The sky burned white hot and intense inside a pale blue sky. It was the kind of day that promised sweat would not roll down the sides of his head, but instead evaporate as soon as it was created. His shadow pooled immediately at his feet as he walked under the noonday sun. Wherever he went, it seemed as though the sun washed out the color of whatever it touched. The red cloth stretched across stall tops for their roofs looked faded and tired. The blue of the water was nearly clear and, at this time of year, almost nothing was green. The occasional scrubby bush’s leaves were so dark under the shadows that they appeared black. There was a never ending sea of russets and browns along the hills and flat lands. Beautiful in its own way but in this blasted heat, he didn’t care.

“Excuse me!” he called loudly, as he neared the northern gate of the city. Two men were glaring at each other, one the owner of a camel train, the other a tax collector. “What’s the trouble?” Amiti pulled in air through his nose, trying to catch his breath. He hated being outside when it was even too hot to sweat, but here he was, because the man who normally dealt with trivial disputes like this one was ill.

“He is charging too much!”

“And he is lying about the train’s worth!”

“I am not!” the other man roared. Amiti looked him over. Egyptian, if he had to guess the man’s origin. That instantly made the man more suspicious, but not necessarily wrong.

“We’ll settle this here and now,” Amiti pushed on the Egyptian’s shoulder. “Show me your camel train.” The Egyptian shook him off, threw a dark look at the tax collector, and led Amiti out of the city gates and out into what looked like chaos. There were camels everywhere and it was hard to tell which train belonged where. The Egyptian led him past a small group and he heard a familiar voice.

“Amarissa?” he was a bit surprised to see her in Damascus of all places. Of course, now he’d be obligated to invite her and her family over to his house for a supper, but that wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. Her father would have information about the world outside of these walls and the Jaffe men were nothing if not hungry for knowledge.

"I'm surprised to see you here," he said, knowing the Egyptian was waiting impatiently over his shoulder.

When he’d greeted her, he hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic reception and it took him aback a bit, but it was not unwelcome. Amarissa’s face took on a completely different light when she was excited. It made her pretty and, though he hadn’t been unaware of that fact before, it forcibly struck him now. They did not meet often at all, not in years, save for that little snafu in Israel and he hadn’t taken the time then to look at her properly. They’d both been disheveled and squished and dirty.

At the moment, there was no fat man, no raging crowd, no thief stealing purses. Only the Egyptian breathing down his neck stealing joy. “I am, rather,” he said and pressed his palms together. “I will come back in a few minutes.” Then he gestured to the traffic jam around them. He didn’t bother to explain the entire issue because he figured it’d be boring and also didn’t really have the time at the moment.

“I want to ask you something,” he said over his shoulder as he finally allowed the Egyptian to pull him away. Unlike her, Maeri hadn’t entered his mind at all during the conversation. He and his intended didn’t know each other enough for him to consider them to be in love at all. Nor did he ever intend to love Maeri. Like her, sure. That was fine, but he didn’t want to be tricked, like his father had been. To his mind, if he kept Maeri at arms’ length, then he wouldn’t be blinded to little warning signs she was giving off.

Also, if he was being truly honest, he wouldn’t give her as much time alone as his father had given his mother. The woman had been entirely too free in her time and that had partially led to her idleness and, ultimately, the cheating that had broken apart their family. Such a thing would not happen to him.

The cause for the traffic jam turned out to be an incredibly simple fix. It turned out that the Egyptian had been lying about the train’s worth and was trying to weedle out of the tax. Unfortunately, the Egyptian didn’t agree with the assessment. It ended with Amiti being slapped across the face, the tax collector getting offended at that and punching the Egyptian, who punched him back, and then Amiti having to pry them apart, his head ringing from the slap that had actually also hit his ear.

By the time that he made it back over to where Amarissa was, the mark on his face had faded somewhat and the city guards had taken the Egyptian to jail for the night to cool off. Of course, the other foreigners in the caravan didn’t like what had happened and were watching all of them with malevolent dark glares.

“Ignore them,” Amiti said, glancing over at the caravan. “Stay close to your family today,” he advised.

He caught the way she’d said "Of course". She wasn’t his wife, sister, or any other relation, so he made no comment on it. To do so, and insist that she be totally meek and quiet would have caused too much of a stir. His more generous side won out and he elected to ignore it, though his charitable side stayed quiet and didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe he’d misheard. Still. Women did tend to have days where they were more grouchy than others, and maybe this was one of those unexplainable days.

