He suddenly began to speak aloud as he looked around. "The old legend says, she dwells in this very desert." His round face that bore a little fear could be perceived as he gazed down and he waited for the prince to heed his very words in anticipation. The journey from the kingdom of Saheri had been tiresome, long and gruesome as we, mighty Saherian soldiers, had to walk the bushy, long ,old and legendary forests on the outskirts of the city of Hasha the capital of Saheri into the harsh desert weather that was unforgiving, some soldiers falling ill during the eight day journey. Now we had come to rest, almost reaching our final destination.
"Really? You don't say, Sayen?" The young prince began to say sarcastically, sitting on an old stool as he drank from his silver cup clutched in his left hand, his right hand touching his beard in resignation. He stood up from where he sat; under the giant blue leather tent that had been meticulously and nicely pitched in the sands of the old and calm Kamuri desert. "the magical witch or jinn whatever you want to call it," he paused, his eyes drifting away into the distance as if his attention had been seized by a far away object but his mind was deep in thought as he listened, "dwells in this very desert?" His smile had faded into a frown.
The commander, Sayen, stopped on his meal which consisted of a few slices of bread and old beer and gazed at the prince with a hurt look on his face. His eyes truly revealed his seriousness. He gulped before he continued, a fear engulfing him as usual for the man who stood before him was his highness, the prince himself.
"You think this is a joke your highness?" Deep down, he felt nothing but pity for this naive crown heir to his throne for he knew nothing! He lived in his own world of oblivion, dwelling in his own little bubble world where reality was an alternate perception to him. Sayen's mind was one that bore deep wisdom of the old and the mystic.
"No no, no, Sayen, she's real of course, of course I believe you!" His hands were spread out as he looked around at his fellow soldiers of war.
He choked his own laughter and then coughed afterwards. Laughter roared out like never before rendering Sayen a fool in front of his fellow mates. Sayen heaved and sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. His meal was almost finished. Other soldiers sat around him, gobbling up their lot of the food in a calm manner; some were sad as if missing their loved ones, their eyes zoning outside of the tent into the horizon to catch a glimpse of the moonlight. Some were happy, some sang as they sat in the distance under the baleful , bold and throbbing moon. Sayen stood up dusting crumbs off his shriveled armour that hid his muscular form.
"We don't call her that , my prince!" Sayen said and he paused. He smiled looking at the prince from the corner of his eye. "She is the princess of these very desert sands." He continued as he scooped the moon white sand with his hands; a silent glee in his eyes.
"She is the princess of the desert. The prophecy of the old shadows foretold by the high priests of our kingdom. She is pre-fated to destroy our very own prosperous kingdoms. Including yours my king." He paused and shrugged off his fears. "You know it was exactly on a moonlit night like this when the first group of wanderers to tread her turf were devoured by her wrath!" Sayen continued, looking around as if looking for silent approvals from his mates, his eyes widening as if he were telling an extremely mystic tale, which he was....
"Haha, Sayen, that cannot be feasible. A woman can never fight a stable battle against any man, tell me, how could she have been responsible for all those deaths? It simply can't!" He banged his hand with pride on the table. Other soldiers roared in agreement. "Tell me more about this silly desert legend. No petty woman can come and grab my throne away from me, commander, never." He eyed the commander with zeal, pride and firmness, but to his disappointment, the commander just looked down and shook his head. "Tell me about this devious demon!"
" Okay my prince, I could tell you about it but it's better if you read a copy of the Oracle taken from the book of our history!" He said as he handed the young prince the scroll where the prophecy had been noted in dark ink. The letters were magnificently written on the paper in their natural traditional form. The candles were lit brightening the large tent. The night was warm. We all sat around a large fire, a bit far from our rulers, some under the starry, cloudless grey sky.
"Okay!" The prince said as he unrolled the scroll, reading out aloud the text.
"The moon had set high up in the dark sky illuminating the cold desert sands. A chilled breeze blew about shifting thin dust into farther horizons. Not that she could feel it as she was no longer one amongst the living. Her life had long ended in that very desert. Thirty years! For thirty years, her spirit lay and roamed the sands of the Kamuri desert; bound by a dark curse, a curse laid upon her by her very own sorrows, the outcome of her very own hands. Whilst far away on the footpath to the kingdom of Angira lay the necropolis were her lover now dwelled from since the day he passed from the realm of the living into the afterlife bound in chains of eternal death itself, laying in a grave, never to rise from his hauntingly daunting fate. Never to awaken from his cold slumber. Her love, the prince of the great Monka empire!" He chanted, as he recited the text.
"Alright!" He nodded in disbelief and continued gazing at the scroll. "Oh really, so she is the one who brought this curse upon herself? Tell me Sayen, she trapped her own spirit in the desert? Because if that is the case, I have to know her secret to achieving it, as I have ex-lover princesses and enemies I would like to seek vengeance from." He clumsily chuckled as his soldiers roared out in laughter as well. He broadened his shoulders in an arrogant manner. He looked to be about in his early to mid twenties. Hair; long, golden and wispy curls, covering his shoulders. Skin, bronzed. His slanted eyes were green, ;glittering in the candles' light. His muscles were glowing in the night, a bronze undertone as he continued staring at the scroll.
The commander's hands shook with unease.
"No, my prince, the curse was born from the wrath that resided within her and her unwillingness to die. She died in this very desert, from heartbreak and starvation. She walked these very sands of the cold desert on that first night when her wrath materialized into an actuality. When her spirit became animated in the realm of the living, after all she had contained her anger for long, far too long, since she was still a living human being on earth. Now she had become a demon herself as her spirit contained the essence of one. She had no compassion."
