Alisha: A Desert Urchin Part I: The Harem

By Frank Keith

Sultan Mejhem ibn El-Hashem has forty-two wives and countless children. He has a large, prosperous realm, a large palace and numerous fortresses too. He has good relations with the Byzantine Empire and also the Persian one. Emissaries come from far and wide to pay homage to this illustrious ruler of Anazzah, master of Sakakah and Ar’ar, of the numerous other towns, villages and oases and of the deserts too stretching to the north, to the south, to the west and to the east.
But, despite the sultan’s many riches, influence and power, and his complete command over life and death, he lacks the control over one single person.
And her name is Alisha.
Alisha is but one of many ... one wife out of forty-two. A mere child when she was snatched away from the streets of Sakakah, this former street urchin was discovered by one of the sultan’s wife seekers. She was a beautiful girl, only thirteen years old and just right for the ruler. Alisha was made a wife and she served him well enough until other, younger wives took his interest away from her. But Alisha did not care about this. She never loved nor even liked the sultan. She thought of him as an old, fat and ugly man, aloof and uncaring and wholly inadequate as a husband. And despite her previous life in the city streets, Alisha was never impressed by el-Hashem’s power and wealth.
One day, Alisha fell in love with another wife of the sultan. Her name is Zenobia. And Zenobia loved Alisha too, for she felt the same way about their husband as Alisha. Thus, the two wives of the sultan lived their daily lives in the palace, married to him, but devoted to each other.
Alisha kept up the veneer of being a sultan’s wife until one day she and Zenobia met a prisoner. His name is Geisarix and he was brought to Sakakah by the Byzantines, who had captured him in battle. The barbarian warrior was to be sold as a slave, but the sultan bought him instead, to be made a member of his guards. When Alisha and Zenobia first saw him, they were impressed by his looks, strength and sense of freedom. This chance meeting inadvertently increased Alisha’s desires to be free again, like she once was.
And thus she and Zenobia initiated a plan that would free them from the sultan’s clutches and liberate Geisarix too, whose defiance got him thrown into the dungeon. Although things initially went well, they run into trouble when the sultan catches wind of some of their misdeeds. Eventually, the two girls end up in the dungeons, and even a slave too, who had assisted the two wives.
And thus the four of them sit in murky cells, lost and forlorn.
What will happen next? Will the sultan punish Alisha and Zenobia further, as he had promised? Or will they be set free? If not, can they get free on their own? Will Alisha forsake Zenobia to favor Geisarix, or perhaps vice versa? And what will become of Bahira, the slave?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Keith
• Release date: Dec 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370447503

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Alisha: A Desert Urchin

Part I

The Harem

By Frank Keith

Copyright © 2016 by Frank Keith

All rights reserved

The contents of this work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any way or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the author.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Alisha

2 The Gardens of Sakakah

3 The Barbarian

4 Rebirth of a Thief

5 Geisarix

6 Salim Alsyd

7 A Bird in Bondage

8 Zenobia

9 Alone in the Gardens

10 Zenobia’s Mettle

11 Inescapable Destiny

Other Books & Services by the author

Introduction

Sultan Mejhem ibn El-Hashem has forty-two wives and countless children. He has a large, prosperous realm, a large palace and numerous fortresses too. He has good relations with the Byzantine Empire and also the Persian one. Emissaries come from far and wide to pay homage to this illustrious ruler of Anazzah, master of Sakakah and Ar’ar, of the numerous other towns, villages and oases and of the deserts too stretching to the north, to the south, to the west and to the east.

But, despite the sultan’s many riches, influence and power, and his complete command over life and death, he lacks the control over one single person.

And her name is Alisha.

Alisha is but one of many … one wife out of forty-two. A mere child when she was snatched away from the streets of Sakakah, this former street urchin was discovered by one of the sultan’s wife seekers. She was a beautiful girl, only thirteen years old and just right for the ruler. Alisha was made a wife and she served him well enough until other, younger wives took his interest away from her. But Alisha did not care about this. She never loved nor even liked the sultan. She thought of him as an old, fat and ugly man, aloof and uncaring and wholly inadequate as a husband. And despite her previous life in the city streets, Alisha was never impressed by el-Hashem’s power and wealth.

