INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 34: I SEE YOU

Sesmar had gone back to Egypt with the thing she brought with him; the camels, the servants and the maidens, everything but the gifts of gold and his daughter and her entourage. It was settled. Nahdum was to come to Egypt the next new moon to complete the wedding rites for Sesmar’s daughter. Until this time, she will live in Nubia, in the palace, amongst the maidens. She will be treated as royalty but Nahdum will not touch her until the rites are completed.

Shambasa was not happy about this arrangement. How will such a beautiful woman be traded like cattle because of her father’s ambition. It just did not make sense. He disapproved but it was not his place to speak against it. He was but a mere guard; a royal guard, yes but what business did warriors have in the matters of royals? He was a warrior. He was given orders and he carried them out.

Even now, he was ordered to watch Layla closely and follow her wherever she went. How lucky he was, that he got to follow the woman he adored everywhere. Was it good or bad luck? He was close, yet so far. He could only witness with his eyes what his hands yearned to handled. Was this privilege or torture?

As a royal guard, a former member of the mane, Shambasa carried out his duties meticulously. He did what he was told. Whether or not people noticed his interest in the princess was unknown to him but one thing was certain; Layla knew. She acknowledged his presence. She saw him.

“For how long do you intend to stare without speaking?” Layla asked staring straight into the eyes of Shambasa who stood a few feet away from her. She was submerged in the hot springs, the steam of the water clouding parts of her face.

She had told her maidens to stay in the palace as she wanted some time alone. Royals did this once in a while because irrespective of how nice it is to have people follow you around to carter for your every need, people just want some alone time sometimes; away from the eyes of other, separated from the weight of responsibility that came along the royalty package.

“Are you deaf? I said I want to be alone.”

“My ears work perfectly well. I do not answer to you. You can boss around your maidens but I answer only to the royal guard and the throne of Nubia. Can we go now?” Shambasa said. He may have been mesmerised by her looks and swayed by her words but he was still a warrior; a man of honour and respect and he will take no insults from this princess.

She reluctantly walked towards the springs and Shambasa followed closely behind. Nubia was a beautiful place with lots of beautiful things to see, amazing destinations but Layla was not intrigued at all. She would have rather been at home; around the trees she knew walking on the soil that bore her feet as a child. Out of all the things in Nubia, what she liked the most was the hot springs.

Layla was pissed and intended to make her point. She stood directly facing Shambasa has she took off her clothes. It was a stern statement. She slowly walked away from him and descended into the warm waters turned around showing him a glimpse of her busts before sitting in the tub. Shambasa said nothing but looked directly at her. He was a master at masking his emotions and so was Layla. He, a valiant warrior and her, a princess; they had both mastered the art of keeping composure even in unsettling times. So, they both keep their gaze; it was like a staring contest.

“For how long do you intend to stare without speaking?” Layla asked breaking the ice.

“I am mandated to speak with you. I will not pretend to enjoy your conversations or endure your whining; that’s a job for your maidens, the same ones you left in the palace.” Shambasa responded.

“It’s funny that you think so highly of yourself.” Layla clapped back. Shambasa smiled. He was impressed. She was no push over and he liked it. He liked the challenge.

“What is so funny?”

“You… to everyone else you are the pretty princess, the perfect one. The one that makes kings stare and leave mere men in despair but I see past all that. I see the real you. A little girl scared of the world, a prisoner in abundance. I see the void, the emptiness, the space that all that jewellery cannot fill.” In addition to being a skilled warrior, Shambasa was also a master of psychological warfare and at this moment he had hit the princess hard.

There was a moment of silence. She said nothing and then suddenly, she put her face in her palms and began to sob. She was an epitome of grace. The last thing Shambasa expected was tears and now here there were, flowing uncontrollably like the waters of the Nile. He could not bear it anymore so he moved close to her. He dropped his shield and his spear and sat by the tub. He wrapped her head in his arms and stroked her hair. They said nothing else until she was done crying. He then kissed her on her forehead.

He never apologized but that singular act carried more weight that any words would have. For the first time, someone saw her, someone felt her and she knew that someone gets her. It was all overwhelming. She got dressed and then they got back to the palace.

This was the beginning of the sweetest taboo that the soon to be wife of the king and a royal guard sworn to the throne will have an affair under the nose of the king; unimaginable. Alas, these two doomed lovers will make fantasy a reality.

The day had finally come. The day when Layla the daughter of Sesmar will be handed over to Nahdum. A big ceremony was set up. Nahdum had gone the month before to Egypt to perform the final rites and see his friend; a subtle term for business partner. Now the both men had returned to Nubia for the ceremony.

