“Nay, nay.Scheherazade was unswayed by her father’s tale.In fact, she even appealed to the king himself that he should take her as his wife—and once Shahriar saw her beauty and grace, he had to possess her.The king reminded the vizier that if he married Scheherazade, she would be killed in the morning, and vowed that if the vizier failed in this duty, he would be killed himself.The vizier wept, but Scheherazade married the king with a smile.”
Leila paused.
“And?”Fergus invited.
“And they married, and they retired to the king’s chambers, and Shahriar possessed his new wife with great pleasure.Yet when he would have slept, Scheherazade asked if she could see her sister one last time before she died.The king could not deny her such a request, and so, the younger daughter of the vizier, Dinarzade, was summoned to the king’s chambers.When she arrived and the sisters embraced, Dinarzade asked Scheherazade to tell a story.‘For you tell stories better than anyone I ever have known, and this will be my very last chance to enjoy your talent.’Scheherazade appealed to the king, who was intrigued, then with his permission, she began.”
Fergus could have listened to Leila all night long.This Scheherazade was not the sole one with a talent for telling stories.
“Once, she said, there was a rich merchant who undertook a long journey across the desert to another city.He packed some dates and water for his trip, and reached his destination without incident.He concluded his business, then made similar preparations for his return.On the third day of his ride toward home, he stopped to eat and refresh himself.He ate his allotment of dates, and flung the stones into the desert.He had a sip of water, then he washed himself and knelt to pray.He was not yet done his prayers when an enormous djinn appeared before him.The djinn had a flowing white beard, rage in his eyes, and he brandished a sword.‘Rise up!’he roared.‘For I must take your life in exchange for that of my son.’”
“His son?”
“The merchant was as mystified as you, Fergus.He protested that he had killed no one, but the djinn insisted otherwise.He said that he did not know the djinn’s son so could not have killed him.The djinn asked if he had thrown date stones into the desert, and the merchant had to admit that he had.‘One of those stones hit my son in the eye and he died of it,’ the djinn charged.‘Stand up that I may kill you in exchange.’The merchant begged forgiveness and pleaded for mercy.He offered to do whatever the djinn wished in exchange, but the djinn would accept nothing less than his death.The djinn raised his blade and the merchant closed his eyes.”
Leila fell silent and Fergus touched her hand.“But what happened?”
“Ah, Scheherazade saw that the sky was turning pink so she ceased her tale.Her sister begged her to continue, but she indicated the rising sun and said that the time had come for her to be executed.‘But he cannot have died, alone in the desert with a djinn,’ Dinarzade protested.Scheherazade agreed that would have been unjust and smiled a little.‘Indeed, the story is a marvel of his cleverness,’ she said, casting down her gaze in acceptance of her fate.‘I regret that there is no time to tell you of it.’Dinarzade then appealed to the king, imploring him to let Scheherazade live another night that they might hear the end of the tale.Shahriar was similarly intrigued, so he agreed.”
“And so she had a reprieve.How clever,” Fergus said.
“The vizier had been awake all the night long, fearful of his daughter’s fate.To his relief, the king never gave the order for Scheherazade’s execution, but conducted his business that day as was customary.The couple retired that night to the king’s chambers again, and after their intimacy, Scheherazade again asked to enjoy her sister’s company one last time.Dinarzade did not have to ask for more of the story, for Shahriar himself demanded that Scheherazade finish the tale of the merchant and the djinn as soon as Dinarzade was seated.And so she continued, that the djinn had lifted his blade to execute the merchant when the merchant cried out.”
Leila bit her lip and ceased her tale again.
Fergus smiled down at her.“Is this your ploy?”he asked.“To enchant me with a tale each night?”
“You came back from Dunnisbrae,” she said.
“Surely, you did not fear otherwise?”He saw in her eyes, though, that she had doubted his return.He touched his lips to her brow, knowing he must ensure that she never had such fears again.“And yet you leave another tale unfinished.You cannot expect me to have you executed at dawn?”he asked, his tone teasing.
Leila laughed.“I should hope not,” she said with a smile.“For then you would not know how the merchant escaped the djinn’s wrath.”Her eyes sparkled, then she rolled over, cuddled against him and fell asleep.
Fergus grinned, knowing full well that Leila’s concerns were unfounded.He was not like the donkey, for he appreciated the blessings that had come to his hand.He had the better part of a year to convince Leila that he was the best husband for her.He pulled up the covers and settled down to sleep, certain they had made a very good start.
