Zuleika and the Barbarian

would you take?'

'I am not certain yet,' Zuleika lied smoothly. 'I shall tell you on the day that I leave.' She leaned over and kissed his cheek. 'You have not yet told Haroun about Kansbar, have you?'

'No,' her father said.

'Do not,' Zuleika implored the old man. 'Until we can be certain that Haroun's motives are pure, we must not put Kansbar into his hands. Promise me that, father! Swear on my mother's memory!'

'I pledge you silence on Jamila's memory,' the sultan vowed to his daughter. 'I know you are right in this, Zuleika.'

'Thank you, father,' the girl said, then arose, and kissing his cheek again she left him with his memories and his thoughts. Hurrying to her own quarters she entered, saying to her servant as she did, 'I am betrayed, Rafa. I am to be given to Amir Khan as a peace offering!' Her eyes met those of her best friend, Bahira. 'And Haroun has decided to take you for his wife because you are meek and mild.'

'Me?' Bahira looked astounded. She was a plump, pretty girl with dark auburn hair and blue eyes. 'I never thought he even noticed me, but I should not marry Haroun if he were the last man on earth!'

'And your father approves of this perfidy?' Rafa demanded, outraged. 'My poor master! He is old, and confused. Prince Haroun takes shameful advantage of him.'

'Father takes his word over mine only because he is a man,' Zuleika said, almost bitterly.

'What are you going to do?' Bahira asked.

'First you must tell me if you are certain that you will not have Haroun?' Zuleika replied. 'Think carefully, Bahira. If my plan fails, then you could be the sultana of Dariyabar.'

'And if your plan succeeds?' Bahira wanted to know.

'I will be the sultana,' Zuleika said with a smile.

'And Haroun?' Rafa asked, her black eyes curious.

'He will not be the sultan,' was all Zuleika would say.

'I will take my chances with you,' Bahira told her friend.

'Good! I have asked my father for Rafa and one other person to go with me to the barbarian's encampment. He swore I might have anyone I desired. Haroun will not approach your father until after I am gone. I intend asking the sultan for you, Bahira. He has given his word, and will not take it back no matter Haroun's protests. That way I can keep you safe from my cousin.' She reached out and took her friend's hand, and the hand of her servant. 'Will you both trust me to bring us safely back to Dariyabar? I will, you know.'

They both squeezed her hand in response.

'Good,' Zuleika told them. 'Now let us go and see what Kansbar will show me, provided he is in a mood to cooperate.'

Without being asked, Rafa scurried across the room to a tall ebony wood cabinet. Opening it, she drew out a concave vessel, and bringing it to her mistress set it upon a low table. It was a bowl, wide, round, and almost flat in design. It was oddly plain, having no decoration upon it at all, neither carving nor bas-relief. It was dull in color, appearing to be made from some base metal. Rafa and Bahira sat about the low table on red silk cushions. Zuleika knelt before the bowl.

'Great Kansbar, guardian of Dariyabar, and supreme genie of the golden bowl, come forth, I beg you, and speak with me,' she said.

The bowl filled with clear crystal water.

'Please, Kansbar, we are in danger, and need you,' Zuleika pleaded politely.

The dull bowl suddenly shone itself a bright and shining gold.

'We are at your mercy, and await your august presence,' Zuleika murmured.

Suddenly a face appeared on the smooth surface of the water. It was a male face, ageless, and his head was topped by a cloth-of-gold turban in the front of which was set a large pigeon's-blood ruby. Black eyes looked out upon the trio, curious, and perhaps just a trifle irritated at being disturbed. 'It must be great danger, my princess, that you are so deferential to me,' the genie said. 'What has happened, and how may I serve you?' His voice was deep, and like thunder.

'I am to be given to the khan as a gift,' Zuleika said. 'My cousin, Haroun, has betrayed us. I fear when I am gone he will see my father dead so he may rule Dariyabar.'

'He is the male heir,' Kansbar said.

'You would serve him?'

'I did not say that, my princess. I said he was the male heir,' the genie responded. 'I know your cousin's worth even as I know yours Now, how may I serve you today?'

'Show me Amir Khan,' Zuleika said.

'It is done,' Kansbar said as he disappeared from the surface of the water, which grew dark again.

And then the liquid grew quite light, and there before them was a man. He was taller than any man Zuleika had ever seen. His body was perfect, and in absolute proportion. He was well-muscled, with quite graceful hands and feet. His head was shaven, and from his smooth skull fell a single swath of black hair, dressed with narrow gold bands. His face was beardless. He had high cheekbones, a long straight nose with flaring nostrils, a generous mouth, and dark brown eyes that mirrored his intelligence.

'The Gods!' Bahira breathed aloud. 'He is gorgeous, Zuleika! I should far rather have him between my legs than Haroun the Handsome.'

'He is mine,' Zuleika said, quietly admiring the curve of his buttocks as he turned. He was dressed only in a loincloth.

Suddenly Kansbars face reappeared upon the surface of the water. 'Have you seen enough, my princess?' he demanded.

'Yes,' she answered him. Then she turned to Rafa and Bahira. 'Leave me,' she said. 'I need to speak with Kansbar alone.' When they had withdrawn, Zuleika said to the genie, 'I would meet Amir Khan privately when none are about. No one must know that I do this. And I would be clothed in moonbeams when we meet.'

The genie smiled sardonically. 'Do you mean to seduce him, my princess?' he mocked her gently.

'If I must, but I think not,' she replied. 'Haroun would send me as a gift, a concubine. It is an insulting gesture to us both. If I must take this man, then it must be as his wife. This is why I need to speak with him, Kansbar.'

'Look at me, my princess,' the genie said, and after their eyes had met for a long minute he continued, 'I see what it is you will say to him, and he should see reason, my princess, for he is not a foolish man.'

'How can you be certain?' she asked.

'I do not spend all my time in this bowl,' Kansbar said sharply. 'While I am bound to serve Dariyabar, I need only come when I am called. Tonight! You will go to him tonight, for there is no time to waste, my princess. At the midnight hour I will send a gentle fog across the city and the khan's encampment. All will sleep but for you and Amir Khan alone. You will find his command tent in the very center of his camp. The moon will clothe you and light your way. No one will challenge either your coming or your going. My spell will only hold to the dawn, however.'

She nodded. 'Thank you, Kansbar,' she told the genie.

He nodded at her in acknowledgement, and then both the genie and the water in the bowl disappeared, while the round vessel again took on a dull sheen with no hint of gold at all. Zuleika arose, and taking the bowl replaced it back in the cabinet. She rejoined Bahira and Rafa in her small private walled garden.

'What mischief do you plan?' Rafa asked her, suspicious.

'None,' Zuleika assured her.

'I think I shall remain with you tonight,' Bahira said.

'No,' Zuleika told her. 'You will rouse my cousin's suspicions if you do. Particularly in light of what he has told me today.'

'But what if he speaks to my father?' Bahira asked.

'I have already told you that he will not until I am gone, and in the khan's embrace,' Zuleika replied. 'You need have no fears unless we force Haroun to a premature action. Play the quiet maiden for now, Bahira. Can you not imagine the look on Haroun's face when I snatch you from beneath his nose?' She laughed.

Bahira laughed too. 'He may be handsome, but I have always thought there was something slimy about your