Aladdin: The Thief of Aisha

Chapter 5

AISHA

Several days had passed since the last Prince visited to try his luck. I wished they would stop coming.

I looked out of the palace window into the courtyard and saw the stable boy walking one horse to the front of the palace. How I longed to ride a horse. Since the death of Mother, Father and the vizier forbade it.

I looked up. I'd heard a rustle by the door. Fatima, my lady-in-waiting, stood there. How long has she been there?

"Princess Aisha," said Fatima and bowed.

"Has another prince showed up unannounced?" I asked.

"No, my princess. The Sultan wants you to join him for breakfast before he leaves on his journey."

I let out a deep breath and jumped to my feet. Father and the vizier were going on an official visit this morning, I'd almost forgotten. "I'm coming."

"Ah, the moon that brightens the night," said Father as I walked into the dining room. "It's so good to see you. Did you sleep well, may I ask?"

I blushed and smiled. "Stop calling me that, Father. Yes, I slept well." Father sat at the end of a long table which seated a hundred people. The kitchen always brought out a large spread of food even though it was only Father eating. And only a few bites, at that. Boiled eggs, fresh oven-baked bread, cheese made from goat milk, honey-coated buns, jugs of steaming coffee and tea.

"You look troubled, my princess," said Father. "Is there any way I can make it better?"

I hesitated. "Father, can...can you ask the princes to stop coming? Not that they wouldn't make good husbands...it's just that I'll prefer somebody I know. Not at short notice. Marriage is forever—"

"Child," said Father, cutting me off. "Left to me alone, your wish is my heart's desire. But it's not. Enough of this talk. It's too early in the morning to think of things that will make foul the rest of your day. Don't worry, one day a prince that will capture your mind will show up soon." The Sultan pushed his chair back. "Now excuse me, I have to go. Behave yourself while I'm gone."

I picked up an orange, peeled off the skin and ate it piece by piece, my mind working on what to do. Maybe I should run away, or escape into town.

"My princess," said Fatima. "What troubles you? You don't like the food?"

I looked at Fatima, not sure what to say. Food was the last thing on my mind. I let out a deep sigh. "No, the food is fine." The hooves of the horses and their neighing drifted into the palace. "I wish I could ride a horse," I said out loud.

Fatima looked at me with a big smile on her face. "My princess, you can do anything you want. All you have to do is claim your independence."

I smiled. That wasn't true. I couldn't choose my husband.

"Princess, as long as you put your mind to it, you can make it happen," said the maid.

I looked at her with a dismissive stare; what does she know? "What are your chores for the day?" I asked.

"When I'm done washing and cleaning," said Fatima. "I'll go to the market with the cook to buy food items." Knowing that was my way of telling her to go politely, Fatima picked up dirty plates and headed for the kitchen.

My plan wasn't to ruin her day, but mine was already in the gutter. With no malice intended, I smiled as she left. I wanted to learn how to ride, but my father was so paranoid. Maybe I should get my own horse and start from scratch. But that would get Father very upset. What about me? Don't they care for my own happiness? Right there, I made up my mind.

Later that day after Father came back from his visit, I asked for a horse.

"Horses are dangerous," countered Father. "Why don't you get a chicken or a duck?"

I looked at Father and blinked. I opened my mouth to speak and struggled to find the right words. "What?...And...And yet you ride on one almost every day."

After almost an hour of attack and counter-attack, father threw his hands in the air.

"I give up!" said Father. "I'm sorry for the man who will marry you. He must be ready for long stretched-out arguments."

"You agree?" I asked, breathless, a tingling sensation spreading all over me.

"Yes, yes," said Father. "But you'll get to know the horse first before you start riding it."

The next day around mid-morning, the stable foreman sent for me. The Sultan wanted me to choose a horse from the lot they had purchased earlier that morning. I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in my room and rushed downstairs. I ran straight to the stables.

"Princess Aisha," said the stable foreman, bowing. "I present to you the finest horses in the kingdom. You can pick any horse you like from the lot, orders from the Sultan."

A white horse with big round brown eyes caught my interest right away. "That one!" I pointed at the horse.

"Are you sure, my princess?" asked the foreman.

"I am!" I walked closer to the horse.

It neighed, raised and shook his head, and took a step back.

"Easy boy," said the foreman.

I stroked the horse's neck. "It's ok. We are going to make a very good team." I opened my hand with the apple, and the horse took a bite, then it ate the whole thing. When it was done, it licked my hand, then licked my face. I giggled with laughter.

"Oh, he likes you," said the foreman.

Every day I would go down to the stable, brush the horse's coat and feed him apples.

"You'll start slow," the foreman had said. "Take him for walks first, and once you're used to that, then we'll begin the process of mounting him and riding him."

"I'm ready to ride him now," I protested.

"Vizier's orders, my princess," said the foreman. "He threatened to cut off my head if anything happens to you. I have a wife and four children at home."

I obeyed, and for three days did as I was told. Moreover, since Father gave me the horse, there had been a lull in the princes coming for my hand.

On the morning of the fourth day, Fatima rushed into my room. "My princess, come quick. Your horse!"

"What's wrong with the horse?" I asked as I dressed.

"Come with me to the stable."

We got to the stable, and I couldn't believe my eyes. My horse looked up when I walked in and then looked away. It lowered its head and just stared at the ground. "Can this be my horse? What evil has befallen it?"

"I've checked the horse all over," said the foreman. "There's no sign of injury. It can't be the food, the other horses eat the same thing, and they are all right." The foreman rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

I stroked the horse's neck. "What could it be?"

"I've only seen this a few times. It is rare," said the foreman. "If I'm right, the horse is homesick or grieves for its former owner."

"Grieves for its former owner?" I asked. "You mean a horse is...human?"

The foreman nodded. "Not human, but has feelings."

I remembered when I lost my mother, my spirit was down. If the horse felt the same, then I must act.

"Princess? What should we do?"

"Foreman, dispatch Father's messenger at once. The master of this horse must be found and brought here.