❝My love will drown you to the depths of the sea.❞
Furat bin Kiyan, the fleet admiral of Al Andalus, is a spy and a rebel on a mission to kill the caliph of Cordoba and claim the throne for himself. But finds himself in trouble at the hands of Rahaf...
Among the monsters, I'm well hidden; who looks for a leaf in a forest?
— Angela Carter
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"WOULD YOU LIKE some bread?"
The streets of Cordoba are quiet. It's early morning and the only conversation he can hear is that of the birds and of themselves. Rahaf holds up a bag with bread to him.
"Thank you," he replies. "Allow me to pay."
"You're our guest. Allow us to host you honorably," she declines politely.
Furat deters, but doesn't argue with her.
Standing before a small bakery across the street, she has her cloak covering her while he remains unbothered with the hood of his cloak down and no mask to cover his face. In this city, he's a stranger no one knows. This city that is a home to Rahaf is not one to him. So who here will know him to remember him?
They leave the bakery. The two men, Masruq and Tabrez as he has learnt their names, follow them closely behind.
"You left the palace with me," Rahaf says, "so I assumed you didn't have a chance to have a breakfast. And since our walk may take a while, I did not want to keep you hungry. You may have proper breakfast once we return."
His lips pull up into a one sided smile, the bag with bread held closed in his hand.
"Shall I be offended that you think I might faint from a few hours of starvation, my Amira?"
"What if you do?" She glances at him. "I haven't forgotten our first meeting."
"Ah." He chuckles, trying to contain it and keep his voice low. "Then I shall be rather wary of what you offer me. The people on land confuse me often."
"Maybe it's your life as a corsair you like that you claim not to be charmed by what you see here."
"Perhaps. But if we're speaking of the palace, then who will not like a royal life of luxuries? I'm sure there are others who will want it."
Rahaf looks at him. He only smiles innocently.
"Why, Amira, if you ever get a chance to live a different life, will you?"
She returns his smile but doesn't answer him. They come across an old man sitting at an intersection. Rahaf leans down and puts her bag of bread before him. The man, dressed in rags, looks up at her. Then he lifts his hands to his face to make a prayer.
"May Allah be pleased with you."
"Ameen," she says. "Pray that He be pleased with those whom I love too."
"May He be pleased with those whom you love too, sayyidati."
"Ameen," she repeats.
People whom she loves, Furat thinks, would also include her brother. If God is to be ever pleased with the likes of Aswad, a brutal and unjust ruler, then who's destined for hell? Certainly if the family of Motassem is someone to be pleased with, Furat might find himself in heaven before them. If by feeding a poor and asking him to pray for her Rahaf thinks they will be forgiven, then he could do the same and live a happy life.
