CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kadeem awoke in the semi-darkness of the tent. He opened his eyes and, for a brief moment, forced himself to remember where he was.
Of course. He was out in the wilderness. In his privately maintained desert encampment.
He'd slept fitfully, dreaming constantly of Eliana. From time to time, into those dreams intruded the figure of her father, repeating the words which had banished Kadeem from Zahram.
Kadeem felt tired. He was facing a long day of solitude. But, it was what he needed.
He got out of bed and wrapped himself in his white desert robe. The air inside the tent was cool. The only light came from the corners of the tent which let in glimmers of the early morning sun.
Kadeem gazed around the tent. It was as large as a bedroom, perhaps thirty meters square. It was spartan, consisting of a large woven rug which covered the entire floor, a long couch and low table. Lamps hung from one of the beams supporting the tent.
It was basic, but comfortable. Everything he needed in his present state of mind. He had to clear his thoughts of all that had occurred during the last few, crazy weeks.
Kadeem prepared some coffee for himself and ate some figs. He had no appetite, but he knew he'd need some sustenance if he was to pass the coming day. He planned for it to be a day of contemplation and reflection. He had to understand where he'd gone wrong. Mistakes had been made, and he was determined to learn from them.
He sat on the couch, alone. There was no-one else in the camp. A small team of men were responsible for visiting regularly and keeping the encampment supplied and clean. Visits by them also ensured that no strangers took advantage of this place.
Not that anyone would. This was a place reserved for the sheikh. An Al Kharif, no less.
Out in the desert, there was a simple understanding amongst those travelers who spent most of their time traversing the wilderness. This place belonged to the Al Kharif family, and under no circumstances must it be damaged or misused.
Kadeem stretched out, savoring the solitude. He planned to stay here a few days, at least. Long enough for his emotions to settle. Although, lying back and sensing how he felt, he wondered if he would ever really win the battle with himself to tame those turbulent emotions.
He sipped his coffee and sighed, thinking about Eliana. His Princess was gone. He had lost her through an act of simple stupidity. Even as he thought that, he knew it wasn't strictly true. Perhaps the whole endeavor had been ill-advised from the start.
But, Kadeem had had almost no control over himself when it came to Eliana. She had found a way into his heart in the most surprising and astonishing way imaginable. He recalled all of their fake arguments, staged for the benefit of onlookers. He realized that even then, those staged disagreements had only laid the foundation for what had followed afterwards. It was as if every pretend harsh word, every acted-out look of admonishment he'd exchanged with Eliana had merely achieved the opposite of what had been intended.
Every moment they'd been forced to spend together had only drawn each of them closer to one another. He sighed and shook his head. It was inexplicable. The only way he could even begin to understand it was to see it as somehow fated.
Destined.
Out here, in the desert, such a perspective made sense. Life was simple out here. You saw people for what they were. Truthfully and honestly. Promises were made and kept. Relationships were based on trust and tradition. It all made perfect sense.
But, back in his world, and in Eliana's courtly world, there were so many rules, so many restrictions, that the idea of destiny forging a path for the sheikh and the princess seemed inconceivable. Life in Zahram would surely have been too complicated, Kadeem told himself.
Perhaps it was just as well he had been cast out from that world, he told himself. Maybe Azem had done Kadeem a favor.
But still, tugging away at Kadeem, was that burning ache. The wound of losing of Eliana would take a long time to heal. Because that was what he felt like, right now. A wounded, damaged soul.
Kadeem stood and made his way outside. The early morning sun was bright, and the sky was a crystal clear, azure blue. The encampment was set in a low, sheltered area between high dunes. Over to Kadeem's right there was a cluster of trees ringed around a circular pool of water. His was the only tent in the encampment. Enough for Kadeem's exclusive use. He walked across and attended to his horse, the one which had brought him late yesterday from the trading station a few miles to the south.
The horse taken care of, Kadeem climbed up the side of one of the dunes. Reaching the top, he sighed contentedly. The view he saw made his spirits lift instantly. The vista was stunning, dunes rolling to the distant horizon, wave after golden wave. A cool breeze caressed his skin. Kadeem tugged his robe together and inhaled the fresh air. There was a unique scent to the desert, one that never failed to trigger strong emotions in Kadeem.
He stood there for a long time, letting the glory of the landscape sink into his senses. Change how he felt.
Kadeem knew he was capable of standing there all day. That prospect gave him hope. He understood what this place could do to someone. It could alter the way a person viewed life. Transform, forever, their perspective. Bring them back to reality. And that was what he so desperately needed, now that he had lost Eliana.
Kadeem thought about her. He wondered where she was at this moment. Who she was with. Maybe she had taken the whole thing in her stride and was already moving on.
Kadeem's eye was caught by a sudden movement, far off on the southern horizon. He narrowed his gaze and squinted, trying to make out what it could be. Perhaps one of the local tribesmen had heard of Kadeem's appearance at the trading station and was coming to pay their respects.
Kadeem dismissed that immediately. The last thing he needed was a visitor. Didn't they understand that he wanted to be alone?
The figure continued to make their way in the direction of the camp. Whoever it was, rode on horseback. And they were riding at a fast pace.
Kadeem contemplated moving off the peak of the dune and retreating to the privacy of his tent. Maybe, whoever it was would get the message when the sheikh refused to come out to greet them, he told himself.
Just as he was beginning to turn, he allowed himself one final look at the advancing figure.
