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Description
Chapter One

"They come, like the seasons do, regularly and with barely a joke new, nor a song sung with even changed tune, such a sorry state these Fools traveling as bards are to be seen.To be a Lady of Title and of considerable worth, let alone related to a throne was to be enough would ye think not? 'But nae, says my Father, ye shall marry and marry well. Ye shall go to court and there find a Man not a mere boy of his twenty some years, they are wet my daughter behind the ears. Ye shall pick a Title not a man, then when he succumbs to older age and lives no more then ye can marry for this so called  romantic thing these idiots enthralling my other daughters sing of. Now I just knew that I could sit through a feast, and I could dance and pretend to smile with no change when they stepped on my feet but I would not nor I ever think I could marry a man that did not awaken first this heart. Now I ask of you, what good is a station if you are not allowed to wield what little weight it has. Today the Fools came, I found their costumes and little does my Father know, like he would notice me gone with so many sisters as have I, but I shall be leaving with them when they go.Oh I shall dance and make merry and be free at last!"

And thus it was that this young woman of 16 years of age did slip away from her father's home and sanctuary on that same day. The two Fool's took her to the East, for here they said, 'You will learn to dance the dances of the Harems and we shall make them awkward.' I shuddered for a moment, awkward, those beautiful ancient erotic moves? But I was at their mercy so I did as they bid. "Fools we are and Fools we may be but we are free to go where we please, if I can stop growing so as not to need tighter and tighter binding that is, for I would nay wish to be discovered for being a young lady!."At my comment they laughed and then hugged me as if I a sister was. "See? You shall make us famous Little Dancing Fool!"

And so after ships and caravans we reached our goal, a sea of tents with exquisite decorations covered the desert ocean in front of us. Magnificent horses ran free through the canvas town, then I spotted the one obviously in charge who was now making his presence known. Now I do not repute myself as being full of world knowledge of such things, but it is hard to miss a man who is of some important station, when all bow and part as he progresses.  He looked at me, measuring me up and down, and I prayed that my bindings would keep my secret well known. "We have brought a Fool in training with us this time to learn the dances of your women, so we can marvel the Courts of the Western Continents with them." The Sheik looked at me and then stretched out his weathered hand, touching my face he smiled, "Inexperienced" was all he said. Later my two teachers who I should probably introduce, there is Airem the Bard who plays the mandolin, and his brother Seigfred who on the lute accompanies him, would instruct me in the proper etiquette of desert living. As for me, well I play, I play, well what I play is of no consequence anyway, as surely they shall nae be doing any of the dancing. So I shall play the part of the muse, inspiring, entertaining, and hopefully getting at least a chuckle or two. "Agreed". Again that voice split the dry desert air, and the walking rainbow of a man, for that is what he reminded me of,his clothes of such splendid colors, turned and walked back to his tent again.

The two years spent there went by in such a flurry of fleeting beads of sand in the glass, that soon I found myself recognized as the young woman I had become. They were in awe of my golden hair and my eyes that they say reflected the sky. Finally the day came for our departure, and the Rainbow Man as I had come to call him came to me leading a young fresh broke white stallion from his own string. "He shall be to you a companion, a guide, and a gaurd as well, for there shall not be as fresh a spring erupt in these sands as you for a long time from now." Tears misted my eyes and I reached out and hugged this man out of impulse, he had become dearer to me than a father had, at least any type of father I had come to know. He smiled as the Fool brothers stood and watched in great surprise. "My thanks M'Lord, I shall guard him with my life. Each time I touch him I shall be put in remembrance of you and my time here. I shall dearly miss you my Rainbow Man." Jaws dropped as he hugged me once more, calling me Daughter of the Stars. I mounted and looked at the gaping Fools,'Well you look like Fools truly now!" I laughed and caressed the neck of my new horse, and with regret, and slight heart ache the three of us departed from our desert home.

Two years of learning, I finally had mastered the steps, we had traversed all the lands I used to dream of visiting. It will be nay impossible to tell it is me in my costume when in front of Titled Ladies and Lords I and the other Fools do perform, but t'was needed, you see to be that way, till I was sure I was safe from any family manipulations. For the older I get the more and more I look like my ancestor, famous she was, I am named they say, by middle account after her. I shall ner stop till my Father gives up or gives in or dies, and I shall ner give in to flirtations till my heart is struck as wild as I am. So onward we headed, our adventures to begin.But my pride is the Arabian Stallion gifted to me from the Sheik that had not laughed he had said in an age it seemed. When I danced he had tears, mind ye, running down his face, well, I was still learning. and slowly I winked at my Rainbow Man and turned my horse to head to our next destination. I was full of excitement and fear at the same time. Especially when I found out it was the French court that was our first point of performing. As we rode I was silent for a very long time, planning how to hide my appearance from the french our whole time in their land.

