Desert Rose III (Haruka NanasexReader, Arabian!AU)

Even from afar, the sight of the palaces’ golden dome managed to take your breath away.  You were born in this province, yet you never had the opportunity to marvel at the architectural beauty of your Sultan’s palace.

 Seated in the Howdah, you could hardly take your eyes away from the sparkling yellow roof, only marginally aware of your surroundings.

 This is how you missed the curious glance from beside you, as deep blue eyes took their opportunity to rest on your form, especially on your lips that were slightly parted in astonishment.  Those eyes owned a glint akin to possessiveness, yet remained calm at the same time; the knowledge of once claiming your mouth holding their owner back.

Some time spent in admiring silence, and the royal escort finally reached the palace.  It was even more beautiful from up close!

 Only now did you notice the intricate decoration it had, as you climbed down from the Howdah with the help of the prince, who  - with a sharp and meaningful look – made it clear to his servants that it was his role to help you down.

The moment your slippers met the sandy ground underneath you, servants from behind the palace rushed over to the royal escort to take care of the elephants.  One of them stood still before the prince.

”Your Highness,” he adressed him, giving a slight bow.  ”The Sultan already awaits your presence.”

Said Highness nodded, before turning to you.   ”Follow me.”

You slightly flinched in surprise, not quite understanding his order.  ”Y – your Highness, I don’t think that I shou - ”

”Just come,” he said, already going ahead.  At this, you remained rooted to your spot with apprehension, before following him.  The quick and short steps of his advisor was shortly heard behind you.  Out of curiosity, you cast a quick glance behind your shoulder, just to meet the elderly man’s eyes.

”Eyes afore, girl, and behave.  You’re in a palace now.”

You did as you were told, already feeling humiliated.  Your brownish robes and un – ettiquetted way of walking didn’t help, either.  It was obvious that you were an outsider, a peasant, and the uninvited gazes this visible fact attracted to your form almost made you turn around and leave.
 
Alas, this didn’t happen as you three, followed by two servants, suddenly entered an even more luxurious place, decorated with the finest furniture you have ever laid eyes on.  This again made you slow down, as you stared up ahead with an open mouth, awe – struck at the sight of the huge place.  

The prince in front of you stopped and only now did you see the lascivious throne before him.  On it sat a redhead who’s lazy grin only widened at the sight of his new guests.   By his headwear, you guessed him to be the Sultan.

”And here I thought the desert has swallowed you,” he greeted everyone merrily, whilst standing up from his throne and making his way to the prince.  The deep brown coat hanging from his shoulders was brushing against the floor.  

”We apologize, Your Majesty,” the prince’s advisor spoke up immediately.  ”Something... happened, along the way.”  You could feel his small, dark eyes on you.  

The Sultan blinked in mild surprise as he reached the prince and spotted your humble form inconspicuously standing behind him.  When you gazed back at him with a tint of uncertainty, the Sultan suddenly offered you a sweet smile.  ”And who may you be...?”

The prince took this as his cue to step in.  ”Don’t mind her,” he replied and the way his voice carried an overprotective tinge was hard to ignore.  ”She is a guest of ours.  Would you mind calling your servants to give her a bath and some appropriate clothes?”

You reddened at his request and subtly glanced down.  You knew he wanted you to change because you stood out way too much in an environment like this, and yet it still made you embarrassed and even somewhat angry.   Was it that much of a shame to be in the presence of common people?

The Sultan complied without a word,  but the tint in his eyes gave away that he had his own suspicion about you and your status being that of a ’guest’, and not – perhaps – something so much more.  Nonetheless, he raised his hands and clapped.

  Immediately, four servant girls appeared from somewhere behind his throne and stood attentive.   When the Sultan turned around to have a look at them, he grimaced.

”Where has she wondered off to now...?”

He clapped again.   ”Gou!”

Some seconds passed, before the fast sound of slippers hitting marble could be heard approaching.

