Shaherazade's Daughters

by Sameena K Mughal

With tha,t she was grabbed by one of the palace guards that was sent with the chief court physician.

  The other two were tying Mustapha’s and Shenaz’’s hands together to be taken before the sultan when the princess cried out, “Stop! They will come as you wish. You will not take them away as criminals.”

  The guards stood in shock for they had never heard Tahira speak in this way before.

  She jarred them out of their astonishment when she said calmly, yet authoritatively, “Do you dare disobey the command of the princess of this kingdom?”

  As the palace guards and the chief court physician quickly rushed the prodigal three onto horses, Tahira turned to look at the captain who gazed at her in shock and disappointment and turned away.

  By mid-afternoon, they reached the palace gates. Although the thought of facing her angry father was not appealing to her, she was not afraid. She had been transformed by her experience. She was no longer the sheltered princess but a woman of conviction. Armed with this conviction, Tahira could face anyone, even her angry father.

  Princess Tahira, Mustapha, and Shenaz were all placed before the sultan.

  “Take the servants away,” the sultan commanded in a cold, harsh way.

  Tahira placed her hand in front of Mustapha as the guard started to take him away with Shenaz behind him.

  “Father, promise me you won’t hurt them.”

  “You dare ask promises of me, child!”

  “All they have done has been in my service. They have done nothing but protect me.”

  “Protect you from what, child. Myself? Your mother? All that you could ever ask for at your feet? From what, I ask you?”

  “From any harm that could have come to me in Damascus,” she answered calmly.

  Even amid his rage, the sultan couldn’t help but notice the change in his daughter’s demeanor. He admired how her voice was steady and betrayed no fear. Now, she was ready to be ruler, he couldn’t help but think.

  At this moment, however, he wouldn’t go beyond the rage.

  “The fact remains, my ungrateful child. They have broken the law, and they must be judged accordingly. However since my sole concern is you at the moment, no harm will come to them. But do not doubt, child, that they will be judged. Now guards, take them away!”

  “Sayedi, please,” the sultana implored, “Calm yourself. This cannot and should not be a public tribunal.”

  “I did not intend it to be. Sultana, Princess, to my chambers!”

  Before Tahira could reach the door, her mother turned around and stopped her.

  “Wait here.”

  She knew that her mother had to placate her father before she faced him.

  After a short time, her mother led her to her father’s chambers. When she arrived, he was gazing out of a window with his back to her. He did not turn around when she came in.

  “Child, what have I ever denied you that you would run from me?”

  “Father, I wasn’t running from you. I just wanted to feel what it would be like to free and to go wherever I wanted to go without any hindrances. Do you have any idea what it’s like for a princess of this kingdom? To never be allowed to venture even in your own lands? One day, I will rule. A good ruler always knows the needs of the people. How can I know the needs of the people if I’ve never been among them?”

  “No, child, I could not possibly know what it’s like for a princess of this kingdom, but did it not occur to you to tell me what it’s like? You couldn’t have spoken to me about wanting to explore outside the palace? How many times have you and your mother spoken in Assembly? When have I not listened, even if I did not agree? Instead of speaking to me like a true sultana, you run away like a trapped animal!”

  She walked to him and forced him to face her. “Father, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t take the risk of you not understanding. My leaving was never about you or Mother. One time in my life, I did something for myself. Now, I can gladly spend the rest of it in service to others.”

  “And what were you doing on a battlefield! You can’t save yourself when someone’s cut your throat!”

  “Isn’t my life about service for my people even if it means giving my life! Father, I will not sit quietly on a throne and make decrees while a vizier whispers in my ear. I will always do what is necessary for my subjects and those I love.”

  “I should cut off your head for what you’ve done, but I can’t help but admire you. Now you know what it means to be ruler.”

  He threw his arms around her and said, “How I worried for you! Don’t you ever run from me, again, Child!” All the while lightly and playfully smacking the back of her head.

  That night, Princess Tahira did not sleep. She lay awake thinking about the whirlwind of events that occurred. The sultana convinced the sultan to release Shenaz and Mustapha. Although they still had to face judgment, she no longer worried for their safety. She kept picturing Hassan’s last look at her. How would she face him? How could she possibly tell her father how she felt about him? Could they even be together now? What of Haroun, the vizier’s son? She dared not broach that subject with her father so soon.

  The next morning, it was her father, himself who brought up her betrothal by proxy.

  “You must prepare for your marriage to Haroun,” he said, matter of factly, like he was telling her to wash her hands.

  “Funny, I don’t recall being asked,” she said sarcastically.

  “Princess, you should wait at least a few days before you try my patience,” he said.

  “He still wants to marry me?”

  “Power is the ultimate compulsion, dearest.”

  “No, I think that would be love,” she sighed.

  “What would you know of love, child?”

  Skillfully, she avoided the question, “When will my engagement take place? Or was that done while I was away?”

  “All praises be to Allah that you returned at such an auspicious time. Your engagement was set for three days from today and three days from today it will be.”