The throne room was beautifully redecorated. Curtains of purple silk hung all over that place. The room was packed with royals from Egypt and Nubia all dressed in splendour, seated waiting for the princess to come out.

Nikita had been with her all day preparing hair for thee even. Nikita loved it. The clothes and perfumes and jewellery; she was so happy she got to do this. After tireless hours of preparation, the princess said she wanted to ease herself and Nikita let her go. Minutes past and Layla did not return.

Nikita went in search of her only to meet in her place pieces of the gown she had worn; the gown that Nikita had taken so much time to prepare, there it was laying on the ground.

“The princess is missing.” Nikita said to Enakuta. On hearing the news, the leader of the royal guard was startled. In all the years of guarding the king, there was been no causalities or invasions. The man did his job well. He had a track recorded and built a legacy. He was not about to watch that all go away because of some spoilt girl with wedding jitters.

Enakuta quickly mobilised his men to find Layla and they rolled out in their numbers, searching the city for the princess.

“She could not have gone far; she is new to these walls. I assure you we will bring your queen to you.” Enakuta said as he explained the situation at hand to the king. He was right, normally there was no way she could just pull this off but alas this was not a normal circumstance. She obvious had help and from no other than Shambasa the Claw.

They had plotted their escape for months. Shambasa knew a village in one of Nubia’s far protectorates; a village of simple people, a village of farmers. He intended to take her there and she was ready, completely willing to follow him everywhere and anywhere. She was willing to drop her royal appellation just to be with this man.

“Shambasa, I am afraid. I fear that Nahdum will find us and kill us. I fear the wrath of my father. What we do is forbidden.” Layla cried.

“Desertwind, my lover, the reason I wake up in the morning, the one that puts the moon to sham eat night. Fear not, I am with you and will always be. It is too late to turn back now. By now, there will be uneasiness in the royal courts as the quests keeps trying to figure out what is amiss. The royal guard must have been informed of the situation and those men would be tearing the city apart searching for you. By now, there would have noticed I am not also around. Suspicion clouds their minds but they refuse to believe that a princess will leave a king to be with a warrior.”

“They better believe it.” Layla said as she smiled filling Shambasa’s mouth with her lips. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. So, now here, in a cabin far away from the palace, from royalty, from everything they can finally have each other. Unlike his machismo character, Shambasa was actually a delicate lover.

He took his time, not rushing things but savouring every moment like grape wine is drank, Shambasa took his time her. He had rent her gown at the knees when she tried to jump over a fence during her escape. He lifted the gown and slipped his hands underneath while he did things to her that made it hard to utter speech. She was lots for breath, gasping for air at his touches and calling his name.

There she was, the princess that kings will kill for, calling passionately the name of a guard, this woman that sleeps on silk sheets spread open on the bed of a peasant; the irony of the situation was somewhat amusing. They could hardly take their hands off each other throughout the whole night.

It was almost unbelievable, too good to be true. How did they escape the royal guard? How was it possible that he was with a royal? They had done it. They defiled the odds to be together and now they can lie in each other’s arms and say sweet words to themselves. After a busy day and a somehow an even busier night, the lovers feel at sleep naked with their arms wrapped around each other.

They were awakened by knocks from the royal guards. They ran and ran but to no avail. The royal guard were a difficult bunch to outrun. Shambasa’s crime was treason so, he was to be killed at site while the princess was to be brought back to the palace.

Shambasa had bought a horse from one of the villagers and they were going to ride it, far away from this place, from danger, from Sesmar and Nahdum, Layla held on tight to him as he rode the horse as fast as he could. He was a good warrior but what was that against Enakuta and the Royal Guard?

These men were excellent trackers. They could smell the wind and hold the loose desert sand in their hands and tell if a horse rode by, in what direction it went and even how fast it was going. It was only a matter of minutes before The Royal Guard gained on them.

On seeing the blood thirsty eyes of the guard, Shambasa rode the horse even harder leaving a trail of dust behind. This did nothing to slow the men. One of the guards was a skilled archer and even at high speed could effectively insert an arrow into a bow and fire an accurate shot into the thigh of the majestic beast Shambasa rode.

The horse neighed in pain and came crashing into the ground. The archer took out another arrow from his quiver and aimed the shot at Shambasa who was still discombobulated from the crash and trying to get up. On seeing the arrow, Layla screamed and jumped in front of her lover and then the arrow left it’s bow and pierced her from behind and impaled Shambasa. In an attempt to save him, Layla had offered her life too.

The two lovers died in a tight embrace with an arrow sealing them even in death; what a beautiful tragedy.