 Then, a girl with long flowing red hair appeared from behind one of the curtains that no doubt hid countless passages.  Out of breath, she approached the Sultan.  

”Brother, you called for me?”

Just as she uttered her question, her attention shifted to the prince and you, having noticed that her brother wasn’t alone.   The Sultan nodded and raised his hand, pointing to you.

 ”I want you to escort that woman to our bathhouse and then dress her.”

The Sultan’s sister nodded, then turned to you.   When you didn’t immediately follow her, the prince turned to you as well.   His gaze signaled reassurance, telling you to go ahead.

  Thus you took a step forward and walked up to Gou.  When you did so, the four servant girls from behind the Sultan also started following you.  

Then Gou promised to both to his brother and to the prince that she will take good care of you, before turning around.  She disappeared in to the same hallway she appeared from and seeing how dark it was made you slightly falter, but feeling the presence of the four servant girls from behind urged you to pick yourself together.

When your little group vanished from behind vast curtains, the Sultan shifted his attention back to the Prince.  He hardly hid the mischief in his gaze, signaling to his friend that he expected a thourough explanation as to why he was so bold enough to bring a lady of your kind in to his palace.

 But the prince ignored this.  Instead he urged the non – verbal conversation to end up at a different subject.  

But his advisor had still his doubt about this whole incident.   Shamefaced, he apologised for the whole incident again.   To this the Sultan raised his hands in merciful understanding.  

”There’s no need to, really.  Your guest is also mine.  But enough about that,” he said, while turning around and walking back to his throne with the same amount of ease as before.

”For now let us just focus on our main reason why you arrived here.”

---

The road from the throne room to the bathhouse was awkward, to say the least.

Gou was ahead, walking in silence and not turning around, not even for a second.  From the way she acted before, you hoped she would be the kind, talkative type that would offer you some words of encouragement whilst enduring this humiliation.

  But as she marched on in the dimly lit hallways, you were already asking yourself if she may be just as stuck up as the prince’s advisor, deeming you below her, not worthy of her attention.

To make matters worse, you could hear the four servant girls behind you gossip from time to time.  They tried to be quiet, but their effort went in vain, as you could hear every word they whispered.
 
”...So, where do you think she’s from? She doesn’t look like someone the prince would have as a guest.”

”I say,  she doesn’t differ from those I see in the outer villages.”

”She must be from the outer villages!”

”Do you really think so?”

”Yes, Najwa is right! Who else wears clothes like hers?”

They went quiet after that and you felt your face heat up, ready to cry.   You felt their curious gaze on your back and never before did you wish to vanish from the face of the Earth as hard as now.  Oh, how you regretted leaving your village.

Just as a teardrop almost escaped the corner of your eye, Gou in front of you suddenly halted and opened a large double door made from deep, brown wood.

  ”We’re here!  Please, come in,” she said while sending you a smile.  Both her smile and the quick arrival to the bathhouse took you by surprise, but you tried not to let it show by giving a silent nod and hurriedly stepping inside.  

If one ever wonders why it was called a bathhouse, one shall know if they step inside here.   The whole place was huge!  White, marble walls greeted you and  - sure enough – in the middle of it all was a circular bath built in the floor.   You immediately felt the shift in temperature as the humid air engulfed your body.  

”You should hurry and take your clothes off, it’s really hot in here,” said Gou as she arrived next to you.   ”You could faint this way.  There,” she pointed to a secluded corner of the room.  ”You can change there, if you want to.”

You thanked her and took her up on her offer.  As you moved to change, you caught some glances from them here and there, still being curious about you.  You thought it wiser to just ignore the intrusive eyes, concentrating on getting undressed instead.  

Eventually, they got bored with you and their attention shifted to something else.  Namely, to the Sultan.

With your bare figure, you started walking back to them and heard them talking about him.
 
”I honestly don’t know why he’s waiting so long,” sighed Gou, while raising her hands to her hips.  She was currently standing knee – deep in the hot water, making her body get used to it’s heat.  ”He’s at just the right age to do it as well.”
 
