TAKEN BY HIM

CHAPTER 5

And that was why he had being forced to result to more drastic measures. He had planned with Gem who had been begging the king and queen all week to allow her freedom to visit the village and even stay for three days.

He choose this method because,

1: Riblah's family were commoners, which meant they had a small house, which meant Riblah didn't have much of a choice on where to hide. He had been trying to get her alone for the past week, and she had either been hiding in the palace which was too big for him to search, or she had been with Gem like a faithful servant.

Gem and Gedaliah were having a little bit of a squabble so they weren't really talking because Gedaliah expected Baruch to take his side.

2: He needed to get familiar with his In-laws and he had to do it fast because the malchiah was coming soon and he was yet to claim her.

And three because she still wore the stupid ruby ring and that pissed him off. His sapphire earrings and neckpiece were waiting for her beautiful ears and slender neck to show them off and he would give no other person.

He sighed heavily, he was standing behind a tree hidden from view and watching them mount the horses and head for the village, towards Riblah's house. Her little brother would flip. His elder sister was coming home after a year long of not visiting.

A chokla was not allowed to leave her mistress, dedicating her life, her mornings and evenings and time, to her mistress. Dedicating her waking moments to Gem.

Only after the malchiah was she allowed a little freedom to be with her husband. Or her husband could buy her rights and sweep her away, off to wherever they wanted to be.

But Baruch would not do that, he would only do whatever she wanted and only what she wanted.

Gem was in awe, the houses outside the palace were do different from what she imagined, even the sand outside was different. Small children ran around playing games and she wished she had that. After walking for hours they arrived at Riblahs house in the evening.

Gem saw an incredulous look on a young couple sitting in front of the house and on closer inspection she concluded that these people were Riblah's parents. The man had the same nose and cheekbones as his daughter and the dark straight hair of her mother. Talk about looking at the older male and female version of Riblah.

"Mother! Father!" Riblah shouted, jumping down from the horse in excitement before stepping aside. "This is princess Gemariah, my mistress," she said.

Gem stepped forward, her face painted with uncertainty. "Good day," she said after an awkward moment of silence. Riblah's parents stared at her incredulously before her father cleared his throat.

"Riblah, can I have a word with you," he motioned for them to go inside by tilting his head backwards slightly.

"Yes father," she said before turning to face Gem, "I'll be back,soon," she followed her father inside who opened the door to their hut before closing the door and turning angrily to face her.

"What! Is the princess doing here?" He asked red faced, "the princess for shilla's sake, there's a reason why we sent you there when you were two, we needed the money-"

"Father!" She cut him off.

"No, we have no money, heck Riblah we have no food! How can we feed her when we can't feed ourselves, and you could not even tell us or-or give us a heads up-"

"It was impromptu and do not worry, they sent us some money and the guards out there carried enough food for days," she finished as her father's face softened up. He missed his baby girl.