A horse, A ship, A crate

Nadia and Sharif figure out how to flee to MeCea

Jumping to his feet Sharif gets in front of her and holds out his arms “wait a minute we can’t just go running off to MeCea.”

            Nadia gave him a choice of staying for King Alexander to find them or leaving. The two pack up there belongings and decide the best way to leave would be through Donyer since they would be least likely found. Plus that was Sharif’s family’s home and he knew a place where they would be able to get some sleep for the night. The both of them whether they wanted to admit it or not were tired, hungry and exhausted from the nights events. They arrived to what looked like a 16 foot tree and a 12 foot bush. Nadia was too afraid to step any closer than the few feet they already were standing. “I thought you knew a place to sleep”, she said looking at him. Sharif made a little laugh and walked up to the bush and sweeping aside branches and leaves found a door and opened it. Nadia was shocked and took the gesture to walk in as Sharif took the horse somewhere else for the night so it could have shelter. The little bush house was nothing more than a bedroom for one. It contained running water and some food which Nadia quickly helped herself to a small serving of bread that was still fresh. There lay some branches that were woven together to make a bed with fur cloth mixed in the middle parts of it and a thin blanket to sleep on which probably wouldn’t be needed considering the bushes that surrounded this house kept it pretty warm inside.

            Sharif arrived back at the house in a few short minutes.

            Nadia felt she had to confess “I got a few pieces of bread”, she blurted out.

            “Oh yes I’m hungry too”, Sharif nodded and a grabbed a small serving for him. She wasn’t expecting that she half expected him too yell at her or something.

            “Well we have a long day tomorrow so should get some sleep”, she said not knowing what else there was too say.

            “Your right”, he managed to say after chewing the last piece of bread. “You can take the bed and I’ll sleep on the floor. I know its not the best but this is my place in case I don’t get a place which happens when I don’t get jobs”. Sharif said pointing toward the wooden bed. Nadia said it was fine and then she told him she needed to undress. “Oh oh okay I’ll leave”, Sharif said half embarrassed.

            “No, don’t leave. Just turn around okay”, Nadia said using her finger to illustrate. Sharif felt he had no choice, but to turn around he would’ve like to leave he was so close to her undressing. Nadia removed her red dress that hugged her frame and slid it down to her feet. Sharif could only imagine and he didn’t want to but he had already fallen for her and no matter how he tried not to he still pictured it. Underneath her red dress was an all white night gown that didn’t hug her frame it just seemed to lay there.

            “Sharif”, Nadia said. “You can turn around now.” Sharif did as he was told and his face got so red when he saw her and realized he couldn’t stop staring and it took him awhile to reach her eyes. “I remembered something my father wrote. He said the three suns that are on the scroll are on my back could you see if you see them for me.” She didn’t give him a chance to say no she turned around and slid the white slip down until it rest on her buttocks. She then moved her hair from resting on her back to the front.

            “Do you see it”, she asked. Sharif was finding it very hard to concentrate he was a peasant from the wrong side of the town most would say. Most women never even looked his way and those that did were peasants like him who were up to no good and he didn’t want there way. He had never been with someone like her a pure goddess if anyone asked him. She was perfect he wanted to touch it to caress her and be with her, but he couldn’t. “Do you see it”, she asked again. Sharif couldn’t stop thinking about wanting to hold her and kiss the right side of her neck, but then he saw it. The three suns like on the scroll her hair had been partially covering it on her upper left backbone. He didn’t even realize he went up to touch it until she turned around to face him. Nadia hadn’t been expecting his touch and his hands were cold he sent a shiver through her, but she didn’t see his touch as a bad thing. When she turned to face them there faces were inches away from each other. There lips were practically touching. Kiss me-she wanted to say her lips even began to tremble however what actually came out was.

            “Did you see it?”

            “Yes”, Sharif said and he told her where he’d found the symbol even though all he could think of was kissing her. Why didn’t he? The two of them stood in an awkward silence before the both of them went to sleep. Nadia decided it would be best if Sharif slept in the bed with her and not on the floor furthering the silence between them that night.

