From behind the dune
appeared the skeleton of the plane, already half-buried with sand, a man was
standing near it.
Arshad and Gifar exchanged
glances. They were sure that during this time the desert had killed all the
survivors in it.
"Don't kill
this," Arshad ordered, then turned to Gifar, "I’m even interested to
look at the one who could survive here."
Gifar and his men galloped
forward. Arshad and Maksud restrained their horses, waiting for Gifar to check
if everything was safe for their approach and to give a signal.
The man standing by the
plane offered no resistance. They surrounded him, placing two guards next to
him, the rest of Gifar's men quickly surveyed the plane, then reported that
there was no one else there.
Arshad saw the signal and
touched the horse. The Sheikh and his retinue galloped towards the plane.
***
When Kai realized that the
approaching horsemen were not a mirage, not a figment of his inflamed
consciousness, he got up, walked away from the plane, and waited for their approach.
Although he had a weapon on the plane, Kai decided it was completely stupid and
pointless to use it. In general, it was not clear why he should shoot these
people at all. These would be useless sacrifices and nothing more. He would not
be able to shoot everyone - there were about thirty of them. He would always
have time to die from a bullet. From this, Kai decided to just stand and wait
for the people on horseback to approach him.
The chief of them was
named Gifar, Kai heard this from the people, who constantly turned to him. They
spoke, of course, in Arabic, and, naturally, they were sure that he did not
understand them since they saw a European in front of them.
Kai was searched, then two
soldiers again stood next to him. Everyone was waiting for the approach of
another group of horsemen. When the riders arrived, two rode out of the common
row. They drove closer to Kai. Then one of the guards pushed Kai under a knee.
Kai fell but immediately got up.
"On your knees, infidel,"
came the voice of Gifar, who said it in English.
After another kick, Kai got
up again and boldly looked into the eyes of the rider in the most luxurious
clothes standing in front of him.
Gifar's voice sounded
again:
"On knees! Before you,
there is Sheikh Arshad himself!"
Now Kai realized who was in
front of him. He never saw Sheikh Arshad, but since he was a fairly well-known
and influential person, he heard a lot about him.
Kai was pushed again, he
got up again and looked into Arshad's eyes again.
The Sheikh silently watched
this scene. Seeing that this strange, thin, short youth was rising to his feet
with such persistence, he raised his hand. Everyone froze.
Arshad approached him a
little. Yes, he was clearly young, although, under a layer of dirt on his face,
shriveled lips, dull tow hair on his head and burnt-out clothes, it was
difficult to understand his exact age and, in general, how he looked.
"Thin and
filthy," thought Arshad and was about to turn the horse around, but,
colliding with the eyes of this impudent ragamuffin, froze.
Again he approached and
looked again into those eyes.
"Shine of emeralds
..." flashed through his mind.
"Did you land the
plane here?" Arshad asked Kai in English.
"Do you see anyone
else here?" answered Kai in Arabic.
Everyone froze as they
looked at him.
Arshad spoke first but in
Arabic.
"You have a European appearance;
how do you know our language?"
"What's so strange
about it? I've learnt it."
"Who are you?"
Kai knew that his uniform
had no army marks on it. There was also nothing on the plane that could give
them a clue about his identity. Was there any point in saying that he was
Russian? Definitely not. Although Arshad did not take part in this war, he was
not on the side of the Russians. Based on this, Kai made the decision not to
reveal who he was.
"It did not
matter."
Gifar snatched out the whip
and already brought it in with the words:
"Impudent infidel, now
I will teach you to respond respectfully to the great Arshad!"
Arshad raised his hand
again. Gifar dropped the whip.
"And you are really
cocky. Are you not afraid of me?"
"You don't seem to be
frightful."
By the time of this
conversation, Arshad lowered the kerchief covering part of his face, and now he
smiled when he heard the answer.
Looking again into Kai's
eyes, he turned to Gifar.
"Take him with us.
