Departure at dawn

A warm, comfortable silence blanketed the palace as a cold wind blew restlessly through the deserted halls and courtyard outside. The palace and it's inhabitants fitfully slumbered, blissfully unaware of the men who were assembled in the courtyard under a still darkened sky. They moved swiftly and silently, packing supplies on to their horses and camels while forming a convoy according to rank.

Ammon moved along the convoy, his keen eyes assessing his men to ensure that they were fully prepared for the journey ahead. He was dressed as a commoner, in a plain gray gallibaya and sserual, with a blue and white striped kaftan and a white scarf with which to cover his face and head. He did not wish to attract unnecessary attention during the journey and had given strict instructions to his men to dress up as traveling merchants.

Ammon was well-versed in the art of warfare and was naturally gifted in military strategy. He would need these skills now more than ever if he were to keep himself and his men alive. Without thinking, he touched the daggers tucked away at his sides, hidden from view beneath his loose kaftan. They belonged to his father and were his weapon of his choice back when he had fought in previous wars as a much younger man. Now he had given them to Ammon who took comfort in their weight at his sides.

Thinking about the daggers brought back memories of Nenet and what had transpired last night in his chambers. This brought with it a mixture of emotions that he wasn't quite ready to deal with at a time like this. The overwhelming need for him to protect and care for her had been present from the moment he had set eyes on her but he couldn't explain why. Time and again he found himself drawn to her but he had resisted, more afraid than anything that should she find out his true nature, she would want nothing more to do with him.

Pushing these thoughts from his mind, he focused on the journey ahead and continued with his inspection. He had reached the back of the convoy and began walking back to take his place at the front when Zahra emerged from one of the many porticos that led to the courtyard.

"You shouldn't have come", he gently chided her as she walked towards him.

"How could I not?", she replied with a small, tight smile as she handed him a small parcel wrapped in cloth.

He clicked his tongue, feigning annoyance, but took the parcel gratefully, knowing that she would have been awake long before to prepare it.

"Why do you waste your time on unnecessary things?", he scolded her.

"I didn't. Nenet prepared this for you. She said it is to show her gratitude for what you did last night", Zahra answered while carefully studying his face.

He scowled, grateful for the shadows that hid his face as he looked around the courtyard, hoping that she had come with Zahra. The older woman watched him curiously, thinking that he always behaved strangely whenever the girl was involved. Not for the first time, she wondered what his intentions were towards the young slave and if she was chosen for him by the gods.

"Go back inside. It is time for us to leave", he ordered, abruptly turning away.

Zahra bowed and made her way back inside with a heavy heart and tears glistening wetly in her eyes. She had grown attached to the boy and her heart ached for him as though he was her own child. Wiping the tears that clouded her vision, she failed to see the small figure hidden behind a pillar in the shadows under the portico outside.

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Nenet had woken much earlier than usual and crept to the kitchen where she began preparing eggah for Ammon to take with him. Having worked in the kitchen for the first year after coming to the palace, she was familiar with cooking a variety of dishes and it didn't take long. Once she was done, she quickly cleaned up and returned to the room she shared with Zahra.

She woke the older woman and gave her the parcel, asking her to deliver it to the Crown Prince with her thanks. Zahra was surprised but said nothing and quickly changing her clothes, hurried outside to the courtyard to find Ammon.

Nenet waited until she had left and then followed her, keeping to the shadows so she wouldn't be seen. She crept out onto the portico and quickly ducked behind a pillar, holding her breath and only releasing it after she was sure that she hadn't been seen. Slowly she peeked out from behind the pillar and saw Zahra giving him the parcel so she withdrew behind the pillar just as Ammon looked up, searching for her.

She waited until she saw Zahra pass by, returning to the room, before she peered around the pillar. Ammon was on horseback at the front of the convoy and confident that he couldn't see her, she stepped out from behind the pillar.

He was riding back and forth at the front, his horse snorting and pawing at the ground, impatient to be let out of the gate to run free. He tugged at the reins and steered his horse to the side, moving along the rows of men at a slow canter.

A slow tingling sensation buzzed across her skin, making the hairs stand on end as she watched him. Memories of last night swirled in her head as she recalled how he had cleaned and dressed her cuts with such meticulous care. Shivers ran down her spine, but not from the chilly air, and she hugged herself, feeling self-conscious, even though there was no one to see her.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of him, sitting astride his magnificent black stallion and dressed like a common merchant. So mesmerized was she that she realized too late that he was riding back to the rear of the convoy and in her direct line of sight.

The sky was beginning to lighten, chasing the shadows away and breathing light into the dark corners of the palace. A pink tinge bled across the horizon, heralding the arrival of morning and bathing the ground below in a pale pinkish light.

Their eyes met, finding each other in the subtle early morning light and they stared at one another with a mixture of surprise and longing. Her breath caught in her throat and unaware, she held it, afraid that even a breath would shatter this moment. She was trembling with an emotion that she didn't know or understand but she was powerless to look away.

The moment seemed to stretch into an eternity but when he finally turned away it felt like it ended all too soon. His horse reared up onto it's hind legs, neighing loudly and voicing it's eagerness to be on its way. He tugged firmly on the reins and pulled him down, urging him forward to the gates which were being raised.

She watched until he disappeared through the gates, the image of him riding away, indelibly burned into her mind. Only after the last man rode through the gates and they were lowered to the ground with a resounding thud did she finally rouse herself and walk back inside. Her face was wet with tears that she didn't even know she had been crying and she roughly wiped them away before anyone noticed.