“Zara, we must depart now,” Rashi spoke close to her. Looking up, she noticed her brother’s look of concern, his eyes
falling from hers to the baby in her arms.
“Of course,” she gulped as she felt the tears gathering in her eyes. A part of the captain was afraid to give up the child. Yet
deep in her heart, she knew that it was for the best. Their next step in the journey would not guarantee a nursemaid, and right
now this is what Fatimah needed. At least with Rachel, the girl would continue to feed and grow, and in time, when their
travel was complete, the seafarer could go to her brother and retrieve her child.
“Zara, we will be waiting for all of you in Aimeria. As soon as Fatimah is weaned, she’ll be able to travel with you. Until
then, I promise to cherish and protect her as my own,” his gentle smile held compassion in his voice. With arms outstretched,
he waited as his sister glanced once more at the babe.
“You will go with your uncle now, but soon, my daughter, I will come for you,” she whispered close to the baby’s ear before
softly kissing her temple. When she felt a tugging of her pant leg, she looked down and saw Nadrah’s tear filled eyes.
Kneeling down, she held the baby out, and the girl set her basket down before taking the baby in her arms.
“You be good, little mouse, and don’t get too big before I can see you,” the cabin girl whispered, then kissed the baby before
giving her back to Zara.
“Very well my brother, I will meet you again in Aimeria,” she nodded as a weak smile escaped her control.
“In Aimeria then, Zara, and may Allah bless your path,” his voice was low before turning away to join his wife and the four
guards that would accompany them on the last leg of their journey. As the soft sounds of Nadrah’s tears registered, the tall
Moroccan reached down and rested her hand on the girl’s shoulders. In silence, they watched as Rashi handed the baby to
Gabrielle in order that she could say her goodbyes. Once she handed the baby back to the bearded man, the blonde hugged
him and his wife before turning to join Zara on the dock.
“They’ll be safe now,” Gabrielle stated confidently as she waved to the young family who was boarding the new ship.
“Yes, once they are in Hispania, they will be far enough away from my father,” the captain’s monotone voice echoed. Only
when the planks were lifted and the ropes removed, did she turn her attention away. “We must…”
“I found it already, honey. Our ship is over there. Our packs are already stored in the cabin and they’re still loading
passengers. We should go and check in if we don’t want to lose our private room,” the healer smiled tenderly as she took
Zara’s hand, then Nadrah’s, and began to lead the way toward the vessel that would carry them along the coast for the next
leg of the
journey.
~~~~~~
“Gabrielle, why can’t I wear my own clothes!” Nadrah pouted. She didn’t like being a brat, wasn’t even accustomed to the
role, but right now, with the new light blue clothes, she felt that she had no other choice.
“Because Sweetheart, from this time forward, we have to look like pilgrims,” the storyteller explained as she put on her own
light blue clothes. As if they were filled with bugs, Nadrah scratched at the itchy fabric against her skin. With a slight scowl,
she crossed her arms and sat on the cabin’s bed, releasing a slight huff in the process. At this, Gabrielle glanced down at her
with a look of surprise, and a smile caused the corners of her eyes to crinkle. The blonde kneeled down in front of her and
lightly rested the palm of her hand over Nadrah’s knee.
“Nadrah, remember when we spoke on the ship leaving Tangier? Remember how I explained that once we reached Al-
Mahdiya and we switched ships, we were going to have to be very careful so that the Egyptians aren’t afraid of us? Do you
remember that honey? We have to dress like pilgrims so that they don’t think we are spies or trying to harm their country,”
Gabrielle’s soft voice tried to coax the deep-set frown from Nadrah’s face. But the Greek woman’s explanation only spurred
on the child’s foul mood, and the girl’s frown grew deeper as her scowl intensified.
“Now Nadrah, we have to be careful from this point forward. It’s only the three of us,” Gabrielle was instantly stopped when
the girl looked up at her surprised.
“FOUR!” Nadrah’s voice was louder than she expected as she corrected the healer
Gabrielle closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply, then opened her eyes and smiled down at the girl. “Four, I’m sorry Prasha.
You are such the strong, silent type that I overlook you,” the blonde spoke to the cat who was rubbing himself against the
storyteller’s leg. With a slight smile, Gabrielle scratched behind his ear, before returning her attention to Nadrah.
“Now that there are only four of us, we have to be very careful. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves and the best
way to do this is to look like pilgrims, which we are,” Gabrielle’s voice was softly soothing.
Nadrah was about to soften her stance, but at the feel of the coarse clothing against her skin, her brows grew deep and her
frown larger. “I’m not having any fun on this trip!” She declared just as Zara entered the small cabin. The captain glanced at
the blonde, then at Nadrah.
If the girl had been thinking clearly, she would have known that the ploy wouldn’t work on the captain. But Nadrah was not
thinking at all. The only thing that ran through her mind was how uncomfortable the new clothes felt. They weren’t soft, like
her Moroccan clothes, and they weren’t even pretty, like her clothes from Indus. Both the breeches and shirt were pale blue
and the cloth was scratchy. At this thought, the girl reached under her armpit and began to scratch.
“I hate these clothes!!!” She screamed as she jumped off of her smaller bunk, yanking her shirt off, and tossing it against
the wall.
“Nadrah!” Zara’s deep voice caught her attention. Looking up at the captain, she saw the woman moving towards her, her
towering frame looming above her. “Do I need to ask what is the cause of your disrespect toward Gabrielle?”
“I-I….” the girl suddenly lost her courage and lowered her head in shame.
“She’s not happy with the new clothes.” The Greek explained even as the girl absently scratched her tummy.
“I am not happy with them either, but I do not act rudely because of it,” she heard Zara say.
At the captain’s words, Nadrah sat glumly on her bunk. Her lower lip trembled. She didn’t know why she was acting this
way. A part of her didn’t want to be a brat, but she couldn’t help it. After a moment of silence, the captain continued.
“Since you don’t like wearing your clothing, when you’re in the cabin, you don’t have to wear them, but you will wear them
outside! And to remind yourself of how to treat your elders, you can stay here tonight and think of a proper way to apologize
to Gabrielle,” at the captain’s words, Nadrah’s eyes shot open as she looked up at Zara. Knowing that she would be missing
dinner, her stomach growled.
“Is that understood?” Zara asked again in a no nonsense tone of voice.
“Ahuh,” was all Nadrah could say as she stood up and took off her new breeches, then laid on the bed, her back to the
captain as she curled into a ball.
It had been almost a week since leaving Tangier and already the trip was beginning to wear on them. Although Gabrielle had
seen the normal moods of a child in Nadrah, she had never witnessed such outright brattiness from the girl and this took the
woman by surprise. But once Zara entered the room, it seemed like the matter was out of her hands.
“I should have thought to bring along something for the child to do,” Zara spoke softly.
“I’ll see if I can find some parchment to purchase. Are you up to resuming her lessons?” Gabrielle asked as she nibbled on
the morsels from her plate.
Thankfully they were able to purchase a cabin in one of the better ships that actually had a place where meals were served.
Unlike the simple transport ship that they took from Addâru Lbaydâ, the vessel they found in Tangier was specifically
designed to carry more affluent travelers. Although in the past she had traveled modestly with Xena, for once she was
grateful for Zara’s wealth. In between bites of food, she would take a few morsels and secret them away to the cloth that
was on her lap.
