Tree of Pearls, Queen of Egypt

The Departure

 The Departure rukn al-din breathed a sigh of relief as he hurried to quit the oppressive mansion . On the way back to the Citadel, he reviewed all that had passed between him and Sallafa on this inauspicious evening. Now that he had met her in person , he well understood her legendary reputation at court, and he was forced to admit that he was not a little in awe of her. Moreover, he greatly feared for Shwaykar on her account, and he realized that his betrothed’s perilous situation had now become even more dangerous. Sallafa would surely seek to inflict yet greater harm on the defenseless girl. Perhaps she would even go so far as to. . . . Rukn al-Din dared not complete the thought that had half-formed in his mind. A shiver went through his body and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He now began to regret having so undiplomatically rebuffed Sallafa’s advances. What harm would it have done to play along with her, until he had managed to bring Shwaykar back to safety? He entered the gates of the Citadel and gained his rooms. The servant let him in, silently lit the lamps, and withdrew. Rukn al-Din wearily began to undress. Then his eyes fell upon Shwaykar’s open letter. He snatched it up and re-read it eagerly. This second reading affected him even more powerfully than the first, and he was overcome with deep compassion for her. He would not rest until he had found her, and he resolved to travel to Baghdad in person, for Sallafa’s threats were deadly and no one but him could be trusted to undertake such an uncertain mission. The call to dawn prayers sounded and he retreated to his bed seeking muchneeded rest, but the piteous image of Shwaykar filled his dreams and disturbed his sleep. The next morning, the messenger arrived seeking the promised reply to her letter. Rukn al-Din received him warmly and questioned him about the journey the departure |  to Baghdad. He had travelled to that city only once in his life, but was nonetheless familiar with its principal streets and quarters. He gave the letter for Shwaykar to the messenger and rewarded him generously in parting. “Do you then intend to travel to Baghdad, my Lord?” the messenger inquired. “God willing, my good man,” he replied, and dismissed him after having first ascertained the place in which he should find him in the imperial city, should he have need of his services. As for Sallafa, she was furious at Rukn al-Din’s vacillation, for she desired him with all her heart, and she had supposed that her confession would be enough to make him her prisoner. She had long sought an opportunity to declare her passion. She had marked how Tree of Pearls had deftly drawn him into her nets, once crowned Queen, and she had hated her all the more for it. She had also heard news of his engagement to Shwaykar. Her letter to Baghdad had thus been meant to kill two birds with one stone. News from Baghdad came to her regularly, and that very morning she too had been informed of Shwaykar’s abduction. She armed herself with this news and waited to confront Rukn al-Din with it, for she was determined that he should give up all hope of ever seeing the girl again. She had expected that he would eagerly respond to her advances, and had flattered herself that he would soon belong to her alone. She had set her heart on serving him and seeing him crowned Sultan of Egypt, with herself at his side, but she had been sorely disappointed . All her plans had succeeded except for this one vital thing. She had failed utterly to ensnare al-Din in her nets. Now her love slowly turned to hate, and she resolved to oppose him tooth and nail if he did not come to his senses and attempt to conciliate her. And now let us take leave of these Egyptian intrigues for the time being and move our story to Baghdad, Capital of the Abbasid Caliphs. ...