• The first time that I lay my eyes on him, my breath was taken away. He moved as if there was no air or anything else to stop him. It was as if his feet never touched the ground. His long hair, the colour of the sand on the beaches that surrounded the palace, flowed behind him as if blowing in a breeze. He was dressed simply in a white tunic and trousers. He was walking through the rose garden of the Sultan. He had not yet seen me.

    I felt very proud of my hiding place. I had made sure that I would not be easy to find. I was planning on resting a short time and then continuing on my journey to the land of my employers. I had agreed to meet with the young prince and see if I could counsel him on the affairs of state with the West. He had asked that I spy on them and get a little insider info on his enemy. But as I looked on this beautiful man, I began to wonder if he could possibly be part of the enemy that so frightened many of the great powers. I did not want to help continue the long war between the two kingdoms, but the prince had threatened to bar my entrance into his lands and all others of the mainland. This was not a fate that I wished to have. So here I was watching a man, who was surely more than a man, walking through the garden of the great enemy of all.

    All of a sudden he was up in the tree with me. I had not seen or hear him move. I jumped back, but I wasn’t quick enough. He grabbed a hold of my waist and slowly lowered both of us to the ground. I struggled as hard as I could manage; it was hard to gather strength when I had been startled so. When our feet touched the ground, I tried to run, but found that he had not released his grip. I turned to look at him, fearing that I would see the eyes of a killer, who would take great satisfaction in destroying me. Instead he was smiling at me. His smile was warm and loving. He smiled wider as he released me from his grip, stepped back and bowed.

    I looked at him in shock. I could do nothing but stand where I was and look at him in awe. He had to be the most beautiful thing that I had seen in all of the days that I had existed. He rose slowly and held his hand out to me. My hand went to meet his, without my consciously willing it to. He took my hand and placed a small delicate kiss upon it. I drew my hand back, as if I had been scalded. He looked at me calmly and gently, as if he had expected me to act as such.
    “How long have you been hiding there? Are you a tree nymph?” He finally asked in a voice that was smooth and deep. My mouth went dry and I did not know what to say. Should I tell him who I was? What I was? Why I was there? Would he turn me over to the Sultan to kill? Even with all of these questions running through my head, I believed that I owed him some sort of explanation.
    “If I answer, will you guarantee me safe passage out of these lands?” I asked cautiously.
    “Do I frighten you so?” He answered with a surprised look on his face, as if this was the last thing that he had expected to hear.
    “It is not you, but the horrible deeds of your master that frighten me.”
    “What horrible deeds?” He smiled a little at this, as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
    “You do not know?”
    “I have no knowledge of any horrible deeds that my master has done. I have only heard of his mercy and gentle nature. What are these horrible deeds that you speak of?”
    “All of the slaughtered women and children of the East. Are you telling me that you have no knowledge at all of these senseless murders?”
    “I have heard only that the Sultan and his forces offer the people of the East the freedom to leave the confines of their masters and move into a land of no discrimination and freedom. He has not killed innocents for as long as I have been in his service.” Had the great powers lied to me? What was I to do now? Was the West truly the enemy or was it the East? I lowered myself to the ground, as I tried to figure out what was going on and what I was supposed to do. I felt him touch my arm gently.
    “Are you alright?” There was concern in his voice, a sound that I had not expected to hear from a “monster”. I looked at him and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I did not know what to do. I let the tears run down my face, he raised his hand to brush them away. I pushed away from him and began to run down the garden path, I leapt into the air, hoping that I had rested enough to fly at least a short distance. I started to float upwards, and then suddenly I was falling back down towards the path.

    I hit the rock path hard and fast. I could not help but cry out. My mind told me to get up and continue running, but my body refused to obey. So there I lay in a heap on the garden path in the rose garden of the Sultan. I heard someone running towards me and there was nothing I could do. I tried to raise my hand to push myself up. The effort proved to be too much, I fell once again to the ground and closed my eyes. I heard a voice over me as I embraced the darkness that stirred in my head.

