Arabian Nights (Closed)

[EroticLiteracy]

“That woman!” Arbaaz spat making his way through the palace. He was forced to move much more slowly this time dealing with her increased guard presence. Several of his usual spots were now compromised forcing him to take a longer route that gave him plenty of time to stew.

Who did she think she was! Telling him that she would just go off and endanger herself. She was the princess! The future of their entire territory. She was a good one to one he knew would rise to the occasion and prove herself as being a fair and just ruler. She wanted to risk that for a pig!

He growled in response pushing himself as he raced and ducked the guards. He would probably lose her as a… whatever they were but it was worth it to keep her safe. She was just to important to him and to-
To him.

“Stop it Arbaaz” He chided himself saying it out loud as he moved through the gates. Anyone close by would here him say it but there shouldn’t be anyone-
He rounded the corner and there she was waiting for him. His eyes widened in shock as he took her in so surprised that he stopped short. He starred at for several long minutes his eyes running as he tried to figure out what to do.

Finally he threw up his hands. He murmured you win and moved forward brushing past her and moving out of the oasis of the palace. He started toward the town a pout on his lips as he guided her to the village.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Sara didn't have to wait for more than a few minutes before BAaz came into sight. She saw him stop, his jaw drop, watched as he worked through the shock and annoyance. She kept his eye contact, watching him with all of the stubbornness in her.

When Baaz threw her hands in the air she smirked at her victory as she turned to follow him. He did look rather appealing when he pouted.

The pair didn't so much walk down the street as they ducked and weaved through the shadows. Sara had the time now to see Baaz in action, and if she wasn't following him so closely she could see how anyone would miss him. They made their way through the rich area surrounding the palace, then moved through the merchant quarter, all the way until the streets of shops met the midlands between the merchants quarter and the outer rings.

 

[EroticLiteracy]

He led her through the village which looked different at night when the streets were empty. Every so often he would climb to the roof scanning the streets and making sure her way was clear. If anyone was coming he stayed on the roof wary that any of them could be a spy for the rug dealer. He watched her at all times his hand on the knife hidden in his belt and ready to fling it at a moment’s notice. The dread he was feeling at her being involved was still there festering in his heart.

Finally, they reached the building which sat on the outer most edges of the village. He stood on the roof and watched her hiss eyes hidden by the beaked hood. He regarded her for several long seconds before he dipped his head at her. Without another word he leapt! Sailing over the gap between the two buildings and landing on the roof. He began to crawl disappearing moments later into the building.

“Can I help you?”

A man came out wearing rich robes of purple. He was a dark-skinned man with a shiny bald head and piercing brown eyes. His hand was on his best on which rest a curved sword.

“What brings you to my master’s home?” He growled narrowing his eyes.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Baaz was able to sneak through the night like a creeping dusk shadow. It took a fair deal of concentration for Sara to follow his progress. Then, finally, they reached a building right at the edge of the building. The area around it was quiet but a bald man in rich purple robes came out as soon as she walked up to it. She felt secure enough that Baaz would hold up his end of the bargain, particularly because he was so frustrated that she had come along.

"Ah, yes, Sir, sorry to bother you," Sara said, playing the coy female servant. She did a cross between a curtsey and a head nod. "I have it on some information that your Master is a purveyor of fine things..." She bit her lip, pressing her hand against the pocket that sat on her upper thigh. "I... I have something I need to sell. In a bit of a hurry-"

"Ah! Hush, hush, come in!" The man snapped, looking around after rolling his eyes. He grabbed Sara by the shoulder none too gently and pulled her into the house.

Sara blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the change in light. When she looked around she was shocked. This large house, which should be drafty and rather crowded in this part of town, was deceptively decadently decorated. Most of the furnishing, both hard and soft, had a quality that would rival that of the palace. The purple robe man led her through the sitting room and into a small study towards the eastern side of the building. He told her to take a seat- 'And don't touch a thing!'- while he went to retrieve his master. Sara sat back, the very picture of jittery obedience.

 

[EroticLiteracy]

Arbaaz watched the princess move into the building and scowled. From his perch above he could see the body guard eyeing her. She thought a cloak would be enough to hide herself but he knew better than that. It would only take one hint of her beauty to arouse the smuggler. Once he did he wouldn’t let her go until he got to see more! His hands shook at the thought and he moved quickly clambering up the rounded roof as he made his way towards one of the ventilation shafts cut into the building. He found it simply and slid down his narrow body twisting this and that way as he used his feet to slow his descent.

He began to smell the pungent aroma of a hookah and stopped himself. He reached the hole leading into the room below. Very carefully he edged himself forward pressing his back against the clay as he took in the room. By sheer luck it looked like he was in the smugglers lounge which was currently doubling as a hookah bar. Men of all shapes and sizes lounged on pillows taking pulls of the hoses attached to the Hookahs as women in lingerie attended to them.

