gold. At its zenith, the sun made them completely brilliant because of the fantastic glint produced. Not all of the domes were gold. Some were painted a beautiful teal color, and set against the stark white and off-white colors of the walls, they looked spectacular. The palace entrance, an enormous gate structure bordered by two tall towers complete with teal-colored domes, was a fortress in and of itself. There were two actual entrances, one right after the other, for maximum protection. Both had served their purposes well and had prevented any breach their entire existence—nearly a hundred years.

Elijah and his gang were milling about in the huge crowd, completely surrounded by all sorts of people. Children were running around, yelling, and playing. Their parents let them run freely except for one mother. She could be heard above the crowd as she yelled at two little boys with mischievous looks in their eyes. She stopped for a second, turned her head when a soldier passed close by her, and the two children were gone. She was a fairly large lady, and it seemed that the children didn’t want to fall under her wrath, even for a second.

Elijah looked over at Isabelle. “When is she coming out?”

“Why are you so curious about the princess?” Isabelle pouted her bottom lip as she replied as she watched her life-long friend focus intently on the princess.

A quick smirk tried to cover up his true feelings. “No reason. I just want to see her.” But it didn’t work. Isabelle rolled her eyes and looked the other way.

Nizar watched her closely and seized the opportunity to voice his opinion. “Because he probably thinks he will have some romantic fling with her and then become prince over all of us!”

Bayan quickly wrinkled his nose. “Does that mean we get to eat the royal food?”

“Oh, not this again.” Firas seemed quite accustomed to the man’s constant fixation on food, but he quickly lost his frown just as two strutting horses passed by and forced him back into the crowd.

Elijah glared. “Settle down, Nizar. I just want to see her. That’s all.”

Rasha stood by Firas and listened in on Nizar and Elijah. She kept changing her stance, especially when the horses came close. Firas finally asked, “You okay?”

His kind question brought about a quick rash of emotion as Rasha shuddered. “I just don’t like being around large crowds.” She gave him a half-hearted smile and then looked toward the palace entrance.

Just then, Karim broke through the crowd. When he saw Elijah, he quickly waved. Elijah saw him immediately and waved him over. “Karim! You did decide to come.”

“Well. It was getting boring being at the hideout all by myself.”

They smiled at each other and seemed to relax a little bit as they turned to watch the activities in the street. The two shared a special camaraderie and friendship that had developed over nearly two decades.

Firas started pacing back and forth, ever so slowly. “Is this smart to be right where all the guards can see us?”

Elijah nodded. “Of course it is. We’re right under their noses! That’s the best place to hide.”

“They must have large noses.” Bayan chuckled and then quickly looked down toward the ground.

Firas shook his head. “It’s a figure of speech, Bayan.”

After a pause, Firas continued, “ Well, if you say so, Elijah.”

Elijah turned again to Firas. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

But the tension showed up again in Nizar’s jawline. “Oh! Don’t worry you all! Elijah said it’s going to be fine!”

“When we get home, you can take your nap, Nizar.” Elijah did his best to ignore the mounting tension caused by Nizar’s crass comments, but he was growing tired of the banter. It seemed, to him, that Nizar now had it out for him, and he wasn’t sure just how he was going to handle it. He noticed that the others became quite uncomfortable when Nizar made his sarcastic comments. He felt worse for them than for himself. He really wanted him to stop being so abusive and looked for an opportunity to do something about it, but he didn’t want him to ruin today. This was the day he was going to get to see the princess.

Nizar grimaced just as the crowd erupted in excitement.

Isabelle excitedly shouted, “That must be the princess!”

Elijah turned away from Nizar and, with squinted eyes, focused in on the palace entrance. “Where? I can’t see her.” There were so many people now pushing their way to get a better look at the princess too. It was impossible to get a good look from this position. “Oh, come on! Why are these people getting in my way?” Elijah slammed his clenched fist into his open hand as he stood on his tiptoes.

Suddenly, the large woman with the two boys pushed Firas. She kept trying to stretch up higher to get a better look, but it didn’t work. In the process, she teetered and then stepped on Firas’s foot. He pulled it back and tried to move away from the threesome. “Well, this is fun.”

Bayan stood quietly in the growing excitement. The nearby large woman moved directly in front of him, and he didn’t even move. “Who is hungry?” But no one answered.

Karim grabbed onto Elijah’s arm. “There has to be a better way to get a view of her.”

The crowd opened up for a brief moment and Elijah was able to see through to the street. He then caught a glimpse of several chariots with two figures on one of them, but he still couldn’t get the view that he wanted. “This is ridiculous.” He thought to himself how important it was for him to see the mysterious princess, and that nothing was going to get in the way of that. Then, he quickly turned around and looked up at the rooftops.