Daughter Of The Sea.

Chapter 5

Ahab missed Itha-baal's company. As he sat looking out the carriage window with beautiful sea views, he imagined once more the sight of the Princess splashing and laughing in the rock pool. He guessed that the reason her father had arranged for them to be apart today was because his daughter had shown too much interest in the visiting King.

As Ahab watched the countryside roll past, he slowly came to the realisation that the Phoenician Princess had, in a short space of time, stirred his heart. Back in Israel he was so engrossed in the art of war that he gave little thought to marriage, even though his advisors and family pestered him on the subject. If he felt like female company, a night with one of his concubines would suffice.

The Princess would certainly make a good choice for a bride. She was beautiful in a stately sort of way. She was of royal stock, clever and schooled in the running of a kingdom. All these attributes raced through his head but what stuck in his mind was her smile, her laugh and the way she had touched his face. Little things became big things in his memory, like when they had sat on the rock ledge and she had traced the scars on his leg with her finger. The horripilation he underwent made his leg twitch. The princess giggled but didn't stop.

The carriage shuddered and shook as it hit a bump in the road. Ahab was abruptly brought to the present. He looked around sheepishly. Ithobaal was gazing intently at him. The Tyrian King had been lost in his own thoughts for most of the journey. The talks with the Israelite delegation were scheduled to start tomorrow. He had to make sure all his ducks were in a row.

Ahab looked out the window, hoping to drift off again into a daydream where a certain Phoenician princess held centrestage. This time his attention was caught by a strange looking sight. Huge mounds of something, he knew not what, were scattered across the countryside.

He turned to the Tyrian king, and with genuine interest, asked.
"My dear king, could I interrupt your thoughts? These mounds I see scattered across the fields, what is it that they are made of and what are they there for?"

King Ithobaal smiled and answered.
"Welcome back young King. I feared that I had left you behind and only a dummy in your likeness accompanied me in the carriage."

Ahab, much embarrassed, smiled sheepishly but said nothing. King Ithobaal continued.

"I am so glad you asked me about the mounds you see. We are nearing Sidon and those mounds you see are part of the reason I brought you on this trip. I wanted to show you the source of our most profitable and successful venture, beginning from step one, but seeing that you have inquired about the mounds, I shall start there. "

Looking out the carriage window, the king continued.

" What you see are the shells of a sea animal, nearly like a snail, which have been discarded. The shells are heaped up in preparation for further use. As you can see some mounds are the height of 14 men, if they stood on each other's shoulders."

Before Ahab could query further, the sound of the carriage wheels changed. They had left the rough ground road and now travelled on cobbled streets as they entered the city.

" Good! " King Ithobaal exclaimed,
" We are nearly at our destination. I will explain further when we get there."

Ahab raised his eyebrows as he asked.

"And where is there?"

"The harbour, dear King, the harbour." Ithobaal replied.

The carriage came to a halt and the bodyguards of both kings speedily dismounted and secured their horses. They hastened to the carriage and formed lines on either side of the door. The footmen had already set the steps in place and opened the door.