The other servants girls were already naked, slowly pouring water from the nearby jugs on to themselves.   ”Maybe he’s just not interested?” spoke one of them.  ”He doesn’t seem like the marrying type.”

You listened with mild interest, hesitatingly standing before the pool.  Looking in to it, you saw your reflection glance back at you.  You casually dipped your foot in to it, making the anxious girl from the reflection vanish.  

Gou turned around at the sound with surprise.  ”Oh.  You’re finished.”

You couldn’t help but notice the way she quickly looked you up and down, making you slightly cover yourself with your hands.  What might she think of your body, you wondered.  You noticed the other girls staring at you from the corner of their eyes as well.  

Gou must have noticed your sudden drop in self – confidence and quickly apologized.   ”Please don't take it the wrong way.  It’s just that we never really saw someone from the village.”

You nodded, albeit not quite reassured.  And while the place itself was hot enough, you were starting to somewhat get cold and the hot water was already beckoning for you.  Thus you stepped inside the pool without waiting for Gou to call you.  Carefully, you followed the marble steps that showed you the path in to the pool.  

The moment you were deep enough for your waist to be submerged, the servants started making their way to you.  

”You should make yourself comfortable,” said one of them, pointing to a somewhat shallow area to sit down.  You did as you were told and sat down on the slippery, slope – y side.

When the servant girls started pouring water on you from the jugs they used before, you involuntarily gave out a cry of surprise.  Gou laughed a bit and moved closer.

”Again, I apologise.  But we have to get you clean.”

”Ah, no,” you stuttered back, as you felt one of the girls starting to wash your hair, ”it just surprised me.”

Gou smiled before making her way to the pool’s side, where you could see some little, mysterious bottles.  Analyzing them, she grabbed one before turning back to you.  

”We’re going to rub some oil on your hair and skin, if you don’t mind.  It will help keep your skin moisturized in the heat.”

You agreed, not really having any other choice.  The only servant left who was not busy washing you was given the task of rubbing the oil on you.  The strong smell of amber and jasmine overwhelmed your senses.  

”So, (Name), if I recall correctly...?” started Gou politely.  

”Yes,” you answered her, starting to enjoy the massage your scalp and back were given.

”May I ask about you and the Prince?” she asked, with eyes glinting.  You could sense the servants behind you being just as curious about that.  

”Uhh,” you started,  ”what do you want to know?”

She blushed with glee, having been given permission to ask about personal information.  ”I am really curious about how you and the Prince decided to get married.”

You suddenly blused as well, although for a quite different reason.  ”W – what are you asking? We’re not going to get married.”

The maroon haired Princess blinked confused.  ”Huh? Aren’t you his beloved?”

You didn’t really know how to answer that, without revealing the little secret you and the Prince shared.  You are his beloved but in a way that was quite unconventional.  And so you denied it, trying to act more embarrassed and confused.  ”I’m not!  Where did you get the idea?”

She slightly narrowed her eyes in suspicion, humming all the while.  ”I apologize.  It just seemed the way he acted so protectively of you mirrored that of a husband’s possessiveness over his wife.”

”You flatter me,” you started, and it took you a lot not to stutter at her clear observance, ”but you are mistaken.  I am merely someone whom he has some debt to pay off to.”

She remained a bit quiet, before answering with an ’I see’.  Though, the way she smiled at you at the end of her sentence made you think that she was far from believing it.

 And that was the moment when you were happy that your marks from him were already gone from your body, not having to worry about the servants or Gou to find the very proof of their suspicion.  

---

”I heard about the situation in your land.  I’m sorry you and your people have to suffer from this.”

The Sultan offered his condolences with a grim expression; all traces of playfullness gone with the change of subject.   The prince nodded and thanked him, his voice conveying fatigue.  His advisor was behind him, sunken in pensive silence.  

