Sabrina's Regret

"Hello," Sabrina called in a small choking voice as she stood before the man, a man whose life she had almost ended due to her reckless nature.

"Hey there, chica, now don't look so terrified, we will get along just fine as far as you follow my orders," He said to Sabrina in a soft voice that did not match the expression on his face.

While his voice was soft, he looked so cruel and cynical at that moment; the scar on his face that had barely been visible to Sabrina on the night of that horrible incident now stood out in the morning sunlight, glinting dangerously.

Sabrina gulped down saliva as she nodded at him, while twisting her hands together in front of her body, awaiting further instructions from him.

Sabrina looked up to realize that everyone else had stopped working, and all the men were now staring at her and the exchange between them. They had probably concluded that she was on the wrong side of the boss.

Sabrina looked at the expression on their faces, and there was only one word for it: surprise and then hunger and the fact that the boss didn't like her would make her a very easy target for the men, but the surprise must be because females are not allowed to work the mines anymore.

This brings Sabrina to only one conclusion: she was probably the first female to be brought here, and they find it strange for her to be here at all.

"Follow me," Marco ordered, and Sabrina obeyed, following him down a path, her chin raised defiantly, glaring down at the men who were devouring her with their eyes.

"Here, you will work here; you will pack rocks that have been broken down and deposit them on the other side of the hill," The man instructed, and Sabrina nodded in acquiescence.

"I...I am...am sorry for the other day," Sabrina called in a small voice as Marco turned to leave, making him stop in his tracks and look back at her; he did not say anything for a while, just moved closer to her.

"For what exactly, chica, for shooting me, or for making a fool of me, for trying to escape and for endangering yourself?" The man questioned in a fury-filled voice.

He sounded so furious that Sabrina had to hold the tears that threatened to escape her eyes; she shook her head in reply, not saying anything, while she used her hand to cover her mouth.

She knew she had hurt him, but she had never for once considered what trouble he would be in after she escaped, nor how he would be his master if he survived the incident; all that had been on her mind was an escape, just to escape, nothing else.

Now she was reaping the consequences of her impulsive action, she had made an enemy in this new and uncertain place even before she had a chance to make friends.

"Take this, and protect your hands," The man said gruffly, dropping a pair of work gloves right in front of her and walking away.

After he was gone, the tears finally escaped Sabrina's eyes, before she wiped them away with the back of her hands, inhaling deeply while trying to calm her raging emotions.

After she was calm, she bent to pick the gloves and slid her fingers into them; then looked at the pile of broken rocks that she was supposed to pack with a shovel and a wheelbarrow.

"Get to work, chica," A voice yelled directly behind her and she looked back to realize the men had been staring at her.

She nodded her head at them, not knowing who had yelled exactly, then grabbed the shovel and started packing rocks.

_______________________________________________

"Where's is she brother?" Maryam asked while pacing Jamal's office back and forth.

"There is no end to your impertinence, is there?" Jamal asked, not looking up from the documents in his hand; he wondered how fate could be so cruel to give him a half-sister who is this age.

For some reason, he did not understand that his half-sister always ended up with him, although he was the most aggressive and wicked of the Al Jazeerah siblings. Maryam had always preferred his company, and this was not something he appreciated.

"I do not know the meaning of that word, but I will do well to ask my English instructor, now where is Sabrina?" Maryam asked again, her hips perched atop the edge of Jamal's desk, her hands folded across her chest, and her mouth pouted.

"You look like a spoilt fifteen-year-old, with a bad taste in clothing and a much worse taste in friends, but why do you keep dressing like this anyway?" Jamal asked, his gaze returning to the file in his hand.

"My taste in clothes is great; it's not my fault that you are duller than dirt, always in black, when it's not that you are mourning," Maryam replied, admiring the costume she had chosen for the day.

She was dressed in a tight, flimsy yellow gown that hardly covered the top of her thigh with blue garters and a black belt across her waist; her hair was made in two ponytails and adorned with different colors of fashion rubbers.

With the way she was dressed, one would have never guessed she was the descendant of the most powerful family in the Arab Emirates, a princess to the throne.

"Did you just say I am duller than dirt?" Jamal asked his tone hard, a tone which indicated he was not joking.

"No, I...I did not mean it that way; I mean, you work all the time, then the next moment, you are getting into fights and shooting guns; I just don't want to lose you," Maryam said, her voice small.

Jamal could only shake his head at her tactics; she had switched from head-on attack to emotional blackmail, and her tactics were working just fine.

Jamal was not attached to anything or anybody; he would kill anyone who crossed him within the blink of an eye, and he had no use for women, but he had always had a soft spot for the impertinent child.

"So what do you want?" Jamal asked with a resigned sigh, dropping the documents he had been going through on his table; not that he had been able to understand a word since she entered the office; she had always been the only one capable of matching his wit and temper until he had come across Sabrina.

"Where is Sabrina?" Maryam asked gleefully, knowing she had won this round.

"I sent her back to where she belongs, she is not here anymore, Maryam," Jamal responded with finality while Maryam just stared at him with disbelief.