    I woke up in a soft warm place. Everything was white with small purple flowers. I blinked several times, trying to get things to come into focus. I heard a voice talking over me. It sounded like a woman and the man from the garden. I blinked one more time and things came into focus. The garden man was talking to a short, dark haired woman dressed in purple robes. They were talking softly. They both glanced over at me. The man began to walk towards me smiling. The woman followed him, but kept a distance between them.
    “I see that our sleeping beauty has awakened.” He leaned towards me and kissed my forehead lightly. I tried to pull back, but the pillow did not give me enough resistance.
    “What happened and where am I?”
    “You are in the palace of the Sultan. You were running away, and it looked like you tripped and you hit the ground hard. I brought you in and had Rima take care of you.” I looked at my self under the covers and saw that I was dressed in a white linen shift.
    “Where are my clothes?” I was unable to hide the worry and strain in my voice.
    “There are over there. Rima had them washed.” He smiled at me reassuringly. He sat down on the bed and began to stroke my hair. His touch felt very soft and safe. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I felt myself drift into sleep. I did not have the same nightmare, for the first time in many years.


    When I woke again things were much clearer. I was able to sit up and look around the room. It was beautiful beyond words. There were two large doorways. One led outside and a curtain covered the other. I assumed that it led to the rest of the palace. The walls were covered in a soft dark blue cloth. There were silver beads on the ceiling, making to room look like it was out under the night sky instead of inside a palace. I saw my clothes nicely folded on a chair in the corner. I went over and touched them, to see if there were real. It had been such a long time since the clothes had been washed properly. I had been traveling so long that I forget what living in luxury meant. I had had small tastes of it, but nothing such as this.

    I wondered if they had the marvel of hot water in this place. I would have loved to clean myself and wash my hair. I stood there for a while and thought about all the wonderful things that I could experience in this place.
    “I see that you have awaken again, tree nymph.” I jumped at the sound of the man’s voice. I turned around quickly and looked at him. “I am sorry, I did not mean to frighten you. He walked towards me and reached out his hand, as if to caress my face. I stepped back, away from him. “Do I scare you so?” He looked at me with a doubtful smile on his face.
    “Who are you?”
    “My name is Marquaine. I have been in the service of the Sultan since I was ten years old. All I have ever known has occurred here in this palace and on the battlefield. I have been blessed with the gift of living until the Sultans no longer have a use for me. And you my tree nymph, who are you?”
    I thought about it for a moment. What should I tell him? The truth? A lie? With all of the fear and tension rushing back into my head, I suddenly felt faint and gripped the chair for support.
    “Let me help you back to your bed.” He offered me his hand. As I reached for it, I fell forward. He caught me and carried me back to the bed. He laid me softly upon it. I lay back and tried to stop the room from spinning. I saw him reach over to the table next to the bed and pour something in a glass. “Here, drink this. It will help.” He tried to hand me the glass. I pushed it away and tried to get out of the bed from the other side. I fell back into the pillows in a heap.
    “What is wrong?” He asked as he reached over and put a cold cloth on my forehead. He had put the glass down. There was a look of great concern in his eyes. He ran his hands through a part of my hair. His hands emerged covered in dirt and leaves. I was horrified. How could I have a man look upon me while I was in this state? I tried to look away from him. He put both of his hands on the sides of my face and gently forced me to look at him.
    “I know what you are thinking. But you are so beautiful right now. Never have I seen a woman like you. Please tell me about yourself. I promise that I will not hurt you, but I will go if you wish me too.” He smiled tenderly at me. That was all I needed. I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I let them come. I felt that I could not hold back from telling him who I was and why I was here. I felt that I could trust him with all and everything.
    I looked at him with tear filled eyes and began. I told him all of the things that had happened. He sat and listened to it all. He didn’t seem at all shaken or scared of me when I finished. When I was done, he leaned in and hugged me. I hugged him back.
    “I think that there is someone that would like to see you.” As he spoke he waved his hand in the direction of the door. Through the door slipped a figure that was all too familiar.