Fortune Favors the Cursed

Chapter 22: Eavesdrop

Badriya

The palace had had its doors open every day since the start of the celebrations, but right now, as the sun made its slow ascent to the sky, partygoers were sparse. Those Badriya passed by greeted her with a wave, but otherwise didn't nag her as they usually did.

The last time Badriya had this much peace and quiet was when she was still living in a backwater province. Even though she hated acting like a different person in the celebrations she was handling, she liked the contagious joy that came with it. It helped that it distracted her from thinking about... well, everything else.

Badriya eventually wandered into the palace gardens, which were in the western part of the palace. Unlike the wide, empty courtyard she visited a few times, the gardens were filled with green as much as the sky was painted blue. The whole thing looked surreal-trees, shrubs, flowers she didn't recognize stood boastful as though they always belonged there. An oasis hidden behind walls in the middle of the desert.

She could only sigh in delight. One of these days, she would have a home covered with this much plant life. And she would make sure that the desert would never touch it to death.

As Badriya weaved through the lush greenery, she saw two men not far from her. She quietly slipped behind a thick palm tree before she could make a sound.

Ayaz. What was he doing-No. Who was he talking to?

The man in question had the same build and height as Ayaz, so much so that they might even pass off as brothers. The only thing stopping him was his tan skin and striking ocean-green eyes, both of which were reminiscent of a man hailing from the Eastern Isles.

He was one of the few Naayiki Badriya ever saw during her time in the palace. Naayik was a whole land separated by the Sea of Severance, and traversing by sea was a long and deadly affair-or so Badriya had heard. What kind of business would he be doing with the prince?

Ayaz and the man shook hands in greeting. The latter patted Ayaz's back, smiling widely at him. Too friendly for Badriya's tastes.

"I came as soon as I could." He gestured at his clothes, a blue kaftan lined with silver thread. "It took me a while to look for these."

Ayaz chuckled. "You shouldn't have bothered. You know I always have other clothes to spare for you, Idris."

Idris. So that's what he was called, Badriya thought with a frown. And from the looks of it, they were close. Friends, perhaps.

"Of course you do, amiri," Idris said. "But that would be unkind of me to borrow from Your Highness's wardrobe."

"Liar. I remember you taking a liking to some of my qamees."

They chatted for a bit. Small talk, which Badriya didn't bother listening to for the most part. It took a while for her to perk up at the mention of something oddly familiar.

"About the person you wanted me to look for..." Idris was saying, his tone shifting to a serious one. "I found him, all right. And from him I got two things."

"Which is?"

"I barely scraped anything of that secret group you mentioned in your letter," Idris said. "I threatened his life when he didn't want to answer me. I almost scared him out of his wits, the poor old man." He shook his head. "All he told me was the name of the group. Crescent Order, it was called, but they're dead. Gone extinct. As for Badriya though, Mustafa sang like a bird in the morning."

Badriya froze. Mustafa. Idris visited the old camel herder. In Klalasha. How could they possibly have known where she came from?

"She didn't always live in Klalasha," Idris continued. "A passing caravan dropped her there when she was a kid. Mustafa saw her on and off, mostly when she ran around the village stealing people's pockets. It was only a few years ago when she demanded that she worked for him."