The morning light bounced off a small arrow; as it whizzed through the bare training grounds swiftly. Reaping a hole in his jubbeh, nearly missing his arm. Piercing into the ground before him. He looks back, drawing his own arrow and shoots it in the direction of his attackers running towards another tree. "Keep up!" he shouted to his opponent, who was trying to keep up.

"Malik, we should stop now. We have been training for nearly an hour." Hassan, almost breathless, joins him. "I told you to stay behind." Ali peeps but the high shrubs blocked his view."I could not leave you to sneak around alone." Hassan takes a water pouch from his waist galloping its contents greedily.

"We could train in the palace and not have to hide in disguises..." He scolded taking another heavy sip. Ali looks at him, annoyed by his nagging. "You pick them, then you complain!" Ali reasoned softly not to give away their position.

Hassan wipes stray droplets from his thin moustache "I mean, look at you, Malik, you remind me of..." he trails off, unsure what to say. "Your father will surely have my head!" Ali, busy planning his next move, totally ignored him. "The palace training is nothing like this. Here people treat me as an equal, not their fragile prince." Ali absentmindedly replied. Crawling to the nearest shrub he noticed the protruding heads grow nearer, and retreats back to the tree, "Well they do not know who you truly are." Hassan reminded him, but it made no impact. He throws a pebble and an arrow comes flying, "That is why I prefer training here." Picking it up, he emerged, surrendering.

~~~

On the other side of the city, in another training arena, one hidden beyond the mountains of the southern border, where a rebellion was brewing. A match was being held between two people marked by colour: blue and green.

Drumbeats mark the start of a brawl. I tightened my green scarf and drew my curved sickles, clanking them together to signify my readiness. Mina took her position, with a sword on the right and a shield to the left.

We met at the centre of the large circle formed by other rebels, who were busy chanting our colour codes. Hot sand burned through the paper like the soles of my worn-out sandals, reminding me of the true purpose we were training for.

From nowhere came a sword, alerting me to the fight. I caught it with the back of my left sickle. My right, going for her arm, but I was blocked by the shield. I pushed against my weapons, making Mina take a staggering step backwards to maintain balance.

I withdrew my left, aiming for her head. The clean blade sliced through the air as she ducked, swiping her right leg across my feet, sending me flat on the ground.

I rolled over, taking a handful of hot dust; before it could burn me, I threw it in her face. Regaining my footing, I struck her on the head with the hilt of my right sword enough to bring her down, the crowd went crazy. Some cheered, while others threw sandals and pebbles.

I turned around and held up my hand, encouraging them. Just when I thought victory was mine, a small knife pierced the back of my arm. I looked over my shoulder as she painfully struggled up; even at her weakest, her aim was impeccable. I knew the rules very well; The match could only end if one of us was rendered unconscious.

Instead of knocking her cold, I dropped my weapons, lending her the other hand to get up. The crowd jeered, as I helped her walk to a small camp outside the arena. She loosened her scarf a little, revealing her angry face. "What are you doing, Manal?"

"Helping you, of course." Guiding her to one of the tents where we left our belongings, I could tell her vision was blurred from her squirted eyes.

"You should have continued with the brawl. You know the rules." She scolded me for taking her hand from mine once we were in it. "Why waste time if I already won? Besides, we should be getting back. "She steadily took her bag from a small bench on the farthest corner as we sat down."

After going through it, she took out a bottle of green fluid and two small cups. Pouring some in each one. "Drink up, it helps with the pain." She commanded, handing me one while she galloped the other, before shifting to examine my arm.

"I am sure no one will miss me with all the preparations." Mercilessly, she pulled the knife out and started to dress the wound. I swallowed back the pain, biting on the cup as I slowly drank its pungent contents. thinking back to the past years.

The Queen's ascension marked a change in many things. The northern kingdom continued to deteriorate with the plague after Hussein's death. Rayna too became sick and was in no shape to lead. Some said she became mentally ill; others thought it was just the grief. People feared hunger more than disease. Slowly, they started to relocate to other places after the burial of their king. I vividly recall the day Khawla's cousin arrived; she frequently told the children horror stories. Three years after the plague, on a hot afternoon, news of Ryan's death filled our ears.

"The poor dear; orphaned." were the only words Khawla could master after receiving the news. Then there were the rumours that were spreading. Aisha, now the northern queen, was the first to send the prince an invitation. Everyone despises her now. The grief of losing her father changed her entirely. She became just another pretty poisonous face on a throne. To think she was the expected queen of Madiyan was dreadful.

The young prince had finally come of age; soon he would be crowned prince of Madiyan. Terminating his father’s regency and the start of his reign on the Madiyan throne By the law, he would receive invitations to every kingdom with an eligible princess. Then only six of them would be selected. The prince was supposed to visit all six kingdoms. On the return journey, the expected prince was to choose a wife, with whom he must be engaged on his birthday.

So, practically, the celebrations were grand; a coronation plus an engagement party only a month away. People knew it would be Aisha. Though her competition was tough, none stood a chance. "Precisely why should we be back early? You have fragrances to make and I have meat to deliver. " I announced, snapping out of my thoughts. A furious Talib barged in after tying my bandage.

"What was that? Both of you! It's a brawl, not a friendly match! " Mina shook her head in guilt, her nervousness so obvious. She parted her lips, wanting to put out a defence when I blurted out. "Oh, Talib, we were just having fun."

"Fun! This is war! "You women are useless. From now on, you two will only do chores." The oldest phrase was being used once again. I knew it angered Mina a lot. She always says a woman is more useful than a man. However, these thoughts would only remain between us; because they challenged the rules and cultures of the land.

"But Talib, you said all women are to have self-defence skills just in case." Mina stood up, challenging Talib. "Yes, every other woman will, just not you two." Quickly, I gathered our bags, haphazardly packing everything up. I had to get her out of here, lest she gets us into huge trouble. "Come, Mina, let's not waste time arguing." I grabbed her hand, dragging her away. Talib regarded us as we left the tent.

The journey back to town was short, given all the shortcuts we used and the conversions we had. Though they were more like arguments than conversing, I liked how passionate she was. Her reasoning and deductions were very sophisticated. For a woman, let alone a slave, to talk like a wazir, I found it fascinating.

The streets were full of visitors from across the kingdom. Everyone wanted to be a part of the events. Most of them were traders looking to profit from it, others were just loyal citizens who wanted to witness history being made.

We finally arrived at the meat stand just in time for its opening.

"Manal!" Before I could say goodbye, Khawla's strong voice boomed, and I ran off, forgetting entirely about Mina. "You know what? I had to reheat my flatbread and tea today! " The moment I arrived at the stand, she started blubbering. "All thanks to your carelessness." For that, I have asked all the help not to come today. You will do everything."

Khawla was not like the other women. She inherited her husband's business when she was very young. Her experiences in the business world toughened her up. In addition to working alone, she made me do all the extra unnecessary work. By the time I finished, I could barely stand on my feet. Though I never really finished everything, I always assumed that I had since I was tired. Earning myself ten slashes of the whip.

All the while, Mina, whom I left stranded on the packed market streets, made her way back to the castle. She walked casually among the crowd, whispering a quiet prayer of invisibility. Somehow, from the corner of her eye, she noticed an aged woman staring at her. By the looks of it, she was just another commoner, buying goods in the market. Her veil covered half of her face, making it difficult to recognize her. Mina looked away, pretending not to see her, but her gaze persisted.