Megan only left the tent when Omar had asked her to and that was when he had been called by his father.
"I'll need you to wait a few minutes first before you head out." He had said.
"Head out, but why? Is there anything wrong? Why am I to leave?"
"You're not leaving dummy." He laughed and caressed the back of her hand. "I want to take you out!"
"Take me out? Out where?"
"Shhhh..." He hushed her. "It is a surprise."
"You don't tell me you want to take me out and say it's a surprise Omar." She laughed.
"Ok, then it's a secret place."
She had been confused. "There is nothing but sand out there."
"Remember the small cave I had showed you yesterday? You still know how to get there?"
She nodded.
"Head to that place, after I must have finished with my father, I'll come meet you there then we can go sight seeing, how about that?"
She smiled and closed her hand together in excitement. "Really? I would definitely love that Omar!"
"But don't let anyone see you ok? Shhh..." He giggled and winked.
But Megan knew why he wanted her out of the place and it wasn't so he could take her sight seeing, she knew his father was not in support of their relationship and Omar was just trying to keep her safe. For a moment, her heart had melted in fear but when Omar held her close, she felt safe. Soon after he went to his tent where his father was, she sneaked out.
She knew where she needed to go to, there were no roads, no trees, no nothing save for the scorching sun that burned brightly above her head. She had been to Saudi Arabia once before, on one of her many expeditions. She had come here to make a story on the lives of the people living in this extreme heat and from here she had gone on into Africa.
She liked Africa, although she had only been in three African countries but she had had a wonderful experience, in the end the stories she had carved out of her experiences had won her an award. She smiled.
The heat here reminded her of her summer in Johannesburg, she thought of the cool water at the beaches she had visited and suddenly became thirsty. She ran her wet tongue over her parched lips and wished it would suddenly rain but then she groaned at the thought, it never rained in the desert. She rolled her head and jumped in frustration, upsetting the sand beneath her feet, sending dust particles up in the air.
She looked down to her shadow and stretched her hands out on either side of her, studying it and finding out in which direction was east and which was west. She was to head north, north was straight ahead. She looked up and smiled briefly, grateful that she had taken geography class seriously when she was in high school then.
Holding on to her neck, she tried to clear her throat, the cough was dry and her throat ached, she licked her tongue round the insides of her mouth and swallowing her saliva, she pressed on. Omar had spoken to her of his father's temperament before they had gotten on the plane to Saudi Arabia, he had also promised to stand by her in all but now she was alone and felt like a lone butterfly in this jungle of soft sand.
When Omar had shown her the tiny cave-like structure hidden in the sand, she had admired the well crafted hand work by who ever had done it, she didn't think she would be heading back to the place barely a day after. She knew in what direction to go, what she didn't remember was how long it would take. Omar would find her.
He just had to.
Omar tried to hurry, he knew where Megan was, or at least where he hoped she would be. He only prayed that she remembered the way to the little cave he had shown her. If she was there, he would find her and get her back to America then he would deal with his father knowing that she was out of danger. Danger, something he had bought her directly into without meaning to.
He knew the kind of man his father was, he had watched him raise his sisters in his strict and brutal ways. One thing he didn't do was to beat them so hard because he knew that a woman's skin was to be kept untouched, unscaved and as smooth as possible so he never beat them with the whip but there was a time he broke that rule. It was for A'shadieeyan.
Omar had never seen his father so angry as he had seen him that day and he hadn't stopped his discipline until his mother threw herself upon his sister to protect her. Omar didn't know what had caused his father to act in that manner because A'shadieeyan left the next day, back to her husband's house and he had never seen her again after that.
He knew his father could never treat Megan in such a manner, she was neither his daughter nor was she an Arabian or someone he knew closely but still he couldn't exactly predict his father's actions. She was an American and he knew how America worked and how much they valued their citizens, her death would bring a huge catastrophe on not just his father alone but to Saudi Arabia when an investigation would be carried out following her death.
The records would show that she had left American to Saudi Arabia in the company of a man, Omar bin Khalid, a first class graduate of the Cambridge University and only son of the Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban.
The trace was easy because Omar was also an American citizen by naturalization. His father wasn't just an ordinary man, he was the Sheikh and the Sheikh wielded just enough Saudi power, killing her would be welcoming trouble to his door step and he knew his father was smarter than that. She wouldn't be killed. But that didn't guarantee her total safety. He shrugged.