Deciding that probably he should leave her alone, he was about to turn away when she caught his attention by tucking her hair into her mitzpah. The gesture was simple but her hand and wrist were so delicate while she did it and for a second, she’d looked almost wistful. When her eyes met his, he looked away, feeling caught. Caught doing what he didn’t know but he felt guilty all the same.

"You had a question before m'lord?" she asked and he couldn’t very well keep his eyes averted.

“Yes, I did.” His gaze drifted over her shoulder to the other young women she was with and he didn’t overly want to ask her while they were around. Motioning for her to follow him, he rubbed at the red mark above his beard as they moved. “I wanted to ask if you and your family would come to my father’s house for dinner. I can’t think that it wouldn’t be more than an insult if we didn’t host your family while you were in a city not your own.”

They were near a camel trader by now. Amiti hadn’t walked Amarissa far from her friends; just far enough that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard. One of the camels snorted at Amiti and he glanced at it. Another snorted and sniffed at Amarissa, nibbling on the end of her mitzpah. “Hey!” Amiti made to shoo the thing but the camel got offended and looked like it was about to spit. He ducked.

“Ey, ey!” the camel trader frowned, coming up. “What are you two doing to my animals?” The man wouldn’t accept the answer ‘nothing’ or apologies and did not care about Amiti being a senator. The only thing that would satisfy him, as he grew increasingly more agitated, was for both Amarissa and Amiti to try camels. Amiti kept assuring the man that he had no plans and no need for one. He couldn’t make the same assumption for the woman next to him, but he, at least, didn’t want one.

Yet, somehow, through a fatiguing five minutes of tense negotiations, found himself on the back of a camel, sighing and being led around in a small circle. “You know,” he said to Amarissa. “This is exactly how I should have expected today to go. I forgot to pray this morning.”

He never rode camels and couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on one. The rolling sway of the animal’s gait had him wanting to bend down and wrap his arms around the camel’s neck so that he could stay on, but with the reins tucked into his white knuckled grip, and the slow pace with which the merchant led them around, he relaxed enough to glance down at the ground. It was a worrying distance below and if he fell from here, it’d bruise, but that was all. This camel was a good deal taller than a donkey, that was for sure. The other thing about camels that he found a little distasteful was that it was nigh impossible to look dignified on one.

These creatures were useful, no one would deny that, but they had faces only a mother could love. The camel he rode had teeth that protruded from the lower lip so far that the thing’s lips would not cover them, leaving a dopey, sleepy look to the beast. He waited for this little demonstration to be over, listening to the camel trader drone on about the benefits of the animals, but when the man came to stating that these animals would be perfect for him and his wife he held up a finger, even as his cheeks bloomed pink.

“We’re-” he started but several things happened all at once, before he could correct the mistake. Later, he’d be lying in bed and realize that the camel trader still thought that he was married to Amarissa, because he never got the chance to state otherwise. A black blur charged toward them, squealing and thundering in a show of terror. His own camel heaved under him and he clung to the animal as it ripped free of the camel trader’s grip.

He was only vaguely aware that there was a horse near them, all flaring nostrils and rolling eyes inside a long face. A group of men shouted and converged on them. This was the last of his camel’s ability to cope and the thing lumbered off with incredible speed for an animal that was so stupid looking. He clung to the hump with his knees as the camel stretched out her neck and loped after Amarissa’s camel.

Faster than he could comprehend, they were whisked away from friends, family, and city, off into the rocky, flat desert beyond. Once onto unobstructed ground, the camels practically flew. Hoofbeats resounded behind them and he could hear men still shouting but he didn’t dare turn around to look. He didn’t have experience with camels and didn’t really know what he was doing with this one. Jerking on the reins didn’t work to stop it and it only made his camel toss her head in irritation and make a loud bellow at him.

Each flat foot of his mount that hit the ground sent a jarring jolt up his spine. He wasn’t sitting right, he knew that, but at the speeds which they were fleeing, he couldn’t very well adjust. For now he clung for dear life as the camels ran deeper and deeper into the desert. In his more rational portion of his mind, he was not concerned that they were lost forever. Someone would come help them. Enough people had seen that they’d been run away with and would obviously form a rescue party. His own family loved him enough to do that and he couldn’t imagine that Amarissa’s family felt so little for her that they’d leave her to her own devices.

