The Lynx-woman received this message with some surprise; considering how early it was in the morning, she had thought that King Bashar would still be asleep. Or, perhaps, he had never gone to bed at all, but had spent the night waiting for the return of his favorite and news as to whether or not the plot against his cousin had been a success.
In the Council-Chamber, Bashar and the Vizier were both seated around a small table, upon which sat a pot of coffee and two empty cups, all made in silver.
"Well" Bashar said, after Risha had done the customary greeting and had sat down. "How did it go? Did he touch it?" His voice was trembling with excitement.
"He did" Risha replied. "Several times."
Upon hearing this, the fennec threw his head back and howled with laughter.
"Splendid! Splendid!" He said. "Finally, all my troubles are over."
At this point, the Vizier spoke up:
"Layla" he said, turning his piercing eyes on Risha. "According to the guards, you came back alone. What happened to your escort?"
"The Vinolian General are keeping him as a hostage" was Risha's answer. "He wishes to let Your
Majesty know that if anything should happen to Faljan during the two-day reprieve, the hostage will be executed."
The Fennec and the gila exchanged looks.
"This fellow" the King asked. "Does he have any family? A wife or children?"
"No, Your Majesty" replied the Vizier. "He was a bachelor."
Bashar nodded, satisfied with the answer.
"Good" he said. "That means we won't have to give compensation to his widow."
Having made this remark, the King told his Vizier to leave, he wished to be alone with Layla. Once they were by themselves, Bashar motioned for his favorite to sit down next to him.
"Just think" he whispered as he nuzzled her neck and twisted her nipples between his fingers, causing her to moan involuntarily. "In just a few days, I shall announce my engagement to you and you will be Queen of Guanaca."
"Your Majesty is too good to me" Risha murmured.
Suddenly, the King's paw was on her back, pushing her down into the cushion. Knowing what would come next, Risha closed her eyes until they became thin lines and dreamt herself back to happier times.
*****
Two days later, King Bashar received word that the Vinolinan General was outside the gate, wishing to talk to him. With a knowing smile, the fennec climbed up onto the battlements of his city and stood looking down at his antagonist.
"Ah, General" he called out in a chipper tone. "How are you this fine day? I know that the two days have passed and no doubt you and my cousin have come to put him back on the throne, as per our agreement." He paused, as if he had just noticed something. "Where is Faljan by the way?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in feigned surprise. "I do not see him anywhere."
You hypocrite, Jeraddin thought. Enjoy yourself, while you can.
"I bring you sad news, King Bashar" he said out-loud. "Though, I should think more sad for us than they are for you."
"Oh? By all mean, let us hear these news."
"It seems as though your cousin fell ill shortly after your messenger graced our camp with her presence. Our army-doctors did their best to save him, but unfortunately their efforts were for naught: King Faljan drew his last breath earlier to day."
"How unfortunate. General, I hope you do not suspect me of having a hand in my cousin's demise."
Jeraddin shook his head.
"Not at all Your Majesty. Our doctors examined the body and could find no sign of foul play."
"And what, may I ask, do you intend to do now, General?"
Jeraddin shrugged his shoulders resignedly.
"What can I do? Without Faljan the Vinolian army no longer has an excuse to maintain its presence here. I shall take my men and return across the sea, having already sent words ahead to the Queen of my defeat."
Having said this, Jeraddin bowed his head, then raised it again and looked straight up at his adversary:
"I have emerged victorious from every battle I've fought" he said. "Everyone, except for this one. I salute you, King Bashar."
With that, Jeraddin raised his fist high into the sky, held it there for a couple of seconds and then, turned on his heel and walked back to the camp. There, he signaled for one of his officers to come over.
"We're moving out" he said. "Tell the others."
The Vinolian army worked with typical efficiency, the order of its commander had barely been issued before the whole camp was bustling with activity and in almost no time at all, the camp was no more and the thousands of souls that had lived in it; officers, private soldiers, cooks and medics, all began their long walk back to the coast, where the ships were waiting to take them home.
Later that day, King Bashar issued a proclamation, informing his subjects that the siege around their city had ended and that life could return to normal. The Citizens of Guanaca received this information with silence, then they each turned and embraced the person standing next to them, tears of relief streaming down their faces.
*****
Later that night, Guanaca's monarch found his sleep disturbed by sounds coming from somewhere nearby. At first, the King dismissed the sound as merely audible hallucinations, brought about by him having had indulged himself too much during the victory feast he had held for his subjects and tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail. He decided to get a second opinion.
"Did you hear something, Layla?" He asked, sitting up.
There was no answer. Bashar reached out to shake Layla's shoulder, only to find that he was alone in the bed. For a moment, the fennec was puzzled by this; he knew with certainty that when he had left the celebration and staggered to bed, his favorite had accompanied him. What's more, he recalled that she had helped undress him and then had climbed in bed with him. So, how come she wasn't here now?
