Notes to the chapter8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtv3GResEA
Eagle of Saladin - the coat of arms used by Saladin and now used by Egypt, which was then part of his dominion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_of_Saladin).8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLlzP5oImR
Bakhoor - natural incense that is burned to produce aromatic smoke.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPX5Fhc6ckE
As-salamu 'alaykum wa-rrahmatu -llahi wa-barakatuh - "Peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of God and His blessings" (Arabic).8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGTogWVvdj
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Anzhelika, Kamal and Tahir's guards rode slowly, sometimes chatting about this and that, and sometimes the conversation died down and the girl became immersed in her thoughts. The most exciting speculations were about meeting Salah ad-Din. Anzhelika thoughtfully ran her finger over her lips, squinting. "I wonder what his eyes are like?.. And his figure?... And..."
"And what do you think," one of Tahir’s guards, a young guy, turned to his fellow travelers, taking a sip of water from a wineskin, "why is Jerusalem called ‘golden’?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKFGSidmrF
"A lot of money goes through it," the older guard muttered. Anzhelika chuckled.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnDpuzGII5
"Jerusalem is a holy city of three religions," another man of about the same age objected. "That's why it's priceless."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZcDixVmd8
"Jerusalem is built of golden stone," Kamal said, squinting. "At dawn, in the morning rays, it seems golden to the traveler."
Anzhelika had never been to Jerusalem in her own era, and she even didn’t want to, but Salah ad-Din’s Jerusalem interested her very much.
They stopped for a rest at a small oasis. Digging through her saddlebag in search of something to chew on, Anzhelika remembered Takhir: a good-natured, pleasant man, it would seem that she had met many like him in her native century - both at home, in Russia, and in the East. And yet, he was apparently against his son marrying a servant, even though he was not a beggar. This was unusual. Anzhelika wondered whether her recommendation would help the lovers or not.
The girl broke off a piece of the flatbread, looking absently across the calm water. She remembered her trip to Saudi Arabia in the recent past - or, so to speak, in the distant future. Anzhelika and her Saudi friends arrived at the similar oasis by jeeps; they sat by the water, sipping soda from plastic cups; soft music was heard from the car... Before the return trip, the boys set out to cross the dune, and Anzhelika squealed happily, sitting in the front seat, while the jeep climbed up the sand.
...They arrived at Jerusalem already in the evening. The closer to the city, the more often they encountered travelers on the road - horsemen, carts, caravans. Occasionally small detachments of warriors in oriental armour hurried past on horseback; Kamal exchanged brief greetings with some of them and asked if all was well.
Finally, the walls of Jerusalem appeared from behind the hill, towering over the valley - tall, thick, and truly made of golden-beige stone blocks. At the top of each tower fluttered a green banner with a golden eagle. Anzhelika remembered where she had seen such an eagle before - on the flag of Egypt in the 21st century. A noticeable number of horsemen patrolled the city around, and people were also visible on the wall. Kamal and Anzhelika said goodbye to Tahir's guards and headed towards the city.
At the gate, Kamal greeted the guards as if they were old acquaintances.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCDqYKc2Qh
"Where have you been for so long, brother?" one of the guards asked curiously, while the others were secretly looking at Anzhelika.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxtk6agAZN
"A lot of places, Abbas, I'll tell you later," Kamal responded.
The friends rode into the city without dismounting. They had to significantly reduce the speed, since the streets here were not only mostly narrow, but also filled with people scurrying here and there, on foot and on horseback - more often in oriental clothing, but sometimes in European too. "Traffic just like in Moscow," thought Anzhelika, carefully guiding her horse after Kamal and looking around with curiosity. People were chatting animatedly, laughing, arguing in different languages, street vendors were slowly walking with knapsacks and jugs, offering food and water in lively voices, children were running back and forth, screaming deafeningly... The low houses made of light stone had their windows and sometimes their doors wide open, and the smells of bakhoor and fresh bakery could be smelled from there. The housewives sat here and there by the porches, doing various housework.
"Over there is Al-Aqsa," Kamal pointed to the large mosque towering over the buildings, its gilded dome glittering in the rays of the setting sun. At the top of the dome was the emblem of Islam, the crescent moon. "Our kind Sultan wanted to free it for many years... And finally Allah blessed him for his plan."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipynIji8Zy
"I know," Anzhelika nodded and added, looking at Al-Aqsa: "It’s beautiful – like a dream come true."