His main concern was falling off at this speed and getting hurt. Or, falling off at this speed, getting hurt, and Amarissa be carried off further still, to suffer who knew what? He imagined her tumbling from the camel, lying on the ground, her dark hair fanned out around her, sobbing with no one to help her. It was a particularly distressing image and he felt a powerful urge to make sure that didn’t happen.

The sun beat down mercilessly on them as the camels continued to run. Their gait had changed by this time and he sensed the animals were no longer afraid, but instead, enjoying their freedom. He tugged on the reins again, trying to get the animal to stop but she wouldn’t listen. It was as though she knew full well that the man on her back had no clue what he was doing and that she could get away with whatever she wanted. Right now, she wanted to race Amarissa’s camel.

He didn’t realize they were racing right at first. All he knew was that jerking at the reins wasn’t bringing this hulking animal to a stop, nor would the camel even acknowledge that the reins were digging into the corners of its mouth and pulling the fur the wrong way up the beast’s nose. A drop of sweat rolled down his temple and Amiti absently wiped the side of his head on his shoulder, making the hair above his ear fly up, oddly mirroring the camel’s problem with its nose. Dust flew out behind them and he finally glanced over at Amarissa and shrugged.

“I think we have to wait for them to stop!” he shouted so that he could be heard over the moaning grunts of the camels as they snuffed at each other, the pounding flat feet, and the crunch of sand and rocks. “This will be fine!” He went on, cupping the side of his mouth. “Do not panic!”

If he could just give both her and himself the illusion that he had this totally under control, then it would be so. That was half of politics, after all. Show up to the council meet, know what your speaking points would be, argue them, and wait for your turn. That’s what was happening with this camel right now; his talking points, in this case, was that he wanted the animal to quit walking, or at least, quit walking in this particular direction. Like in a real council meet, someone disagreed with him. At the moment, two camels. All he had to do now was bluff his way into dominating them and he and Amarissa would find themselves back in Damascus, safe and sound, harried, but alright. At least, that was how he was hoping this would work out. Worst case scenario, the camel trader would come get them.

Only, when he turned around, there was no one actively chasing after them, which was mildly disappointing. He was a councilman! An Elder. Shouldn’t someone care? And what about her? What about those giggling girls she’d been with? Or her family? Though, Amiti absently reflected, Amarissa did tend to wander off. Her family may not miss her for some time, if that was normal behavior, which, to his mind, it probably was. It didn’t occur to him to make a joke about their situation, because he found absolutely no humor in it, and so, he said nothing else to her, unless she spoke first. His plan was to be silent and stoic, and hopefully that would encourage her not to panic.

If he’d known she had taken his words to heart and had found comfort in them, his confidence would have soared. As it stood, he merely pretended to himself that she had while suspecting that she hadn’t. The two animals carrying them went on and on and on, out into the rocky desert, past jagged crevices that might have been mountains at one point, but Amiti imagined had been worn away by the wind. His head was on a swivel as they traveled, and he didn’t immediately pick out the small oasis of scrubby trees and mirror reflective water. The nostrils of his camel’s nose expanded and the animal stretched out its neck, heading straight for the enclave. Amiti frowned, looking down at his camel’s newest excited, ambling gait. Where-? Ah. He spotted right where they were going and made sure to lean back a bit as his camel did precisely what Amarissa’s had done: nose first into the pool. Looking over and catching Amarissa’s glance, an unspoken agreement passed between them. Time to dismount.

Swinging his leg over the camel’s hump, he let himself slide to the ground and bent over a bit once he got there, holding onto his hips and making a face. His hips hurt. He was not used to sitting in that position for any length of time and his ligaments were screaming. Of course he’d shifted as best he could on the camel but he hadn’t been totally aware of the pain with the adrenaline coursing through his system. There was no ignoring it now and he hobbled a little on wibbly wobbly legs, having half a mind to smack the camel’s flank to let the beast know how unhappy he was but, ultimately decided against it. He’d likely be made to pay for the brute if it ran off. Best to leave the animal alone.

Unlike Amarissa, Amiti did not take his camel’s reins. He was pretty sure that if that idiot took it into his head to run, he’d do it, dragging Amiti right along with him. No. He wanted nothing to do with the animal right now and so came around Amarissa’s camel to see how she fared, only to find her shaking. “Are you alright?” he asked dubiously, half reaching as though he was going to pat her shoulder and ultimately deciding not to. It was best not to touch her if he could help it.