            The next morning King Alexander arose from his bed. Starting off his morning routine he awoke to his bath water being drawn in his luxurious bathroom. The entire room seemed gold plated down to the faucets. The king didn’t make a sound to his servants and as he came closer to his bath water a young male servant in old garments just bowed to the ground.

            “My king” was all he said as the King removed his robe. King Alexander tested the water left foot first and finding it to his satisfaction submerged the rest of his body up to waist inside the round tub. The servant knew then that he was to stand near the door until the king had a task for him. King Alexander sat in his bath soaking for about an hour comfortably until he was bored. The water remained satisfactory because every fifteen minutes or so he would instruct the servant to bring in more hot water. He arose from his bath thinking that he would invite Nadia down for breakfast. He told the servant to empty his bath water and then bring Nadia down to breakfast. King Alexander dressed in his fanciest of clothes because he wanted her to see him at his best and love him for it. King Alexander went down his stairs and walked into the oval room for breakfast. The table had already been set for him. His wine glass sat at the head of the table and to the right of his glass was a plate of bread and in front of that plate was another plate of fruits. A smile arose to his face ‘good’ he thought her favorite. He sat down at his usual spot at the head of the table as a servant stood waiting in the door to see if the king would ever flick his hand for assistance. The king waited for a little while before the servant he had asked to bring Nadia arrived to the oval room.

            The servant came in shaking he didn’t know what to say he was terrified of the king’s reaction. “Sh sh she isn’t in her room my king.” “

            Not in her room. Well where is she?” The king was in an almost perfect mood before the waiting and now the news of Nadia’s disappearance had erupted him into a boiling point. The servant didn’t know what to say all he could do was throw his hands up and bow to the ground because he didn’t know where she had gone. This upset the king very much and he would’ve killed the servant right there, but he knew the blame had lay with his guards because his servants were too pathetic to be smart.

            “GUARDS” he yelled with all his strength and might in his voice. The two men waiting outside of the door rushed in to see what the matter was.

            “Yes my king” they answered at the same time. The king restrained his voice a little because it was the only way he could speak.

            “Nadia is not in her chambers. Where is she?”

            “Gone my king” the men answered. “What do you mean gone?” King Alexander was very angry he rose from his seat and now stood in front of the man on the left who was speaking. He was never really on a first name basis with all his guards because aside from a trusted few the rest were expendable.

            “Yesterday night my king after the dinner she told us that you had allowed her to go out with the man.” “Shariq? The man that came to dinner last night?” The king knew who his guards were referring too Shariqe. He knew that he didn’t like the man much and now he knew why. He saw the way he kept looking and Nadia and tried to ignore it, but now for his treachery he was going to die. The King walked away from the two guards and over the table and dropped both fists in front of him on it making the servants jump.           With out turning to look at the guards he said: “Alert all guards have them search for Nadia and Shariq. Tell the people that the viscous criminal killed my good friend and now wants to kill his daughter.” The two guards started to walk away out of the door. “Wait…you two and unit six are coming with me, grab my carriage I can’t afford to go hunting in the daylight with me on my horse.” The two men walked out and in a bit of a rush they knew they were in trouble and they told all the guards what they were to do.

            King Alexander then came from his breakfast room having eaten only a bit of food and awaited near the doors of his castle for his carriage to be brought around. He noticed that there were hardly any guards around which meant that the men left in quite a hurry which pleased him. The two guards opened the doors to the castle and then escorted the king down to his awaiting carriage. Unit six was already waiting by the carriage. It was a small unit of about twenty men. Ten took the front positon and ten took the back position. King Alexander boarded the carriage and when one of the guards tried coming in behind him he gave him a swift kick in the face. “You ride beside it, not in it.” The king showed no sympathy as the disbelief showed the guards face and he immediately went to retrieve his horse from the stables. Once the guards arrive by horse side the carriage starts to take out from out of the castle yards and into the streets of Maleia.