Kamal looked at her thoughtfully and touched the reins. The friends turned onto a wider street and soon rode up to a fairly large house. The teenage boy sitting on the porch looked up at Kamal with joy and rushed to help with the horses. The friends dismounted and entered the house.
While the servants were busy with the new arrivals, Anzhelika looked around with curiosity. Kamal's furnishings were definitely more luxurious than Tahir's: silk curtains on the windows, carpets on the walls... The girl curiously touched one especially luxurious dark blue rug with silver embroidery with her finger. The rug did not disappoint and turned out to be very soft.
"Camel wool," smiled Kamal, who was sitting on the sofa while the servants were setting the table. Anzhelika, smiling, sat down next to him, and the guy continued: "After dinner I'm going to the Sultan, but if you want, I can introduce you to him tomorrow."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6r15xbtZxE
"No-o," Angelica drawled, "take me with you."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oYLxylhn9
Kamal raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdILxaynxj
"Aren't you tired?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLVi7njXG5
"I'm incredibly tired," Anzhelika admitted, "and I still don't want to put it off."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpN087a3nNk
"I... think the Sultan will appreciate it..." Kamal drawled with a strange expression on his face, and the girl smiled modestly.
The friends began to eat. Kamal looked at Anzhelika and thought how amazing her thirst for life was, and how amazing fate was, which had brought them together so suddenly. Anzhelika absentmindedly tried everything in a row, giving credit to her appetite that had flared up on the road, but her thoughts wandered far away and all concerned the future meeting with the Sultan.
Ruweida, a maid of about fifty, offered Anzhelika a plate of sweets, saying sympathetically:8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlyD9EoBxv
"Eat, Lady, you're so skinny."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKpabSAApo
"...But many people like me," Anzhelika thought, but of course she thanked her out loud. A slight smile touched the corners of the girl's lips, and Kamal, casting a quick glance at her, leaned his face to his plate again.
After dinner, Anzhelika went to the room assigned to her, and Ruweida prepared everything for her bath. The water in the tub was quite hot, but not scalding - just right to be pleasant, so the girl melted in it and almost dozed off. But she still gathered her strength, washed herself and got out. After drying herself, Anzhelika happily took a new silk dress out of her travel bag.
"Our master has been away for a long time," Ruweida said, tightening the laces on the girl's thin waist. The girl heard curiosity in the woman's tone.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl30UHydVn9
"He worked," Anzhelika explained briefly, looking at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall. "Kamal is a very hard-working person."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSnvPtrQOi
"And a wonderful master," Ruweida added. "Pious, kind, devout... However, he is already thirty-one years old, and he still has not been married," the maid looked slyly at the girl.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNbGc6shBI
"Such a wonderful guy will definitely find someone someday," Anzhelika twirled in front of the mirror, stroking her soft, thin and smooth dress on herself. It hugged her figure carefully, like a gentle sea wave. In the reflection opposite, despite the fatigue, curious green eyes sparkled playfully. There was about an hour left before the meeting with the Sultan.
When Anzhelika and Kamal left the house for the palace, the sun was already setting. However, there were no fewer people on the street - and perhaps there were even more. The friends rode through the streets to the huge palace, decorated on the dome with a flag with the already familiar eagle, and went up to the porch. Kamal exchanged a few words with the guards, and the gatekeepers standing there opened the doors for them.
"What a service," thought Anzhelika, following Kamal onto the carpeted floor under the high vaulted ceilings. The friends entered a large hall with many columns that holded the ceiling, and the girl turned her head from side to side, looking at the rich draperies with fringe, the sofas upholstered in silk, and the windows with stained glass. The multi-colored glass colored the setting sun in green, blue, orange tones and cast cheerful bright reflections on everything around. And everywhere there were multitudes of people - mostly men, dressed in colorful silk robes and turbans, with many rings on their fingers - standing, sitting, talking, sipping sherbet from cups. Many of them turned and watched Anzhelika with approval and curiosity. Anzhelika walked, looking around with feigned modesty.
Kamal called out to one of the maids and led Anzhelika into a spacious empty room.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoCHn5lVbd
"Wait for me here," Kamal said, "I'll have a little chat with the Sultan and then come back."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7NZo8nuHC
"No problem," Anzhelika responded, settling down on the soft sofa. The maid, who had entered after them, came up and placed a cup of sherbet and a plate of sweets on the table in front of her. Kamal went out, the maid lit the candles in several large silver candlesticks and also left, and Anzhelika was left alone.
