Something Fairytale-ish

Something Mulan-ish Part IV

"Let's hear your recitation," Harith said as he placed a scroll in front of Huriyah. Huriyah looked down at the scroll. It had a poem written on it.

Clearing her throat, she began to recite the poem. It was about a battle that took place between two tribes. Keeping her voice deep, she changed the tone of her voice in accordance with the events that took place. When depicting the battle scenes, her tone was rough, strong, and passionate. When depicting the deaths of leaders, her tone was low, hushed, almost revering. And when depicting the scenes of victory, her tone was jubilant. Harith listened to her very carefully.

"Not bad," he commented when she had finished. "You know how to change the tone of your voice when necessary. Your pronunciation is great too. It's just your voice. It's too...childish," he said. Huriyah was confused.

"Childish?" she asked.

"Yeah, childish. I think it's because of your young age. How old are you again?" he asked.

"I'm twelve," she answered.

"That explains it. I think for now we should just have you perfect your recitation. There's nothing we can do about your voice, but it shouldn't be a problem as you get older," Harith said.

"But if I can't recite, how can I be your apprentice?" she asked him worriedly. Wasn't his condition that she know how to recite, or at least be able to recite within a few lessons?

"You can still read and write. I'm not denying someone as rare and valuable as you simply because you're too young," Harith said. "I'm willing to wait until you're older. In the meantime, you'll perfect your recitation and write poetry." Huriyah grew excited.

"When can I start?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Today," Harith said. "Let's have you write some poetry." He grabbed a scroll, ink, and stylus and gave them to Huriyah. She immediately started writing.

3 Years Later

Huriyah was thriving in her new home. She bought a hut near Harith's home, where she lived with Lu'ayl and his two friends, Malik and Aasal. After catching him trying to steal food from another merchant, Huriyah had insisted that he and his friends live with her, so that she could feed them and care for them. She even taught them reading and writing so that they could have a brighter future. She had to admit, the three children were delightful to have around, and made her forget her loneliness. Lu'ayl always made everyone laugh with his crazy antics and hilarious jokes. Malik was very protective of his friends and Huriyah. Aasal was very sweet, and she always helped Huriyah around the house. Huriyah had grown to love them very much, and she couldn't bear the thought of leaving them oneday.

As for Harith, Huriyah walked to his house everyday to write poetry and perfect her recitation. She also helped tidy his place up whenever he got a client and was too busy to clean up. Sometimes Harith would take her with him when he had a client so that she could experience a poet's workplace. His recitation was beautiful and moving, and Huriyah would listen very carefully, hoping that her recitation would be as great as his oneday. He treated her very well and paid her generously too, especially after he found out that she had taken the three rascals under her wing. He would visit their home sometimes to play with the kids and see how they were doing. Huriyah found herself growing strong feelings for Harith, which was rather unfortunate because as a man she couldn't do anything about them.

Huriyah enjoyed her life very much. But as the days went by, she grew increasingly worried about her situation. As she grew, hiding her true gender became more difficult. Her breasts had already doubled in size, making it nearly impossible to bind them to flatness. Her voice didn't change either. In fact, it had only gotten more mature...for a woman. Harith was less than pleased.