            Sharif was the first to wake up to the bright sun shining through his hideaway bushy home. He hadn’t realize while he was sleeping but when he opened his eyes she was sleeping on him. He was lying fully clothed with his back on the bed. She had her hand and half of her upper body on him including her hand wrapped around his chest. He looked down at her and how peaceful she seemed and how beautiful she was. He watched her for a moment wanting to see how the sunlight seemed to bounce off her and it was as her father mentioned in his letter it was truly indescribably amazing. He wanted to stay there but decided it best he get up and help them get ready for the big day. He made sure not to make much noise as he took a few bites of the bread and bucket and left the home. He walked a mile down the road to make sure the horse was fed. Then he walked another half mile back up the road to a river and used the bucket to get some fresh water. On his way back up he noticed some clothes that were hanging on a line belonging to a peasant family and grabbed a couple of shirts and pants for him and dresses for her. He then arrived back at the house to find her sitting on the bed.

            “Your back,” she said rising to her feet and rushing to hug him. “I thought that you had left me,” she couldn’t control the few tears that left her eyes in those moments. She was so happy that he had come back.

            “Of course I came back,” he said to her lifting her face towards him. “Were in this together now and I’m not going anywhere….you couldn’t force me.” Those last few words were the honest truth he fell in love with her the first few seconds he met her. She let a few more tears fall before she asked about the items he was holding. “Oh yea, this is for some water in case you wanted to wash up and some clothes. I figured since were on the run you can’t go around dressed like a princess.” She looked down at the white slip she was wearing even though she knew what he was referring too.

            “Thanks,” was all she managed to say. None of it mattered to her because she was so happy he’d come back.

            “Well I will go for a walk so you can wash up.” Sharif said walking towards the door.

            “Okay. Just don’t go far this time.” Nadia smiled at him as he left the home. Sharif’s walked only turned out to be a little stroll meaning about ten feet away from the premises and then laying down in the grass. Nadia washed up and put on the dress that Sharif had gotten for her. The dress was definitely a hand me down and probably been handed down a couple times by the look of it. It wasn’t her taste she was definitely used to the finer things that life could buy, but she wasn’t picky either so she didn’t mind wearing the dress. She enjoyed a few pieces of bread before going outside to wear Sharif was lying. “Hey…I’m all done it’s your turn.” Sharif got up was shocked that even a hand me down looked amazingly beautiful on her and made her still look exquisite. Her wet hair didn’t hurt matters either. Nadia stood watching the sun as Sharif passed her wondering what in the world the symbol means. She was aware of magic all children were taught the horrific tales of the years before and how the three lands had magic abolished. She wondered what the scroll could be and how she played a part. Was the part she is supposed to play good or is she meant to be evil? She needed answers. Nadia also thought of Sharif. She thought of the fact that she put him in harms way and is now possibly leading him into more danger. She hated herself for that, but at the same time he was unlike any other man she’d met. She’d seen his heart and that is why she can’t seem to make a decision without him.

            Sharif came from the house with a brown satchel that held the rest of the bread a few fruits for them to snack on for the trip along with Nadia’s father’s note. He was wearing his new clothes as well they looked even better than Nadia’s. He wore a light blue button down shirt and a light blue jacket with black khaki pants.

            “I got everything ready for us to go.” Nadia nodded she knew that they had to get to the docks before the king realized there plan. They met each other at the door of the bushy home and together began the mile walk toward the stables. The weather was hot the sun shined down on them like a spotlight in a play. The two took a rest stop near the river for a few minutes. The river was a dark blue-ish green and was surrounded on either side by a few trees. They each took turns to rinse off their face from the heat of the sun. Sweat dripped from their necks within minutes of crossing the wooden bridge to get to the other side of the river.

            It took them nearly twenty more paces to reach the farm where their horse was being kept. It was a huge farm around ten acres. The house was well built for a huge family and the stable was kept up nicely. The property was enclosed in a fence that stood about shoulder length high. Nadia watched as Sharif motioned for a stable boy, who was feeding some pigs in their cage. The stable boy was red head with freckles couldn’t be more than twelve. He ran over to Sharif and gave him a huge hug. He was wearing pants that were cut to resemble shorts and a striped farmer’s shirt and a tan straw hat to block away the suns pressure. 

