Abi’s Dyrne

The Wait

Abira’s POV

“I’ll wait,”

she muttered through gritted teeth. And then, as if remembering she was speaking to the very man who might hold her fate in his hands, she softened her words with an attempt at a gracious smile. “If there’s somewhere to do so.”

Her original saviour, the guard from the main gate, said something in his own language. Whatever it was, it had more effect on the lead officer. With a look of disapproval and a slow, insulting inspection of Abira from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, he drawled a few words and then spun on his heel.”

“What did he say?” She whispered, her breath bottled in her chest.

The original guard swallowed. “He said you may wait. But first, you must go through security.”

She nodded. She’d expected as much. In other circumstances she might even have made a joke, asking if she looked like the kind of person who might pose a threat to someone like Kimal. But she couldn’t joke. She couldn’t say or do anything that might jeopardize this very fragile bubble of hope she had.

And so she waited. She waited in the small, hot room until yet another guard beckoned for her to follow. By the time she stood, she felt almost faint from the heat. She had to put a hand on the wall for support but two more guards immediately moved towards her and began speaking harshly in foreign words. She startled and stood upright.”

“Don’t touch the walls,” the guard she had been following cautioned. But he was kind. She could see a look of pity in his eyes as he took in her appearance. His words were heavily accented. “Would you like a chair with wheels to be brought?”

She had imagined meeting Kimal again, after all this time, and at no point had she imagined that she would have such a disadvantage. She needed to face him with at least some of her pride in tact. She would have liked to be looking her best, but she was sweaty and covered in a fine layer of dust and sand. She shook her head. “I’m fine,” she lied. Having given her water away, her throat was dryer than it had ever been. She would have drunk water from a camel’s bowl, if they’d offered it.

Two doors opened seamlessly as they arrived; they led deeper into the interior of the palace. She was so relieved to have crossed this barrier that she didn’t, at first, notice the grandeur of her surroundings. But two steps down the corridor, she couldn’t help but appreciate the overwhelming luxury. ”

“Enormous marbled tiles met walls that were glistening white. Everything was white, in fact, and bright. Except where it was gold — and there was a lot of gold. She swallowed as the guard quickened his step. At the end of the first hallway there was a security scanner, the likes of which she was familiar with from the airport.

“Pass me your shoes and bag, madam,” a separate guard invited, his accent much easier to understand.

She slipped her feet out of the sensible ballet flats she’d chosen and unhooked the bag from across her shoulder. They looked pathetic and dirty in the plastic tray. The guard, with gloved hands, began to inspect the contents of her life and then pushed them through a small scanner. He studied a screen and then nodded. “Okay.” He nodded towards his left. “Through here.”

She walked under the arch, her nerves leaping exponentially with every hurdle she crossed, for each one brought her closer to Kimal.

“You have identification?”

“She nodded and reached for her handbag. “May I?”

He nodded. She slipped her passport from the bag and handed it to him. He studied it and then put it into another tray.

“Oh.” Abi’s eyes were enormous as she looked at his face. “May I have it back?”

“Not now. After.”

“After?” She licked her lower lip. “What are you going to do with it?”

His smile was reassuring. “Have it checked and keep it safe. You need not worry, madam. You are in the royal palace of Delani. We have little interest in identity fraud, eh?”

She felt small and silly. How could she explain to him that it was not identity fraud she feared so much as a loss of her liberty? She couldn’t. Not when so much was still at stake. Not when she still had no idea if Kimal would even see her. If he would help her.”

“All visitors surrender their passport, madam. It is a necessary security measure.”

“Right,” she felt slightly mollified by his assurances. She nodded jerkily and, when he extended the tray to her, slipped her bag back over her shoulder and her shoes onto her feet. They were hot. So hot. This guard was kind-seeming and so she felt emboldened to say, “Would it be possible to get some water, please?”

He nodded and said a few words over her shoulder. A woman appeared with a bottle.

“This is Anushka. She will perform a pat-down, madam. Then you may have your water.”

“Fine,” Abira nodded. Weariness sapped her like a spell. What time was it? She scanned the room, looking for a clock. Anushka’s watch was the closest she came. As the woman deftly moved her hands over Abira’s body, she saw it was almost three o’clock in the afternoon. She’d arrived at the palace at ten that morning, and prior to that it had been a long flight out from New York. No wonder she was tired and hungry.”

“Anushka said something to the guard Abi had originally followed into the room and he nodded efficiently towards Abira. “This way.”

She fell into step beside him, focusing on the details of the building to keep her mind off the meeting that was, surely, coming closer and closer to fruition.

Did the guard intentionally take her past the statue? Or was there no other way to enter the inner sanctum of the palace? It towered over her; it was at least five times as tall as her, and built of marble. It was Kimal, though. She knew his body intimately, and she knew that this statue had been perfectly carved to resemble his form. She stared at it with a sinking feeling of desperation. How had she ever felt she loved him? How had she ever believed she knew him? He was a man that sculptures had been made for! He was a King!”

“The guard had continued walking and Abi had to hasten her step to catch up. She left the statue behind and tried her hardest to harden her heart; to find some strength and bravery in her being. The corridors continued as endless sleeves of glowing white, and the guard took so many twists and turns that Abi knew she’d never be able to find her way out again.

The wall to her left gave way eventually to glass. From the floor to the ceiling, the view of the glistening ocean to the west was perfectly framed. It was far enough away to form a perfect vista; she could take in the spiked palm trees on the shore, and the desert sand that changed from a burnt orange to a crisp white as it neared the ocean. The ocean itself was one of the most beautiful colours she’d ever seen. Turquoise and blue, so crisp and clear that she was almost irrepressibly drawn to it. How inviting it looked! How pleasant it would be, on a day such as this, to submit to its cool depths.”

“Here.” The man paused outside a large room. The ceiling was high above her and the chairs looked both expensive and uncomfortable. “Here you wait.”

She nodded. “Thank you. Excuse me but does he, does His Highness, know I’m here?”

“Not yet,” the man said with a shake of his head. “He will be finished soon.”

“And then he’ll come to me?”

“He will come when he is able. If he chooses to do so.” The guard’s smile was apologetic. “I cannot promise he will meet with you at all, madam.”

The thought that, after all this, he might turn her away, filled Abi with a cold sense of dread. “Please be sure to tell him it’s urgent. Please tell him..please tell him I wouldn’t have come if it weren’t a matter of life and death.”