We'll figure out who he is at home. Well, since our "guest" is too
arrogant, let him go on foot."
Arshad kicked the sides of
the horse and galloped towards the plane.
Gifar gave the order, and
immediately two guards began to tie Kaya's hands in front with a rope. At that
moment, the second companion, all this time silently standing next to Arshad,
approached Kai. Everyone froze at his approach. Kai looked up at him. The rider
also dropped his kerchief from the face. He looked closely at Kai, bending down
slightly from the horse.
"My name is Maksud,
and what is yours?"
"Is it
important?"
"You are daring and
brave. But this is stupid, you could have gone on horseback to the palace, but
now for your insolence, you will go on foot."
Kai listened silently to
Maksud. Maksud saw that this guy with emerald-colored eyes would not answer
anymore. He straightened up in the saddle and, finding Arshad with his eyes,
went to him, thinking that they had found an emerald of extraordinary beauty in
this desert. Under a layer of dirt, Maksud could see the features of their
captive. He felt sorry for Kai, but now Arshad could not be persuaded.
When they set off on
their way back, Maksud constantly looked at the prisoner, following the horse,
to the saddle of which a rope stretched, binding his hands. After a while, the
prisoner began to fall more and more often, and then Maksud saw that he was no
longer getting up, but dragging along the sand.
Maksud drove up to Arshad.
"Our mysterious
prisoner, I think, is already repenting of his impudent words. Maybe you should
spare him?"
"I don’t think such a
person will repent of anything."
"Arshad, we don't know
anything about him yet, but if he drags behind the horse, I'm afraid we won't
even know," Maksud decided to speak bluntly.
Arshad turned around, saw
how the body of the prisoner, who was clearly unconscious, stretched behind the
horse across the sand.
"Do what you
want," Arshad threw, turning again and looking ahead.
Maksud spurred his horse,
waved to his servants, rode up with them to Kai. The servants unhooked the rope
from the horse, turned Kai over, poured water into his half-open lips. Kai came
to life; he was given another drink. Then they pointed to the horse, helped to
sit on it. The servant took the horse's reins and rode a little ahead, leading
Kai's horse, tied to his. Kai's hands were also tied, only a large kerchief was
put on his head, which, like everyone else, covered part of his face.
Kai understood that a
miracle had happened, that he was spared and given a horse. Although the sun
was shaking from weakness and heat, and everything was floating in front of his
eyes, he tried not to fall out of the saddle. So he rode, now falling into
strange oblivion, then coming to his senses he straightened out in the saddle
and tried to endure it all.
By evening, their small
caravan stopped. They quickly began to set up small camp tents, make fires, and
cook food.
Kai was roughly dragged
from his horse and seated to one of the fires so that he was constantly under
the close supervision of everyone. Kai saw that they kept their eyes on him.
He just sat, eyes
half-closed, watching the picture of the life of the camp, and enjoyed the
coming coolness after the incredible heat. His hands were not untied, they were
numb and very painful, especially since the skin on his wrists was also ripped
off with a rope while he dragged behind the horse.
The food was prepared,
hungry warriors ate it with appetite, sitting by the fires, and chatted
animatedly with each other.
Sensing someone's presence,
Kai looked up and saw Maksud with two servants. The servants put a jug of water
near Kai and put a bowl of food and a piece of bread.
"Eat - you need
it," Kai caught notes of sympathy in Maksud's voice.
He raised the eyes to him,
Maksud smiled, then silently went to his tent.
Kai did not show off and
pretend to be a proud idiot who disdained food from the hands of the enemy.
Moreover, they were not particularly enemies, and he, it seemed, was not a
particularly moron. So he drank water, ate, and drank the rest of the water.
Starving himself was stupid and unjustified. What to do next, until he decided,
which meant that he needed strength to fight.
Gradually night descended
on the desert. Instead of pleasant coolness, the cold began to chill. Kai
started to shake. He clenched, huddled, pulling his knees up to his chin and
wrapping his bound arms around them. But he was still shaking.