                                                           Chapter Two

      Ocean of sand, long and bare  stretched out before us as we traveled back to the port from which we would  set sail for France. I, dressed as a Bedouin lady of some importance, was protected from the sun, burning down on us as each day began, and then would retire only to come back and burn once again. My horse was fit for this type of travel, after all he was bred from a bloodline that had been documented as the Arabian Bedouins do with their champion stock. Books, holding the names of stallions and mares, who when paired would produce a horse great or those that had failed. It was as if they were revered as much or more than the lineage of the Sheiks themselves. I smiled slightly behind that sheer veil that covered all but my eyes, decorated in that deep kohl lined fashion I had been taught to use to the point of expertise. I was not pale as the ladies of the court would be, that was a good thing, it made my hair stand out as if the sun had settled its golden rays in it my Rainbow Man had said as we parted with a promise from my lips that yes I would return one day to his side.  It also would help disguise me for what Lady of my family would ever let the sun darken her skin as I had? The two bards spent the time arguing and complaining and then arguing once more. Airem insisted it was both our faults he was sweating and uncomfortable. I did not say one word in their discussion as we rode, did they not see that we would be an exception to all the entertainment in France? Did they not know that in no time at all we would be entertaining at the court of the King himself? Nights were spent camping along the route we were told to take, at the various oasis we would encounter, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, but all at the place on the map we were given. Day followed day till finally we saw the turrets of the city that held the port and the ship that would carry us back to the green and the seasons we all knew. I had to admit to myself as we traversed over one ocean of sand to reach another ocean of blue, that I did miss the change in season, the snow in winter, the leaves in fall, the blooms of spring, the breezes of  the summer nights in the gardens as I walked them.

      "Have ye gon' def'?" Airem's voice rang out breaking my musings, his language among ladies was prim and proper, but when away from them he was only a bard. "We are there and there ye sit , unawares of the dangers that exist in this city. Now move up between Siegfred and I sos we can protect our investing." I had to almost smother my mouth with my hand, if only my sisters who have cooed and awed over these two could hear him now,"I do beg your pardon M'Lord, I did nae realize that ye were in charge. I shall in the future pay closer attention to ye." After that comment I kicked the sides of my horse with just enough pressure and he broke into a trot, merchants and other street people scurried out of the way of the Bedouin Princess and her stallion so divine. I grinned fully now behind my veil, oh he would be in charge, that is until I danced in front of the high court of the King. Then we would see who was the one in the grandest of the chambers given us.

     At the dock waited the ship that we were to board. It proudly waved a French flag, and as we approached closer, I stopped my stallion and dismounted, only to have one of the two sailors come running to assist me with him. I, who would never pass up a chance at a good laugh stood back and let him go about his chosen task. Hooves were flying in the air as the stallion reared up , ripping the reins out of the hands of the sailor. Laughter bubbled up but I could not let it surface as forward I stepped and took down my veil,"Ye stand nae a chance in handling him.", and as I spoke the stallion hearing my voice came to me and settled right down,"Now if we could just find a place for him near me when I sleep?" The expression and smile on my face took the sailor by surprise as he heard my accent, "Ye are not a desert gypsy?" "Nae, I am from France, now if ye would kindly step aside I shall load my horse so there will be no more delaying", all this while the two bards watch man after man part for the strange blonde Bedouin with the stallion at her heels walk up the gangplank. The two bards followed after me but not with quite the same grace, it seemed their horses did not like them as well as mine did me. Why should they? Crops were not to be used on these smart but far from gentle and long holding grudge type mounts. An officer of the ship stepped forward and bowed and took my browned hand, placing a kiss on it he spoke very slowly as if I was not able to understand, "We of France welcome ye to the finest of our fleet, The Henry, I hope your accommodations are satisfactory." Well I let him think exactly what he would, if he thought me a high Sheik's daughter so be it, it only served to extend my disguise into more of a concrete probability. As for my partners they were to sleep a deck below me, which irritated them to no end, as the crew also was not far from their small cabins, mine was large and had a window, and my horse was allowed to stay on deck, while the two bards had to load theirs below in the box stables provided. As soon as they were settled, Airem appeared at my side, for I had left the cabin to stand on the deck by the side of the ship to gaze upon the vast expanse of water in front of me."Bet you think ye are mighty fine, mighty fine indeed, but ye are nae more than we are and don't ye do forgetting." I turned my eyes to gaze up into his own, already the control was coming into my hands as I needed it to,"If my attitude and thought of my station bothers ye so, why stand ye here? I would think ye would be minding the dumber of the twain of ye, surely Siegfred needs thee." I smiled sweetly at my words, and Airem went off quickly as the French officer appeared,"If ye have any problems with your servants M'Lady let me know and I will teach them the manners of the court.""Why Sir,", I cooed in a voice soft,"Ye are most kind. I shall surely let ye know the next I am bothered by either." Another smile and as I walked with the grace of a dancer of the desert away from him, I glanced over my shoulder and smiled once more, sealing the deal.

