Happiness
Chapter 10
Leila clung to his side, trying to support him as much as she could. But her strength was not enough to hold him up, and Damon almost did not have any.
Soon he collapsed with a groan of desperation, nearly bringing the girl down to the ground with him. He tried to get back on his feet, but his muscles refused to obey. He was burning up, and yet his body was shaking from cold.
Leila rushed to his side with the water sack, and it took her a while to pour at least some of it between his uncontrollably convulsing jaws. Water, the invigorating fluid that his dry itching throat longed for, burned it mercilessly, bringing more pain instead of relief. Pulling away from the sack, Damon muttered almost inaudibly through clenched teeth, �D-don�t � w-was-ste � wat-ter . . . n-no h-help��
The remaining bit of consciousness registered for him the worried expression on the face of the little girl who bent helplessly over him, but soon that image also became clouded and faded completely, as he slipped into the darkness of the oblivion.
***
Leila�s heart was beating like a little bird caught in a cage from which it was trying to get out. Fear and desperation tugged at her soul, leaving her almost breathless. She put her little hand on his burning forehead that was covered with beads of sweat and closed her eyes, her lips moving in a quiet fervent prayer: �Please, mighty Ahuramazda, help him. Do not let him die!� She believed in the power of Ahuramazda � he has helped the two of them this far. If the mighty god could only hear her now, if only�. A distant ringing of the little bells reached her ears, and the seeds of hope crept back into her heart. She leaped to her feet, not daring to believe her own eyes. A long line of camels � those pompous indifferent haughty animals � was moving toward her in a slow and measured step, carrying merchandise and people on their backs and little bells around their necks. �A caravan!� �Thank you, mighty Ahuramazda!� Leila whispered and rushed forward, shouting: �Help! Please, help!�
The first rider stopped his camel at the sight of her, jumping off the animal�s back with the spiritedness uncharacteristic of his age. His voice was trembling with contrasting emotions of happiness and disbelief: �My lady, is this really you?�
Leila�s face brightened as she recognized the old man. �Xerxes! I was never more glad to see anyone!� She rushed into the arms of her father�s long time friend, but, before he could say another word, she spoke with the kind of urgency in her voice that would have alarmed even a stone. �Please, Xerxes, there is a man� he needs help. Scorpion��
�Of course, my lady,� Xerxes made a sign to his servants who ran up to Damon�s side at his order. �We will set a camp here for the night and take care of your friend, if that is alright with you, my lady.�
She nodded gratefully, looking with concern in her eyes at the servants that bustled over Damon�s unconscious form. Xerxes� next remark took a while to register.
�I am so happy to know that you are alive and well, you highness. Your father has been worried sick about you. Ah, when he hears the news��
She smiled wearily, not taking her eyes off Damon. �I cannot wait to see my father. I just hope Damon will be alright.�
�He will be, your highness,� said one of the servants, applying a bandage damped in cold water to the Sicilian�s swollen leg. �He should be fine within a few hours.�
***
He was thrown back and forth from fever to shiver, slipping in and out of consciousness. Adriana was sitting on his bed, her hand gently caressing his sweat-covered face. He could not believe she was so close to him, finally, after all this time. He reached out to touch her, but his hand sank into nothingness. �Adriana!� he cried out, desperately trying to hold on to her. But her image slowly melted away, disappearing back into the dream � light and elusive like the very air it was made of.
He opened his eyes, almost blinded by the bright sunlight coming in from the opening in the tent. He was still a little disoriented from the effects of the poison, and, seeing an unfamiliar face bending over him, he thought he was still hallucinating. But, even after he closed and reopened his eyes, the face did not evaporate.
Damon licked his dry lips, �Where is Leila?�
�I do not think you should speak so disrespectfully of her highness,� came a quiet answer.
�Who?� he thought he misheard the white-haired stranger.
�I think he has earned the right to call me as he pleases,� unnoticed by everyone, Leila slipped into the tent. She approached the rag bed where Damon lay and sat down next to him. �You can go now, Cyrus,� she said to the old servant, having moistened a piece of cloth and applying it to Damon�s face that was still covered with tiny beads of sweat. �I will take care of him.�
The old man bowed respectfully, �As you wish, your highness,� and walked out.
�Your highness?� Damon could hardly believe his ears. �Tell me I am still dreaming. And who are these people?�
Leila smiled at his disbelief. �No. You are very much awake. And the last time I checked, my father was Darius, king of Persia. These people are part of a caravan. Xerxes is the owner of it, and he is also a very good friend of my father. You see, he was coming from Byblos with merchandise when he ran into us and��
She would have went on, but Damon raised his hand interrupting her.
�Why didn�t you tell me?�
�Tell you what?� she asked confused by his sudden interruption.
�That you are a princess.�
She frowned and fell silent for a while, feeling awkward at what she was about to tell him. This was not going to be easy, but she tried to approach the subject as diplomatically as possible and from afar. �Well, I wasn�t sure that it was safe to tell you.�
�Safe?�
She frowned even more. �Please, let me finish.� He indicated his readiness to listen, and she continued, her voice wavering with uncertainty. �About a year ago, I went riding, and I rode too far, farther than usual. It got dark, and I became lost. I met a stranger on the way and asked him for directions. And when I told him that I was the king�s daughter, he kidnapped me and sold me for slavery to Rome. It turned out he had some sort of a grudge against my father, and this was his chance to get even.� She fell silent again, waiting for him to react.
The reaction came fast. �So you thought I was no better,� the bitterness in his voice struck Leila. He was obviously hurt by an implication, and she felt guilty for some reason, even though at the time when she made the decision not to reveal her identity to him she could not have trusted him like she did now. She had no way of knowing. But that thought did not make her feel any better. The feeling of guilt forced her to take offensive, and, like a cornered cat, she launched her counter-attack.
�You said yourself you were a thief,� she said, immediately realizing how weak that attempt at self-defense was.
�Why did you decide to trust me in the first place, or� maybe you didn�t trust me at all?��
She could not bear the reproachful look in his eyes. �I did, I trusted you � as much as I could � I�I was going to tell you eventually, and then�� she cut herself short in confusion.
�And then?� he insisted.
�And then I just � forgot.� She bit her lip apologetically, and the look on his face softened. She breathed a sigh of relief.
They both fell silent, but it was no longer an awkward silence. And in that moment of quiet, Damon suddenly realized how much he really cared about that girl, that little devil who probably caused him more trouble in the short time he knew her than he could get into in his lifetime. He cared about her deep enough to be hurt at the mere thought that she could have distrusted him. He smiled at the ridiculousness of this idea. Something was definitely wrong with him � first Pythias, now Leila. He was getting soft. �Or, perhaps, it isn�t so wrong, after all,� he thought, as Leila bent over to him and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.
�Thank you,� she said softly. �Thank you for everything.� She stood up and went toward the exit. Damon half-rose on his elbow, �When are we leaving for Persepolis?�
�We will be moving out in a few hours. Cyrus thinks you should be fit to travel by then. But we will take it easy just in case.�
He nodded as the tent�s flap closed behind her and fell back onto the rags, a feeling of peacefulness and tranquility for the first time after the three long years spreading inside him.