X - Triumph

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After their own treacherous journey avoiding crusaders and making countless stops to ask any Muslims they encountered for directions, Kabir and Zahara finally reached an encampment where Salah ad-Din was apparently lying low.

The pair had been fearing for days the idea of them going in circles, or that perhaps the Sultan would be in Egypt and they'd have to turn back around.

However, everything pointed toward him being near the Syrian desert. From there, Kabir figured out which areas he had an affinity for. The man liked to be on the move. He was a nomad more often than not. It made him unpredictable—to both enemies and presumptive allies alike. Not only that, but it allowed him to memorize the entire terrain, regardless of how identical it could seem in the most vast corners. The reach of his control expanded so greatly that there was also little choice in the matter.

If he was on his way to or from the Citadel palace at Damascus, the stops along the route were familiar to Kabir—if they had not changed since his campaign with him.

The dragged-out journey had become especially troublesome once the man received some great, unexpected news; it was something Zahara had been uncertain about for weeks, but there came to be a point when it was undeniable that she was with child.

The mild heat had piled up in her body, making her feel so worn down and heavy despite barely showing yet. But she also felt thankful that when they found Salahaddin's wandering village nighttime had fallen, and that heat was lifting. They had spotted it thanks to the torches doubled in intensity by their reflection on a stream circling most of it.

Kabir's first task in the encampment was to find a women's tent amidst the male-dominated scenery. When he found one, he left his wife there to rest and be taken care of.

He was ecstatic, but as always, would not show any hint of it.

It had been long since they married and he questioned why Allah suddenly decided to gift them a child while in the middle of such an uncertain and unsheltered time. But, was there ever really a perfect time to bring life into the world? This doubt rapidly remembered him not to question Allah's will.

To find Salahaddin once after all, he would only need to locate the most opulent and tallest haima. This search was aided by a man that, judging from his decided saunter and clothing riddled by pouches like barnacles on an old boat, looked to be a courier or at the very least, a scout. Kabir followed him to a long red carpet which made the way into a dark tent with gilded tassels and fringes unmissable.

"Halt."

The Sultan's two closest guards stopped him at the entrance. Kabir was glad to see them well, if barely unchanged. Better to be the same than be worse off.

"It is me." The man held his hands up at first, then ruffling through his clothing to show that he did not carry any weapons. Zahara had kept them on herself instead.

"You, indeed," Ghassan remarked with an unreadable expression, keeping a hand on the saif at his hip.

At the very least, it was obvious he remembered him. Kabir's red eyebrows and eyelashes, with those dotted cheeks over bronze skin made him quite recognizable.

Faisal faced Kabir after carefully watching Ghassan, and after removing the surprised width over his eyelids, he matched Ghassan's expressionless mien on his rounded features.

"You may enter at your own risk."

With one last narrow look between the guards, Kabir did just that, and he did so cautiously. Just because he had not joined in his brother's Christian friendship, it did not mean he was eager to join the Sultan's ranks. Years before he had left the Levant and returned to Al-Andalus against Salahaddin's wishes. The type of welcome he was to receive upon his entrance was yet to be seen.

Heaven Can't Wait ۞ Baldwin IVWhere stories live. Discover now