      "Hoist anchor, make ready to sail!" The words of the Captain rang out and we were on our way, I turned as the ship slowly began to move from the docks for one last look at the land I had come to call home, and then raised a hand to shade my eyes, what was this I was seeing, a mirage? No, no man dressed like that but one, on either side of him were warriors of his tribe, blades drawn, it was my Rainbow Man, he had followed us the whole way. No wonder no bandits or trouble found us in that vast sea of sand. I raised my arm and waved my hand, hoping he could see, and the last I saw of him as the sails filled with wind was that flicker of color of his robe, raised as if a flag saluting a Queen.

                                                      Chapter Three


     How long we had sailed to our next port of encounter could nae have been more than five bells of the ship's clock gone chiming. But the wind had whipped up an angry sea, who had dared I thought with the reaches of my Norman mind back to the days of my ancestors of the seas, Norman Invaders, Vikings, who I wondered had bothered to irritate so the Great Goddess below? My eyes opened to find I was safely tucked under shelter from wind and rain now that was pelting the deck as tiny little crystals of water dancers, their final leaps the tiny splashes of them against the deck as their last performances. This is when I became aware of the softest silken of hair draped over my face and then I knew, my stallion was in his stall, as was I, safe as safe could be. I slowly let myself unwind in that way of a trained dancer, feeling every muscle of my legs first stretch as if in demanding that they be answered very soon, then I stretched up with my arms and felt my whole body let loose, loose in that way that only a true dancer knows for they know the very center of themselves and it is from there that their moves come to life. I leaned myself against that soft pure white coat of my stallion and he answered me with a soft nuzzling of the small nose, letting me know he was mine, and for a moment my heart yearned for that for myself, a man, a Prince among Men to give himself to me in his heart, and I would fall at his feet, this I knew without a doubt, for I was hungry, so hungry for true love, only my Rainbow Man and I had spoken of such. He had known how cold the rivers of my heart ran, and taught me that someday there would come one that by his first word spoken would turn that cold river into a forever warm spring flowing, flowing not out but back in again with magical visions I could only dream at the guessing of them. The storm cast an eerie look when I finally did peek out of the cover for us, on the horizon that was behind us as the crew answered the somewhat urgent sound of the Captain and the First mate, in the ordering about of them to ensure our ship was indeed safe. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, we docked and the French Lord in charge came to find me, 'M'Lady, ye must not wander from this ship for this is a dangerous part of the East we have landed in. I beg of thee, hide thy hair of gold, and stray not too far from the side of thy horse.' My eyes of green, now touched with the gray of the sea in color as well, raised to meet his, as my voice answered him, in words I thought were well chosen to calm his tense concern,'M'Lord ye nae worry, for I am as accomplished with a sword as any man ye have aboard. But if it will still thy restless soul, I shall nae stray to far from the side of my horse.' My soft smile, gracing my lips of rose tint in color, ensured him I had meant every word, I had no intention ever from straying from the side of my horse, no matter where that side would or should happen come to be. At that moment through the blackness of the storm sky since night had finished in its falling, there cracked such a spilt of lightening, I swear I could hear that eunuch of a bard friend of mine Airem scream in terror at it! And indeed the moment I saw what it revealed, a different kind of wariness was struck in me! I came from the land of tales of wizards, knights who fought great beasts called dragons and magic was still considered an interest of great many, though none would confess it in front of another in case they be deemed balmy. It was what I saw that captured me speechless in that moment for I saw great columns in this city! Columns that seemed to reach for the sky and beyond and the carving on them was magnificent! I had to see it for myself, there arose in me such a compulsion of need to answer this curiosity that I led my stallion forth from the place he was standing and since we were not too far from the plank, I hoisted myself up on him and was off that ship, down the plank in a white flash. A white flash illuminated by the different layers of silks I had worn that day, coins rattled in sweet tingling rhymes of their own as over the cobbled streets we sped. On each side of me was a land of such magic I could scarce believe my eyes! There stood columns tall and decked with a portrait of gold of a very obvious great man. Temples soon we were passing as on we sped, horse and female, one purpose in our seemed to be separate intents, to be drawn further and further into this City of the Sun, for I read one of the columns as we sped by them and it said among many words one I remembered well - Ra - the God of the Sun - but how I wondered? Had we not left Egypt lastly as we pulled away from the docks? But the lightening showed more and more mysterious magnificent structures, I rode on not thinking t'was away from the coast we were flying, from the coast and out back towards the desert, no recognition of time