At some point, he again
felt that someone was next to him. He raised his eyes - it was Maksud, who was
looking at him very attentively, and then, unfolding a huge woolen piece of
fabric, wrapped Kai with it and silently left.
Kai was confused, then felt
the wool was warming him, he wrapped himself in it more tightly, lay down on
his side, and fell asleep.
He woke up from the
noise. It was still very early, but everyone was getting ready to hit the road
before the main heat. The tents were quickly folded up; the camping belongings
were loaded onto the horses. They put Kai on the same horse, and everyone
started. After yesterday's meal and sleep, Kai felt practically well. Now he
rode and looked at the riders. Arshad, Gifar, and Maksud were regularly in his
field of vision. By the fact that Arshad never looked at him, Kai realized that
he had already forgotten about his existence. Gifar occasionally cast glances
at him, Kai knew that he was responsible for everything, and Kai was also his
responsibility. But he constantly felt Maksud's gaze on himself, but it did not
bother him, Maksud did not radiate threats, on the contrary, it seemed to Kai
that he felt care and anxiety. Or did it just seem to him?..
The whole day they moved
almost without stopping, only a couple of times there were small halts.
Throughout the day, a servant of Maksud regularly drove up to Kai and handed
him an animal skin bag with water. Kai was very grateful for this. Riding all
day under the scorching sun without a sip of water would be very cruel, and the
trip was even very comfortable.
Towards evening, Kai saw
lights from afar - it meant that they were approaching the same mysterious
palace in the desert, about which they talked. These were the possessions of
Sheikh Arshad.
It was already dark, and
Kai could not see all the splendor that was the Sheikh's palace. But from the
lights spread over a vast territory, Kai saw that the Sheikh's possessions were
huge, and from the outlines of domes, walls, roofs, and buildings it was clear
that this was an incredible miracle from the fairy tale "A Thousand and
One Nights."
A large gate opened and the
riders were allowed in. They drove along a wide road lined with low palms,
fragrant bushes of exotic flowers, and illuminated by multi-colored lanterns.
It was incredibly beautiful and unrealistic to see all this in the middle of
the desert. Then their caravan split into parts.
The main group, led by
Arshad and Maksud, drove on, and he was taken to the side under the protection
and gaze of Gifar. Having driven into the courtyard, he was pulled off his
horse and taken inside. From what Kai saw, it was one of the additional
buildings to the palace. Inside there were corridors that diverged in different
directions, he was led down the stairs, Kai guessed that this was a prison.
Through several open and closed iron doors, he was led into another corridor,
in which there were small iron doors with windows in the center to the right
and left. Having brought him to one of these doors, he was pushed inside. The
guard cut the ropes on his arms and closed the door.
The small room was dimly
lit by a very faint light bulb. Looking around, Kai saw a wooden decking and a
hole in the floor, from the smell it was clear that it was a toilet. That's
all, there was nothing else in this room, not even a window. Although Kai
assumed they were underground, then it was understandable why the window wasn't
here. Wearily he made his way to the wooden decking and lay down on it. Taking
a horizontal position, he quickly fell asleep. Now he didn't care that it was
hard to sleep on the boards, that there was no pillow, and that he hadn't
washed all this time, although he didn't stink in the dry and hot climate -
that much made him happy. But none of this mattered. After everything that had
happened to him, a dream came to him in this cool room.
He woke up from the clatter
of locks on the door. A guard came in and brought in a tray of food and water.
A second guard stood prudently at the door. Without saying anything, they
closed the door and left.
The meal procedure was now
taking place regularly. The food was good for a prison. At least not the slops.
The food was freshly prepared, no-frills, everything you needed: some porridge
and even meat, bean stews, always a small piece of flatbread, even stewed
vegetables were on the food menu and invariably a jug of water. Kai even tried
to wash his face a little, saving on drinking. But that only smeared the dirt
all over his face. Therefore, he left this occupation and tried not to think
about how much he had not washed. Of course, it was stupid to think about this
when his life was in question, but the desire to find himself under the streams
of water did not leave him.