The sun blared down on him and to prevent the sands from assaulting his face, he pulled the ghutra over his face and looked down to his shadow, he remembered the little trick Megan had taught him about using your shadow to discern the East from the West, it brought a smile to his lips but he didn't need that, this was his territory, he knew the area like the back of his palm. He edged on, praying that Megan still be safe.
And she was, safe in the little cave only big enough to squeeze in two people. She crawled out of the cave and jumped into his waiting arms when she saw him, squeezing his neck in her hug.
"You look like a mess." He teased.
"The hottest mess you've seen so far." She smiled and he pulled her up so she stood on her toes before planting a kiss on her parched lips, running his tongue over them and into her mouth. She gave him entrance as they locked in a passionate kiss, momentarily forgetting that they were in the hot open desert. She giggled into his mouth when he squeezed her waist and they disengaged.
"I'm sorry." Omar apologized, his eyes were fixed on hers, cupping her face in the palm of his hands. She smiled and shook her head.
"Well you told me of your father's temperament. I chose to come with you."
"But now you can not stay longer and you will have to go back."
"I knew that was the reason you wanted me out here." She smiled.
"Megan... I wanted this to go smoothly and perfectly." He smiled sadly, tearing the ghutra from his head as he looked away. He was clearly frustrated. "This is not how I had imagined the introduction would go, I mean I knew he would not have approved of us immediately but..."
Megan hushed him with a finger to his lips, she held on to his shoulder and lifted herself up to plant a light kiss on his lips and he smiled at her, how much he loved this woman. He held her steady in that position with an arm wrapped around her waist and kissed her passionately. When they broke the kiss, his eyes lingered on her lips for a while before he ruffled her hair and she slapped his hand away in protest.
"Hey!" She stepped away and tried fruitlessly to arrange her hair back. Hopeless, it was a complete mess.
"Omar! Look what you've done! Oh my hair is a total mess!"
"You are a total mess, not just your hair."
"Oh, like you are any cleaner mister. You should take a look at yourself in the mirror first."
"You are just too cute." He laughed and pulled her to him.
They stood in each other's arms until a loud voice yelled.
"Omar bin Khalid!"
Omar grabbed Megan to himself as soon as he heard his name and raised his head. It wasn't his father who had called, it was him, Taheem, the head of the Sheikh's guards. He stood menacingly, one hand on the hilt of the sword that hung on his waist and the other hand by his side in a fist. His gurtha flapped wildly around his head, disturbed by the desert harsh winds. Omar eyed him, his presence was never a good sign, nothing about him was a good sign."What is it?" Omar asked, clearly disturbed by his unwelcomed presence.Taheem had been around for as long as Omar could remember. The man was strict and never smiled, carrying out the Sheikh's orders without questioning and without falter even if it meant to take a life. He was as loyal as he was scary and he was the only one bold enough to look Omar in the eye and give orders like he was about to do now."The Sheikh orders..." Taheem began but Omar interrupted him with a hand."Tell my father that I won't be r
The room was tidy, much too tidy. It was supposed to be this way, she was supposed to be used to it and she was, this was her room after all but today she didn't like how tidy the room was kept. This was how her life was right now, like how it was supposed to be; neat, arranged and perfect as expected of the only daughter to the King of Saudi Arabia.Things were to be placed in accordance, to the taste of the beautician, to be arranged and coloured to perfection, that was how spotless her room was and that was the exact way she felt her life had become, she being the room and her father the beautician. She had been set up and arranged, ready for someone to come and move into her life, continuing from where her father had stopped as her husband, to rule and control and order her about, but Mariam was not used to being ordered about.She knew that being a girl, being a woman meant you had little or no freedom, you couldn't wear whatever you wanted to wear whenever yo
Omar stared out the window of the black Mercedes as it made its way through the streets of Jeddah, heading to the Sheikh's mansion. Frustration was evident on his face and anger was boiling in him towards his father who happened to be riding in the same car and chose to remain silent throughout the journey. Omar did the same, not uttering a single word, his mind went to Megan who rode in the car behind theirs along side Taheem.The fact that she was in the same car with Taheem made him uneasy and he wondered what was going on in there. What conversation were they having if at all they were having any. He was sure they weren't, Taheem wasn't one to indulge freely in conversations, most especially if it happened to be with a stranger, much less someone he was to hate.Omar had agreed to marry Mariam in exchange for Megan's safety and now he wasn't sure he should blindly trust his father, the man was unpredictable and had so many secrets surrounding him. Although the