having been passed was present in either mind of maid or her horse. Then the columns stopped, in their place now stood instead, columns of a different nature entirely, ebony tall; straight they reached for the skies! I slowed my valiant partner to a trot, as I found myself passing through a gate of sorts, a gate that was structured of the same ebony stone as the columns that led straight towards it, above the gate there stood a great shape of a bird, and the chill of the knowledge of what it stood for trembled all its way through me. For as sure as I was of the darkness encompassing me, I was as sure that it was a giant Raven I was gazing at as gate adornment.The lights soon I spied in this great palace now seen, as the lightening seemed to dance upon its roof in a kind of familiarity, were few and scattered in only the center of the panes of the palace towards which we were slowly approaching. Now my steed, was slowed to a walk, and I wished I had not been so impulsive in my need to find things out. Till there directly in front of me, I saw in such dark glory the palace in totality. Its windows were lit with candles only, yet there filled the air such a fragrance almost hypnotic, that came from the night blooming flowers all around me now, as the road to the palace was winding through its gardens. T'was then as I tried to turn Dimitri around, that I found that I could not, nor did he seem to want to be turned and as I was caught up in some sort of a trance, so it seemed was he and together we would have to let it play out its prelude to whatever chorus would enlighten us both of the depths of enchantment we had both been seduced to and finally succumbed to in our minds of constant curiosity. I rode him on as up to the Palace steps he went, and there stood a man, dressed in every shadow of gray and ebony, his cloak billowed out around him as had my Rainbow Man's, but his held none of the brightness of the same, just the shadows of dark doings and feelings of remorse. He stood there, his arms in the sleeves of this great black cloud that surrounded him, his eyes of silver quite a contrast in that dark presence he portrayed before me. His hair fell in silver down past his shoulders and yet blew not in the winds that seemed to scream as they blew around the palaces turrets. We had stopped, my mount and I, I glued to his back, holding on for all my life, remembering the tales exchanged around the fires of my desert home at night, tales of evil wizards, which still fought for power. But we all laughed at those tales, as did the others that had heard them time and again, well I will tell ye at this moment I was nae laughing. In fact the most I was doing now was trembling, shaking I was so hard that my fingers in the mane of Dimitri were intertwining themselves more and more without any effort on my part that was planned nor voluntary. I cannot say why and I cannot say when, I cannot even begin to explain how I knew he wanted me to ascend from the back of my stallion, but I did, and as I did he put out his arm, and in a voice like that of granite, came his first spoken words, 'At last the pieces are all in place, to test the trueness and depth of the Prince of the Desert and his faithfulness. Finally the nightingale with the plumage rarest from a land far away has arrived, the final piece in this game of enchantment and testing of pureness of soul has willingly presented herself to my hands." "Nae! Nae!" I cried in now fear most genuinely felt, "I shall not be the bait for testing the heart of a man, let alone that heart of a Prince! I am but a Holy Fool!, all I do is dance!" His retort seemed to spark red streaks through those silver eyes of his, "So you would have those unbelievers think, but ye are a lady of most high bearing in your land, I have seen your forthcoming, I have even watched it in the cards and the ball of crystal that responds to my questions I ask of it. What you do not understand is that I have given no choice to you, you have been chosen, and participate you will." Then I knew in one spark of a flash, a flash that held vision of such loneliness and terror I could nae hardly withstand it, that I was to be this Wizard's pawn, a pawn to bring a Knight into his final game, and if I could find a way, anyway, including sacrificing a pawn for a Knight, I would never let this Wizard win this game that would hold I knew then in a way I could nae explain, the world of love in its balance.

Thus it was in a whirlwind of incantations and lightening, I found myself whirling and twirling, cast far from the world I knew, cast far from this place of both kindness and evil, cast far away even from my dear Rainbow Man , at least to the best of my knowing, and when the whirling had settled, and I with it, I did not trust my legs to raise me up at first, for I was no longer in that city of such contrasts. I was in an Oasis, of such beauty it was beyond world understanding, and to my horror I remembered only two things, one I was trapped there, and two my name, which was somehow different but I knew not how, for I was now Fatima, not the name given me by my parents surely, but even that I was not sure of. The rest of whatever I had been afore that moment had been swept away, swept away in the sand as it circled disappearing leaving me alone without my steed to find my way around this mystical place. It was mystical; it held flowers and birds of such beauty and song, that their very melodies worked on my heart their charms. It was here that I was destined to stay, how I knew this for certain I cannot say, I also knew there would come eventually one, a Knight, a Prince who would decide the fate of this pawn.