Something shifted inside Kadeem. A feeling in his gut that he couldn't make sense of. His heartbeat faltered as he narrowed his eyes, straining to make out the details of the rider.
His breath eased out of him, and his body stiffened.
It could not be, he told himself.
He peered intently at the rider and saw clearly that it was a woman. Blonde hair fluttered behind her head. She was wearing a loose white shirt and jeans. Was the woman mad? Didn't she know how dangerous it was to wear such clothing out here in the wilderness? Those clothes would provide no protection.
A few moments later, Kadeem gasped. That feeling which had tugged at him, trying to tell him the truth, was now more intense than at any time since he'd noticed the distant figure.
Could it be her? Kadeem froze, disbelieving, as the rider advanced.
Now, the woman was close enough that he could make out her features.
Shock rippled through Kadeem's body.
It was her.
Eliana.
He blinked his eyes sharply, trying to tell himself this must be a mirage. A feverish desert dream. But, when he looked again, she was still racing toward him.
Eliana had come to him, here in the desert.
Now he could hear the pounding hooves of her horse as it raced across the final stretch of flat sand at the base of the dune upon which Kadeem was standing, rooted to the spot.
Finally something snapped within him, and he began to run down the side of the dune, toward Eliana.
He reached the base of the dune just as she reined in her mount, drawing it to a sliding halt.
"Eliana!" Kadeem cried gazing up at her.
She threw the horse's reins out of her hands and leaped down onto the flat sand. For a moment, they both stood gazing at each other. He still could hardly believe that she was here, standing in front of him.
Her features were flushed and she was out breath. "Kadeem. I came back," she exclaimed, her voice cracking with emotion.
He smiled at her, but there was nothing he could say. All he wanted to do was gaze at her, take in the sight of her, as she stood just a few feet away from him.
Then she smiled, cried out and ran to him. Kadeem stretched out his arms and she fell into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her, sensing the wondrous feeling of her body against his.
"You're really here!" he exclaimed.
She laughed. "Of course I am," she said. "You didn't think I was going to let you run off like that, did you?"
Suddenly, he was seized by an uncontrollable impulse, vital and unstoppable. His head dipped and his lips crashed down upon hers. She gasped as he kissed her. The sensation was perfect, the relief that she was back in his arms real and true.
He savored the taste of her lips, the sensation of her flesh. It was something he'd believed he'd lost. But now she was here, in his arms. It seemed like a fantasy, one last torment to drive him over the brink.
He lifted his head and gazed into her moist, shimmering blue eyes. "How did you find me?" he asked.
She tilted her head. "Everyone I asked knew you could only be in one place. Here. They gave me directions."
Still, that wasn't enough. "But why have you come?" he asked breathlessly.
Eliana narrowed her eyes. "You really don't know?"
He realized what she was hinting at. "I know what we said to each other back in the palace," he admitted.
She tightened her arms around him. "And nothing has changed, Kadeem," she told him.
"But, your father..." he started to say.
She cut him off. "He made a mistake. And he accepts that, now."
Kadeem squinted at Eliana. "Mistake? But, the scroll was clear. He had every right to do what he did."
Eliana shook her head. "That wasn't the real reason he rejected the idea of our marriage."
For a moment he paused, enjoying how those words had sounded on her lips. Our marriage, she had said. Maybe it wasn't too late, after all.
"My father was trying to spare me the kind of hardship my mother had to endure when she came to Zahram as his wife," Eliana explained. "He didn't want me to suffer as a result of marrying an outsider."
"That wasn't what he told me," Kadeem objected.
Eliana frowned. "He was too proud to admit that," she said. "My mother got the truth out of him. Eventually."
Kadeem stared disbelievingly at Eliana. "So he accepts he made a mistake sending me away?"
"He wants me to be happy, Kadeem. I told him the truth."
Kadeem lifted a brow. "You did?"
Eliana nodded. "He knows I love you."
Kadeem's soul sang as he heard her say those words. There was a long pause. The gentle desert breeze shifted her blonde hair across her cheek. She looked exquisite, he told himself. He'd never seen her so happy in all the time he'd known her.
"Can this be true?" he asked, barely able to comprehend what she was telling him.
"It is true," she said gently. "Your place is with me in Zahram. Everyone understands that, now."
He drew her closer to him. "My beloved," he murmured. "You know how much I adore you. How much I love you. How much you mean to me."
Eliana's features flushed and her eyes brightened. Kadeem claimed her mouth with another kiss. When their lips parted, he could see the emotion sweeping through her.
"Come back," Eliana whispered. "Return to Zahram with me."
He frowned. "I won't be welcome," he objected softly.
She shook her head. "All of that is over, Kadeem. You will be my husband and I will be your wife. Only that matters. Nothing else." She seemed so assured. So confident that he would agree.
He thought for a few moments, weighing up her words. Could it be possible? Had fate overturned everything and brought Eliana back to him? He felt suddenly humble. Who was he to reject this offer from destiny?
Something primal shifted inside him, a sudden resolution that allowed him to see reality in a crystal clear fashion.
This was the woman he wanted. She was his beloved. Their future awaited.
He kissed her gently on the forehead. "My Princess," he murmured. "My love. Forever."
She lifted her chin and gazed into his eyes. "My Sheikh and my prince to be," she stated. "My love. For all time."
And then they kissed again, beneath the desert sky.
THE END