Desert Angel

Chapter 2

The journey wasn't very long. Camels and horses--real horses--and carts did help the nobleman's group reaching the palace where Sultan Hassan and his ten children lived in faster than they had to if they relying on their feet alone, obviously.

The first thing to greet the nobleman's party was a solid gate and a set of guards. His counsellor reported to one of the guards, and soon the firmly standing metal plates were opened inwards, opening the path to the magnificent ivory-coloured palace with golden domes decorating the towers.

"Kneel," said the nobleman as the group arrived at the sultanate hall, and when she kept her legs firm, one of the his servants pushed her down to kneel.

"Presents," the nobleman turned to the king and the prince, beaming proud grin over his expensive gifts. "to our mighty Sultan Hassan and Shahzade Sulaiman."

He let his servants putting down the presents as he mentioned origins of each gift, and when they arrived on the angel, he gave the audience his loudest voice.

"An angel, a real one, a gift for Shahzade Sulaiman, I hope Your Highness likes it," he pushed the girl slightly forward, making the chains around her limbs jingling as she moved. "still needs a little bit disciplinary lesson, but I guarantee she'll make a good angel."

The uninterested Shahzade finally casted a glance towards his share of the gift and thinking the nobleman was right. Even though the angel had veil covering almost all of her appearance, the young prince could see her pale skin and golden strands peeking through the veil and sheer clothes she was wearing. He was interested on how she looked like, but not too much to make him show it on the surface. He only nodded and said his thanks to the nobleman.

It had been a custom for noblemen who reign small towns to give gifts of their best products for the biggest one in order to gain more recognition and power from the biggest sultanate. Every month, each area would present the Sultan and his family with various gifts, mostly expensive products to prove the sultan that his town is prosper enough and deserves more recognition.

Sultan Hassan, watching the nobleman endlessly promoting all of his gifts like a merchant on the market, only smiled when the nobleman was done with his talk.

"Good gifts," he said and smiled, wrinkles could be seen moving around his forehead and mouth as he spoke. He was old and soon to retire, but the wisdom of a great king was still shown in his deep-set greenish eyes. "You may leave."

As the formal meet ended and all gifts were placed in rooms where they belong, the king casted a glance to his only son from his beloved queen.

"So, Al," he called him by the name his late wife always called their beloved child with. "have you been thinking about the offer to marry Sultan Amir's daughter?"

Al shrugged.

"As much as I want to please you, dad, I don't want to marry a princess without a brain."

The old king laughed under his sigh.

There were several other sultanates who offered their daughters to be his daughter-in-law, but none of them had appeals to make Sulaiman glances over them, yet in order to let him have the throne, Sulaiman must first get married to a befitting woman.

"And as much I agree with you, you need to get married soon to take my throne, son," he leaned back, relaxing himself on the uncomfortable golden seat, made and built only for the king. "I'm getting older, and you're having your 26th birthday in three weeks."

"You are the only one in this sultanate who has the very right to sit in this uncomfortable box when I left this world," he patted his son's head, rustling his brownish hair, showing how much he loves his flesh and blood from the woman he loved most.