He ate whatever was
brought because he should recuperate to get out of here. Besides he could
refuse food any time.
During all this time, no
one came to him. Sometimes it seemed to Kai that they had completely forgotten
about him, then panic came over him. To spend years of his life here and to die
like that without seeing God's light! But he held on, whispered prayers - it
gave strength.
He forced himself to be
patient. The hardest thing was not to see the sun. Only a light bulb with its
dim light and the arrival of a security guard with food gave at least some idea
of the time.
By his calculations, a week
had passed, maybe more. During this time, he recovered his strength and, in
order not to go crazy, began to constantly engage in training, those that were
available in a small room. He needed to put his muscles in order, restore
flexibility and plasticity to the body, and calmness to his mind. Therefore, in
addition to strength exercises, he meditated a lot, this returned the strength
of the spirit and stabilized his inner peace.
***
One of the nights he woke
up from the noise in the corridor, listened: first there was a stomp, then the
roar of opening doors, he clearly discerned voices and, from separate thrown
phrases of people running past his door, he realized that there was a coup in
the palace, it was a conspiracy against Sheikh Arshad.
Then the doors in the
corridor began to open, his door was also unlocked. Several people looked inside,
they simultaneously shouted that he was free, that they would kill Arshad, and
the great Ali would become their ruler.
Kai deliberately went
deep into his dungeon so that he was hard to see. He changed his voice and
answered with a hoarse voice in Arabic that he was glad of such an event - the
coming to power of the great Ali.
The crowd moved on,
revealing all the cameras. Kai guessed that there were political prisoners on
this floor. It was good that in a panic no one began to figure out who he was.
He ran into the corridor,
followed the sound of receding steps, realizing that there was a way out. On
the way, he took the sword from the dead guard, then from another - a couple of
daggers.
Soon he saw from a group of
fighting people in one of the corridors that the rioters were dressed in black
robes and trousers, in contrast to the Sheikh's guards, who were dressed in
multi-colored, expensively embroidered robes and the same trousers tucked into
low boots.
Kai safely skirted the
group of fighting people, then slipped past some more, then more. This was not
his war, he had a goal to escape from here. So, using the dark niches in the
corridor passages at night, he went to the main palace.
A wounded man was lying in
the corner - it was a man from the Sheikh's guard, Kai saw it by his clothes.
He ran to the guard, shook it slightly, and asked where the helicopter pad was.
The guard at first was silent, but after another kick, he decided not to play a
hero out of himself. He showed the right direction. Kai understood that the
platform was on one of the roofs of these buildings, but how to get there and
not get lost in these corridors was much more difficult. Having found out the
approximate landmarks in the course of his movement, he quickly went in the
indicated direction. As he traveled, he saw, even at night, in the dim lighting
of lamps and the moon penetrating the open roads, that the palace was huge and
luxurious. Kai constantly forced himself to walk, and not freeze in front of
the next, opening to his gaze, a luxurious room.
From the corpses lying on
the floor, Kai saw that the rebels had already been here - they were probably
looking for the Sheikh himself.
Then he heard the noise of
a struggle, the clink of metal, screams and, running past the next hall, he saw
that about twenty people had surrounded Arshad and were attacking him from all
sides. That this was Arshad, Kai recognized him at once, as he got a good look
at him then when the Sheikh had been on a horse - tall, his face framed by a
thin line of beard and mustache, the glowing gaze of almond-shaped eyes. Now,
Kai did not see the fear in them, only anger and determination, although his
strength was leaving him - there were too many opponents.
Kai stopped, and then,
grabbing the second sword from the dead warrior lying around at his feet,
rushed into the midst of the fighting. The thought that he would regret his
deed flashed and disappeared, now there was no time to think, it was necessary
to save his life and the life of Arshad if he decided to stand up for him.