Bashar shook his head in dismay: With what right did Layla leave his room without him having given her permission to do so? This had never happened before. Apparently, there was still some small spark of rebellion in her that the desert had not managed to extinguish. Oh, well, he just had to make sure that said spark was not fanned into a flame...
Another sound reached Bashar's ears and this time, he did not doubt its authenticity. It sounded like a door being opened; the door leading to the inner courtyard, to be more precise. Intrigued, the King called for a servant to investigate, but not a soul appeared to receive his orders. Bashar began to sweat; a foreboding sensation that there was something wrong, came over him.
Draping himself in his dressing gown, the King left his bedchamber and headed for the balcony which afforded the best view of the court-yard.
Concealing himself in the shadows, Bashar looked down at the court-yard and what he saw almost made his eyes fall out of their sockets.
Several armed men had entered the court-yard, at their head was the Vinolian General and standing next to him, very much alive, was Bashar's cousin.
This can not be, Bashar thought to himself, his mind reeling. Faljan is supposed to be dead, Layla told me so....
The Realization hit the King like a fist.
That bitch he thought, his face contorting itself into a grimace, as the anger rose up in him, a red haze passing over his eyes. That treasonous bitch!
"The Royal quarters are right up those stairs. We are sure to find my cousin there, General."
The Sound of his cousin's voice brought Bashar back to his senses. This was no time to loiter, he had to get out of here and get help. Come to think of it, why had no-one heeded his summons earlier? When this was over heads would roll and the King knew whose head would be first on the chopping-block.
"Going somewhere, Your Majesty?"
As though she had been an actor waiting in the wings, the person who had been on Bashar's mind, stepped out on the balcony. Looking at her, the King saw that she was wearing a man's clothes; specifically the type of outfit suitably for traveling in the desert. Then, he noticed the long, sharp dagger gleaming in her left paw.
"How could you do this, Layla?" He asked, his voice quivering with both anger and self-pity. "After all the kindness I've shown you?"
"I am not going to waste my time explaining myself to you, Bashar" Risha said, her voice filled with disdain. "You wouldn't understand."
"I lavished you with gifts" he argued, his voice cracking."I would have made you my Queen."
"I'd sooner be a vagrant rummaging through garbage", Risha snarled. She bared her teeth and Bashar could see the hatred illuminating her features. It was a hatred which had lain dormant for years, hidden behind a mask of submissiveness, waiting for the moment when it could finally break free.
Confronted with it and with the fact that he was facing an armed opponent with no weapon of his own, the King found himself reacquainted with an emotion he had not felt in years:
Fear.
The Lynx and the fennec began to circle each other, neither taking their eyes off of the other. Bashar could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow, but he dared not wipe them away, out of fear that just a moment's distraction would ruin whatever chance he had of escaping his enemy.
If only I had a weapon, he thought, bitterly. Than, I'd show her.
The King's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by 'Layla' suddenly charging him. It happened so quickly that he did not have time to move out of the way and he found himself pressed up against the balustrade. Then, before Bashar had the chance to do anything else, a sharp pain, more intense than any he had felt before, surged through his body, originating from the area between his legs. His entire being wanted to scream, but the only sound he could manage was a pathetic grasp, as he sank to his knees.
Risha surveyed the living heap at her feet with a look of grim satisfaction. She had dreamt off this
moment for so long, when she would finally be able to pay her so-called master back for the humiliation he had made her endure over the years. Oh, yes, this was only the beginning.
"Get up" she growled.
"Layla please..." Bashar pleaded, staggering to his feet. One paw raised in supplication while the other covered his groin"...Have mercy."
"My name" Risha growled, as she dug her claws into the fennec's throat. "Is not Layla."
She pondered for a second how else she could avenge herself on Bashar, now that she had him in her grasp. Then, inspiration struck her:
Back when she was a child, one of Risha's favorite books had been the classic adventure story Tears of Scarlet, a perennial favorite among Vinolians of all ages for its many thrilling episodes. The Book was famous for one scene in particular and that was the scene from where it derived its title. In this scene, the novel's female protagonist had fought a duel with her arch-nemesis, which had led to her disarming the cur.
Knowing that the villain had been inordinately proud of his good looks, the heroine had decided to hit him where she knew it would hurt him the most, giving him two long, deep scars which ran from the corner of each eye and down to his whiskers.
It had been many years since Risha had last read Tears of Scarlet, but she could still remember the excitement, not to mention the triumph she had felt on behalf of its protagonist when she had first read the novel. However, she had never identified as strongly with the narrative's heroine, than she did on this night in Guanaca.
"In the past, you've made me shed tears" she whispered to Bashar, quoting from the book. "Now I shall repay that favor, by making you shed tears of scarlet."
