Aliya

chapter seven

For the second time that day, I wished I knew more words; I wished I knew a way to be able to encompass beauty into words, and not just let it fade away in the back of my mind.

This was the Garden of Eden God had created, I was sure of it. This was Heaven on Earth, and if it was not for the sinister edge to Maria's words, I could almost have been convinced that living here wouldn't be so bad.

But as I tipped my head up to the sky, the moon an oddly vibrant, iridescent color, I thought back to the shifty looks she'd made when I asked about the Princes, the nervous way she tried to distract from my questions, the pasted, stiff smile on her face the longer our conversation progressed, I could feel my hands getting more and more clammy, my throat growing tight, and as my head started to scream at me to start a run—

"What are you doing here?"

I whipped around to see Ismal with his hands clasped behind his back, the scowl on his face so deeply imbedded it looked like it should've been permanent.

I didn't have to look around for a mirror to know that my face had gone deathly white. I could feel it in the sudden coldness of my cheeks, my hands, the sweat that had started to trickle in the dozens down my back.

"Absolutely nothing," I said, and in the quiet of the night, I could hear my own voice echo back towards me; small, quiet, guilty.

Ismal took a step closer to me, pursing his lips together. Now I started to notice his white clothes and the crucifix necklace around his throat, and realized that he was part of the few people in Persia who had chosen a specific belief, Christianity, and hadn't fallen into the assimilation of our religions.

I wondered if he believed that the palace was Heaven, too.

"Do you know what time it is?" he asked. His voice had gone even colder now than it had before, almost as if the first time he asked question, he truly hadn't thought it would've been me, the current apple of his eye.

Unfortunately, for both him and I, he was wrong.

"I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd go out and get some fresh air and maybe that would help me a little more."

I'd always been quite good at lying straight through my teeth, but I had a feeling that, so long as I stayed within the castle, I'd get even better.

Ismal raised a thin, dark brow. "And you couldn't get it through your balcony? The window? You had to go to the gardens, did you?"

It was clear in his tone that he didn't believe me. But through all the words he'd spouted in the palace, of my luck and my blessings and the good karma I must've done to get this chance, I hadn't believed him, either.

"I have insomnia; I'm afraid of the dark, you see," I said, lying further. "But the moon has a romantic way of making the darkness feel a little less lonely."

"Scared of the dark? So instead of turning on the lights, you decide to find your way to the gardens from a place you aren't familiar with, wearing just that?"

Ismal pointed to my torso, and as I followed his finger, it was only then that I realized I was wearing Maria's pick of a flowy nightdress which, though comfortable, really wasn't the most socially appropriate.

My cheeks burned now, but I looked back up to Ismal and responded as calmly as I could, "In case you've forgotten, I come from Babylon. I'm not used to having a house girl sleeping on the foot of my bed just to take care of me, and I'm certainly not in the habit of waking her up, either. I didn't want to bother anyone."

If it was possible, Ismal's scowl deepened further. "She is your house girl, which means she is obligated to serve your every need. She is designed to be used in purpose; to not follow her intended use would be an insult to the money the monarchs have spent in acquiring her. You are a possible candidate, Aliya, so do not forget your place in the hierarchy. If you forget and so not act the part of a powerful partner, not only will nobody fear the power you wield under you, but Prince Cairo himself might also lose interest. I'm sure I don't have to tell you why that wouldn't be very good for your chances."