The smuggler himself sat at the back of the room. He was on a platform overlooking the others in the bar and had two scantily dressed women attending to him. Arbaaz watched as the body guard who brought the princess in climbed up the stage and whispered something in the smugglers ear. The smuggler listened intently for a few seconds and then with a grunt rose out of the plush cushions. He moved waving off the girls attending to him and disappearing into the other room.

Arbaaz sighed in relief and dropped down. He landed among the hookah members and ducked his head down. He didn’t want to admit it but without her distraction he wouldn’t have been able to do such a thing. She had unintentionally given him the precious minutes he needed to find the book.

He moved going through the bar and reaching the door the smuggler went through. He paused long enough to listen for any voices and then moved inside. He closed the door behind him and carefully made his way to the smugglers office.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Sara waited, her toes tapping in nervous anticipation as the servant disappeared through a door at the back of the entry room. As he did she caught a strong whiff of mingled smoke and human bodies and she bit the inside of her lip curiously. Just what was happening behind that door?

When the servant returned with a tall, powerful looking male in tow she realized that she may not find out what was in the other room. The male, most likely the smuggler judging by the way he carried himself, looked her up and down slowly. His gaze was sharp, and she let herself squirm under it the way that a servant girl would. As a Princess, she could stand up to that stare, but she wasn't a princess right now.

"You, my servant tells me you have brought jewels from the castle," He said, not bothering to introduce himself. He gestured to the corner of the room where there were two plush seats on opposite sides of a marble-topped table.

"Yes s-sir... Yes, I did," Sara stammered, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the jewels immediately. She knew that it was a bad move- as herself she would never show the wares so early on- but she had a part to play.

The smuggler, smooth as he was, could barely hide his amusement at her eagerness to be rid of them. He reached out, taking the heavy, diamond-laden necklace from her and turning it over in his hands.

"You know, a theft like this could get you arrested. You could lose a hand... Even be sent to your death," He said, eyes looking up and catching hers. Sara withered beneath his gaze.

"No- please! I... I just need the money! My mother is ill, and the Princess won't notice that they're gone! I swear it! Please don't tell anyone-" The words tumbled from Sara's mouth in a torrent of worry and fear.

"Stop, stop," The smuggler said, not unsympathetically. He put the necklace back down on the table and sat back in his seat. "How did you get these jewels?" He asked.

Sara knew she would have to think quick.

"I'm a s-servant... at the palace. I normally w-work for one of the l-ladies that lives in the castle. But one day one of the princesses's h-handmaidens was sick. I was asked to step in, so I did- and there are so, so many jewels!" Sara's eyes went wide, as if remembering just what she had seen. "There were so m-many. And the princess was in the bath, asked me to get her coronet for her- and I... That was just sitting there, in a corner at the back of the room. Her jewelry room is huge!"

The smugler leaned forward, hands clasping together.

"How badly do you need this money for your mother?" He asked.

Sara's heart skipped a beat.

"She's dying S-sir! The medicine she needs... it costs more than I can afford. I want her to live- I don't know what I'd do without her!" Sara said, calling tears to her eyes from the still very raw loss of her own mother.

"Hush, hush," The smuggler said, showing a more empathetic side as he rose from his seat and walked over to her, settling onto the couch beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"If you have the opportunity again, to stand in for another servant... Take it. See what else you can bring me," his arms left her shoulder, his hand moving to cup his cheek and turn his face to hers. She looked at him, blinking rapidly as tears fell down his face. "Sweet, sweet girl," he cooed, running a thumb over her tears as his other hand settled onto her upper thighs. Sara's limbs were shaking, but inside she steeled herself against his touch. He wasn't repulsive to look at, not in the slightest, but she knew what kind of man he was.

"I... I should get back-" she said, looking over her shoulder. "I shouldn't be here..."

The smuggler leaned forward, brushing his lips over his cheek. Sara let out a squeak of surprise.

"Come back again with more, and I will see to your every need," He promised in a husky whisper that would have any woman coming back for more. Sara nodded, and his roaming hand slid further up her thighs, the rough fabric of her cloak bunching up over her tunic.

Then, suddenly, the smuggler pulled away and stood up. He turned to his servant.

"Give the girl one gold piece now. She can have the second when she returns with something new for me," The smuggler said before striding back towards that door.

Sara's eyes widened. That bastard! The necklace was worth more than his entire damn warehouse! Though luckily her look of surprised also served to make a humble servant girl's expression look shocked, grateful. The smuggler's servant came over and put a gold goin in her hand. Sara turned it over reverently, her soft finger tips brushing over the tarnished surface.

"T... Thank you, Sir! Thank you!" She called out tearily to the smuggler as the door shut behind him. The servant man glared at her until she got up, and he hustled her towards the door.

 

[EroticLiteracy]

Meanwhile

Arbaaz slowly shut the door to the office. He waited until he heard the slight click of the door swinging into place before turning and eyeing the room.

