A Big Shiny Blue Marble Ch. 16

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TaLtos6
TaLtos6
1,931 Followers

It might have been the smells of the food which awakened the girl. She found herself lying on a blanket not far from a small cooking fire and looked around carefully trying not to appear to be moving very much. They were not in any town, she decided, seeing nothing in the way of buildings before her. She noticed a motion to her left and pretended to be asleep, rolling her head a little onto that side so that she might observe.

Dakhete paused as she walked past, looking down for a moment before carrying on as she took Najmah an armful of hay before she sat by the fire and washed the dust and chaff from her fingers to see to the meal. She removed her headdress, but retained a blue shawl over her head, showing only her eyes for the moment.

"Are you going to lie there and pretend to be asleep for very much longer, or are you going to sit up and come here to eat with me? I bought too much food if all that you want to do is to stare at me."

The girl stood up slowly and a little unsteadily and made her way to where her benefactor sat. Dakhete held out a plate of food, and the girl almost passed out again.

"Sit," Dakhete commanded, "Eat. We must be on our way shortly, and I wish to be at the end of my journey by nightfall. I wish to ask around a little first. I have not been this way for a time."

The girl reached for the platter, but it was drawn back again. "Your name," Dakhete said flatly, "I wish to know your name. Surely it is a fair price for the food, basinah."

"I am no kitten," the girl said.

"You are as a kitten to me," the other one said from behind her shawl, "and there is no insult in my words. You did well today in the market. But that was there and this is here. Now; your name, lovely one, please."

"I have many," the girl replied, "It is the one thing that the poor are rich in since they cost nothing," she smiled a little as she took the plate, "which sort of name am I to give? I have names for every season and day of the week."

"I only wish for a true name of yours," Dakhete sighed, "and in exchange for that, I will give you a choice of mine."

"Rasha," the young one said, deciding that it was enough.

"I see it," Dakhete chuckled, looking at her naked companion, "you truly are as a young gazelle girl to my eyes."

"And you?" Rasha asked as she tried to retain at least a little of her manners while eating at the same time. Her poor stomach had gotten the news from her eyes that there was food nearby -- as if it hadn't already heard the rumor from her nose.

"I can give you two for now," the older one said, "and you may choose. You may call me Balqis or Dakhete. They both fit me well enough for this and they are both true, one more so than the other."

"Balqis, "the young one thought, "a little hopeful to be named for that queen of long ago in Sheba -- wherever that was."

Dakhete laughed, "I had no idea that I traveled with such a scholar of antiquity."

The girl tilted her chin upwards for a second, "What is the other one again? And what is the full sound of it?"

"My name is Dakhete," the woman replied.

"That sounds a little strange for a Moroccan name," the girl said.

"For a Moroccan, it would be," Dakhete nodded, "so it is a good thing that I am not a Moroccan, I suppose, and even better for you that we are no longer near there. If you care at all, I can tell you that you killed over a hundred in that square today."

"Good," the girl replied as she ate, "They should not have come to see me die."

Dakhete nodded in agreement. "We have gone a little far today, and Najmah is not even tired at all since it has only been an hour. She is happy with the hay and I believe that she likes to travel with me. We began in the souq in Marrakesh and we were near Tunis a little later, where I came by this food and more. Now, we are in the Sudan, my friend, very near to Shendi. It lies behind us on the other side of these tombs," she said, hooking her thumb over her shoulder.

The girl looked and stared. There were pyramids rising out of the ground there. Najmah munched her hay thoughtfully and looked back at her.

"We are in Egypt?" she asked, "I have heard that there are pyramids there, but I have never seen them."

"There are," Dakhete said, "but we are not there, we are a long way south. I said that we are in the Sudan now. We are in the land of the Nubian pharaohs, and it pains me to see these tombs in such a state, for surely the ones where we go will not be much better.

Don't eat so fast, or you'll be sick, my friend. Give your poor stomach a chance at that food. I enjoy seeing it disappear into you, but it cost too much to see it reappear again in only moments because you ate it like a jackal. Even if you are not ill from it, you will get sleepy from so much, and I have no wish to carry you again, though I will if I must. Here, drink a little water, at least."