One day, Alisha fell in love with another wife of the sultan. Her name is Zenobia. And Zenobia loved Alisha too, for she felt the same way about their husband as Alisha. Thus, the two wives of the sultan lived their daily lives in the palace, married to him, but devoted to each other.

Alisha kept up the veneer of being a sultan’s wife until one day she and Zenobia met a prisoner. His name is Geisarix and he was brought to Sakakah by the Byzantines, who had captured him in battle. The barbarian warrior was to be sold as a slave, but the sultan bought him instead, to be made a member of his guards. When Alisha and Zenobia first saw him, they were impressed by his looks, strength and sense of freedom. This chance meeting inadvertently increased Alisha’s desires to be free again, like she once was.

And thus she and Zenobia initiated a plan that would free them from the sultan’s clutches and liberate Geisarix too, whose defiance got him thrown into the dungeon. Although things initially went well, they run into trouble when the sultan catches wind of some of their misdeeds. Eventually, the two girls end up in the dungeons, and even a slave too, who had assisted the two wives.

And thus the four of them sit in murky cells, lost and forlorn.

1 Alisha

The women’s pulse beat faster as the announcer appeared in the harem chamber. He called out the sultan’s name. And then Sultan el-Hashem entered the great hall, followed by his entourage of guards and servants. There were four sentinels protecting the ruler of this land, one on each side and two behind.

Mejhem ibn el-Hashem was sultan of the Anazzah territory, whose tribes inhabited the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. We write the year 450 A.D., according to the calendar used by the Eastern Roman Empire, or as this realm is called by most, the Byzantine Empire. The lands of Sultan Mejhem ibn el-Hashem border this mighty domain to its east and south, and he has friendly relations with it. The sultan conducts brisk trade with the Eastern Romans and has a good diplomatic relations with them. The main wares exchanged between the two peoples are slaves and food crops. This part of the Arabian Peninsula was particularly fertile and it was one reason why el-Hashem was so wealthy and powerful.

And this was also why the sultan had one of the largest harems far and wide. The last count showed that he had forty and two wives and one hundred and one children.

This high number of wives was a blessing in disguise for the women. Indeed, as the sultan entered the harem room the pulse rates of the females did not go up due to feelings of love for the man or any other manner of affection, but due to aversion. At least most felt this way. Hardly any of the females enjoyed being picked for a night of frolicking, as the sultan liked to say, but none could openly show their aversion. His compassion for his numerous spouses and even children was quite limited. Any resistance or open display of repugnance towards his person was duly punished.

His forty and two wives sat, lounged, lay or squatted on their cushions as they looked expectantly at the sultan, showing him smiles on their lips. Most of those forty-two smiles were not of truth. With forty and one sisters around, each wife stood a good chance not being picked by him to serve his every whim in bed. However, someone had to be picked and the one chosen was likely not so keen on going with him. What choice did she have? She had none.

The sultan had finally pointed out a wife. When the chosen girl did not move fast enough a guard came forward and grabbed her arm in a rough manner and pulled her away from the others. It was Musad, the captain of the guards. In the palace, he was the biggest of all the sultan’s men and in the citadel and perhaps in the entire city too, and many claim even in all of el-Hashem’s lands.

To add another important aspect about the sultan … he happened to be a vain man and he did whatever he could to have the most, the prettiest, the best, the strongest and the biggest, and his guards were all hand-picked by him personally.

But Musad was not only large but also mean, enjoying doling out pain like a mother doles out love. He was an ugly man and no woman wanted him and this was one reason why he had an aversion towards females. If a wife hesitated carrying out the sultan’s order, Musad was quick to see to it that the girl did as told. And the sultan let him. As said earlier, the ruler had little compassion for any of his wives, let alone true love. There were a few he enjoyed more than others, but this was all.