            “Are you here for your horse”, he asked sounding upbeat. Sharif just nodded to the young boy and he took off running in the direction of the stables. Nadia looked toward Sharif interestingly to where he knew the question that was on her mind.

            “I worked for the family on multiple occasions. They paid me good money so they would help me out when I needed it.” Nadia just nodded. She realized that times must’ve gotten hard for him, but she also saw what a good person he must be. In a few short minutes the young boy emerged from the stables holding the horse’s reins in his hand and walking toward Sharif. The boy handed the reins over to Sharif.

            “I got you a better saddle”, he said, “and I even packed some apples for the horse.” He said while handing the sack of apples to Sharif who thanked him and asked him to thank his father as well. The boy happily smiled and went back to his shores as Sharif helped Nadia onto the horse.

            They two started on the ten mile journey to the ports in Donyer. They didn’t talk very much as the sun seemed to be draining both of them. It could have been perhaps that the two of them were thinking about each other. So much so that when they did try to speak only message they relied to one another had to about the scenery that they were passing. The scenery was quite beautiful on an early sunny morning. The land of Donyer like most lands in Maleia were farming and fishing towns. They contained beautiful blankets of green grass and the rivers and lakes were an ocean blue. They passed little cottages where struggling farmers had a small portion of land to grow food for a family. They passed the huge farming lands that feed entire towns. The birds were chirping away and flying in swarms overhead.  Sharif decided to let Nadia ride the entire trip to the ports while he took breaks walking to give the horse a little bit of a rest from all the work.

            Finally after all the exhaust the early morning brought them the pair found themselves reaching the outskirts of Donyers ports. After passing a mile and a half of nothing, but grass they saw the ocean getting bigger and bigger. Nadia excitedly got off the horse and decided to walk with Sharif as they entered the ports. There was much going on inside everyone seemed to be in a bit of hurry bumping anyway as they were passing. The ports was the main marketplace. This was the place any inventor would go to sell products. This was the place people from all over would come to get items they’d heard of and if they had good money could buy products to sell to other villagers. There were dozens of little shops lined up to the left and right side of the ports. The little shops pretty much made up of a wood table and overhead with a cloth lining. Standing next to the shops would be merchants trying to make a sale. They often yelled to the people as they were walking by or trying to entice them. Some of the shops would even put on plays once in a while and as long as the play was good people would buy. There were tons of ships on the coast of the ocean being held to land by there anchor and rope. 

            Nadia and Sharif was taking in the scene so much so that they forget where there walking and walk right into a merchants product on the ground. The product looked like twisted scrap metal to Nadia and Sharif. They apologize vehemently and walk away as fast as they can partly trying to keep the merchant from realizing their laughter. The merchant gets visibly angry and goes to confront the two, but they are already on there way down toward the ships. They get to the first few ships ranging in different sizes and color.

            “Mecea, head to Mecea”, Sharif yells while he walks past the ships.

            “NO!” is all response he gets. Though Sharif can’t realize if that’s a no to Mecea or a no to letting him ride to Mecea. He tries this route a few more times with Nadia following closely behind. Finally a ship way east of the original ship he asked a man yells       “Mecea”. He and Nadia share excited glances and they run toward the ship.

            “You said you are going to Mecea. We were wondering if we could catch a ride with you.” The man is in his early fourties and scruffy around the edges. He walks toward the two of him almost making Sharif think about another boat.

            “Yes we can if you can pay.” The man notices that they don’t have any money by there expressions and asks them to get off. Nadia and Sharif want to argue, but no its no use and they are partially afraid of the men on the boat.

            “This is no use”, Sharif says while taking a seat on an empty crate. Nadia who is carrying the horse’s reins grabs his hand and pulls him up.

            “Look the merchants will stay here until business is over with, when the sun goes down. I say we are getting on that boat.” Her confidence would make any person want to follow in her footsteps Sharif thought. “Look”, she said pointing toward the ship. “We will carry the crates in, and when the cargo hold closes we will just be in one of the crates and we will stay until the boat has been at least an hours ride away from here.” Sharif absolutely hated the idea of being stuck in a crate, but it was a better idea than a non existent better one.