A Desert Rose

Chapter 14 - The Date

Chapter 14

A beam of sunlight woke Aimee up the next morning.  For a few blissful seconds she was wrapped in that hazy place where one was not quite awake yet.  And then reality set in and the memories of the previous night came flooding back.  Before she knew it, she was smiling and a little giggle escaped her. 

This startled her into a more sober state.  Though it was an incredible kiss, she could not be falling for Zahir.  She was trying to get back home, not start a great love affair.  She pondered this while staring up at the ornate ceiling.  She had to admit, there had been sparks between them right from the start.  She just discarded it in her head and cast the thoughts of a romantic relationship with the handsome prince into the realms of the ‘highly unlikely’.  

Still here she was, married to someone who would never have chosen her willingly as a wife.  These thoughts were not pleasant ones, which led her to her next order of business.   She reached over to extract the shiny new phone from underneath her pillow.  She needed to send Marc a coded message. She was worried that they could monitor her activity and she didn’t want to risk it.

Soon after Sheena marched in to help her get ready for the day and announced that breakfast was served in the Solarium.  Aimee was relieved to hear that Zahir had already left for the city so she and Shiran chatted over coffee and cakes.

“So my brother asked me to take you shopping today.  He says that you have need of a few things and have not been to one of the shopping complexes in Riyadh,” Shiran stated matter-of-factly.   “You are in for a treat!  We’ll make a day of it.”

Aimee almost dropped her cup.  Trust Zahir to not let anything slide.  Besides, she has never been the type to wander aimlessly through shopping-malls.  She was about to graciously reject the offer but then it occurred to her that she had nothing planned for the day and she did in deed need a few things.

“All right, since I don’t have a life anymore I guess we can go pick up a few things.”  Aimee could not help the little jab.  She resented the prospect of having nothing to do the whole day.

Thankfully Shiran did not notice her sardonic mood and soon arrangements were made to leave straight after breakfast.

Three white cars were waiting in the courtyard when Aimee, Shiran and Sheena walked out half an hour later.  Aimee didn’t realise the shopping expedition came with an entourage and stared at all the people lined up to accompany them.

Omar stepped forward to give a slight bow.  “Salam Your Highnesses, Zahir assigned me to escort you to the city today.”  He turned and waved an arm to the waiting cars, “shall we?”

Two guards and Omar took the first car.  The second was for her, Sheena and their driver.  The third was for Shiran, and two more guards.  Omar explained that they did not allow members of the same royal family to travel together in one car for security reasons. 

Aimee didn’t argue.  Instead she was staring distastefully at Sheena who looked like a black ghost covered in a Burka.  Shiran had chosen to wear a colourful Hijab and Aimee had a dark purple scarf tied around her head.

When Sheena had tried to dress Aimee in a Burka twenty minutes earlier it had been met with a resounding ‘over my dead body.’

The ride did not take too long and soon they were exiting the cars in front of the elaborate golden gates that marked the entrance to the mall.  Omar led them inside while the cars drove away to be parked.  Three men would stay with the cars while Omar and two others accompanied the three women inside.

Aimee wished she had known it would be such an operation just to shop, but this was her first trip outside the palace walls in two weeks, so she wasn’t about to complain.