DAY TWENTY THREE
(Things are not Always as They Seem)
GRETA
Waking up earlier than Youssef, Greta lay there smiling to herself. It all felt like a fairy tale. Slipping out of the tent quietly, she used the camp facilities and decided to eat breakfast. He was so adorable when he slept, she just couldn't bring herself to wake him. Sitting at the table, and smiling to herself like an idiot, her mind kept wandering back to Mr. Moussa and his request (practically a command actually,) to find his subordinate and do as they command. Why was she thinking of this? Sighing at how stupid she was being, she quickly scrawled out a note. She left it in the tent for Youssef to find when he woke up, then she went to find this Inji Ameen. She was hating herself all ready.
Knocking on the door of the house she had been directed to, Greta was surprised to find a little old lady answer. Feeling foolish for expecting some huge bear of a man with impossible requests, she laughed a little to herself, plastered a smile on her face and introduced herself. After all, how bad could it be? She probably just wanted some company for awhile, that wasn't so bad was it?
Stupid, old battle-axe! Boy, could looks be deceiving! That wasn't a woman, that was a demon in disguise! After introducing herself, all vestiges of niceness disappeared off that woman's face. A few insults about Greta's capabilities later, and she was ordered to go off and hunt down turquoise in the country side. What did she look like, Greta wondered to herself, an errand boy? Some under-paid, over worked lackey!? Well, she wasn't! Which got her wondering why she was searching through some bushes for some stupid gem, instead of giving that woman the tongue lashing of her life.
Several hours, and many, many complaints later. Greta brought the deceptive old hag her turquoise. Giving her a thank you, and then smiling evilly, she ordered Greta to talk to three locals about this company to which she and Mr. Moussaka belonged.Giving a sigh, Greta nodded. It was probably easier just to do it, and get it over with. Besides she didn't want Youssef to think his new wife was a quitter. Now what would be the easiest way to do this?
One quick ride later, she found herself in the market place. Inji had said she had to talk to locals, she didn't say she couldn't enjoy her time doing it and get a little shopping done at the same time. Greta hit a few of the shops, and bought some books, and also discovered a small shop that sold metals and gems for cheap. Half of these she had never heard of back home. Well this could be interesting, so she snatched them up. Now, on to business. Zeroing in on one of the merchants, she struck up a conversation. Trading gossip, and talking about her time in the tombs, she eventually got around to asking for the info Inji had wanted.
Listening to the complaints about the company's behaviour of late, Greta felt exhaustion kicking in. Heading back to camp and Youssef, she couldn't figure out why they were doing all that digging. Why bother? What were they after? Hmm...
YOUSSEF
Feeling blissfully lethargic, Youssef rolled over to cuddle his new wife. Grinning he went to wrap his arms around her, and found himself hugging air. Huh? Opening his eyes a bit, he discovered he was alone in the tent. Hmm, she seemed to be an early riser. Well, that could work out in his favour. He knew she had been an easy mark from the first time he had met her, and what an innocent! Staring at him with those puppy eyes from day one. He had played along, and humoured her, at first just for entertainment, but as he talked to her that first day and got to know her, something changed. He had to have her.
Shaking his head from the silly thoughts in it, he wondered what went wrong. Let's face it, he never planned on settling down. His goal was to seduce as many women as possible in this town and live like a king with them all loving him to the point of supporting him. Greta was just going to be a little icing on the cake. How many times did one run into the opportunity to fleece a foreigner, and have little fun with her, then get her to leave? Not often. So, what went wrong? After she had left that first day, he was sure he had her hooked, and he was right. It was a little worrisome the next day when she hadn't shown up, after all he was hungry and wasn't going to wait forever. Plus, his house was a bit of a sty. Did she think he hadn't noticed the way she kept trying to to "discreetly" clean his house when he wasn't looking? He wasn't an idiot. Oh yes, he had lucked out this time. Feeling slightly annoyed at her inconsiderate nature for not showing up immediately today, he grumbled a little and went to find one of his regular local girls. She would probably be good for at least a meal today.
When Greta hadn't shown up right away the next morning, he felt some of his self confidence start to ebb away. Maybe he wasn't as good as he thought. Maybe she wasn't so easy after all. Sighing, he was about to set out for one of the local girls again when there was a knock at his door. Peeping out the window to see who it was, he smiled. Nah, he still had it.