The three of them decided to talk things over in a more comfortable matter, sitting crosslegged at a round, moroccan coffe table not far from the throne room.  It was clear that the Sultan had built this for his more private – like conversations.  Not long after they sat down, a servant with a tray appeared and offered some kahve(1) to the Prince and his advisor, but both politely denied.

  They were too anxious to enjoy the rich, dark brown beverage, thus  it would have only gone to waste.

When even the Sultan denied from a cup of it, the servant nodded and disappeared back from where he came from and the Sultan continued.  ”Yet as much as I’m sorry about it, I can’t imagine how I could be of help to you.”

The prince’s face remained the same,  tired blue eyes staring back at dark red ones.  The advisor spoke up.

”Actually, Your Majesty, we would have a faint idea how you could help our land.”

The Sultan acknowledged him.   ”Go on.”

The advisor thanked him and continued.  ”If you would allow us, we would like to enter your land now and again to have access to your prosperous river near our borders.  Our people would stock up on the river’s water, just enough to be able to fulfill their basic necessities.  Furthermore, we would humbly plead you to let most of our children, women, the sick and elderly to stay in your land as refugees.  The drought is causing social unrest and violence over our remaining natural sources.”

The Sultan grew silent, carefully mulling things over,  not bothered by the relentless, neutral stare his friend has placed on him since he arrived here.

”I see,” he started after some time, ”but I would like to ask some questions first and I want you to tell me the absolute truth.”

The advisor glanced helplessly to the prince, who only nodded.

”Very well,” the Sultan continued.  ”Is there currently any disease sweeping through your land, other than famine and an aggressive yet understandable thirst for water?”

”No,” the prince replied without hesitation.  His Majesty continued.  ”And are there any severely ill views harboured by your people against my land, my people – or against me?”

”Rin!”

The Sultan blinked in surprise as the prince suddenly called him out.  He was sitting there, obviously worn out from his current situation, so him suddenly shouting was the last thing he expected from his quiet friend.  But it was clear – he had made him angry with his earlier sentence, that hinted at no more then a smartly out – thought attack.

Rin sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.  ”All right, I apologise.  But please understand that I have to make sure.  I will allow you to have acces to our river and I will accept refugees – but do keep in mind that I will also have to take care of my people first.  While the situation is not as dire in my land as it is in yours, this years aridity hit us just as bad.”

Haru closed his eyes, and Rin assumed that it was his way of conveying that he understood.  Or most probably, he was very tired.  

”We thank you for your help, Your Majesty,” said the advisor spoke and bowed a little.  As business was taken care of, the men grew silent, thinking some things trough, making sure they didn’t forget to mention anything important pertaining to this matter.

”Daher.”

The advisor behind the Prince perked up as he heard his master call his name.  ”Yes, Your Highness?”

”You can leave now,” the prince ordered, while he himself remained seated.  Daher bowed, even though the prince didn’t see him and left without a word.  As he exited the throne room, his face regained it’s displeased expression,  which was something he needed an unimaginable amount of effort to keep it unseen.

When the Sultan and the prince were sure that they were alone and out of earshot, the former spoke up.

”Haru,” he started with a quieter, more somber voice.  ”Tell me: what is this really about?”

Haruka glanced at him with faint surprise, not exactly sure what he meant.  ”It is what it is;  my land is suffering and we need help.  There really was no hidden meaning behind our request for help.”

”No,” Rin continued with a quiet chuckle, ”I meant your little guest.”

Haruka didn’t answer immediately and only shifted his eyes sideways, making his friend grin a little.  ”Don’t be so taciturn about her.  Aren’t I allowed to know who she is?  It’s not like you at all to take in strangers.”

”She isn’t a stranger.  I once made a promise to her and I’m only repaying it.”

He wanted to remain absolutely netral while talking about you, and to someone who didn’t know him, he might have gotten away with it.  But Rin’s keen eyes picked up on the way his friend gradually lost his trademark  composure  of calmness the moment they changed the topic to you.

