Desert Heat

CHAPTER TWELVE: DESERT

The desert was more beautiful than she had ever seen in pictures, and with the sun setting, it colored the rich sand in the most beautiful orange color that Lily had ever set her eyes on. Even though they had been in the middle of nowhere and there was nothing but sand, she felt at peace there.

The thought of her being murdered had gone away with the desert wind, and all that she could think of was the beauty of the desert.

"We have to walk up that hill; our tent is on the other side of that sand hill," Her husband informed her, and she turned to him, hoping that he was joking about walking up the sand hill to get to their tent.

"I hope you are joking with me." She told the prince, who simply raised an eyebrow, silently questioning his wife without really saying anything.

"I know that you are not familiar with me yet, but do I strike you as the kind of man that takes pleasure in joking about serious matters?" He asked her with a hint of irritation in his voice.

Lily turned her head and looked at the sand hill. She then turned to her husband, and this time she did not hide her concern.

"Why can't we take the Jeeps?"

"My queen, even though my Jeeps are the best, even I have to admit that they are not fit to drive on such terrain. Shall we make our way to the tent now, the sun is almost down" Prince informed her and he walked away from her once more, Lily knew that there was no use in arguing with a man like Prince Aziz.

By the time she looked back at him, he was already making his way up the hill, and some of his guards were accompanying him while the remainder of the guards stayed with her at the base of the hill.

She rolled her eyes at the thought of walking up the hill. Lily pulled up her dress enough for her to walk up the sand hill. Her husband was far ahead of her, and he seemed not to bother that his wife was far behind as he continued his conversation with his men.

Lily had never claimed to be an active person all her life, but she knew she was quite capable of walking long distances, but walking up this hill drained her. Her husband was far up the hill, and he was nowhere in sight. As soon as she got to the top, she saw why. Her husband was descending from the hill to the most beautiful and colorful tent that she had ever seen. The tent was far from any camping tent that she had set her eyes on because this tent was the size of a house with beautiful colors all over.

The lights inside the tent illuminated through the fabric of the tent, making the entire tent look magical, as did the torched wood outside the tent. As always, servants lined the outside of the tent, awaiting both the prince and his bride.

"My princes, do you need help walking down the hill?" Lily turned her head, and it was one of the guards offering his hand to her. She smiled and placed her hand in his, and he helped her off the hill.

At the base of the hill, her husband awaited her with his hands behind his back, and as always, he did not smile. Lily did not know what to think about this other than that she should learn to live with it. As Lily arrived at the bottom of the hill, the guard let go of her hand, and Lily thanked him.

"Are you done with your appreciation speech?" Her husband questioned her, and this irritated her further as he said it in front of the female servants awaiting them.

"I patiently wait for the day when you will say something nice if that is even possible," Lily commented loud enough for all the servants to hear her, but it seemed as though it did nothing for her husband.

"I am not a monster; I have my days," He told her as he walked away, leaving her outside the tent. The sun was almost gone, the night slowly took over, and the cold desert wind came out in its full force.