The sultan surprised everyone by being especially hungry tonight, and so he chose another girl. Although she was also not so enthused to go with, she had no desire to give the swine Musad a reason to be rough with her, and so she moved more willingly than her previously chosen sister had. The two unlucky women were led out of the chamber and into another one called the zunaa ghurfa, which means the fornication room. The sultan and his entourage followed the two girls and Musad, who held each one by their arms, one to his left and the other to his right.

I do hate that fat, smelly man! It was Alisha, who whispered this to her friend. And that bastard Musad too!

This harem had numerous groups of members who were friends with one another. Alas, as there were friends amongst them, there were also enemies. This was why Alisha had to whisper her discontent to her friend Zenobia. She knew that she could trust Zenobia beyond any measure of doubt. Undeniably, infinite trust was a natural thing among these two lovers.

Sister is what the wives of el-Hashem called each other. But this was only officially. Those who could not stand each other have other names to describe their feelings towards one another … names that were considered improper to be uttered by a wife of the sultan. When the sultan was present, the women commonly smiled and acted decently, even those who would rather spit poison at one another. Thus, publicly the women and girls of the harem were all sisters, and some sisters were friends while others were not.

But, despite who liked whom and who hated whom, most of the forty-two wives of el-Hashem had a common enemy and this was el-Hashem himself.

The sultan was a large man who did not enjoy the pleasures of baths very much. He had bad manners too, in particular with women, and he was cruel to his enemies and unfair to his subjects. Being picked by him to perform the sexual act was the most dreadful thing his wives could imagine … except for a very few of them, perhaps one or two or maybe three. That was the biggest reason why they were happy to be so numerous, and the more wives the sultan got the better it was for them.

Thus, the wives of this harem were altogether happy to be left alone by him, and being left alone was a reality in particular for the elder women, whom the sultan hardly picked anymore, preferring the younger wives instead. No, the elders in the harem did not worry so much anymore when the sultan entered their great chamber to choose his mate for the night. However, even age was still no guarantee not having to give up the body for his lust, but only a game of chances, for the sultan had whims that made him choose even the eldest wife on rare occasions.

Then there were times in which the sultan used his wives as presents. When an important visitation arrived to the city, the sultan would offer his wives as a special offering of hospitality. For this purpose he would choose those wives that he no longer had a preference for. It was always an unpleasant service to accomplish, yet one they could not fend off. And often enough it was a mystery with whom an elder woman would be forced to bed with. Sometimes this could be pleasant and at other times not so much and on occasion quite horrible.

The Sultan Mejhem ibn el-Hashem already had the largest harem far and wide, but his insatiable appetite for yet more wives were well-known in his realm and beyond. Whenever his agents went about to look for another candidate, most people kept their prettiest daughters hidden away, as long as they were at least ten and one in years or had not yet reached the age of ten and three. Below or beyond these ages, every girl was safe.

Alisha sighed noticeably. She was relaxing on her large pillow, lying beside her friend Zenobia. Her long legs, partially covered by the loose-fitting skirt, made of very light-weight cloth, were stretched out as she playfully rubbed her smooth thigh and looked dreamingly out of the open window, located but a few steps away. A bird landed on the ledge and seemed to examine the collection of women and children in the large chamber. It tweeted once and then again and then it flew away.

That was a swallow, Zenobia said. She was rubbing her friend’s back. Alisha enjoyed that very much.

I know, said Alisha dreamfully. They are harbingers of good luck, She added, and then let out another sigh, saying; I do wish I had wings which let me fly away high into the skies and to be as free as a bird. That must be the most wonderful feeling.

What is the matter, my dear Alisha? Zenobia asked. You seem absent and in deep thoughts.

I am just dreaming, Zenobia.

Dreams are all we have in this place, said Zenobia with a bitter undertone. That and an occasional nasty penis inside of us when we are so unlucky to be chosen by that overweight swine.

Alisha turned around on her other side