Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Fadila and Sharif led us into their abode, and I was struck by the contrast between one palace and another. Ramaal's ostentatious wealth was less elegant than the unadorned stone walls through which we now traveled. A few tapestries hung on the walls, but they were small and showed simple scenes of forest groves and oases. There were no busts or portraits, and no carpeted floors save when we entered the rooms.

The sitting room turned out to be a square space just off the courtyard and granted a good view of the green garden. Cushioned mats and pillows were placed in a circle around a low table. A long table was set against a far wall and a few platters of snacks and a serving tray of drink were placed there. I couldn't help but notice that there was a hint of dust on the corners of the table, and the snacks were not perfectly cut, as though someone had alone tried to make the room presentable and the food prepared.

Fadila took up the tray and moved over to the low table as we took our seats. Ben accepted the position on the right of Sharif while he indicated the left for me. His wife set the tray on the table and caught our eye. "Please feel free to eat however much you desire."

Ben offered her a smile. "Your hospitality gives us great comfort, Fadila, but where are your servants to perform this task for you?"

What little happiness lay in her face faltered and her hands shook so much that she clasped them in front of her. A heavy sigh came from Sharif as he held out his hand to his wife. She hurried over and accepted his small comfort as he managed a bittersweet smile at her. "You come during a dark time not only for our nation but for our family. You see, there is a curse upon this house."

My heart skipped a beat and Ben frowned. "What sort of curse?" he asked them.

Sharif pursed his lips. "Our daughter has taken ill. No medicine has been able to cure her."

"Is it a disease?" Ben wondered.

Fadila shut her eyes and let out a shuddered sigh. "It is as though the very strength is being drained from her body."

"So your servants left because they were afraid to catch it?" I guessed.

Sharif shook his head. "No. We. . .I have invited a dhaka into our home so that she might prevent Lila from worsening."

I cast a curious look at Ben, and he answered my silent question. "A hag. They are as reviled here as any other place."

The prince nodded. "As we know all too well, but we are desperate." He paused and looked up at his wife. "Your hands shake, Fadila. Will you not take a seat with us?"

She offered him a small smile and shook her head. "I must go to Lila soon, but I will serve you your drinks."

"Can I see her?"

The question popped out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying.

Sharif and his wife appeared a little stunned by the request, and Fadila looked doubtfully at her husband. He, however, nodded. "It would do her good to see another. She would tire of our faces before long were we to hide her from everyone."

Fadila nodded and turned to me with a tired but honest smile. "I will see that she is prepared for visitors. If you will excuse me." She slipped out of her husband's gentle grasp and disappeared into the hall.

Sharif bowed his head and sighed. "My poor Fadila. She is beside herself with worry, though she is too strong to show it outwardly except in brief glimpses as you saw."

"When did the curse arrive?" Ben asked him.

Sharif straightened and shook his head. "Also three months ago, and much the worse for us that it coincides with the loss of magic in the Thaqiba for suspicion has fallen upon us that somehow our family is the cause of all the troubles."

"And the dhaka made matters worse for you, yet you called her," Ben pointed out.

Sharif took up a piece of cheese from the platter but merely toyed with the slice. "It was out of desperation that we did so, for our dearest Bahja was fading far faster than the sand columns. The dhaka stopped her-" He paused and his eyes glistened for a moment before he gathered himself. "The dhaka stopped the curse, but she has been unable to dispel it. Indeed, she has been unable to even discover how it has been placed upon our house and why it only affects Lila."

"Might I offer my services in helping you with your troubles, cousin?" Ben offered.

Sharif's face lit up and he could hardly contain his joy. "You would do this for me, cousin? I had feared to ask after your harsh treatment at the hands of His Majesty."

Ben chuckled and plucked a grape from the platter which he tossed into his mouth. "The policies of the government are not always the will of the people, and doubly so with a monarchy. However, I can't blame Ramaal for his policy. I would hate to be in his place, and I'm not sure if I wouldn't be doing the same to save my kingdom and its people."

Sharif nibbled on the cheese, but there was no joy in his expression. "Yes. A dark cloud hangs over the palace of late, especially with so many foreigners being brought in during the middle of the night." He looked Ben over with a curious expression. "I wonder how they were able to capture you. My grandmother told me you had a unique skill against magic."

I raised my hand. "That was my fault. He was so worried about me that he forgot to turn around, and their clubs are even harder than his head."

Ben rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly smiled. "Very hard."

Sharif tilted to one side to inspect Ben's head. "Would you like the dhaka to take a look at your wound? She is well-versed in all sorts of medicines."

Ben furrowed his brow as he dropped his hand. "I would like to meet her, and that excuse is as good as any other."

"Then you shall, but after you have had something to eat," Sharif insisted as he pushed the platter a little closer to Ben. "I have heard the hospitality of His Highness doesn't extend to his dungeons."

Ben chuckled as he took up some food and pushed the plate in my direction. "I'm afraid not."

I rubbed my lower back before I plucked a slice of meat from the pile. "And definitely not to those beds."

Ben took a bite of his food and swallowed as a contemplative expression appeared on his face. "Do you yourself suspect a connection between the failing power of the Thaqiba and your curse?"

Our host leaned back against a stack of pillows and knitted his eyebrows together. "To speak the truth, I do. The timing was too perfect, and the damage done to the reputation of my house was too complete. The news of the curse, after all, was not leaked by any in my house. That I can be sure, as very few of the servants were told of Lila's illness until we received a messenger from His Majesty inquiring as to the situation with Lila."

"Did Ramaal suspect you were drawing power from your own daughter to collapse the Thaqiba?" Ben wondered.

Sharif sighed. "Though his messages did not say so directly, I fear that is so."

I looked between the pair. "So what exactly would happen if these Thaqiba stopped protecting the island?"

Sharif shook his head. "The mind can only wonder, as Kalea has been so long protected by the two towers that the knowledge of life without them has long since passed out of memory and into legends. Those themselves speak of turbulent storms that destroyed crops and drowned half the city. Others speak of a constant deluge of invaders from the south, and sometimes even from the north."

Ben folded his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow. "Not many within the kingdom would have anything to gain from the barrier collapsing. What has Ramaal done about the foreigners in the country?"

"He expelled them."

I blinked at our host. "All of them?"

Sharif gave me a grim nod. "Yes. Even those who had been here a very many years. Their friends among the native-born took over their properties and are holding them for their return, but businesses and farms have been depressed since the expulsion."

Ben cupped his chin in one hand. "That explains the lack of crowds on the streets."

I lifted an eyebrow. "I thought it was pretty busy."

Ben dropped his hand and smiled at me. "We shouldn't have been able to move that quickly through the crowds, at least not during my last visit here. And speaking of visits-" He stood and looked to our host. "Shall we go visit Lila?"