Greta had come in smiling, and acting coy. He, of course ,had welcomed her and set about making her feel welcome and as at home as he could. That's when things went wrong for him. He spent hours listening to her prattle on about one stupid thing after another, but somehow watching her talk about it, gesturing wildly, and talking so animatedly, he actually began to enjoy it and listen. Her whole face lit up as she talked about figuring things out, and she laughed at herself about some of her mistakes (that was kind of cute.) What was wrong with him? Just as he was coming to his senses, and about to politely ask her to leave, she stunned him by getting flirty. He could tell by the look on her face, she thought she was being subtle about it, but she was about a subtle as sledgehammer. It was kind of attractive in a weird way. Now, we were getting somewhere. Flirting back, he waited to see if he would be getting what he wanted. It looked like it. Excited by the prospect of a pleasurable night, he started getting a little too caught up in what was happening. When she told him she wanted him to wait for her, he readily agreed. Not that he would, but if it would speed things along, why not say it? By the time she figured out it was a lie, he would be long gone. Things just got worse from there. She had proposed, and being too caught up, he had said yes. Crap! Now what? Well, he could fix things later. She'd never know right? Right. Grimacing a little, he felt a little twinge of guilt. Then things really took a turn.
Sensing he was losing her, he moved away and went to his room. In a small box on his dresser sat a box with all his mothers old jewellery in it. He opened it up, and selected one of her favourite rings. His father had given it to his mother shortly after they were married, as a symbol of his commitment to love her forever. His father had died in a freak sandstorm when he was two. He had gotten turned around, and barely able to see had stumbled too close to a small lake of water. It turns out that lake was home to a group of crocodiles. All they had found were a few scraps of clothing and a finger. He hadn't been old enough to understand at the time, but his mother made sure he never forgot. She told him stories everyday, sometimes what felt like all day. She had passed away a few years ago, soon after he had become an adult.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he couldn't understand why he was thinking of such things now. Not when Greta was out there about to bolt. Squeezing the ring in his hand, he walked back out and slipped the ring on her finger. What was he doing!? She looked so happy, he smiled. She had a nice smile, and he felt a bit of a flutter when she did. This was all for tonight right? Smiling, he embraced her, and held her, loving the feeling of her in his arms. Oh crap! What was happening? This wasn't happening right? RIGHT!?
Smiling to himself as he lay in the tent, he couldn't help but chuckle a little about the night before. Oh man, he had been right about it being a pleasurable night, and he was so sunk. Oh well, he could start over when they went back to her town. He could be discreet if needed. There were probably a lot of young women in need of a man to take care of there, even a married one. Sighing, he sat up and saw the paper fluttering down off of him. Curious he grabbed it, and began to read.
So that's where she was. Well, there was probably no use in sitting around this camp all day. He would be leaving soon, might as well make a few visits before he left. Besides it would give him a chance to work on his discretion skills a bit. Getting up, he headed to use the facilities.
Heading into the market place, he spotted one of his usual girls. She wasn't quite the beauty Greta was, heck most of his girls were, but she was passable. Plus she could cook better than most of his other girls, hmmm, he wondered what Greta's cooking was like? Snap out of it! Giving his face a bit of a slap,he moved forward. Some harmless flirting later, and he was at her house enjoying a wonderfully home-cooked meal. She really was the best cook. He smiled at her as she kept moving closer inch by inch. Yes, here it came, the part where his real skill showed though, this is what kept them coming back to take care of him. It's not like he wasn't having fun, and not giving something back in return.
As she came closer, squeezing up for a kiss, he could feel himself pulling back a little. Wait! This wasn't right, what was wrong with him? He leaned forward, and gave her a kiss, wrapping his arms around her. She didn't feel anything like Greta. Oh no! No, no, no, no! Ah, man! Suddenly standing upright, so that she face - planted into the floor he darted out the door offering quick apologies.
Walking down a lane towards the camp, he sighed. Great! Now he was in a pickle. What was wrong with him? Why was he doing this? It was to get to a bigger pool of women right? That was right, right? Then why couldn't he keep Greta's face out of his mind? Suddenly, he burst into laughter like a mad man. Sunk! He was sunk. Sitting down in the shade of a tree, he laughed until he cried.
Gazing up after awhile, he noticed that it was almost night. He got up, dusted himself off and turned to head for camp. He noticed a garden in the yard of this house. I wonder if she can cook, he thought. Quietly, and quick as he dared, he crept into the garden and began to pick it clean. He had to hurry. Food was scarce in the desert, and gardens like these were closely guarded by their owners. Smiling he worked quickly and efficiently, then headed for camp. He could have a career as thief, he was so good he thought to himself.
Back at camp he looked for Greta, but couldn't find her anywhere. Surely, She was ok. Sitting down by the fire pit, he absent-mindedly poked at it. Soon, he saw her walk into the camp, looking tired and dirty. When she looked up and saw him, she smiled and it lit up her face. She really did have a beautiful smile. He couldn't help but grin at her in answer. Walking over to her, he asked how her day went. Seriously, what did he care? Strangely enough, he found himself listening to her talk. Then she asked about his. Feeling happy that she asked, but guilty about his actions today, he gave her a vague answer. Then he took her by the hand and led her to a tent. Smiling as he watched her get in, he soon followed. Ah! This is how it was supposed to feel, just right.