 It was amusing to see how his friend took a sudden interest in the white Lillies painted on the coffee table in front of him.  Notorious for his teasing, the Sultan just couldn’t miss such an opportunity, when it was practically handed to him on a silver plate.  

With his grin showing off his sharp teeth, he suddenly leaned back upon mountains and mountains of silk pillows behind him, the movement somewhat exposing his naked chest.

”Say, Haru,...”

The prince listened, slowly raising his gaze to Rin.  The redhead waited until his blue eyes were on him, before suddenly asking him the question that entertained his mind for a while now.

”Have you found a wife yet?”

Haru flinched a little, the question clearly taking him off guard.  Rin tried not to laugh and pretend as if he didn’t see him react, opting to continue.  ”Because you see, I still haven’t found anyone suitable to be my wife.  No matter how many women I met, none of them really caught my interest...”

The Sultan had to force down a laugh, when he furtively glanced back to his friend, who seemed to be really tense at this new subject.  Still, he lazily raised his hand and started nonchalantly inspecting his coated nails, trying to ignore the way the prince was getting on edge.

”It’s a shame, isn’t it?  After all, not everyone can marry the Sultan, but the Sultan can marry everyone.  Speaking of everyone...,”

Rin let his sentence half – finished, and dramatically leaned forward, resting one of his elbows on the moroccan, unconsciously forcing his friend to snap his cool eyes to his maroon ones.  And thus Rin continued.

”...your little lady guest is the kind of woman I fancy.  Do you happen to know if she’s already taken?”

Haru should’ve sensed by the humorous and joking manner his friend conversed about this topic, that he was far from serious.  He should’ve known that someone of his status and serious personality wouldn’t marry just anyone he desired, much less a woman he hardly knew, with a questionable background to boot.

He should have known that this was Rin’s way of asking if he was courting you.  

Yet the usually calm and phlegmatic male did something unusual.  Months of stress, tension and worry made him snap and raise his voice a bit louder.

”Keep your hands off of her!”

The Sultan looked on surprised, as his friend seethed these words, before throwing back his head and letting out a loud guffaw.

”Simmer down, I was only joking!”

The prince glanced sideways, the thin line of his mouth still suggesting irritation.  When the Sultan finished laughing, he wiped a tear of mirth away from his eyes and spoke to Haru again.

”So I take it that she is to be your wife? ”

Haruka sighed.   ”What’s with you and this whole marriage speech?  My country is in a dire need of help, I don’t have time to think about marriage.”

”Is that so...,” mused Rin with an undertone of obvious entartainment, ”but you have time to take in strange women?”

The prince sent him a look, his cheeks slightly reddening; from both irritation and embarrassment.  He had half the mind to stand up and leave, when he suddenly caught your form standing shyly at the other side of the room.

In that moment, both he and Rin stopped suddenly.   Gou was standing somewhat behind you, with a pleased smile on her face, seeing how your new attire managed to enchant the two men.

  Because enchanted they were.  Your previous brown robe was now nowhere to be seen and instead a punjabi kameez (2) adorned your humble form.   You could only glance downwards as you fiddled with your  loose scarf, still not used to the male attention you got.

”So I take it you like it?” Gou asked with a cheeky smile, ”It was specially imported from Sapta Sindhu (3).”

Rin woke up from his stupor and grinned.  ”Well done, sister.  She looks marvellous.  One would think she is of noble blood, if not for her shy demeanor.”

You dared a glance upwards, your cheeks still as red as before, and looked at the prince who was still standing and staring at you, completely transfixed.  It was difficult to guess what he thought about your new look from his face alone, but the way he gulped nervously was enough indication that he liked what he saw, and very much so.  

Rin looked between him and you with yet another amused smile.  ”Well then,” he started, before lazily standing up, his jewellery jingling with his movements.

 ”I believe we discussed everything important and your lady guest has been taken care of.  My servants shall escort you out and make sure that you leave with enough rations for your journey back to your homeland.”

