Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 20
‘Yes, Mother is safe,’ Haifa laughed.
That’s the moment Amani screamed.
I shuddered in fear and turned to look at my daughter. What now?
‘Mother, Father, look! Look! The stones. The stones!’
‘The stones?’ I repeated. Then I saw what Amani had detected. Both archways over Mother’s picture had been relieved of their expensive stones. The rubies had disappeared, but most importantly the huge emerald had vanished. Looking as closely as I could at that distance, I could see where a sharp instrument had been used to extract the stones from the woodwork.
Kareem grabbed me by my waist. ‘The stones. The stones are gone!’
‘Medina has the stones,’ Tahani muttered.
That’s when the last image of the girl in black attire came to my mind – her clutching the drawstring bag.
‘No! Not Medina! No! The ninja girl! She is the one who ran away with the stones.’
My husband looked at me as though I had finally gone mad.
‘Ninja girl?’ he repeated.
By this time Dunia had rushed in to find the reason for the deafening chaos. When she comprehended that the irreplaceable emerald stone had been stolen, my sister fainted. Sara and Maha’s night grew even more challenging when they insisted upon accompanying the servants taking Dunia to our medical clinic on the palace property, for when my sister fainted and fell she burst open her upper lip.
Kareem, Amani and I instructed our servants and security staff to search every corner in the palace. Hours later the ninja girl remained on the loose, either hiding in our palace or having escaped our grounds.
All these calamities demoralized me. I felt a violent shiver pressing against my heart and mind. Seeds of indignation were growing in my mind, threatening all that was happy in my life. I was tormented by the futility of any attempts to reason with my brother and his daughter, both of whom were overcome by envy and covetousness, twin emotions that poison the natural harmony that exists between most in any family. Tonight, for the first time, I recognized that Ali and his daughter were not just difficult, I believed that they both needed psychiatric help.
My brother, Medina and the ninja girl would have to wait until the sun rose on another day, I told myself. In the knowledge that the security staff were monitoring our home and the grounds, I felt safe and collapsed into bed later that night. My last thoughts should have been of my mother and the flawless triumph of the night, but due to the lunacy that exists in my family, nothing was as it should be.
‘But madness will not prevail,’ I whispered as I closed my eyes.
Chapter Three
The Mystery of the Ninja Girl
IN A BURST of heroism, Maha alone captured the ninja girl.
But I knew nothing of her gallantry as Kareem eased me from sleep by delivering gentle kisses on my forehead and hands. ‘Darling, please. Wake up. It is early for you, I know, but we have much to do.’
Still drowsy, yet still enchanted by the man I married, I felt no irritation, but instead smiled, for I do not resent adoration. Besides, I was calmed by a temporary memory loss of the upsetting events of the prior evening. All things bad had vanished during my deep sleep. ‘My husband, I must sleep until noon,’ I said, yawning.
‘Sultana, we do not have the luxury of time. If that girl leaves the property and makes her way back to Ali’s palace, we will never see those jewels again. We must act quickly!’
That’s when a vivid memory of the previous night flooded my mind with such force that I was suddenly thrown into an unspeakable agitation. ‘The jewels!’ I cried out. ‘Mother’s jewels!’ I stumbled out of bed and scrambled to find suitable clothes to wear. I knew we would have to search the property, and our grounds are extensive, so I would wear something comfortable. That devious girl could be hiding anywhere.
Kareem stood up. ‘While you ready yourself, I will ask if any of our security people have seen the girl.’
Never have I dressed so rapidly. Soon I hurried out of my quarters, walking briskly to find my husband. Just when I was considering whether to turn left or right at the next juncture, I caught a glimpse of Maha and her father hurrying down the corridor in my direction.
I was momentarily startled to see Maha up so early. When I’d retired at midnight, my daughter had still been at the medical clinic with Sara and Dunia.
Recalling how painful my sister’s injured lip appeared to be, I asked, ‘Maha, how is Dunia?’
‘Sore. She is very sore. Those lips are creating immense pain. She is flying to Switzerland this afternoon after the doctor told her last night that she must have a surgical reduction of her lips or she will continue to have such painful incidents.’ Maha made a face expressing puzzlement. ‘The doctor questioned the professionalism of the physician who performed the procedure; in fact, he was angry that Dunia had pursued something so radical as this kind of cosmetic procedure.’
I shrugged, sorry to hear the news but overwhelmed at that moment by more pressing matters than Dunia’s dangerous choices in her inane attempt to stay young for ever.
That’s when I first noticed that Kareem was smiling widely.
‘Tell your mother, Maha.’
‘Tell me what?’
That’s when I observed that Maha was holding both hands behind her back. My daughter’s eyes sparkled with delight. Like a small child, she laughed with an open mouth as she lifted her right arm and dangled the drawstring bag before my eyes.
‘Maha! Really?’
‘Really, Mother. Here are the jewels. All are here!’
Speechless, I hugged my daughter before clasping my husband, then embracing my daughter a second time.
I cried out, ‘What? How?’
I heard amusement in the tone of his voice when Kareem said, ‘It is a long story, Sultana. But let us not stand in the corridor.’
I agreed. ‘Yes, let’s sit somewhere comfortable and have a hot