"We're going out in two hours. Be ready"
This sentence, spoken in an imperious tone and without appeal, resounded again and again in Mia's head, not because it was incomprehensible but because of the person who had said it to her: King Hackim himself. He hadn't even given her time to refuse or accept. As always, he had ordered and tolerated no refusal. So it was with a long, weary sigh that she opened the wardrobe where her suitcase was, which she hadn't bothered to unpack to see what she could wear to go out with a king, secretly wishing that Malick would come to the aid. She didn't know where he had gone after the eventful lunch of the morning and dared not ask the master of the place for fear of the angry master and of finding himself in the cell. She was there in her thoughts when the door opened and Amid's lovely wife was followed closely by one of the fearsome guards who provided security for the palace. This one deposited the bass drum he had in hand on the ground then bowed briefly before leaving without a word. She was no more surprised than that because even during her walks in the palace with Malick, it was only to her greetings that they answered and were content to ignore her surely because they take her for a threat. She doesn't even blame them. Abandoning her task of finding the right outfit, she walked in the direction of Maya
- What's inside this crate? She asked politely, a curious little gleam in her eye.
-You can open it to find out. The latter replied with a teasing smile.
Mia knelt down and put a hesitant hand on the opening of the box. Encouraged by Maya who had also knelt down, she opened the crate and couldn't help but gasp in surprise when the contents of the crate were revealed to her. Indeed, although dusty from the outside, this crate contained a treasure. Plunging her hand inside to feel the soft caress of the fabric against her skin, Mia closed her eyes and savored the moment.
-These are unique pieces completely handmade for two years and offered by the best designer of Khahazan to his Majesty.
Her Majesty.... Like a sting of reminder, the mention of the master of the house brought Mia back to her senses and she withdrew her hand from inside the crate as if it had been burned then stood up hastily under the questioning gaze from Maya who couldn't understand how the young stranger's expression had turned from ecstasy to deep anguish.
-Did His Majesty ask you to bring them to me? I hope his intention is not to accuse me of stealing them! She exclaimed, provoking the hilarity of Maya who couldn't help but laugh. When she was finally able to calm her giggles, she stood up and moved closer to Mia.
-His Majesty is a lot of things that make him the scary human being with such a dark aura but if there is one thing his majesty hates more than all other things, it's lies. He does not forgive it because for him lying is the very root of the most dangerous evils that threaten the safety of the world. He had people executed for lying while he freed thieves after some time in prison. Do you believe that such a person can himself lie and thus commit what he considers to be the biggest crime in the world ?
Mia was far from reassured by this story supposed to show the sovereign's aversion to lies and calm his anxieties. Maya noticed it and spoke again to explain to him
-You are accompanying His Majesty in the desert for his monthly meeting with the Bedouin tribes and as I know that nothing in your suitcase was suitable for the climate and the environment of the desert, so I asked the king for permission to make you get these outfits whose beauty has been hidden in this crate for too long. You are therefore going to do me the favor of going to take a shower and put on this tunic before His Majesty even comes to fetch you because he hates being late and your overflowing imagination has made us waste a lot of time.
Like a child who was being scolded by his mother, Mia headed headlong and shuffling feet towards the shower with a vision of the king in the desert in mind. An image that frightened him more than anything. Finding herself in the desert of a country where she was clearly not welcome with a man as dangerous as King Hackim was nothing to cheer about. She would still have preferred the security of a cell, but she refrained from expressing that.
Known for his obvious lack of patience, Hackim would have already been looking for the young woman who was supposed to be there for 15 minutes if his wise and faithful right arm Amid did not hold him back.
- Miss Khelani is already here.
Raising his gaze from his phone, which he tapped nervously to avoid the urge to go and see what was going on, Hackim was struck head-on by Miss Khelani's beauty. Draped in this long shiny black tunic that brought out the sparkle of her eyes and which hugged each of the curves of her body with each step she took, Mia Khelani represented the fantasy of every man. And yet her ex-fiancé had not hesitated to dump her. An unprecedented rage then seized him not because his fiancé had dumped him but because he had had the privilege of discovering this body from which even his guards present in the living room could not turn away.
-Take your eyes off her if you want to. He had to threaten them in Arabic crossed by a strong feeling of possessiveness.
Mia shivered. When he spoke in Arabic, his menacing aura was more pronounced and more frightening. But at this moment even more so in this desert warrior getup that only showed his eyes whose dark shades would make Goliath himself tremble. She was worried, very worried but paradoxically, like an incurable poison, a delicious excitement seized her being. And as she followed him towards the pickup that would take them, Mia knew that nothing would be the same after this outing...
TO BE CONTINUED