Having tried a little of all the sweets and washed them down with sherbet, the girl began to examine the furnishings. She liked the striped sofa, the carved lace table made of dark wood, and the narrow arched window with a floral stained glass window. The girl stood up and went behind the heavy silk curtain, standing near the window, and then pushed the shutter and glanced out onto the street, at the evening Jerusalem at twilight, which was beginning to gradually quiet down. The soft, flickering light of candles was lit in the windows. In the 21st century, in the Middle East, the streets were bustling with activity after sunset, but there was no electricity here yet, and people were probably getting ready for bed.
The girl admired the city and tore herself away from this picture only when she heard someone's footsteps behind her. She quietly turned around and saw an unfamiliar man who, it seemed, did not notice her.
The man who entered looked to be about forty years old, he was slim, tall - about one meter eighty centimeters - and his gait was brisk and swift. Anzhelika always liked a fast gait in men - the girl did not wear high heels and always walked very quickly herself. The stranger was dressed in a simple thin shirt, tight trousers and boots; on his head was a small turban, from under which short black curls were sticking out. The girl looked with growing curiosity at the profile of the man with a high forehead and a nose with a small hump, dark eyes, dark skin and a short black beard and moustache. The stranger thoughtfully rubbed his chin with his graceful long fingers, on which only a couple of rings could be seen. He was thoughtful and seemed a little sad to Anzhelika. The man stopped in the middle of the room, staring blankly at the wall opposite, and Anzhelika decided to make her presence known by carefully closing the window.
With a quick, barely perceptible movement, the stranger turned to face her, and his dark brown eyes, surrounded by fluffy eyelashes, instantly lost their sad expression, as if they had caught fire. Anzhelika had never understood the expression "beautiful smile," but now the dark-eyed stranger smiles at her joyfully and a bit slyly, looking straight into her eyes, and she suddenly forgets how to breathe for a moment.
"As-salamu 'alaykum wa-rrahmatu -llahi wa-barakatuh" he says, striding toward her. His voice is low, slightly husky, but very warm, and the double Arabic "rr" sounds absolutely delightful in it.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nWKCkueM5
"Good evening," Anzhelika exhales.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgD8ioOvHTn
"Are you waiting for someone here?" the man asked, coming closer and studying her face with his burning eyes.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAac9czrWv
"For my friend," explains Anzhelika, leaning on the windowsill. "He promised to introduce me to the Sultan... for the position of healer."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKVpYQwQ3l
"Ah, I heard something about that," the stranger leans on the windowsill next to the girl, and she involuntarily admires how dexterous and graceful his every movement looks, even the simplest one.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7fcszUeOo
"So I just stepped in, and someone already heard about my affairs," the girl feigns indignation. The man laughs cheerfully.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxF5bdJQDw2
"Well, this is a palace," he explains, "rumors spread here in an instant. So, then," the stranger continues, "you just arrived in town and immediately got down to business?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFd9Wn8dcPK
"Yes, I would like to find out about work right away... Even though we spent the whole day riding through a terribly hot desert," Anzhelika said capriciously.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUsTduxMdy
"The desert is harsh, but sometimes you can find beautiful flowers in it," the stranger’s eyes sparkled, and the girl quietly smiled in response. "Where are you from?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgj6xprqFQH
"From a distant northern country, it's called Rus," answers Anzhelika. "In the summer it's hot there - although not as hot as here, but in the winter it's cold and snow falls from the sky."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYECcbNdcC
"I've seen the snow. It is light, shiny and very beautiful," the stranger says, sliding his gaze over her long blond hair. Anzhelika smiles under his hot gaze and feels her cheeks burning.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFe63BIPIdh
"And what are you doing here?" she asks in turn.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqjoB0uDrj
The man paused for a moment before answering.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpBsbraSvL
"I serve for the good of my people," he responded. "A government official, then," Anzhelika managed to think before someone else entered the room. She turned around - Kamal was standing in front of them.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9aVyj7mBt
"Oh, Sultan... Anzhelika... I see you've already met," the guy looked from one to the other, a little surprised.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfjI2w6uLL
"Almost," smiled the stranger... no, Salah ad-Din, while Anzhelika looked at him in surprise.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8veT1RSqL