The attackers, out of
surprise, missed several of his punches, thanks to which he was able to
penetrate the thick of the battle. He slashed the belly of the rebel, who had
raised the sword at him and unleashed a hail of blows to three more, pushing
them away from Arshad, thereby giving him a moment of respite.
Arshad's eyes widened, at
first, he did not recognize him. It was evident that the Sheikh had long
forgotten about the guy's existence, then their gazes met, and Arshad
remembered a scallywag near the plane by the glint of the green emeralds of the
eyes.
When Kai once again threw
two attackers away from Arshad, the Sheikh saw his intentions, and now they
fought together, shoulder to shoulder, covering each other and deflecting
blows. In terms of combat technique, and terms of freshness of strength, Kai
prevailed. Arshad was already tired, although he held on without showing it.
But Kai saw this and was constantly near at the right moment, repulsing blows
aimed at the Sheikh.
Then help came to them, it
was clear from the expensive clothes of the soldiers who ran in and from Gifar,
who was running ahead of them.
Gifar instantly
appreciated what was happening here, seeing Kai and Arshad fighting in the
center, and around them - the attacking rebels.
Gifar began to fight his
way towards them. During the battle, Kai saw that the rebels kept coming and
coming, and instead of one killed or wounded by them two or three new ones were
coming. With this arrangement, they would not last long. Therefore, the arrival
of Gifar, who made his way to Arshad and Kai and stood next to them, was very
useful. Now there were three of them, and they held the defense in a circle.
Gifar, like Kai, constantly covered Arshad from blows. Gifar saw how Kai was
fighting and saw his constant attempts to remove opponents from Arshad. Gifar
and Kai's eyes met, Kai read the surprise in them, but then the men switched to
the attackers.
Kai, seeing that Arshad was
already barely holding on, began to press on several opponents, displacing them
further and further. Guifar understood his plan. Then more Gifar's warriors
came running, and after a short battle and a clear superiority in strength on
the side of Arshad, the enemy surrendered. Those who were still alive dropped
their swords.
Kai, chopping at the next
attacker, saw that there was no one else, and turned around. Behind him stood
Arshad, surrounded by his guards, next to him there was Maksud - when he
arrived, Kai did not see. To the right, Gifar stood. Kai had two bloody swords
in his hands. Everyone froze. Kai unclenched his fingers, swords slipping from
his hands to the floor. He had no more weapons with him; he had used daggers
long ago.
Arshad said something to
Maksud, who, waving his hand to his servants, approached Kai.
"Come with me,"
he said in a friendly tone.
Kai followed, and now
what could he do? Instead of his escape, he began to rescue, and here is the
result - time was lost, he no longer could escape. After such an active fight
and adrenaline rush, he felt that he was tired, he was shaken and he just
wanted to lie down. Now it was no longer important for him what his future fate
was. One thing pleased him that he was not being led back to the cell, judging
by the other direction of their movement. After passing several corridors and
stairs, they entered a room quite spacious, with carpets and interior of the
modest luxury of the Orient.
"Rest, our mysterious
friend, tomorrow I will come for you," Maksud bowed politely and left. The
door closed behind him and the bolt clicked. Kai glanced at the windows, which
had a beautiful wrought-iron grill. He walked around his new quarters, saw that
another door led to a bath with clean towels hung on hooks. But now there was
no strength to wash. He went to the bed and lay down on the bedspread. After
all this time, it was a real bed, not a folded parachute on the floor of the
plain or wooden planks in the form of decking in his cell - it was exactly a
bed: soft, clean and fragrant. Feeling it with his whole body, he instantly fell
asleep.