"Well, if you think she has no compassion, then I'm far worse than her, Sayen!" The prince continued to brag but the commander ignored him and so the prince continued reciting the daunting tale.
"She opened the gates to the rivers of her rage that was maliciously lurking within her, and forever the desert hauntings came to be; were she would be seen patrolling the sands. Soldiers, valiant men, only those brave enough to walk the desert caught a glimpse of her. Chiffon, scarf and pants blowing in the strong and hot breeze that accompanied her, her long hair clipped into a ponytail. Most of all, they were haunted by the sound of her anklets; golden anklets that tingled to her enchanting movements. Then the singing came, in the most beautiful voice. A voice that mesmerized, powerful enough to detouch one from the real world. Then her looks that would hypnotize one to the point that she would manipulate them to take their own lives.
"So she is such a rare beauty?" He paused as the matter sparked a deep interest in him.
"Nothing like you have ever seen!" The commander said, gazing at him, both smiling at each other."
"When she decided she wanted no more of her eternal slumber, she vowed to return to this world, on this earth no matter the circumstance. Her reign of terror manifested itself in the lives of folks in the nearby kingdoms. She made her first kill. She had called herself the desert jewel! She had chuckled deeply as he lay at her feet. She mockingly asked him to be her lover. He didn't respond, his notion was only to gaze at this terrifying enchantress, this spirit of evil that stood before him." He continued.
"The desert jewel!" The prince chanted. "I like the sound of that! I really like it. A beautiful maiden in the desert, a rare beauty, a jewel herself."
"No, my king to be, the notion of that name came from the very fact that a beloved of hers also gave gold as a sacrifice to return her from the dead but left after she didn't return. Neither did he know his sacrifice worked because that is when her essence began to haunt the sands and her apparition was seen by many in that time. So this place was abandoned by nomads and the townspeople alike." One lead soldier said as he looked at him, a cold chill running down his spine.
"Tell me more about her looks, Sayen." The prince said with an unquenchable lust a desirous passion that was birthed at that very moment.
"I haven't seen her myself, your highness, otherwise, I wouldn't be here conversing with you. There are some who have witnessed her presence and have lived to tell the tale. They say her plumb lips are like the wildest of wild cherries; a deep purple. Her eyes are like the green emeralds; the kind you bear in your treasury. Her figure is slim and tall. Her skin glows, resembling the colour of the hairs of corn on corn stalks right before ripening; a sweet brown. Her hair is as black as night itself, smooth like silk, running long down her waist."
"You don't say. Could this be true? A desert wanderer possessing such beauty. Tell me could there be a mistake in all this? Could she just be just some lost nomad, a cave dweller who was mistakenly bestowed with this legend?" The prince said. His voice showed so much anticipation. His lack of judgement regarding the Oracle troubled Sayen deeply.
"Well then my prince, continue…"
"She had mocked him, watched him beg for her mercy." The commander continued. "She had watched a valiant man lose his composure; something that greatly pleased her. She knelt to the ground and opened her mouth wide and the man that once was, dissolved as she sucked him in. The witch had eaten him." He paused, rolling his eyes up.
"Oh come on Sayen, You expect me to believe such nonsense?" The proud prince of Saheri began to say with a frown. "You tell me the king sent us here to capture and kill a demon that doesn't exist? Something out of a fairy tale?" He seemed annoyed, angry and betrayed. "So this is what your king thinks of me? That I'm a joke?" He banged his hand on the table, piercing into Sayen's dark eyes with his. He was unable to control his deep anger.
"The soldiers that had accompanied us on the journey, looked at each other. The fear on their faces was very evident.
"My prince," the commander began to say. "This is no fairytale but a daunting reality. It seemed the graveness of this matter has not yet seeped into your mind. It seems you're taking this matter lightly! It is not so good to have so much doubt or courage, especially now in the face of something more sinister than a mere vain human being!"
The prince gazed at him, his rage multiplied as he grabbed the commander by the collar of his long shirt and squeezed tightly, choking him in the process. The sweat on his face was visible. Cold sweat in his moment of fear; his lips quivering. " How dare you call me those things!? Vain? I am the mighty prince of Saheri! I'm not just mere!" He then raged pushing Sayen and he toppled over the table. Sayen took a deep breath as he stood up stumbling over himself. He spoke with his gaze low.
"My apologies, prince!."
"It seems making you a close friend of mine has been a mistake as you have learned to break boundaries and speak to me in that manner!" The prince heaved on his face. Sayen could feel the hot rush of the air of his anger on his fearful face. His intimidating voice roar in this commander's ears. The smell of his breath was so heavy with alcohol "Know your place, commander!" He said as he stood up walking towards his tent, and that had been pitched near the small man-made stall of horses. The horses had taken their rest for the night. "Let's call it a night!"
We all went to sleep feeling extremely tired. I cuddled myself under the linen sheet stuffed with wool, the one I called a blanket. The night seemed to be long. The critters of the night seemed to not dominate the atmosphere, only deathly silence under the moon itself. We lay next to each other. Some of us were snoring with mosquitoes buzzing in the air. I could have nothing but nightmares of the lore which was our quest, the oracle itself foretold in our old history books. My eyes were open at the crack of dawn itself; I got ready. Other soldiers were already packing their belongings to proceed the journey. The long journey into the desert began long before the sun commenced her own journey into the sky. An army of two hundred and fifty strolling in the desert on a quest, stopping mid way for some afternoon rest.