The car she was in felt tight and stuffy because she had to ride with Taheem. His presence made her feel vulnerable, made her feel like a prey caught by a hunter's trap and left out in the open for the predators picking, so when the car continued driving past the car Omar was in, heading to the back of the mansion, she panicked."Get down." Taheem had said when the car came to a stop as he himself got down, but Megan who had been thinking up the different ways they could butcher and hide her body, hadn't heard him at first.They would let me live for Omar's sake. I can't...no, can't be killed. The Sheikh had promised. I'm not.... where is Omar!Her mind swam wildly and her heart beat was so loud she felt she would have a heart attack. She panicked, she needed to breathe and there was no air in the car, her hand came to the window as she struggled to find the handle.Taheem, who had stepped out since and was already heading for the back door, stopped when he n
The day came too fast and Omar was up and ready even before his father was but he remained in his room. Today he would be going to the palace with his father, to be introduced to his bride to be. He was to behave sensibly and maturely to get the approval of the king to be his daughter's groom. He could not help but feel like a ram being led into the market to be sold, and honestly that was what it was. He was literally being sold off and this marriage was the payment.The only person gaining from this was his father, the Sheikh and Omar couldn't help but feel that there was more to this. He knew that his father was a greedy person and his greed had always been for power and he was hard to satisfy. The man always craved for more and his marriage to the princess was that more that the Sheikh had been yearning for.Omar wondered for how long his father had nursed this in his heart, for how long he had planned for him to get married to the princess. The plan was
Mariam was dressed exceptionally heavy in anticipation of her would be groom and father in law. She knew nothing about them asides from the fact that the man she was to marry was Omar bin Khalid, the only son of the Sheikh, his father Khalid bin Aaban. Omar, as she was told by Parvina who had gathered information from the rumors circulating, had lived most of his life abroad, getting his Masters degree, bachelor's degree and Ph.D, but the rumors that went round boasted more of his fine looks and physique than of his intelligence.She scoffed, such people were bound to be proud and arrogant. She knew that because he would not be the first of his kind to come for her hand in marriage, each one was prouder than the last man before him and absolutely none of them had impressed the King. Absolutely none of them had impressed her.Being the only Saudi princess to His Highness King Jaan, it was of utmost importance that the man impressed the King and not just by the amoun
Omar had been to the palace on several occasions and mostly in the company of his father but this was just the second time he would be seeing the King. He sat on the soft cushioned sofa, leaning on an elbow which dug into the arm rest and with his legs crossed. Khalid sat upright with his back straight, his focus towards the stair way which the King with emerge from."Omar, sit properly!" Khalid cautioned."I am sitting comfortably."Khalid turned to his son. "I've gone this far for you, it's up to you to...""I do not know why you bother when the marriage has already been finalized, or hasn't it?" Omar cut him off.Khalid frowned and he glared at Omar. This boy. "Omar, you will need the...""Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Royal Highness King Jaan bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia." The messenger's announcement interrupted Khalid's talk. The two men rose to greet the King."Assalaam 'alaikum your highness." Kh
It had not been long since Mariam had been excused from the discussion between her father the King, Omar and the Sheikh, she had returned back to her room in anger and just plopped herself down on the bed. The men would still be downstairs talking of the marriage and what not, she didn't want to be stuck in a marriage with the proud and pompous Omar bin Khalid bin Aaban, only son of the Sheikh.She laid down on her bed staring up at the ceiling and not paying any attention to the chattering of Saadiya and Parvina. They had been talking non stop of Omar, most especially Parvina who had made her intentions crystal clear about him; if the marriage didn't work out between him and Mariam, she would convince her mother to talk to her father about the matter. She was after all the daughter of the Queen's step brother, so she stood with just enough chance of getting him as Mariam."So Mariam, what happened? How did it go?" Parvina asked excitedly."Went well." Mariam kept