"What..what just happened?" she stammered. In...laughter? Amiti frowned to avoid smiling, but, against his stern will, the corners of his mouth twitched anyway, and his composure broke completely when Amarissa laughed out "wife?" A little thrill went through him at the term and he half laughed with her but stopped long before she did, stroking his beard in thought. Amarissa would have made a fine wife, he suddenly realized. Well, mostly fine. She did have that sordid background which was why he assumed his father hadn’t ventured to suggest her. Or, who knew? Maybe her name had been brought up at the dinner table. Either way, Amiti had no intention of marrying two women at once, if at all. It looked unseemly. And greedy. Reminding himself that Maeri was also a fine choice...possibly a better one, he couldn’t ignore the fact that he felt nothing for her beyond surface respect. The woman who was currently looking around them, suddenly unsure, was the one he was having trouble with keeping his attention off of. This alarmed him to such a degree that he turned around and took a few steps away, as though distance would fix this upsetting discovery.

"Do you recognize this place?" Amarissa asked and Amiti was forced to turn back around or risk being rude.

“It’s a um…” he half gestured across the way where a ramshackle well stood. It was merely a pile of stones with a heavy wooden lid affixed across the top and no way to draw water unless you already had a bucket and rope. Which they didn’t have. “Shepherds,” he said distantly, thinking of a local map he’d looked at long ago but more guessing right now with the evidence before them. “It’s a watering hole for the sheep and the men before they go on to pastures days away from here.”

He hugged himself and looked at the sky. A groan escaped him. “We won’t be able to walk back before nightfall. Unless we can get the camels to run in the right direction, they won’t be able to either.”

He’d been looking around but Amarissa’s stammered assertion that they couldn’t stay out here made him look back at her. “I’m afraid we can and we will,” he said simply. Logically. If they stood right here, and the ground didn’t move them and no one came for them, then logic dictated that yes, in fact, they would be bedding down for the night by this sheep pond. Edging nearer to the water, he eyed the surface, noting how clean it was. How still. Sheep didn’t drink from moving water and he could see no river feeding this. It must be a spring of some kind. With sheep treading into it and dredging up the sediment at the bottom, he could see the use of the well, but with no sheep, the water was probably safe enough to drink.

Amarissa’s voice made him turn back to her again as she spoke words that momentarily filled him with dread. "People will..." His mind had already leaped three steps ahead of the rest of her words. People will talk. People will assume. People will say that they’d lain together. A thought that made Amiti’s cheeks burn with both shame and a bit of embarrassment as a stray ‘how bad could that possibly be?’ flitted through his mind. How bad could that be? Who was he? Five minutes alone and he was already sinning in his mind. This would not do and so he quite literally shook the thought away and held up his hand, forcing the would be rumors to cease right there.

“They will not talk,” he assured her. “I am well respected and you are the daughter of a well respected man. Our reputations are above reproach.” At least, they’d better be.

"Surely they sent someone after us? I mean you're a.." she continued but trailed off with a lament on the tail end. Amiti stroked his beard as a sort of self soothing gesture and looked away from her again, back the way they’d come. He suspected a search would not begin in earnest until tomorrow.

"We should try and get back. It's the only way. We have to try and get them to run in the righ..."

“Absolutely not,” Amiti said at once, gesturing towards the swiftly darkening sky. “It’ll be too cold. We’d be better to build a fire as quickly as we can for warmth.”

"But people will talk..." Her dejection moved him a bit and his tone and expression softened considerably.

“Our safety is more of a priority at the moment,” he assured her. Again, he had the strangest impulse to take her by the shoulders and draw her closer, as though touching her would be more of a comfort, but again, he resisted. It wasn’t proper. “If the talk grows too much, I will do the right thing by you,” he vowed. “I swear it.” Not that she was giving any signals that she wanted to be saved by marriage, but if it was between that and having her reputation ruined, as well as his own, he’d rather have two wives than scandal.

"What will we do?"

“Gather what wood you can find. I’m sure there’s dry dung around here. I’ll find some flint, and we start the fire,” he said. “That is what we do. We’ll want it come night time. A fire will scare away wolves and worse,” he promised. It would definitely scare away beasts, but possibly draw people, which was what they wanted. “Go, go,” he said, finally touching her arm, nudging her the littlest bit to get her to move. Aside from landing straight on top of her in the most uncomfortable of ways a few months ago, Amiti had never touched her and he took his hand back quickly, not loving the thrill that went through him when he’d done it. That was a bad thing.

He cleared his throat and turned away, looking around for flint so that he could make sparks.