GRETA
Waking up earlier than Youssef, Greta lay there smiling to herself. It all felt like a fairy tale. Slipping out of the tent quietly, she used the camp facilities and decided to eat breakfast. He was so adorable when he slept, she just couldn't bring herself to wake him. Sitting at the table, and smiling to herself like an idiot, her mind kept wandering back to Mr. Moussa and his request (practically a command actually,) to find his subordinate and do as they command. Why was she thinking of this? Sighing at how stupid she was being, she quickly scrawled out a note. She left it in the tent for Youssef to find when he woke up, then she went to find this Inji Ameen. She was hating herself all ready.
Knocking on the door of the house she had been directed to, Greta was surprised to find a little old lady answer. Feeling foolish for expecting some huge bear of a man with impossible requests, she laughed a little to herself, plastered a smile on her face and introduced herself. After all, how bad could it be? She probably just wanted some company for awhile, that wasn't so bad was it?
Stupid, old battle-axe! Boy, could looks be deceiving! That wasn't a woman, that was a demon in disguise! After introducing herself, all vestiges of niceness disappeared off that woman's face. A few insults about Greta's capabilities later, and she was ordered to go off and hunt down turquoise in the country side. What did she look like, Greta wondered to herself, an errand boy? Some under-paid, over worked lackey!? Well, she wasn't! Which got her wondering why she was searching through some bushes for some stupid gem, instead of giving that woman the tongue lashing of her life.
Several hours, and many, many complaints later. Greta brought the deceptive old hag her turquoise. Giving her a thank you, and then smiling evilly, she ordered Greta to talk to three locals about this company to which she and Mr. Moussaka belonged.Giving a sigh, Greta nodded. It was probably easier just to do it, and get it over with. Besides she didn't want Youssef to think his new wife was a quitter. Now what would be the easiest way to do this?
One quick ride later, she found herself in the market place. Inji had said she had to talk to locals, she didn't say she couldn't enjoy her time doing it and get a little shopping done at the same time. Greta hit a few of the shops, and bought some books, and also discovered a small shop that sold metals and gems for cheap. Half of these she had never heard of back home. Well this could be interesting, so she snatched them up. Now, on to business. Zeroing in on one of the merchants, she struck up a conversation. Trading gossip, and talking about her time in the tombs, she eventually got around to asking for the info Inji had wanted.
Listening to the complaints about the company's behaviour of late, Greta felt exhaustion kicking in. Heading back to camp and Youssef, she couldn't figure out why they were doing all that digging. Why bother? What were they after? Hmm...
YOUSSEF
Feeling blissfully lethargic, Youssef rolled over to cuddle his new wife. Grinning he went to wrap his arms around her, and found himself hugging air. Huh? Opening his eyes a bit, he discovered he was alone in the tent. Hmm, she seemed to be an early riser. Well, that could work out in his favour. He knew she had been an easy mark from the first time he had met her, and what an innocent! Staring at him with those puppy eyes from day one. He had played along, and humoured her, at first just for entertainment, but as he talked to her that first day and got to know her, something changed. He had to have her.
Shaking his head from the silly thoughts in it, he wondered what went wrong. Let's face it, he never planned on settling down. His goal was to seduce as many women as possible in this town and live like a king with them all loving him to the point of supporting him. Greta was just going to be a little icing on the cake. How many times did one run into the opportunity to fleece a foreigner, and have little fun with her, then get her to leave? Not often. So, what went wrong? After she had left that first day, he was sure he had her hooked, and he was right. It was a little worrisome the next day when she hadn't shown up, after all he was hungry and wasn't going to wait forever. Plus, his house was a bit of a sty. Did she think he hadn't noticed the way she kept trying to to "discreetly" clean his house when he wasn't looking? He wasn't an idiot. Oh yes, he had lucked out this time. Feeling slightly annoyed at her inconsiderate nature for not showing up immediately today, he grumbled a little and went to find one of his regular local girls. She would probably be good for at least a meal today.
When Greta hadn't shown up right away the next morning, he felt some of his self confidence start to ebb away. Maybe he wasn't as good as he thought. Maybe she wasn't so easy after all. Sighing, he was about to set out for one of the local girls again when there was a knock at his door. Peeping out the window to see who it was, he smiled. Nah, he still had it.