The Prince nodded and thanked the Sultan, before subtly indicating to you with his finger to follow him.  You did so, but not before turning back and quietly thanking Gou for her help to which she only beamed at you.

”Oh, do not thank me! I was actually enjoying helping you dress.”

Despite that, you thanked her once again before following the prince outside.

---

It was suffice to say that the sight of you all dressed up brought quite the opposite reaction from the prince’s advisor.  He was patiently waiting outside, in the shade of a tree, when the prince appeared at the entrance of the palace, ready to leave and you following him.

 His nostrils flared with indignation when he saw the fine, silk woven garment on your form, with your hair nicely washed and neatly braided, and even some jewellery enhancing your neck and ears.

He was about to walk up to the prince and tell him his piece of mind, when said prince silenced him with a warning glare the moment he was close enough.  

”Daher, tell our escort that we’re finished here and wish to go back home.”

The advisor hesitated for a minute, his eyes glancing to you, before flickering back to the prince.
 
”We...?”

”Don’t make me repeat myself.”

A breath of silence ensued, with you just wishing that you were out of the public’s sight. Though, the advisor bowed down, realizing that he crossed a line.  ”Yes, Your Highness.”

Once he was out of sight, the prince turned around, stepping closer to you.  Not awaiting his sudden proximity, you flinched slightly, making him frown.  

”...Don’t worry about him,” he started quietly, knowing just well whom he was talking about.  ”As long as you’re near me, no one will harm you.”

You looked in his eyes, which were smoldering behind the shade of  his turban, lookint at you with warmth.  It calmed you down and so you allowed a smile, to which he glanced sideways.

”It looks good on you, by the way.  ...The dress.”

”Thank you,” you said and couldn’t help but blush again.  You have never worn something like this before.  It made you feel a bit uncomfortable, yet you couldn’t deny the feeling of thrill as well, actually liking your new outfit.  

When the escort was ready to depart, a thought crossed your mind.

”May I have a request?”

The Prince, already positioned on the Howdah, looked down at you with mild curiosity, his hand outstretched for you.  Taking it, you were pulled up to him.  

”What is it?”

”I know this is silly to ask,” you started, biting your lip, ”but I have a donkey at home and we left him there unattended.  Could we just stop there so I could escort him to a close friend of mine?”

By which you meant the shopkeeper.  You were sure he would take care of Asim for you.  Explaining how you got there with the royal escort of a neighbouring country, however, would be quite the challenge.

Just before you could think about something, Haruka closed his eyes and nodded.

”We could bring him with us, actually.”

You blinked at him surprised.  ”W – we could?”

”I don’t see why not.”

You grew quiet for a moment, while watching the servants finish fastening packages and whatnot on the elephants.  One of them shouted the signal to go and with a jolt, the escort started.  

As you felt the gentle sway of the walking elephant underneath you, you spoke up again.  ”You know he would need to be taken care of.  He would need water, among other few things.  Are you sure I can trouble you with this?”

”I don’t care, as long as it makes you feel happy,” he answered promptly.  Then he started undoing his turban and closing the curtains around the Howdah.  Being finished with that,  he fell back against the pillows.

For a good few seconds, he just laid there with eyes closed and breathing serenely.  The circles under his eyes were still quite visible.  Suddenly, you felt quite sad for him.  He must be under a lot of stress.

He woke you up from your stupor by suddenly re - opening his eyes, setting them firmly on you.  You flinched slightly, having been caught staring at him.  You didn’t tear your gaze away from him, though, and he kept staring back at you just as passively, when suddenly, he raised one of his hands and lazily indicated with his forefinger for you to get closer to him.
 
”What is it?” you asked.  

”I want you to lay down with me.”

Suffice to say that later, your cheeks  - pressed against his taut, black shirt - were radiating with such heat, you were sure it had put the sun to shame.  You wondered if he could feel your warmth.

But by the way he buried his nose in your hair and neck made you conclude that he was more enthralled by the scent of you.

 Jasmin and amber.

You didn't regret accepting the oil massages.