Description
Chapter One

"They come, like the seasons do, regularly and with barely a joke new, nor a song sung with even changed tune, such a sorry state these Fools traveling as bards are to be seen.To be a Lady of Title and of considerable worth, let alone related to a throne was to be enough would ye think not? 'But nae, says my Father, ye shall marry and marry well. Ye shall go to court and there find a Man not a mere boy of his twenty some years, they are wet my daughter behind the ears. Ye shall pick a Title not a man, then when he succumbs to older age and lives no more then ye can marry for this so called  romantic thing these idiots enthralling my other daughters sing of. Now I just knew that I could sit through a feast, and I could dance and pretend to smile with no change when they stepped on my feet but I would not nor I ever think I could marry a man that did not awaken first this heart. Now I ask of you, what good is a station if you are not allowed to wield what little weight it has. Today the Fools came, I found their costumes and little does my Father know, like he would notice me gone with so many sisters as have I, but I shall be leaving with them when they go.Oh I shall dance and make merry and be free at last!"

And thus it was that this young woman of 16 years of age did slip away from her father's home and sanctuary on that same day. The two Fool's took her to the East, for here they said, 'You will learn to dance the dances of the Harems and we shall make them awkward.' I shuddered for a moment, awkward, those beautiful ancient erotic moves? But I was at their mercy so I did as they bid. "Fools we are and Fools we may be but we are free to go where we please, if I can stop growing so as not to need tighter and tighter binding that is, for I would nay wish to be discovered for being a young lady!."At my comment they laughed and then hugged me as if I a sister was. "See? You shall make us famous Little Dancing Fool!"

And so after ships and caravans we reached our goal, a sea of tents with exquisite decorations covered the desert ocean in front of us. Magnificent horses ran free through the canvas town, then I spotted the one obviously in charge who was now making his presence known. Now I do not repute myself as being full of world knowledge of such things, but it is hard to miss a man who is of some important station, when all bow and part as he progresses.  He looked at me, measuring me up and down, and I prayed that my bindings would keep my secret well known. "We have brought a Fool in training with us this time to learn the dances of your women, so we can marvel the Courts of the Western Continents with them." The Sheik looked at me and then stretched out his weathered hand, touching my face he smiled, "Inexperienced" was all he said. Later my two teachers who I should probably introduce, there is Airem the Bard who plays the mandolin, and his brother Seigfred who on the lute accompanies him, would instruct me in the proper etiquette of desert living. As for me, well I play, I play, well what I play is of no consequence anyway, as surely they shall nae be doing any of the dancing. So I shall play the part of the muse, inspiring, entertaining, and hopefully getting at least a chuckle or two. "Agreed". Again that voice split the dry desert air, and the walking rainbow of a man, for that is what he reminded me of,his clothes of such splendid colors, turned and walked back to his tent again.

The two years spent there went by in such a flurry of fleeting beads of sand in the glass, that soon I found myself recognized as the young woman I had become. They were in awe of my golden hair and my eyes that they say reflected the sky. Finally the day came for our departure, and the Rainbow Man as I had come to call him came to me leading a young fresh broke white stallion from his own string. "He shall be to you a companion, a guide, and a gaurd as well, for there shall not be as fresh a spring erupt in these sands as you for a long time from now." Tears misted my eyes and I reached out and hugged this man out of impulse, he had become dearer to me than a father had, at least any type of father I had come to know. He smiled as the Fool brothers stood and watched in great surprise. "My thanks M'Lord, I shall guard him with my life. Each time I touch him I shall be put in remembrance of you and my time here. I shall dearly miss you my Rainbow Man." Jaws dropped as he hugged me once more, calling me Daughter of the Stars. I mounted and looked at the gaping Fools,'Well you look like Fools truly now!" I laughed and caressed the neck of my new horse, and with regret, and slight heart ache the three of us departed from our desert home.

Two years of learning, I finally had mastered the steps, we had traversed all the lands I used to dream of visiting. It will be nay impossible to tell it is me in my costume when in front of Titled Ladies and Lords I and the other Fools do perform, but t'was needed, you see to be that way, till I was sure I was safe from any family manipulations. For the older I get the more and more I look like my ancestor, famous she was, I am named they say, by middle account after her. I shall ner stop till my Father gives up or gives in or dies, and I shall ner give in to flirtations till my heart is struck as wild as I am. So onward we headed, our adventures to begin.But my pride is the Arabian Stallion gifted to me from the Sheik that had not laughed he had said in an age it seemed. When I danced he had tears, mind ye, running down his face, well, I was still learning. and slowly I winked at my Rainbow Man and turned my horse to head to our next destination. I was full of excitement and fear at the same time. Especially when I found out it was the French court that was our first point of performing. As we rode I was silent for a very long time, planning how to hide my appearance from the french our whole time in their land.

