“Zaria,” he began, only to be interrupted by the clatter of approaching hooves.
We looked up to find the guard captain from the forest approaching, a squad of guards behind him.
“Prince Tarek!” The captain saluted, but his expression was forbidding. “There you are. I was beginning to fear I would have to report to your father that we had lost you.”
Rek didn’t even glance at us, straightening on his horse’s back and nudging the animal forward, cutting Ali and me out of the circle of conversation.
I sighed softly. Now there was an audience, the prince didn’t want anyone to see him conversing with such lowly persons as us.
“My apologies, Captain.” Rek guided his horse further forward. “I had some private business to conduct, but I am ready to return home now.”
The captain looked curiously toward us, half obscured though we were, but Rek cleared his throat, an imperious inclination of his head indicating that he expected the guards to lead the way.
The captain nodded back and wheeled his horse toward the palace. His squad formed around the prince, and the column of horses moved into the city. They had nearly passed from sight when Rek sent a single glance back toward us, our eyes meeting for the briefest moment.
Something sharp and heated jumped from his gaze to mine, but before I could identify what it might be, he turned a corner and was gone.
“Come on, Zaria!” Ali hissed. “We must get these animals home.” He sent a significant look toward the closest basket.
His words jolted me into action. I had been distracted by the past, but Ali’s attention was firmly on the gold. Only once we were both moving did he ask the questions that must have been swirling in his head.
“What was that about, Zaria? The prince knew you!”
I shrugged, having regained some of my equanimity now that Rek was no longer within view.
“Surely someone has mentioned that I came to Nyla from the palace? Before his death, my father was a junior vizier there. I once knew all the royals. But that was another lifetime.”
“A vizier!” Ali was surprised enough to stop, but when the donkeys kept moving, he hurried back into motion. “But what are you doing as a servant in that case? What of your mother?”
“She died birthing me. I never knew her.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, true sympathy in his voice.
I managed a small smile. “My father, and the nurse he employed, gave me all the affection a young girl could need. I noticed no lack.”
“But they are both deceased as well?” He waited for my nod of confirmation. “How tragic. Now that you mention it, I do remember something about you having come from the palace. It is so long ago, I had forgotten. But I assumed you must have been a servant there. Surely the child of a vizier would not be left destitute!”
My mouth twisted. “I only discovered after my father’s death that he had many debts. It took all his savings to defray them, leaving me with nothing. I am grateful to one of his fellow viziers for using his position to find me employment.”
I said the words mechanically, knowing I should feel gratitude to Azzam. My undutiful emotions rebelled, however. From the moment my numb shock had subsided, and I had grasped Nyla’s character, I had felt nothing toward him but sour resentment.
I wasn’t foolish enough to speak in those terms, though. In society’s eyes, Kasim’s household provided secure and enviable employment, and Azzam had continued to rise up the ranks of viziers in the last three years. It would be ridiculous for someone in my position to set myself up as his enemy, however much I resented his lack of compassion.
“Ah! Here we are!” The sight of his front door pushed my sad history from Ali’s mind.
He drove the three donkeys ahead of him, waiting until we were all inside the simple fence that encircled his modest home before he rubbed his hands together in delight. He closed the gate firmly just as his wife, Mariam, came bustling out to welcome him.
Their house was much smaller than Kasim and Nyla’s, with little room for servants. And the courtyard between the fence and house was nothing more than packed earth. But even this house would have been out of their reach if it hadn’t been purchased for them by Kasim.
The rumor among the servants was that he had done it in an effort to appease Nyla. His wife had been mortified at having relatives living in what she described as a hovel. But unsurprisingly, she hadn’t been pleased at his expenditure. And she certainly didn’t seem to like her brother and sister-in-law any better now they lived in a nicer home.
I had always been glad for Navid’s sake, though.
“Zaria!” Mariam smiled at me in welcome before turning to frown at Ali. “Navid mentioned she had gone with you, but what is she doing here? You should have seen her home first.” Her tone suggested disappointment at Ali’s failure of courtesy.
“And you’re back so quickly,” she continued, worry creasing her face. Her expression relaxed when she looked to the donkeys, however. “Ah, but I see your baskets are full. A good afternoon’s work, then?”
“You will soon see how good, best of wives!” Ali cried. “When you realize what is inside these baskets, you will understand why I hurried straight here, not even deviating to see our good Zaria home.”