Empire of Dreams

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I sat staring up at a sea of winking stars across the soft indigo sky, a million questions zipping through my mind. Since their secret was out and I had no where to go, Haleema had untied my hands, secure in the knowledge that I had no way to communicate to anyone outside this rudimentary camp. Now I sat alone, my fingers rolling over the Seljuk coat of arms, remembering the times I had played with it when I was child, my fingers pressing it into Mother's flesh, asking if it had hurt.

After much thought and contemplation, of three things, I was most definitely sure.

This arrow was definitely Ali's. Haleema's description of that night matched his. And that I now owned my family crest.

Tears trickled down my stained cheeks, my fingers digging into the sand, the cursed arrow lying besides me.

"Food," think of the devil and the devil appeared. I stared at the sadly crafted tray in front of me.

Haleema stood suspended in the moment until I patted the sand beside me. She sat down, her posture straight, her eyes focused on mine. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Why?" I blurted out, not bothering with the formalities. "Why did she leave us? Why did she leave her family? Her only child?"

"Eat." I glared at her. "Eat before you faint. Good luck getting your answers then," she smiled as I tore a chunk off. "Your mother was very disturbed when she and her family were chased out of their ancestral home by your husband's grandfather. She blamed him for their loss of power, wealth and status. A true blooded princess reduced to rags, she used to say."

Haleema sighed in despair as she watched a beam of starlight dart across a corner of darkest blue.

"It may seem inconsequential to you but imagine being driven out by occupying forces to face an uncertain life. She planned her revenge from the start. She knew who she was. A beautiful face with a cunning mind. I was a child when she took me in her care," she continued, studying the infinite grains of sand as they slid around her toes.  "I saw her go through so many complex emotions at your birth. She was overjoyed."

Haleema twisted her fingers together. "But she'd planned for years. She got married to your father because he was madly in love with her, of a good lineage and in a position of power. Then there was Mehmet," Mehmet. I had not even thought of him. Of how this would affect him. "She planned your engagement with him, making sure to have you placed at your rightful place."

Baba's words came to mind, 'The answer you seek has destroyed men more powerful than the ones in this palace'

Power. He had been talking about power.

"But Baba..."

"Your Baba isn't a simple man. He's very sly. Rightly so. He protected you. He protected your future," her lips twisted bitterly. "Mehmet could give you nothing, no future, no titles. You would have been no one, just like your mother had feared."

"And you? What do you gain by telling me all of this?"

She smiled, "Vindication. Revenge. The continuation of your Mother's legacy. My son died here. You will never know the pain of losing a child and I hope you never do. I came to Cairo to fulfill your Mother's dream."

"To destroy the Caliphate?"

She shook her head. "To be close to you. To guide you. To be a spy for you. Your marriage to the Prince was a complication. You have no idea what I've done to make sure that you're the most powerful player in this nasty game."

A shiver danced across my shoulders. "What game?"

"Mehmet will get his army from the Caliph but at what cost? And what about all of the refugees in Cairo? Where do they go? And the lands the Caliphate took all those years ago, your ancestral home? It's quite an extensive list. There is so much that needs to be done-"