“Where are you hiding” He murmured his eyes sweeping across the room as if it might open up and reveal its contents. It didn’t and he moved in deeper running his hand across the wooden desk and beginning his search. The obvious places were first on his list, the ones he doubted he would hide the notebook in. He searched through the desk and book shelves carefully keeping everything in place. Once those were knocked out he contemplated the room once more.

“Let’s see” Arbaaz purred excitement curling in his chest as he contemplated the puzzle. He began to run his hands over the wood of the book shelf trying to find a hidden switch or lock. Once he determined there was none of the book shelf he tried the same on the desk.

“Nothing” Arbaaz murmured frowning slightly. He glanced back over at the door wondering how the princess was faring and how much time he had left. There was no way of knowing but he could make an educated guess based on his knowledge of the lecherous smuggler. He would try to make a move on her and she would either have to allow him to in order to string him along or make a hasty exit. Arbaaz hoped it was the later and not the former.

Which meant he was almost out of time.

“Come on come on come on” Arbaaz murmured repeating it like a mantra as he once more scanned the room. He worked the room in his mind’s eye checking off places he already looked. A few precious seconds ticked by and Arbaaz was beginning to worry when his eyes finally landed on a painting fixed to the wall on the left.

He moved towards it reaching up and running his long fingers against it. A second later a smile broke on his face as he felt a small button depress and a click sound out like a victory bell. With a groan he swung the painting on its hinge revealing a small compartment and a notebook nestled within. He quickly grabbed it cradling it like a priceless jewel and moving over to the desk. He pulled out a small bundle of paper and sat down quickly copying the contents on the notebook as fast as he could. He wrote as fast as he could not reading it but copying the information. It took him a precious minute to get it all notated but finally he succeeded.

“There” He said sighing and rolling the papers up. He tucked them into the tube on his back and put the notebook back in its hiding space. He took a few seconds to make sure the room was exactly as it was when he came in and once satisfied turned back to the door. He kneeled and pressed his ear against the keyhole trying to make out any sound outside in the hall. Once he was sure everything was okay he gently opened it and moved into the hallway.

He gently and slowly swung the door shut. No sooner had the wooden door swung into place when he heard voices floating towards him from the next hall. He froze the hairs on the back of his neck stiffening as he furiously looked for a hiding space. In a matter of moments he found one and using his powerful legs propelled himself up the narrow hallway and into the shadows of the ceiling above. He planted his back onto the left side of the wall and used his legs to keep himself up.

His legs began to quake from the exertion of holding his body up. Sweat began to dapple his forehead threatening to spill down just as the smuggler and his attendant entered the hallway. Arbaaz gently bit his tongue trying to focus on the discomfort and the pain instead of the exertion. He began to count down mentally in his head drawing on his knowledge of his own skill to base an approximate time he could hold this position.

He gave himself sixty seconds.

“Check her story!” The Smuggler said hovering at his door “I want to make sure we can trust her as an asset in the palace”

“Of course sir” The attendant said bowing his head “Would you like me to send in one of the girls?”

“Do you even have to ask!” The smuggler said snapping slightly as he pushed the door open “I want two!”

“Of course sir” The man said paying no mind to the anger in his masters voice. The door slammed shut moments later the attendants footsteps echoing further and further down the hall as he went to fulfill his masters bidding.

“Ten seconds” Arbaaz said sweat running down the back of his neck in small rivers. He counted them down as he began to duck walk down. The minute he finished counting down he dropped landing in a crouch and pausing to check that the hall was clear.

He sighed in relief at the empty hall and ran back into the main room. He ducked his head down and moved with the crowd keeping his beaked hood up as he walked out the door with a group of men. He walked with them for a few more blocks before sinking into the shadows of an alleyway and disappearing from sight.

He found her a few minutes later appearing behind her and tapping her shoulder. When she spun around he stepped out of the shadows pulling his hood down and crossing his arms.

“Did everything go well?” He asked her grabbing her hand and pulling her into a small alcove to the left. His eyes flickered warily towards the road listening out for anyone who might have followed them from the smugglers den. Once he was sure they weren’t being followed he unfastened the tube from his back and handed it to her.

“The notebook” He explained glancing at her and noticing how close they were to each other.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Sara let out a startled gasp as Baaz stepped out of the shadows. It was a split second before she recognised him, and her shoulders slumped with relief. She followed him silently as he led her to a small alcove nearby that was far too tight for the both of them to remain in for long. Her hands moved up to brush the tube, the only thing that was really between them and she nodded.

"Good. He took my bait, thankfully. Now we should probably get out of this area. If he notices that is gone he may send people looking, and we don't want to be here when he does," she said, nodding to the tube between them, but making no move to step away from him. She bit her lip in a rare show of uncertainty as she looked up at him, her entire body still buzzing with the adrenaline from that encounter. "I.... I've never felt so alive before," She admitted, her voice soft and tentative.