Meeting Ithiopian Royalty

Eventually the King and Queen entered, and Fred and Astra stood and bowed politely. (An Allarian woman would have curtseyed, but that was not the Aqualarian way.) The King and Queen both wore richly decorated robes. The King was a handsome, bearded, middle-aged man who was just beginning to run to fat. Whilst most of the people that Fred and Astra had seen so far could best be described as dusky, the King was darker still, almost black. Fred thought that he had a rather cruel face. His wife looked about forty years old, but the years had treated her well, and she was still a beautiful woman.

"Welcome to Quaz'a'hwad," the King said. He sat down on the largest and most ornate of the red cushions, and his wife sat down next to him, before he said: "Please be seated."

Once Fred and Astra had reseated themselves, he said: "I am King Nath'eyas and this is my Queen, A'yesha." He paused, obviously expecting them to tell him their names in return.

"I am Frederigo, Your Majesty," Fred said, "and this is Astra." Astra frowned slightly at this. She would have preferred to have introduced herself. The King too frowned, but only inwardly. The name of "Astra" seemed vaguely familiar, but he did not know why.

"Is Astra your servant?" A'yesha asked Fred. Firmly, but she hoped politely, Astra said: "I am his travelling companion, Your Highness." (She trusted that protocol here was the same as it was back home, and that only the monarch was called "Your Majesty".)

"You two aren't... married, then?" Nath'eyas asked in as casual a tone as he could manage. His thought was that the Chosen One should marry his daughter, thus ensuring that he would remain in Quaz'a'hwad and become committed to Ithiopa. The prophecies did not say that the Chosen One would marry the King's daughter, but there was nothing in them to rule it out. If Frederigo should already be married - something that the prophecies did not mention, but they had been wrong in one detail already - then it would be much more difficult.

Fred said "No" and Astra said "Certainly not!" simultaneously.

"You must tell us how you came here," Queen A'yesha said. So Fred and Astra repeated the story they had already told to the captain of the guard. Nath'eyas and A'yesha smiled inwardly as they again minimised the length of time they had spent in the sandworm; the King and Queen knew exactly when and where their visitors had been swallowed.

When they had finished, Nath'eyas said politely: "A fascinating story. But now let us take a break from talking. My daughter will join us and will bring us refreshments of fruit and wine." He gestured, and a guard standing inconspicuously in the corner of the room banged a gong.

That's my cue, Princess Al'esha thought, as she waited in an adjoining anteroom. I wonder what these visitors are like? Mother was rather cryptic about them. Just said that they were a man and a woman from the east, and then looked me out one of my richest - but rather revealing - outfits. As though at nineteen I can't be trusted to make my own decisions about what to wear.

She picked up the tray, with its fruit, pitcher of wine and five glasses, then walked along the short corridor, pulled aside the drape at the end of it, and entered the meeting chamber. With her father and mother she saw the two strangers. One was a strikingly attractive, unusually tall, redheaded woman. Al'esha had seen a few easterners before, with their pale skins, but she had never seen a redhead. Even so, her main attention was focused on the man. He was of above average height, handsome and virile looking. Could he be the one? Had her holy song been answered already?

What a beautiful girl! Astra thought. And such marvellous green eyes. She's certainly not overdressed, that's for sure. If she's a princess, then the dress code must be rather different here from what it is back home. One of the other legends of the Arabi that I recall concerns its belly dancers. They were said to be dressed much as she is.

She turned to look at Fred, to see his reaction. He was looking fixedly at the girl. Men! she thought. He could get us into trouble if the King and Queen object to how he's staring at their daughter. Still, I can't really blame him.

But the King and Queen seemed quite unperturbed. "This is my daughter Al'esha," the King said. "Al'esha, these are Frederigo and Astra, our honoured guests. Please serve them with fruit and wine."

1. Al'esha did as she was bid, and then sat on a cushion next to Fred.

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