Something Fairytale-ish

Something Mulan-ish Part I

Once upon a time, before the revelation of Islam, there lived a lovely girl named Huriyah. Huriyah and the rest of her tribe lived in Makkah which, at the time, was plagued with misogyny and female infanticide. As soon as Huriyah turned 12, she and the other girls her age were forced to attend a match-making session. It is here where our story begins.

Huriyah and Laylah stood outside of the stone building bedecked in their finest garments, as were all the other girls. There were about fifty girls, all waiting nervously for the match-maker to make her appearance. This was the day their fates would be sealed. This was the day that they would be evaluated and matched with the perfect man. This was the day where they would become nothing more than the bearers of the next generation.

"Aren't you excited about who you'll end up with?" Laylah asked Huriyah enthusiastically. Huriyah sighed.

"Not really. What's there to look forward to? I'm going to be matched with a man 20 years older than me and be forced to bear his children and slave away for his family. And if I happen to have a daughter, then my husband will bury her, because it's so shameful to have daughters, you know? So no, I'm not excited about who I'll end up with, I'm dreading it!" she exclaimed.

"But Huriyah, what other choices do we have?" Laylah asked sadly. "We live in a world where a woman's worth is determined by how many sons she bears!"

"I know, but still, surely there's another way for me to prove my worth!" Huriyah said.

"Like what?" Laylah asked. Huriyah was quiet for a moment.

"I could...write poetry," she said tentatively. Laylah snorted.

"And who would read it? The birds that fly in the sky? Not even our tribe chiefs know how to read, so what use would it be to write?" Laylah mocked.

"I could recite my poetry to those willing to pay me!" Huriyah insisted.

"Who would pay you?" Laylah asked. "You're a woman, no one would listen to you! Just face it, we have no other choice in this life except to get married and bear sons!"

Before Huriyah could retaliate, the doors of the building opened and a large and plump woman walked out. The girls went silent.

"Huriyah bint Hakim," she called with her loud and nasally voice. Huriyah sighed and began walking towards the steps of the building. As soon as she had entered, the matchmaker slammed the doors shut with a loud BOOM.

"Stand straight," the matchmaker commanded. Huriyah stood with her back rigid. The matchmaker began circling her, her eyes narrow and critical. She poked Huriyah's waist roughly.

"Ouch!" Huriyah exclaimed.

"QUIET!" the matchmaker shouted. She then muttered "Too skinny. Not good enough for bearing sons"

"Hey, I can hear you!" Huriyah said indignantly.

"YOU WILL REMAIN SILENT FOR THE REST OF YOUR EVALUATION!" the matchmaker screamed. She took a deep breath. "Sit," she commanded. Huriyah sat on the floor, where a rug was laid out. The matchmaker took her seat at the other side of the rug on a cushion. "Now pour the tea," she said, ushering at the tea set that was displayed on the rug.

Huriyah poured the tea. Before she handed the cup to the matchmaker, she asked a question. "Do I have to get married?"

The matchmaker choked on her own spit. "'Do you have to get married?' OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO GET MARRIED! WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU DO?!" she screamed.

"Not get married and live my own life maybe..." Huriyah replied tentatively. The matchmaker's face turned red.

"L-live your own life?! What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?" she shrieked, spraying her spit everywhere. She began to pound her heart. "I swear I can't handle this right now," she gasped. "Give me that!" she demanded before swiping the cup of tea from Huriyah's hands and downing it within a second. "More!" she said, holding out the now empty cup for Huriyah to refill. Huriyah took the cup from her hand and poured more tea. As she did that, the matchmaker, now calm, began to laugh. "Hear me young lady, and hear me well--you don't have a life to live. You only have a life to serve," she said.

"Serve whom?" Huriyah asked.

"DON'T ASK QUESTIONS!" the matchmaker shrieked. "But if you must know, you will serve your husband and his family," she said.

"What if I don't want to?" Huriyah asked.

"Then you can die and go to hell for all I care. I'm done with this. You may leave," the matchmaker said. Huriyah snapped.

"Okay, but before I leave, I must thank you for all your trouble," Huriyah said sweetly.

"Yes, you really do," the matchmaker grumbled.

"You wanted tea, right?" Huriyah asked. Before the matchmaker could respond, Huriyah dumped the cup of boiling tea all over the matchmaker's head.

"Y-Y-YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" the matchmaker screamed.

"Enjoy!" Huriyah exclaimed before rushing out towards the door, which she shoved open, startling the girls outside.

"How'd it go?" one of them asked.

"COME BACK HERE YOU WENCH!" the matchmaker bellowed from behind her.

"Horrible," Huriyah replied before running for dear life. The faces of the girls and townsfolk she passed were blurred. All she could see was her home. Oh how she wanted to go back home and curl up on her father's lap and act as if nothing had gone wrong. But she couldn't do that. Not after that mess she had just created.

As soon as Huriyah arrived home, she spent the rest of the day inside her house, anxiously waiting for nighttime to arrive. As soon as it had gotten dark and everyone had gone to sleep, Huriyah sneaked into her brother's room and stole some of his clothes, which she immediately changed into, then stole a bit of money and some food and water. She quickly left her house, making sure to shut the door quietly behind her. After making her way to the stable and calming the family horse down, she mounted it and quickly took off. She rode out of Makkah all the way into the desert, never once looking back.

"I'm sorry everyone," she whispered as she rode. "But I cannot live the life of a woman any longer."

A/N: WASSUP everyone! I know, I know, I haven't updated in a long time. I just didn't know what to write. And then I thought, you know what, I'll start writing and see where it takes me. So that's just what I did. I hope you enjoyed it. Please give me your suggestions, as I would love to hear them. Also, as you might have noticed, I love to add Disney memes to my stories because I'm a meme-lover, so if you have any funny Disney-memes that you'd like to see, send them my way!

That's it for now I guess. I'll try and update soon. Ma'asalamah!