"Let's hear your recitation," Harith said as he placed a scroll in front of Huriyah. Huriyah looked down at the scroll. It had a poem written on it.
Clearing her throat, she began to recite the poem. It was about a battle that took place between two tribes. Keeping her voice deep, she changed the tone of her voice in accordance with the events that took place. When depicting the battle scenes, her tone was rough, strong, and passionate. When depicting the deaths of leaders, her tone was low, hushed, almost revering. And when depicting the scenes of victory, her tone was jubilant. Harith listened to her very carefully.
"Not bad," he commented when she had finished. "You know how to change the tone of your voice when necessary. Your pronunciation is great too. It's just your voice. It's too...childish," he said. Huriyah was confused.
"Childish?" she asked.
"Yeah, childish. I think it's because of your young age. How old are you again?" he asked.
"I'm twelve," she answered.
"That explains it. I think for now we should just have you perfect your recitation. There's nothing we can do about your voice, but it shouldn't be a problem as you get older," Harith said.
"But if I can't recite, how can I be your apprentice?" she asked him worriedly. Wasn't his condition that she know how to recite, or at least be able to recite within a few lessons?
"You can still read and write. I'm not denying someone as rare and valuable as you simply because you're too young," Harith said. "I'm willing to wait until you're older. In the meantime, you'll perfect your recitation and write poetry." Huriyah grew excited.
"When can I start?" she asked enthusiastically.
"Today," Harith said. "Let's have you write some poetry." He grabbed a scroll, ink, and stylus and gave them to Huriyah. She immediately started writing.
3 Years Later
Huriyah was thriving in her new home. She bought a hut near Harith's home, where she lived with Lu'ayl and his two friends, Malik and Aasal. After catching him trying to steal food from another merchant, Huriyah had insisted that he and his friends live with her, so that she could feed them and care for them. She even taught them reading and writing so that they could have a brighter future. She had to admit, the three children were delightful to have around, and made her forget her loneliness. Lu'ayl always made everyone laugh with his crazy antics and hilarious jokes. Malik was very protective of his friends and Huriyah. Aasal was very sweet, and she always helped Huriyah around the house. Huriyah had grown to love them very much, and she couldn't bear the thought of leaving them oneday.
As for Harith, Huriyah walked to his house everyday to write poetry and perfect her recitation. She also helped tidy his place up whenever he got a client and was too busy to clean up. Sometimes Harith would take her with him when he had a client so that she could experience a poet's workplace. His recitation was beautiful and moving, and Huriyah would listen very carefully, hoping that her recitation would be as great as his oneday. He treated her very well and paid her generously too, especially after he found out that she had taken the three rascals under her wing. He would visit their home sometimes to play with the kids and see how they were doing. Huriyah found herself growing strong feelings for Harith, which was rather unfortunate because as a man she couldn't do anything about them.
Huriyah enjoyed her life very much. But as the days went by, she grew increasingly worried about her situation. As she grew, hiding her true gender became more difficult. Her breasts had already doubled in size, making it nearly impossible to bind them to flatness. Her voice didn't change either. In fact, it had only gotten more mature...for a woman. Harith was less than pleased.
"I don't understand. How can a man fifteen years of age still sound so...young?" he exclaimed in frustration after Huriyah had recited a poem she wrote. "Your recitation is so perfect! But your voice...ARGH!" he groaned. Huriyah felt very guilty. If she didn't lie to Harith about her gender, he wouldn't be feeling so frustrated.
"I'm sorry!" she suddenly blurted. Harith ceased his complaining and turned to her in confusion.
"What are you sorry for?" he asked her.
"For lying to you," she thought. "I-I don't know, I just am!" she stuttered. Harith shook his head and sighed.
"Don't be. You can't control the way you grow. Don't apologize for the things that you can't control," he said to her firmly. Huriyah nodded and looked away. Harith sighed. "I think I'm going to let you recite anyways," he said.
"What?" Huriyah exclaimed. "You're going to let me recite even though I sound like a little boy?"
"Yeah, I am," Harith said. "Your recitation is better than even mine. No one can complain, so you're going to recite a poem that you've written for our next client," he said.
"Are you sure?" Huriyah asked worriedly.
"I'm positive," he assured her. "Our next client is a nobleman. He wants us to recite a poem about the feats of his tribe at his yearly tribal banquet next week. Your job until the banquet is to write and memorize a poem and practice reciting it. Understood?" he informed her.
"Understood," she said nervously.
That night was a restless one for Huriyah. She couldn't stop fretting over her first job in recitation. "What if I slip up?" she thought anxiously. "What if everyone finds out that I'm a woman? What if Harith finds out and gets mad at me for lying to him and making him unnecessarily frustrated? What if...?" Anxiety and stress plagued her mind all night until she finally went to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, he was tired and felt like trash.
"Hur, are you okay?" Aasal asked her worriedly.
"No, I feel dead," Huriyah groaned. Aasal placed her palm on Huriyah's forehead.
"Dear me, it seems that you have a fever!" Aasal exclaimed. "Lu'ayl, hurry and bring Mister Harith here!" she yelled.
"Why do I need to bring Mister Harith over?" Lu'ayl asked, yawning as he came into Huriyah's room. She and the children slept in separate rooms to avoid her gender being discovered on accident, since she didn't sleep with her chest bound. She tried once but it was too uncomfortable.
"Hur has a high fever and we need an adult who knows what to do," Aasal said. That got Lu'ayl's attention.
"Hur's sick? Are you okay?" he asked Huriyah worriedly.
"I'm fine," Huriyah said before she violently shuddered from a sudden cold draft.
"I'm going to get Mister Harith right away!" Lu'ayl exclaimed before running off.
It wasn't long until Lu'ayl returned with Harith by his side. Both of them were panting, clearly having run all the way to Huriyah's house. Harith carried a bag to Huriyah's side.
"Could you get me cold water and some rags?" he asked Lu'ayl. "And could you brew this tea?" he asked Aasal, taking an herbal tea mix from his bag and giving it to the girl. The children nodded and rushed to get what he asked of them. Harith placed his palm on Huriyah's forehead and placed his other palm on his forehead. "You've got a high fever," he said.
"Sorry for troubling you," Huriyah panted. She could barely see, breathe, or talk.
"You're not troubling me," Harith said gently. "Besides, you would do the same for me," he added. The children returned with the items, effectively cutting their conversation short. Harith helped Huriyah sit up. "Here, drink this," he said as he gave her the herbal tea Aasal brewed.
"Thank you," Huriyah croaked as she sipped the tea.
"Aasal, Lu'ayl, I need you two to stay out of this room," Harith told the children. "I don't want you guys to get sick."
"What about you Mister Harith, won't you get sick?" Aasal asked him.
"I'll be fine, I don't get sick easily," Harith assured her. The children were satisfied with his answer and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind them.
Huriyah quickly finished her tea and felt a tiny bit better. She set her cup aside and started feeling sleepy. "Harith, I'm tired, I think I'm going to sleep," she told him before lying back down and closing her eyes.
"I'll keep watch over you," Harith said. Huriyah soon fell asleep. Harith placed a cold rag on her forehead and two cold rags on her sides, besides her armpits. His hands accidently brushed across her breasts as he tried to reach her other side. It was soft and...big? "What on earth?" Harith thought to himself quizzically. In her sleep, Huriyah rolled over to her side facing Harith, who could now clearly see the shape of her figure. "Hur...is a woman?" he thought in disbelief.