Princesses

The Enchanted Lamp

Nilafer could not be happier to be outside the walls of the palace. The Jeweled Isles glittered in the noonday sun, the water the color of turquoise, the sky a lapis lazuli, the streets amber, and the people were rich with color. She could always smell the sea from the palace, but she could see it now. Boats docked along the white sand, carrying things from all the lands. To the west of them were the kingdoms, a continent made of a thousand tiny small lands owned by a thousand tiny small kings, and to the east of them was the empire, a land dense with mountains and rich green trees. There were countries to the south and north as well, great deserts filled with wild beasts or snowcapped mountains which housed giants, and they all brought their ships through the Jeweled Isles.

Nilafer spent most of her time behind the white walls of the palace and did not often get to see these things. Servants brought her fruits from all the lands, and her neck was usually decorated with fine jewels pulled from the richest mountains, but she was never allowed to see the grungy men pull the heavy crates from the dock, nor was she able to witness the vendors as they shouted the prices of goods and the people haggled. She was not asked to think about how the drought in the south had affected grain prices, though the women in the marketplace certainly did as they complained loudly about it. A ship carrying food from the west had been downed by pirates, and so men drank beer on their doorsteps instead.

Nilafer was ushered along by her retinue of handmaidens and guards. Six pale women in white robes followed behind her, keeping the dust off her clothes and allowing a distance from the guardsmen, who were all tall and strapping and therefore a concern for her father, who knew his daughter was at the age where distraction came easy. They walked in a circle formation around them, sending away children who ran up with their hands out and women who waved scarves for her to touch and men who bowed low and winked at the handmaidens, who all giggled in response. Nilafer sighed to herself. Her own country felt a world away. She'd only asked her father for a day out of the palace, enjoying the baths, perhaps do some shopping. She should've known how he'd respond.

They'd cleared out the baths for her. The whole chamber was empty, and she allowed her handmaidens to lead her past the doors into the hot room. The guards remained outside, and only the female staff were allowed inside. The handmaidens undid her hair, removed her bracelets and necklace and rings--except for one--and fawned over her as they brushed out her hair. They would say things about her beautiful skin and her large eyes and how lucky she was to have such dark, wavy hair. They gossiped about the guards, how handsome they were, the men they'd seen, gushing about the mermaids they saw from the docks, who would sit out brazenly wearing no clothes at all. Nilafer listened to them as they walked into the next chamber, filled with cold water, so that condensation appeared on the walls. She was jealous of these girls. They were able to leave the castle, they were able to flirt and be coy, they were able to sit out on the docks and wave at the mermen who came close to the shore. Nilafer had never been in the city on her own. She wasn't even alone in the palace, not with the servants constantly ensuring she was comfortable.

It was unfair. Nilafer prided herself on her devotion to her father and to her title, but sometimes it was too unfair.

She watched the staff move in and out of the doors, bringing wine and towels and whatever they asked for. She stood up. A few of her handmaidens started to follow, but she waved them away.

"I'll only be a moment," she said and gave no further explanation.

They'd kept her things in another room, and she lifted up the bright fabric, embroidered with silk and jewels and drawn with the peacock that symbolized her family. She found the white shift and black pants and quickly pulled them on. Snagging a scarf as well, she wrapped it around her hair and moved towards the back door.