                                                           Chapter Two

      Ocean of sand, long and bare  stretched out before us as we traveled back to the port from which we would  set sail for France. I, dressed as a Bedouin lady of some importance, was protected from the sun, burning down on us as each day began, and then would retire only to come back and burn once again. My horse was fit for this type of travel, after all he was bred from a bloodline that had been documented as the Arabian Bedouins do with their champion stock. Books, holding the names of stallions and mares, who when paired would produce a horse great or those that had failed. It was as if they were revered as much or more than the lineage of the Sheiks themselves. I smiled slightly behind that sheer veil that covered all but my eyes, decorated in that deep kohl lined fashion I had been taught to use to the point of expertise. I was not pale as the ladies of the court would be, that was a good thing, it made my hair stand out as if the sun had settled its golden rays in it my Rainbow Man had said as we parted with a promise from my lips that yes I would return one day to his side.  It also would help disguise me for what Lady of my family would ever let the sun darken her skin as I had? The two bards spent the time arguing and complaining and then arguing once more. Airem insisted it was both our faults he was sweating and uncomfortable. I did not say one word in their discussion as we rode, did they not see that we would be an exception to all the entertainment in France? Did they not know that in no time at all we would be entertaining at the court of the King himself? Nights were spent camping along the route we were told to take, at the various oasis we would encounter, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, but all at the place on the map we were given. Day followed day till finally we saw the turrets of the city that held the port and the ship that would carry us back to the green and the seasons we all knew. I had to admit to myself as we traversed over one ocean of sand to reach another ocean of blue, that I did miss the change in season, the snow in winter, the leaves in fall, the blooms of spring, the breezes of  the summer nights in the gardens as I walked them.

      "Have ye gon' def'?" Airem's voice rang out breaking my musings, his language among ladies was prim and proper, but when away from them he was only a bard. "We are there and there ye sit , unawares of the dangers that exist in this city. Now move up between Siegfred and I sos we can protect our investing." I had to almost smother my mouth with my hand, if only my sisters who have cooed and awed over these two could hear him now,"I do beg your pardon M'Lord, I did nae realize that ye were in charge. I shall in the future pay closer attention to ye." After that comment I kicked the sides of my horse with just enough pressure and he broke into a trot, merchants and other street people scurried out of the way of the Bedouin Princess and her stallion so divine. I grinned fully now behind my veil, oh he would be in charge, that is until I danced in front of the high court of the King. Then we would see who was the one in the grandest of the chambers given us.

     At the dock waited the ship that we were to board. It proudly waved a French flag, and as we approached closer, I stopped my stallion and dismounted, only to have one of the two sailors come running to assist me with him. I, who would never pass up a chance at a good laugh stood back and let him go about his chosen task. Hooves were flying in the air as the stallion reared up , ripping the reins out of the hands of the sailor. Laughter bubbled up but I could not let it surface as forward I stepped and took down my veil,"Ye stand nae a chance in handling him.", and as I spoke the stallion hearing my voice came to me and settled right down,"Now if we could just find a place for him near me when I sleep?" The expression and smile on my face took the sailor by surprise as he heard my accent, "Ye are not a desert gypsy?" "Nae, I am from France, now if ye would kindly step aside I shall load my horse so there will be no more delaying", all this while the two bards watch man after man part for the strange blonde Bedouin with the stallion at her heels walk up the gangplank. The two bards followed after me but not with quite the same grace, it seemed their horses did not like them as well as mine did me. Why should they? Crops were not to be used on these smart but far from gentle and long holding grudge type mounts. An officer of the ship stepped forward and bowed and took my browned hand, placing a kiss on it he spoke very slowly as if I was not able to understand, "We of France welcome ye to the finest of our fleet, The Henry, I hope your accommodations are satisfactory." Well I let him think exactly what he would, if he thought me a high Sheik's daughter so be it, it only served to extend my disguise into more of a concrete probability. As for my partners they were to sleep a deck below me, which irritated them to no end, as the crew also was not far from their small cabins, mine was large and had a window, and my horse was allowed to stay on deck, while the two bards had to load theirs below in the box stables provided. As soon as they were settled, Airem appeared at my side, for I had left the cabin to stand on the deck by the side of the ship to gaze upon the vast expanse of water in front of me."Bet you think ye are mighty fine, mighty fine indeed, but ye are nae more than we are and don't ye do forgetting." I turned my eyes to gaze up into his own, already the control was coming into my hands as I needed it to,"If my attitude and thought of my station bothers ye so, why stand ye here? I would think ye would be minding the dumber of the twain of ye, surely Siegfred needs thee." I smiled sweetly at my words, and Airem went off quickly as the French officer appeared,"If ye have any problems with your servants M'Lady let me know and I will teach them the manners of the court.""Why Sir,", I cooed in a voice soft,"Ye are most kind. I shall surely let ye know the next I am bothered by either." Another smile and as I walked with the grace of a dancer of the desert away from him, I glanced over my shoulder and smiled once more, sealing the deal.