He woke up late, judging by
the rays of the sun and the clock on the wall showing one o'clock, looked
around. Yes, these were clearly not the chambers of Arshad, which he had seen
yesterday, passing through the palace, where luxury and abundance amazed the
eye, but, on the whole, it was a richly furnished room in oriental style. On
the armchair, he saw clothes: light-colored wide trousers and the same
light-colored robe made of expensive fabric. Kai remembered the soul he had
seen yesterday. Now he could not think of anything else. He did not care about
his unclear fate and, in general, everything that happened. He had one desire -
to stand under a stream of warm water and wash everything off himself. He
grabbed his clothes, realizing that afterward, he would not be able to put on
his own, soaked in sweat, dirt, and blood of yesterday's enemies. Kai went into
the bath. Feeling the water on his body, he realized what happiness was.
He must have been taking
the shower for an hour. There were plenty of jars of gels and shampoos, which
he poured over himself and then rubbed himself with a washcloth. It seemed that
such a layer of dirt was impossible to wash off. Finally, with an effort of
will, he closed the water and wrapped himself in a huge soft towel.
***
When Maksud went to his
mysterious prisoner, as he began to call him for himself, he froze in the
doorway. A slim and slender young man plastically and softly turned to him, he
was already dressed in wide trousers and a robe and was now standing in the
middle of the room. If not for the sparkle of his eyes, Maksud would not have
believed that it was he - that ragamuffin by the plane! Although no, even then,
under a layer of dirt and fatigue, he made out it, but now ...
While still wet, the hair
on his head that had grown during this time curled into large curls and
glistened with moisture on them. Kai made an involuntary movement, brushing the
fallen curls from his eyes, and looked at Maksud who entered.
Maksud approached.
"Hello. Did you sleep
well? Food will be brought to you now. What's your name?"
"It doesn't matter
what my name is," Kai now wanted to hear what would happen to him now.
After all, in general, he had escaped from the cell of his confinement and it
was not a fact that now they would remember his military achievements.
Maksud missed the
unfriendly tone of the prisoner. And it's understandable: when your fate is not
known to you, you will not be particularly friendly.
"Great Sheikh Arshad
conveys through me gratitude for his salvation and asks to be his guest. He's
gone now. Unfortunately, yesterday's event made adjustments to his plans, and
he had to hastily leave the palace. He really wants to personally express his
gratitude to you for his salvation and for how bravely you fought. Therefore,
he asked to wait for him and entrusted all the worries about you to me."
"To wait, as if I have
other options" Kai looked at Maksud, realizing that he was not afraid of
this person, there was something in him.
Meanwhile, Maksud began to
go around Kai in a circle, examining him.
Then Maksud clapped his
hands, and several servants entered the room. He gave the name of the one he
asked to come. A minute later, a breathless man ran into their room.
"This is a
tailor," Maksud pointed to a short, plump man who was trying to catch his
breath. "You need clothes," Maksud smiled mysteriously, "let him
take your measurements."
Kai shrugged vaguely.
"Can I take off your
robe?"
Maksud approached him, Kai
looked warily into his eyes. Maksud smiled again.
"You don't know yet -
I'm a eunuch. Nothing threatens you from my side."
Kai's eyes widened, he,
of course, understood who the eunuch was, but to see it live ...
This tall, broad-shouldered
man with bright oriental features, wearing eyeliner and a complete lack of facial
hair did not look like eunuchs in Kai's point of view. He was not feminine, on
the contrary, although, knowing now about Maksud, perhaps a little softer
movements, a slightly more gentle voice were present. He was about thirty-five,
maybe a little over.
While Kai was at a loss to
comprehend all this, Maksud gently removed hands from the robe and, having
untied the guy's belt, took it off.
Only thin trousers remained
on Kai, which were obviously too big for him and, despite the ties at the belt,
slipped and hung on his narrow hips.
Maksud again stepped back
from him and slowly walked around in a circle. Then he smiled, looking into his
eyes.
"Mysterious prisoner,
will you trust me? You need to recover from your time in the desert. The desert
takes the beauty away, but not from everyone ..."
Kai didn't quite understand
the meaning of his speech. Maksud continued:
"I understand your
distrust, but it was your own fault, there, in the desert, you shouldn't have
behaved so impudently with Arshad. He is quick-tempered but quickly moves away.
