Secrets of Ramlat al-Sab'atayn

Chapter 2

"We lost again",said Mariam in a very proud tone.

"They are unbeatable" replied Tasmiya with a sincere smile .

They were just outside their tents , doing what they always do after they perform their Zuhr Salaah....riding their horses.

Raysa was undoubtedly the best rider there was.She could menouver through any obstacle. And had the fastest horse from the three that could jump the highest too."You're amazing, Layla " ,said Raysa with a great, big smile.Layla was a glistening black Arabian horse.She was as dark as nightfall.Much like her master, she was clever , dark-natured and unpredictable.

It takes time for a horse to bond with its master, but being under the care of Faisal bin Abbas , the horses would trust anyone he did.It was a bond between a horse and friend, not a controlling master.

No tugging and no whipping was needed to tell them what to do.And sometimes, the horse would know better ,"Go left , Nourah ".Her horse made a drastic turn to the right, and Mariam was nearly going to fall off.

"Mariam,can't you see there was quicksand on your left!", said Tasmiya stopping her own horse who was behind them.

"Well how do you know there's quicksand there?" Shot back Mariam after patting her horse to stop.

"Because you nearly died in it the last time"

"Oh, was it here? Well done Nourah.You saved our lives"

Nourah was a beautiful white Arabian horse.As pure as she was white.And she was as helpful and wise as Mariam.But unlike Mariam had a better memory of where danger was.

"Nourah look out! your walking into the pol-----"

Sometimes.

Nourah sat on the floor neighing almost as if she was laughing and Mariam laughed as she hugged her clumsy horse.

Tasmiya chuckled as she approached them ,"You two are dangerous together.Who knows what kind of trouble you guys can get into"

"Thank you" said Mariam accepting the compliment.

"Hey ,where did Raysa go?"

"I was too busy laughing at you , I didn't see where she went" replied Tasmiya, looking around the desert

"What if she went to the settlement!?"

"No, she's knows she can't go there without us, she'll be caught out for sure.Maybe she just went to the oasis" Tasmiya got ready to ride seriously."I'll go check, you stay here and send a smoke signal if she comes back.Lets go,Khashura" ,without a further word, she rode off .

Khashura was a velvet buckskin Arabian horse. She was a reflection of the sand beneath her. And she was perfect for Tasmiya because they shared the same qualities, violent and commanding but caring .They both had a sense of humility when they walked but had a sense of might when Tuurbah would speed across the desert.

When they finally arrived at the oasis, Tasmiya discovered Raysa wasn't there."I hope she didn't cross the perimeter I marked off.She's always so rebellious"

That's when Tasmiya realised smoke coming from the direction she came from.It was in the form of rings.There were 5 rings formed and then it stopped.It was definitely Mariam's signal .

"I bet she was there the whole time",said Tasmiya annoyed.

But she also noticed something else, a shadow on the ground, a shadow of a bird.Tasmiya looked up, it was a hawk.She studied it very carefully.It was flying around her in circles very fast and then flew South of Tasmiya.She froze, all she let out was a gasp. Khashura could feel the tention of its rider, before Tasmiya could say anything, she sped off to the tent.

"Let's hope there's still time" said Tasmiya as she finally came back to her senses.

Raysa and Mariam faced Tasmiya as she returned.

"We're such idiots, Tasmiya" said Mariam laughing,"Raysa and Layla were inside the tent this whole time, we didn't even check there first"

Raysa giggled," Sorry, but we were hungry.But see, I CAN be a stealthy assassin, you guys didn't even notice me "

"Get inside" said Tasmiya breathless.

"What?",asked Mariam confused.

"Get inside the tent now!",commanded Tasmiya.

"Whats going on!?", asked Raysa nervous.

"It's ok, I won't let them find us" she said in a less thundering tone.

Raysa and Mariam both looked at eachother for a moment and ran inside the tent with their horses following.

The tent was too big for three girls and three horses so keeping it hidden seemed unlikely.

That moment, the hawk came and clutched itself on Tasmiya's arm."Thank you, Samaawat.Join the others"

The hawk screeched and flew inside .

Tasmiya took a loose piece of her headscarf and covered her nose and her mouth."Ready?"

The horse neighed.

Khashura was running around the tent by a 5m radius, quickly but steadily creating a copy of a sand tornado.It was too fake to look real but it looked real enough to scare away anyone viewing it at a distant.

When Tasmiya thought it was good enough,she patted Khashura and she started running back into the tent,Tasmiya pulled the rope on the top to close the door flap.The moment they entered, Tasmiya fell off, and lied down on the floor rubbing her eyes and sneezing continuously.

Raysa and Mariam went to haul her up.

"Let's hope this works", sighed Mariam

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Translations :)

Zuhr : midday

Salaah : Prayer

Layla : Night

Nourah: Day

Khashura: Sand

Samaawat: Sky