      "Hoist anchor, make ready to sail!" The words of the Captain rang out and we were on our way, I turned as the ship slowly began to move from the docks for one last look at the land I had come to call home, and then raised a hand to shade my eyes, what was this I was seeing, a mirage? No, no man dressed like that but one, on either side of him were warriors of his tribe, blades drawn, it was my Rainbow Man, he had followed us the whole way. No wonder no bandits or trouble found us in that vast sea of sand. I raised my arm and waved my hand, hoping he could see, and the last I saw of him as the sails filled with wind was that flicker of color of his robe, raised as if a flag saluting a Queen.

                                                      Chapter Three


     How long we had sailed to our next port of encounter could nae have been more than five bells of the ship's clock gone chiming. But the wind had whipped up an angry sea, who had dared I thought with the reaches of my Norman mind back to the days of my ancestors of the seas, Norman Invaders, Vikings, who I wondered had bothered to irritate so the Great Goddess below? My eyes opened to find I was safely tucked under shelter from wind and rain now that was pelting the deck as tiny little crystals of water dancers, their final leaps the tiny splashes of them against the deck as their last performances. This is when I became aware of the softest silken of hair draped over my face and then I knew, my stallion was in his stall, as was I, safe as safe could be. I slowly let myself unwind in that way of a trained dancer, feeling every muscle of my legs first stretch as if in demanding that they be answered very soon, then I stretched up with my arms and felt my whole body let loose, loose in that way that only a true dancer knows for they know the very center of themselves and it is from there that their moves come to life. I leaned myself against that soft pure white coat of my stallion and he answered me with a soft nuzzling of the small nose, letting me know he was mine, and for a moment my heart yearned for that for myself, a man, a Prince among Men to give himself to me in his heart, and I would fall at his feet, this I knew without a doubt, for I was hungry, so hungry for true love, only my Rainbow Man and I had spoken of such. He had known how cold the rivers of my heart ran, and taught me that someday there would come one that by his first word spoken would turn that cold river into a forever warm spring flowing, flowing not out but back in again with magical visions I could only dream at the guessing of them. The storm cast an eerie look when I finally did peek out of the cover for us, on the horizon that was behind us as the crew answered the somewhat urgent sound of the Captain and the First mate, in the ordering about of them to ensure our ship was indeed safe. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, we docked and the French Lord in charge came to find me, 'M'Lady, ye must not wander from this ship for this is a dangerous part of the East we have landed in. I beg of thee, hide thy hair of gold, and stray not too far from the side of thy horse.' My eyes of green, now touched with the gray of the sea in color as well, raised to meet his, as my voice answered him, in words I thought were well chosen to calm his tense concern,'M'Lord ye nae worry, for I am as accomplished with a sword as any man ye have aboard. But if it will still thy restless soul, I shall nae stray to far from the side of my horse.' My soft smile, gracing my lips of rose tint in color, ensured him I had meant every word, I had no intention ever from straying from the side of my horse, no matter where that side would or should happen come to be. At that moment through the blackness of the storm sky since night had finished in its falling, there cracked such a spilt of lightening, I swear I could hear that eunuch of a bard friend of mine Airem scream in terror at it! And indeed the moment I saw what it revealed, a different kind of wariness was struck in me! I came from the land of tales of wizards, knights who fought great beasts called dragons and magic was still considered an interest of great many, though none would confess it in front of another in case they be deemed balmy. It was what I saw that captured me speechless in that moment for I saw great columns in this city! Columns that seemed to reach for the sky and beyond and the carving on them was magnificent! I had to see it for myself, there arose in me such a compulsion of need to answer this curiosity that I led my stallion forth from the place he was standing and since we were not too far from the plank, I hoisted myself up on him and was off that ship, down the plank in a white flash. A white flash illuminated by the different layers of silks I had worn that day, coins rattled in sweet tingling rhymes of their own as over the cobbled streets we sped. On each side of me was a land of such magic I could scarce believe my eyes! There stood columns tall and decked with a portrait of gold of a very obvious great man. Temples soon we were passing as on we sped, horse and female, one purpose in our seemed to be separate intents, to be drawn further and further into this City of the Sun, for I read one of the columns as we sped by them and it said among many words one I remembered well - Ra - the God of the Sun - but how I wondered? Had we not left Egypt lastly as we pulled away from the docks? But the lightening showed more and more mysterious magnificent structures, I rode on not thinking t'was away from the coast we were flying, from the coast and out back towards the desert, no recognition of