"Why did you do this for me?" the girl asked, "You do not know me."

"Nevertheless, "Dakhete said, "you needed it, and I knew that you had nowhere to go and I would not leave you there. I remind you that you asked me to take you along. I did not like the thought at first, but I admit that I am warming to it now that you are awake and we can speak.

I am going to an old home of mine for a while. I have travelled for a long time and now I wish to gather my thoughts. We are journeying to Medewi, though for some time, it has been known to scholars of dust as Meroe. It is an ancient city. I think that we will be the only ones there. It is likely quite a dead city and would have been for a long time, I think, if these tombs are in this shape."

"Why go there then?" the girl asked.

"Because as I have said, "Dakhete replied, "I have a home there and I wish to see what has become of it."

"To have done all that you have," the girl said a little cautiously, "I think that you are no more human than I am -- though I thought that I was before."

"No," Dakhete shook her head, "Neither of us is. Yet part of you is human, Rasha. I just do not think that you know all of it yet. What do you know of your parents?"

"I only knew my mother," Rasha said, "and she was human, a common whore in Marrakesh. She always loved me and did her best for me. All that we had besides a very few things and some of her clothing was Najmah there. My mother bought her for me because I wanted her so much, and my legs were too weak to carry me very far.

Najmah did not cost much, though for my mother the amount was as much as she had saved for a time. But I was a little girl and knew nothing of what such things cost. It was only later that I learned that the price may as well have been the cost of a fine stallion to my mother. Najmah is a little small, like me, and so we are the best of friends," she smiled, "Well, as friendly as we can be with our temperaments.

But with her, I could go wherever I wished and we went everywhere together, even after my legs could carry me."

"You must have been the poorest of the poor," Dakhete said gently, "I can see you in my mind, riding her in the street, always dressed as you are now. There is no shame to it in my eyes. I respect you for it, and think highly of you."

Rasha smiled then, and Dakhete saw her exactly as she had pictured her. "Still, I was a happy child, my mother said, always laughing and smiling. When one has nothing, it is easy to be a fine princess. I have Najmah. I had nothing to wear for almost all of my life," Rasha said a little proudly, "though I guess that it would come to an end very soon if I was still there."

"I guess that it would as well," Dakhete nodded, "it does not matter that one is too poor to have clothing, others will not like it even so. Me?" the girl heard Dakhete's smile in her voice, "you are far too pretty for that place and you are far better to be away from it. Even so, you need to wear something at least to travel in, since now we will not be going so fast that no one can see us. I have bought jelabeeyas for you."

Rasha looked over, "For me? Why?"

"Yes," Dakhete nodded, "four of them, since I did not know what might appeal to you and you need more than just one. I know it is hot here, and I am not asking you to wear them here. Only when we travel."

"I have never worn one before -- well, since the last one that I had grew too small for me or, wore out, I think that it was. I have no need of any jel-"

"Think a moment, " Dakhete said, "I know that you were the child of perhaps the poorest whore in the city. This is not that city, you would tell me and I know that. This is a better place to be with no clothing, but we will be going where there are people, and I have no wish to do it in the same manner as I did in the last souq that we were in."

Rasha wrinkled her brow, "How was that then?" she asked, "I have no memory of it at all."

"That is because you were over my shoulder like a sack of grain," Dakhete said, "in a dead faint as you were from lack of food and the strain of thinking that you would die, as well as the cost to you in the magic that you made there. Just accept this from me, "she said, "I would take it as a kindness that you did.

This place, wherever we go here, most people are Muslim of one sort or another now. That you were a poor beggar who had no clothing might be accepted in the alleys of Marrakesh, but I assure you that it is not accepted elsewhere."

"I accept me," Rasha said, "I like my body. I think it is my business if I wish to cover it or not. You are dressed as some sort of ... soldier or a fighter. Why?"

"It suits me", Dakhete said, "it allows me freedom of movement, and it makes traveling easier if I must be among people. I can disguise myself as a man and I do not have the troubles of other men being forward or hopeful. I like my body too, Rasha, and I like yours as well, but you cannot travel well like that and you cannot carry much.