  At that moment, Tahira felt like the caged songbirds all over again. She could not think of what to do with her father in front of her. It certainly wasn’t the right time to tell him she had fallen in love. She wished she could talk to Shenaz, but she had to wait until after the judgment.

  The judgment was pronounced that afternoon. As Tahira expected, Mustapha and Shenaz were not punished for their unwavering devotion to her, even at the risk of their own lives.

  That evening, Shenaz found the princess gazing at the moon, contemplating the events surrounding her.

  “What will I do, Shenaz?”

  “We have three days, Princess. Mustapha has thought of something. Although, he won’t tell me what it is.”

  The princess spent another restless night thinking of the doom that lay before her. The thought of marrying a man she didn’t love when the man she loved her was so close was unbearable to her. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman had to marry a man she didn’t love, but she never imagined that for herself. She never even imagined love for herself but now that she had it, she didn’t want to give it up.

  The next day, Hassan walked down the corridor towards his audience with the sultan with such a weight of emotions that he thought he would fall over. The thought of the audience with the sultan, who he was once devoted to, filled him with such dread, when at one time, it would have filled him with such pride. Although the sultan was honoring him for bravery in battle and would offer him all he asked for, he could not ask him for what he really wanted.

  He was also angry with himself for loving and wanting what he could not have. What made him angrier with himself still was that he wanted to be with her forever but at the same time wished he never met her. All at once, a rational, pragmatic man had become irrational and emotional.

  He composed himself long enough to arrive before the sultan. After he bowed low to the sultan, his gaze fell on the red silk of the zenana. He recognized Tahira’s form and for the first time in h
is life, felt his knees buckle underneath him. He composed himself enough again to hear the sultan’s praises. Or at least, that’s what he assumed they were because he didn’t really hear them. He heard enough to know that he was to step forward and claim his honor: the jeweled sword of Captain Hakim, the greatest general in the kingdom’s history. At one time, Hassan would have been elated, but at the moment, he felt almost nothing. It was as if he was no longer in his body, that he was merely a spectator in someone else’s melodrama. When he felt that his misery was its height, he felt it climb even higher when the sultan asked him to attend the engagement of the princess. He respectfully declined, announcing that he would be returning to Damascus before the engagement.

  He saw a sudden shift and a gasp behind the red veil and knew it was Princess Tahira. It gave him a flash of hope because it seemed to him that she felt something at the idea of his departure. Yet this flash of hope left almost as soon it came when the sultan expressed disappointment that the Captain would not be in attendance at the engagement.

  What could be done? He would have still married her right then and there if the sultan allowed it. He bowed low to the sultan again and left the throne chamber. It took all his strength to walk away from her when she was so near him.

  As he walked back down the corridor, he struggled with himself to subdue his emotions when he felt himself being yanked by the collar into what seemed a wall that actually turned out to be part of another room. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he saw Mustapha’s face.

  “I should take what manhood you have left!”

  “It won’t change the fact that you left yours on the doorstep.”

  “How dare you?”

  “You’re allowing the woman you love to marry another without a word and you throw insults at me? At least, I have an excuse. What’s yours?” Mustapha said.

  “What would you have me do, Husam? Oh, excuse me, Mustapha. You’re so good at enacting dramas how would you have me end this one?”

  “That is what I dragged you in this room to tell you. I’ve known the sultan all my life, and I know that he is a fair man. He’s not a perfect man, but he’s a fair man. Request a special audience with him, and he will listen.”

  “And what do you propose I tell him? That I want to marry the princess even after he’s decided who she will marry? I’ll lose my head before I finish making my request! An engagement she never mentioned to me, I might add!”

  “It was arranged the day she left for Damascus. She had no say and she didn’t even know until I told her! She never deliberately deceived you. What would you have had her do? You have no idea what she was going through. Then, the news of the battle came. Was she to tell you then? You know she would have to stay out of sight or she would have faced real danger from the sultan’s enemies. But instead of staying in hiding what does she do? She risks everything to come to the battlefield to make sure you’re safe. Then, she saves your life. What will you do to repay that gift? Allow both of you to suffer for the rest of your lives?”

  “I didn’t think of how much she risked. I would risk the same for her love, but what can I do?” Hassan asked.

  “Request a special audience. Ask the sultan if you can thank the Princess because you were not given the opportunity on the battlefield. He allows people to address for that.”

  “Alright.”

  Mustapha led him out of the room and back down the corridor. Sultan Ahmed was finishing some business with the vizier when Hassan captured his attention.

  “Captain? You’ve returned?” he asked in a surprised tone.

  “Yes. I’ve returned to complete a rather important task that I’ve left undone.” he said, glancing at the zenana.

  “I neglected to thank Princess Tahira for saving my life.” I didn’t get the opportunity on the battlefield.”

  “Yes, of course. You may address her.” the sultan said.

  “Princess, I cannot repay what I owe you….but I’d like to spend the rest of my life trying.”

  The princess nearly jumped through the zenana.

  “Captain?” the sultan cried in an incredulous tone.

  “Sultan, allow me to speak if only for the service I’ve done for your kingdom.”