time having been passed was present in either mind of maid or her horse. Then the columns stopped, in their place now stood instead, columns of a different nature entirely, ebony tall; straight they reached for the skies! I slowed my valiant partner to a trot, as I found myself passing through a gate of sorts, a gate that was structured of the same ebony stone as the columns that led straight towards it, above the gate there stood a great shape of a bird, and the chill of the knowledge of what it stood for trembled all its way through me. For as sure as I was of the darkness encompassing me, I was as sure that it was a giant Raven I was gazing at as gate adornment.The lights soon I spied in this great palace now seen, as the lightening seemed to dance upon its roof in a kind of familiarity, were few and scattered in only the center of the panes of the palace towards which we were slowly approaching. Now my steed, was slowed to a walk, and I wished I had not been so impulsive in my need to find things out. Till there directly in front of me, I saw in such dark glory the palace in totality. Its windows were lit with candles only, yet there filled the air such a fragrance almost hypnotic, that came from the night blooming flowers all around me now, as the road to the palace was winding through its gardens. T'was then as I tried to turn Dimitri around, that I found that I could not, nor did he seem to want to be turned and as I was caught up in some sort of a trance, so it seemed was he and together we would have to let it play out its prelude to whatever chorus would enlighten us both of the depths of enchantment we had both been seduced to and finally succumbed to in our minds of constant curiosity. I rode him on as up to the Palace steps he went, and there stood a man, dressed in every shadow of gray and ebony, his cloak billowed out around him as had my Rainbow Man's, but his held none of the brightness of the same, just the shadows of dark doings and feelings of remorse. He stood there, his arms in the sleeves of this great black cloud that surrounded him, his eyes of silver quite a contrast in that dark presence he portrayed before me. His hair fell in silver down past his shoulders and yet blew not in the winds that seemed to scream as they blew around the palaces turrets. We had stopped, my mount and I, I glued to his back, holding on for all my life, remembering the tales exchanged around the fires of my desert home at night, tales of evil wizards, which still fought for power. But we all laughed at those tales, as did the others that had heard them time and again, well I will tell ye at this moment I was nae laughing. In fact the most I was doing now was trembling, shaking I was so hard that my fingers in the mane of Dimitri were intertwining themselves more and more without any effort on my part that was planned nor voluntary. I cannot say why and I cannot say when, I cannot even begin to explain how I knew he wanted me to ascend from the back of my stallion, but I did, and as I did he put out his arm, and in a voice like that of granite, came his first spoken words, 'At last the pieces are all in place, to test the trueness and depth of the Prince of the Desert and his faithfulness. Finally the nightingale with the plumage rarest from a land far away has arrived, the final piece in this game of enchantment and testing of pureness of soul has willingly presented herself to my hands." "Nae! Nae!" I cried in now fear most genuinely felt, "I shall not be the bait for testing the heart of a man, let alone that heart of a Prince! I am but a Holy Fool!, all I do is dance!" His retort seemed to spark red streaks through those silver eyes of his, "So you would have those unbelievers think, but ye are a lady of most high bearing in your land, I have seen your forthcoming, I have even watched it in the cards and the ball of crystal that responds to my questions I ask of it. What you do not understand is that I have given no choice to you, you have been chosen, and participate you will." Then I knew in one spark of a flash, a flash that held vision of such loneliness and terror I could nae hardly withstand it, that I was to be this Wizard's pawn, a pawn to bring a Knight into his final game, and if I could find a way, anyway, including sacrificing a pawn for a Knight, I would never let this Wizard win this game that would hold I knew then in a way I could nae explain, the world of love in its balance.

Thus it was in a whirlwind of incantations and lightening, I found myself whirling and twirling, cast far from the world I knew, cast far from this place of both kindness and evil, cast far away even from my dear Rainbow Man , at least to the best of my knowing, and when the whirling had settled, and I with it, I did not trust my legs to raise me up at first, for I was no longer in that city of such contrasts. I was in an Oasis, of such beauty it was beyond world understanding, and to my horror I remembered only two things, one I was trapped there, and two my name, which was somehow different but I knew not how, for I was now Fatima, not the name given me by my parents surely, but even that I was not sure of. The rest of whatever I had been afore that moment had been swept away, swept away in the sand as it circled disappearing leaving me alone without my steed to find my way around this mystical place. It was mystical; it held flowers and birds of such beauty and song, that their very melodies worked on my heart their charms. It was here that I was destined to stay, how I knew this for certain I cannot say, I also knew there would come eventually one, a Knight, a Prince who would decide the fate of this pawn.