Greta had come in smiling, and acting coy. He, of course ,had welcomed her and set about making her feel welcome and as at home as he could. That's when things went wrong for him. He spent hours listening to her prattle on about one stupid thing after another, but somehow watching her talk about it, gesturing wildly, and talking so animatedly, he actually began to enjoy it and listen. Her whole face lit up as she talked about figuring things out, and she laughed at herself about some of her mistakes (that was kind of cute.) What was wrong with him? Just as he was coming to his senses, and about to politely ask her to leave, she stunned him by getting flirty. He could tell by the look on her face, she thought she was being subtle about it, but she was about a subtle as sledgehammer. It was kind of attractive in a weird way. Now, we were getting somewhere. Flirting back, he waited to see if he would be getting what he wanted. It looked like it. Excited by the prospect of a pleasurable night, he started getting a little too caught up in what was happening. When she told him she wanted him to wait for her, he readily agreed. Not that he would, but if it would speed things along, why not say it? By the time she figured out it was a lie, he would be long gone. Things just got worse from there. She had proposed, and being too caught up, he had said yes. Crap! Now what? Well, he could fix things later. She'd never know right? Right. Grimacing a little, he felt a little twinge of guilt. Then things really took a turn.
Sensing he was losing her, he moved away and went to his room. In a small box on his dresser sat a box with all his mothers old jewellery in it. He opened it up, and selected one of her favourite rings. His father had given it to his mother shortly after they were married, as a symbol of his commitment to love her forever. His father had died in a freak sandstorm when he was two. He had gotten turned around, and barely able to see had stumbled too close to a small lake of water. It turns out that lake was home to a group of crocodiles. All they had found were a few scraps of clothing and a finger. He hadn't been old enough to understand at the time, but his mother made sure he never forgot. She told him stories everyday, sometimes what felt like all day. She had passed away a few years ago, soon after he had become an adult.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he couldn't understand why he was thinking of such things now. Not when Greta was out there about to bolt. Squeezing the ring in his hand, he walked back out and slipped the ring on her finger. What was he doing!? She looked so happy, he smiled. She had a nice smile, and he felt a bit of a flutter when she did. This was all for tonight right? Smiling, he embraced her, and held her, loving the feeling of her in his arms. Oh crap! What was happening? This wasn't happening right? RIGHT!?
Smiling to himself as he lay in the tent, he couldn't help but chuckle a little about the night before. Oh man, he had been right about it being a pleasurable night, and he was so sunk. Oh well, he could start over when they went back to her town. He could be discreet if needed. There were probably a lot of young women in need of a man to take care of there, even a married one. Sighing, he sat up and saw the paper fluttering down off of him. Curious he grabbed it, and began to read.
So that's where she was. Well, there was probably no use in sitting around this camp all day. He would be leaving soon, might as well make a few visits before he left. Besides it would give him a chance to work on his discretion skills a bit. Getting up, he headed to use the facilities.
Heading into the market place, he spotted one of his usual girls. She wasn't quite the beauty Greta was, heck most of his girls were, but she was passable. Plus she could cook better than most of his other girls, hmmm, he wondered what Greta's cooking was like? Snap out of it! Giving his face a bit of a slap,he moved forward. Some harmless flirting later, and he was at her house enjoying a wonderfully home-cooked meal. She really was the best cook. He smiled at her as she kept moving closer inch by inch. Yes, here it came, the part where his real skill showed though, this is what kept them coming back to take care of him. It's not like he wasn't having fun, and not giving something back in return.
As she came closer, squeezing up for a kiss, he could feel himself pulling back a little. Wait! This wasn't right, what was wrong with him? He leaned forward, and gave her a kiss, wrapping his arms around her. She didn't feel anything like Greta. Oh no! No, no, no, no! Ah, man! Suddenly standing upright, so that she face - planted into the floor he darted out the door offering quick apologies.
Walking down a lane towards the camp, he sighed. Great! Now he was in a pickle. What was wrong with him? Why was he doing this? It was to get to a bigger pool of women right? That was right, right? Then why couldn't he keep Greta's face out of his mind? Suddenly, he burst into laughter like a mad man. Sunk! He was sunk. Sitting down in the shade of a tree, he laughed until he cried.
Gazing up after awhile, he noticed that it was almost night. He got up, dusted himself off and turned to head for camp. He noticed a garden in the yard of this house. I wonder if she can cook, he thought. Quietly, and quick as he dared, he crept into the garden and began to pick it clean. He had to hurry. Food was scarce in the desert, and gardens like these were closely guarded by their owners. Smiling he worked quickly and efficiently, then headed for camp. He could have a career as thief, he was so good he thought to himself.
Back at camp he looked for Greta, but couldn't find her anywhere. Surely, She was ok. Sitting down by the fire pit, he absent-mindedly poked at it. Soon, he saw her walk into the camp, looking tired and dirty. When she looked up and saw him, she smiled and it lit up her face. She really did have a beautiful smile. He couldn't help but grin at her in answer. Walking over to her, he asked how her day went. Seriously, what did he care? Strangely enough, he found himself listening to her talk. Then she asked about his. Feeling happy that she asked, but guilty about his actions today, he gave her a vague answer. Then he took her by the hand and led her to a tent. Smiling as he watched her get in, he soon followed. Ah! This is how it was supposed to feel, just right.
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