Here," she said moving a little to facilitate the reach, "I have been carrying this for you, since you almost dropped it when you were fainting."

She leaned to hand over the dagger that Rasha had taken from the holyman, "It is a fine blade, well-balanced even for throwing, though I doubt that he used it for much more than peeling the skin from an apple or cutting out a bit of bruising from the flesh of a banana. I am sure that it was not a trifle to buy. It carries some enchantments on it about protecting him from harm and evil, oh, and guiding his hand in a just way," she smirked, "I'd remove them, if it was me. There are others that would work better for you."

"Like what?" Rasha asked.

"Well, such as always returning to your hand," Dakhete replied, "That would be more useful, and sailing truly when it was thrown. Here."

She laid her other hand on it and when she removed that hand, the one holding it began to roll it in her long fingers so that it spun and glittered. She drew her arm back and the dagger flew in a long graceful arc to strike point-first into the trunk of an acacia tree an impossible distance away.

Rasha stared and turned, "I have never seen anything like this! How did you-"

Her mouth fell open as she saw Dakhete holding the dagger out to her once more. She reached for the blade, but winced from the motion. It was the shoulder that had been struck by the stone.

Dakhete saw it and got up to kneel beside the diminutive girl, "I forgot about that," she said, laying her hands on the shoulder and in subtle movements, she repaired the damage and the bruising in a few seconds. Rasha sighed from the feeling of incredible well-being which flowed through her.

"My thanks," she said, watching as Dakhete went back to where she'd been sitting. She held the dagger, wanting to say more about the help that she'd received from her benefactor, but she was a little too close to being a bit overwhelmed and so she remained silent, deciding to wait at least for a moment.

"If you would take it as a kindness from me if I dress myself in the clothing that you have bought for me, then it is my honor to wear it for you," she said, "though I think that I would prefer to dress as you do, if it was my choice."

"Travel further with me," Dakhete said, "and you may have your choice, whatever it is. I have been in many places and done many things. I seek to go to Medewi now since it has been long since I was there. I expect to find little. But I will remain there for a time as I sort out my thoughts and recollections. If you travel there with me, I will have a chance at something that I should have done long ago. Among other things, I am a teacher.

I did not know why I was in Marrakesh this day. I only knew that there was someone there who would need me. Such a thing has never really happened to me before, I assure you. I found you there, and I believe that you are the one who needed me -- as you quite obviously did, no?

So I sit here now with one who is like me in many ways, and yet we are different as well. That is as it should be, but it comes to me now that you are more than the one who needed me -- and the aid was freely given by me. Truly, I could not have helped it anyway. I have a sense of justice and I knew in an instant who it was who was being wronged there."

"You saved my life," the girl whispered.

"In a manner, I suppose," the warrior replied, "I see it more as providing you the way for you to act as you needed to act. I only gave you the space in time in which to do it."

Rasha shook her head, and it came to Dakhete that she felt for this poor naked girl in her heart; one who needed so much, though she had such power within herself that she was not aware of, it seemed. Dakhete didn't really know what to do about that for the moment. She only knew that it was incredibly difficult not to like her.

"No," the girl said, "You did that, yes. But you broke my chains for me."

"I only broke chains which you could have broken easily yourself. You did not know that you could, that it all," Dakhete said, "If you and I wish to argue over the point, I would have to give it to you that since you had no knowledge of this, then yes, I suppose that I did save your life.

But I can say," she laughed a little behind her shawl, "that it was my pleasure to do it, for I think that I may have found a gift for myself in you. If it pleases you to be able to fight in a tight place and to do things with weapons such as you saw me do with your dagger, then I may have found one who I would want as my pupil, the only one that I seek to teach of my own will. We will have to see, but perhaps I have also found a friend for myself in you. I can say to you that I hope that it is so."

Rasha's eyes grew large and Dakhete found herself a little lost as she looked into them across the space of perhaps three feet between them. The girl lowered her head and looked down as though she was struggling with something which she wished to say.