  “Speak quickly.” he said in a gravely somber tone.

  “Sultan, when I returned to Damascus from Constantinople, I happened upon three travelers. When I sat to dine with these three travelers, I thought to pass an evening. Little did I know I would change a lifetime. Little did I realize that one of the travelers would have such an effect on me that I would stand before my sultan risking his displeasure and possibly his wrath to ask for something that may already be out of my grasp.”

  “And what would that be, Captain?”

  “The princess’ hand. If you will allow me, and she will have me.”

  “How dare you!” the vizier shouted.

  “Leave us!” the sultan shouted to the vizier and the rest of the assembly.

  “But Sire, this matter concerns me as well,” the vizier responded.

  “And you will be the first I consult when I’ve sorted it out myself. Now leave us!”

  With that, everyone left the room with the exception of the Sultan Ahmed, Sultana Shirin, Tahira, and Hassan.

  “Captain, you ask for my daughter’s hand, knowing she had been betrothed to someone else? Even after your service to this kingdom, how could you even think…”

  “Your daughter risked her life, risked discovery out of love for me. How could I do any less?”

  “Princess, what else have you kept from me?”

  “Father, how could I possibly tell you after you had just forgiven me for leaving? I should have told you that I had fallen in love?”

  “And when did you plan to tell me, after I had done your engagement?”

  “What would you have had me do, Father? I had to fight just to leave this palace. How could I begin another fight so soon? Luckily, Hassan started it for me. Father, you want me to rule this kingdom. Allow me to rule my own life. Allow me to marry who I love.”

  Before the sultan could respond, the sultana told Tahira and Hassan, “Leave us.”

  “Mother…”

  “Leave us.”

  The princess went back behind the zenana, and Hassan went back down the corridor. Then, the sultana had a private audience with the sultan. No one ever knew what exactly the sultana said to the sultan.

  After what seemed like centuries, the sultan sent for Tahira.

  “Princess, you’ve learned so much more from your time away than I could possibly teach you. You’ve not only learned how to rule truly but how to love truly as well. You were willing to sacrifice everything for love. And you’ve shown so much spirit. How could I crush that spirit by forcing you to marry? I will allow you to marry who you choose.”

  That evening an engagement still occurred, but of course, the engagement was between Hassan and Princess Tahira. There was great rejoicing throughout the kingdom because Hassan was much admired by the people, and they approved of the new choice.

  The wedding of Hassan and Tahira was the most joyous, lavish spectacle the kingdom had ever seen.

  Later, the wedding of Shenaz to one of Hassan’s soldiers was a grand event. Mustapha saw to that.

  Years later, when Tahira, The Healing Princess, became Tahira, The Healing Sultana she became a most beloved ruler. Her sons and daughters accompanied her and Hassan to far off kingdoms. Together, they saw many wonders of the world. All free to enjoy their lives.

  The Voyage of the Maid

  A long time ago in a small kingdom in Yemen there lived a sultan with no heirs. The reason he had no heirs was because his wife, Sultana Fatima died before she could have any children. This grieved the Sultan so much that, against the advice of his vizier and nobles, he never married again.

  She was an extraordinary woman, the sultana. Along with physical beauty, she had inner beauty. She was well-read and used her intelligence in productive activities that s
erved the kingdom. She had traveled to the different kingdoms of the Far East with her father, the Sultan of Cairo.

  On one such expedition, she encountered the man who would be her husband and the future sultan of Yemen, Prince Ali. Since they were on business that was of importance to both kingdoms, they stayed on longer than they normally would. She observed him during the morning sessions with the vizier and nobles. She admired his dignified assertiveness. His manner of respectfully addressing everyone, even when his opinion was contrary to theirs, surprised and pleased her at the same time. Princess Fatima found him to be an enlightened man who believed in the inherent goodness and potential of all human beings.

  The defining moment for her, the moment she knew she never wanted to leave his side was when she observed him with one of the servants. Princess Fatima had been taking a walk when she happened upon them. Prince Ali was asking the stable hand if he was feeling better and if he had taken his medicines. Never in all her travels, had she seen a prince display such genuine concern for anyone, much less a servant. When Prince Ali saw her, he called out to her, “Princess Fatima!”

  She was standing in an open field, so there was nowhere to hide. Awoken from her trance, she managed to say. “Prince Ali.”

  “You’re walking alone, Princess?”

  She quickly recomposed herself.

  “Any moments I can take for myself, I take with great joy,” she responded.

  “You and I are of the same mind.”

  “Will your servant be alright?”

  “Yes, he will be fine. Praise be to Allah.”

  “I couldn’t help but notice your concern for him, Prince. It’s so refreshing to see a prince care for someone other than himself.”

  “A prince must care for others before himself.”

  “You’re the first prince I’ve ever heard say that.”

  “Sometimes, Princess even the simplest truths are hard to grasp.”

  From that day on, they spent more and more time together. Both their fathers noticed, but since they both approved of the match, they said nothing. When it came time for the wedding of Princess Fatima and Prince Ali, it was celebrated in grand style in both kingdoms.