If you remember, I tried to do everything to facilitate your fate there as a
prisoner."
Yes, Kai remembered his
concern in the form of water, food, and warm clothes at night.
"When we arrived
here, I also wanted to help you, but, unfortunately, the threat of a coup, a
conspiracy against Arshad - all this did not give the opportunity and time to
switch his attention to you. The only thing I could do was send you good food
and wait for the threat of a conspiracy to pass. Unfortunately, their plan
succeeded. But Allah sent you to us - you've saved the life of the great
Sheikh. Arshad will never forget this and will thank you. Now, while he is
gone, trust me. Okay?"
Kai again did not quite
understand what Maqsood was talking about but did not resist when the tailor
took measurements from him.
Maksud gave him a robe and
helped him put it on.
Servants brought in food on
several trays and set the table. After looking at the abundance and variety of
food, Kai decided it was for ten people.
"Now you need to eat
and sleep. I think we'll postpone everything until tomorrow. Just rest."
Maksud once again looked at
him and, having politely bowed, left. All his entourage came out.
Kai thought that it was not
entirely clear to him what status he was arriving here now. His door was bolted
and, judging by the voices behind it, he guessed that there was a guard there.
But, in general, life was
getting better, at least, he was not in the cell, and the sun was peeping
through the window. Going to the window, he saw a wonderful garden, as in a
fairy tale: beautiful paths, small fountains, rose bushes, and peacocks on the
green grass. After admiring this living zoo, he went to eat and then to sleep.
The most valuable food brought was wine. He did not drink it for a long time,
and his nerves were not iron, and now, having drunk amazingly tasting red wine,
he fell asleep.
In the evening they woke
him up, again set the table in the same insane abundance. He ate a little and
drank the whole decanter of wine again, and then a healthy child's sleep came.
In the morning, the picture
repeated itself, only one glass of wine was brought. Kai decided that Maksud
wanted to see him not only asleep.
***
Coming out of Kai, Maksud
took a deep breath. He hadn't expected this. It was incredible. How many boys
he had found for Arshad's harem, but this - he was well versed in beauty and
was a connoisseur of it, but here it was just a gift from heaven. It's amazing
what can fall into the desert!
But this was no ordinary
boy. Maksud saw how he fought, saw his willpower as he dragged behind the
horse. Yes, this guy wasn't like these young men he had found for the harem,
this was a warrior. He fought best of all, it was then Gifar said in front of
everyone, admiring him. And Arshad also admired how he fought, but Arshad had
not yet seen him ...
Maksud laughed. Here he
would surprise the Sheikh! And what a surprise! Nobody expected this. Even now
he was still under the impression of the prisoner he had seen: he was fragile,
graceful with a thin waist, narrow hips, feline grace in every gesture, and the
face, cheekbones, lips - everything was perfect, and no femininity - the ideal
beauty of a young man. And the eyes were emeralds.
Yes, of course, the desert
made itself felt, but it did not take away his beauty. Maksud built the whole
scheme of his restoration, and then, by the arrival of the Sheikh, this emerald
would sparkle in all its natural beauty. And only then Arshad himself would
decide what he would do with him.
Maksud treated this young
man very well from the very moment they met, probably for his audacity, for the
fact that he, sitting in the desert for a month, did not break down. Then,
seeing him fighting, he realized that he was not mistaken in him, in his
spiritual qualities - such a person would always come to the rescue, never
leave anybody in trouble. Unfortunately, in the modern world, these qualities
cannot be found in people. This hooked Maksud. And when he finally saw what
their prisoner looked like, he decided that he would do everything for him. He
would show Arshad him in a way that Arshad did not expect to see him.
Arshad would not harm
him, Maksud was sure of that. Despite the permissiveness, the Sheikh, although
he was formidable, quick-tempered, and cruel, but he was fair. Therefore, it
was better to let Arshad see what his prisoner really was, and only then make a
decision about his fate.
