Read Online The Forgotten Tale Of Larsa by Seja Majeed - Free Book Online Page A

what’s going on? Who gave you permission to barge in here like this?’ shrieked King Nelaaz. He wiped the oil from his mouth, having barely sunk his teeth into the meat. At first he had thought a rebellion had reached his palace, but the news was far worse.
    ‘We’ve been sent here by order of the Gallant Warrior.’
    Sibius barged through, pushing men out of his way as he approached the king. He handed over a clay tablet bearing the seal of their leader, which was more than enough evidence to authorise his entrance – and even if it was not, no man would dare defy such a symbol or disgrace it in front of him.
    ‘In that case, join us! Come and sit down, all of you, I expect you’re all hungry from your long journey. Send in more wine and more women; our guests from the Garden of the Gods are worthy of a thousand slaughters and more.’
    There was no better time for the princess to join them , thought the king. An image of her getting drunk and falling onto his lap entered his mind. She was a delightful creature; no doubt she would be even more delightful if she were wearing nothing.
    ‘Well, what are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to feast with us? There are plenty of women to go round; there’s no need to share.’
    ‘We’re not here to celebrate with you; we’ve come to seek news of the safe arrival of the princess. These are the Gallant Warrior’s orders, and we will not defy them even at your insistence.’
    ‘Arrival … what arrival? The princess hasn’t arrived in my kingdom.’
    ‘Are you certain of this?’ Sibius was in no mood to be trifled with, especially by an idiotic fat king whose face appeared to be as swollen as his feet.
    ‘Of course I’m certain. I’ve been waiting for her since I got word that she was coming. Tell me, when do you expect she’ll arrive? Will it be today, or tomorrow perhaps?’
    ‘So, all this while, you’ve neither heard from her nor sent word back to our kingdom warning us of her absence?’
    ‘Well …’ said the king, realising he was in dangerous waters, ‘I’ve been extremely busy …’
    Sibius glanced at the king; the look on his sweaty face said everything. The sheer idiocy of his behaviour was beyond comprehension. How could any rational man have failed to act, especially when they were on the verge of war?
    ‘Do you understand the gravity of what you’ve done? Your behaviour has jeopardised everything.’
    He turned to leave. The guests’ silence revealed the seriousness of the king’s offence. King Nelaaz wished he had not invited them; at this moment he wanted only to curl up in bed alone, a rare occurrence in itself.
    ‘Wait!’ he called, trying to stop Sibius from leaving. ‘Perhaps the Royal Caravan is lost. I’m told that on cloudy nights such as these it’s difficult to find my kingdom. I’ll send my men to search for them in the desert. Yes, I’m sure they are lost.’
    ‘Then let’s hope, for your sake, that the princess is still alive, because if she isn’t, rebellion will be the least of your worries,’ replied Sibius, marching off with clenched fists and fearful heart, anxious to deliver news immediately to his friend, Marmicus.
    ***
    King Nelaaz had sent a search party to find the princess in the desert, dead or alive. His soldiers had been combing the desert for days, their heads pounding with heat exhaustion as they trekked beneath the sun for hours on end. The king’s idea was folly from the start. They all knew it would be impossible to find the princess: the featureless desert stretched for miles and she could have been anywhere; it was like searching for a ring in a sand dune. What made matters worse was that none of them knew what the princess looked like, so every time they found travellers they stopped them, rushing to look into their tents. If they found a beautiful woman, they immediately suspected it to be her, dragging her away with them, only to be told by their commander that it was not the