In that instant, Dakhete saw something that she hadn't noticed before. Rasha had appeared to her to have her black hair cut short, but is really was not so. Her gently curling, glossy black ringlets were really only the part that Dakhete could see from the front; the rest was in a long, tightly bound ponytail which surely must reach to her backside. She wondered how it had been possible for her to have missed that. She'd carried Rasha over her shoulder and laid her down here to rest only a little while ago. How could she have missed it?

Rasha raised her head and Dakhete's breath caught in her throat a little. "Please," the girl whispered, "give me your hands but a moment."

Dakhete tilted her head in curiosity, but she held out her hands to Rasha. The girl moved herself forward onto her knees and she reached for the hands, taking them in her own.

"You say that I do not know what I can do and it is only lately -- only days now, that I see that I never really knew what I am. But I know well what I was.

All of my life," she said humbly, "people have laughed at the poor little daughter of Yasmin, the whore. They tolerated me because I made them laugh and smile, but I never had more than a playmate in the street when I was small because everyone thought that one so poor would surely rob them blind if they let me into their homes to play with their children. Then I grew too old to have a playmate, and I was alone, because only boys wanted to be friendly with me, but I know what it was that they wanted. The girls hated me because the boys always came to me.

I have never had a friend, the way that such a person as you must mean that you wish for. Since you have given me two names to choose from, I can easily do the same. I tell you now that Yasmin is my true name also, just as it was my mother's name. I tell you that if it is your wish to have my friendship, then you have it until I am dead."

She lowered herself a little and she pulled Dakhete's hands apart for a moment to give her some room and before the warrior could object or even say a word, the girl kissed her boots and raised herself to bring the hands together before her again. She shifted the hand which held Dakhete's left hand and she placed it carefully onto the top of her own head and she looked down in submission then.

To Dakhete, this was something that was a little akin to things which she'd experienced so very long ago, most often in the very place where they were journeying toward now. The sense of déjà vu was a little overwhelming to her.

But to her, as the sounds of the gentle breeze and the songs of the birds around them faded into the background, what had gone before seemed more like mere formalities now. None of those acts meant anywhere near as much as what was happening to her right now.

"If it is a pupil that you seek, Mistress, then it is the truth in my heart to say to you that you have found her in me. I will strive like no other that you may have taught. May I bring you joy to see how I will learn for you whatever you wish to teach to me."

Dakhete heard the girl sniffle for a moment, "I am worthless," she said, "my life has meant nothing to anyone since my mother died." She looked up and Dakhete saw how the girl's tears ran down her lovely face. It brought her own tears to her eyes to see it.

"You have saved my life," she said, "You took me away, and you feed me and clothe me. It surely means little, but it means much to me."

She pulled Dakhete's right hand to her and she kissed it softly for a long moment, and she said, "Teach me then, whatever you will, and I will learn it. I place myself at your feet always, Dakhete. I would be happy as your servant and pupil.

My life is yours," she said as she wept, "By God, I swear it."

Dakhete moved her hand from the girl's head and she held that young face in both of her hands as she leaned forward.

"In the first place," she said, sniffling herself, "I wish to say that I have felt no greater honor, been offered no finer tribute than what you offer to me now. How deep my words run may only become clear to you a little later, but that is not important, Yasmin. I want you to know that you have humbled me with what you have done, and that is no easy task."

She leaned forward a little more and she kissed the girl's forehead through her shawl slowly and then she looked into her eyes again. "I accept what you offer, though I have my own conditions, if it pleases you. I will be proud to take you as my student in many things. First, I have the honor of showing you what you are as you learn of it yourself. Second, and this will take a little time, but I will show you how to fight and be invincible in so many ways, for whatever your purpose. Thirdly, you and I will learn our true purposes together, since I have only weeks ago learned that I have no purpose myself anymore, but I can teach you what I learned while I had one," she smiled.

She put her arms around Yasmin's shoulders and hugged her. "This will need to be something of a strange relationship between you and I," she said, resting her lips against the girl's forehead once more.

TaLtos6
TaLtos6
1,931 Followers