Twenty-One

 

Anahita couldn't stop laughing. "Why would anyone want a jewelled garden? Why not plants? Trees for shade and flowers for scent...precious metals and jewels have no scent!"

"Plant do not grow underground, you see. Most plants, anyway. There are mushrooms growing in one of the lower caverns, I believe. They fetch quite a high price in the markets, or so I'm told."

Anahita knew little about mushrooms, unless they found their way into her food. "Are you sure you're not a mushroom merchant pretending to be a prince?" she asked.

The frog drew himself up, and bumped his head on the lip of the water bag. "I assure you I am the Prince of Tasnim, and as such, it is my business to know as much as I can about my city and how to help it prosper. The mushrooms have a terrible smell, and must be kept away from where people sleep, or they complain. So the mushroom caverns are surrounded by store rooms."

Anahita couldn't imagine her father knew as much about his own city as Philemon knew about Tasnim.

"What sort of prince tells his people where they can live, or grow mushrooms? I thought there were advisers and officials who took care of such things," Anahita said.

"My father was more lenient about such things – letting people choose for themselves, and move if they needed to, but the city is more populous now, or it was, so after numerous cases where I had to judge in favour of one or the other of the city's residents, I assigned an official to take care of things." He hesitated, before continuing in a rush, "One of my concubines, if you must know."

"A woman holding office in a city? How is this possible? Surely no man would accept the judgement of a woman – and a concubine, at that!"

He made a sound of disgust. "Tasnim is not like other desert cities. Our women are not nothing. Tasnim was a garrison city, and some of the garrison were women – some say the fabled Amazons from the east. They fought and died like men, and were accorded the same citizenship when the city became a sovereign principality, no longer beholden to the fallen ancient empire who had brought together soldiers from such distant parts. My own great grandmother ruled as Princess Regent until her son came of age to claim the throne as his own.

"Rahat was one of the women given to me, who did not wish to remain in the harem. I believe she ran her father's household before she came to me, and after listening to several days' petitions, she informed me that I needed to do something about regulating my city. And she volunteered for the role. Any citizen of Tasnim who had a problem – man or woman – with her judgements could still appeal to me, but I cannot recall a single time that I judged against Rahat. She was terrifying. I found out much later that the decision to hand her over to the city to pay for the hospitality of her father's caravan was hers – and that her father was most upset when he discovered it."

Now he'd piqued her curiosity. "Did she not have a husband?"

"Actually, she did. She was quite partial to a particular kind of pastry that one of my palace cooks specialised in, and she married him. I gave her a set of golden bracelets as a wedding gift. She wore them always, and the clinking sound of them terrified many, I am told."

"You allowed your concubine to marry your cook?"

The frog waved his hands emphatically. "She was never truly a concubine, not in the way you mean the word. And she was a city official, a citizen, mistress of her own destiny. I could have challenged the marriage, but only if I'd wished to press my own suit and marry her instead. Rahat would have turned me down flat, in any case."

"What of her father?"

The frog shrugged. "He surrendered her to me, along with any right he had to decide her future. Unwillingly, as it later turned out, but by that time it was too late. Rahat made sure of that." He smiled. "To the enduring benefit of Tasnim, I must admit."

"Who lived there? Aside from you and your concubines-who-weren't-really-concubines. And your cook."

"Merchants, mostly. Men who used their share of Tasnim's wealth to go into trade, financing caravans who were entitled to the hospitality of the city at no charge, because they were owned by the city's merchants. Women who chose to marry men in the city, rather than leave the city and risk falling into the hands of a husband who would not be as civilised as the men of Tasnim. Others chose to go into business on their own. I believe the mushroom merchants were two sisters, come to think of it."

"I would like to visit Tasnim. It sounds...nice." An impossible dream is what it sounded like. And yet...from Philemon's words, it sounded very real. She needed to see it with her own eyes to believe such a place could exist. Where women could choose...

"When you visit, you will stay there as my honoured guest," the frog promised.

Oh, she wanted to believe it so much. "And what if I do not wish to leave?"

The frog spread his arms wide. "Then you will need to find a way to earn your keep until you attain citizenship. Take up a trade, perhaps, or marry one of the city's citizens. The men of Tasnim value a good cook over a pretty face, for beauty fades." He held up his hands in supplication. "Not that you have anything to worry about. A plain woman such as yourself could never be considered just a pretty face."

Plain. If even a frog called her plain, there was no hope for Anahita. Of course, she knew her beauty did not compare to Maram or some of Father's more favoured wives, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

She had nothing to offer Tasnim. A plain face and no skill at cooking. As for a trade...all she knew how to do was hunt.

"Is there a place in Tasnim for hunters who are good at hawking?" Anahita asked.

"The mews in Tasnim has been empty for as long as I can remember. No falconer could keep the birds happy in an underground city, I understand. The job is yours, if you wish it."

For a moment, hope blossomed in her chest. A life with only her birds to care for – no husband, no harem, nothing but hunting. But her father would never allow it.

But if he did not know...believed her happily married to some sheikh...

Then and there, Anahita made a vow to herself. She would help the frog break the curse – even if she had to enlist Maram's help to find and persuade the enchantress to do so – and make Tasnim her home.

She would finally be free.