Page 13 of Bound by Wishes (Enchanted Deceptions #1)

B eing a princess was just as demeaning and dull as my life in the museum. At least there, I had ancient artifacts to study; here, my time was wasted being pampered and paraded off to stuffy banquets and endless parties. Gag. That might be some women’s dream, but it certainly wasn’t mine. I needed a purpose.

I lounged on a settee on my balcony, trying to keep myself from going stir-crazy as Namir watched a white luna moth dance through the air. Its fluttering held my attention with its subtle yet elegant cream-colored wings. It reminded me of the different species my father had collected, preserving their carcasses behind glass picture frames. I laughed when Namir swatted at it, obviously irritated at the moth’s taunting. It floated away as innocently as it had appeared, taking with it what little amusement there was to be had in this dull palace.

I sat up straighter as commotion near the main entrance drew my focus. One good thing about my room was that its balcony faced the main gate, allowing me to entertain myself by snooping. I eased closer to the railing, trying to make out what was being said, but I couldn’t hear a single word. One of the guards was yelling at what appeared to be an older child or young teen. Anger flooded my veins, burning rampant when the guard shoved the child and slammed the gates on him.

The hierarchy of the royals irritated me. Irritated me enough to do something stupid. I glanced around the room, wondering once again where Ranen had ventured off to. He wasn’t hovering around when I woke up this morning, which was odd. Fueled by boredom and the intense desire to help these poor people, I slowly opened my bedroom door and ventured out into the hall.

“Do you need something, princess?” I nearly jumped out of my skin as a guard standing by my door addressed me.

I quickly composed myself and smiled at him. “Just stretching my legs.” I walked off without another word, only to be disappointed when I heard him following me. It was pointless to tell him I didn’t need a chaperone. Whenever I left my room, I was surrounded by guards or servants, another downside of being a princess. I glanced down the hall that led to the bathing pool, and I veered toward it. The guard wasn’t allowed near the women’s bathing chamber.

“I’ll send for your servant, Your Highness!” the guard yelled after me, and I picked up my pace. I had to find a way out of here before Arwa caught up with me.

The temperature soared as I ventured into the muggy bathing chamber, the air thick with perfume. Fortunately, no one was inside. My gaze swept around the room until it landed on a small door at the back. I rushed to it, elation buzzing through me when I pulled on the handle and found that it wasn’t locked. The door squeaked open, and I looked down a dark, empty hall. This must be the servant's entrance. I started down the hallway only to end up in a part of the palace I had never seen before.

The servants' quarters were an eyesore compared to the brilliance of the rest of the rooms. Tucked away in a dimly lit corner of the palace grounds, the quarters were cramped and poorly ventilated, with a stifling heat adding to the discomfort. The walls were bare and stained, and the floors were made of rough, uneven stone. A few tattered rugs provided scant relief from the cold stone underfoot.

Basic wooden cots, covered with thin, worn blankets, served as beds, offering little comfort after long hours of serving those of privilege. Guilt squeezed my chest just thinking about the lavish bed I had been sleeping in. The air was heavy with the mingled scents of sweat and the faint odor of unwashed bodies. Emotion tightened my throat as I glanced around the meager accommodations that struggled to hold so many.

I quietly ventured further into the room, relieved that it was empty, as daylight had just broken and the servants were busy with their morning duties. Maybe I should have Ranen turn Razoul into a toad to teach him some humility, if there was any to be found in his cold heart. I continued through the pitiful dwellings until I reached another door. More heat flooded into the stuffy room as I pulled it open. The rich, savory scent of roasting meats mingled with the buttery aroma of freshly baked bread and floated into the room. No wonder the servants’ quarters were so stifling. They were wedged between the humid bathing chambers and the bustling kitchen.

All eyes turned to me, and I froze in the doorway. Fear and shock skipped across the kitchen staff's expressions. I smiled to try to alleviate their fears, but they hit the ground hard, bowing before me.

“You can rise.” I huffed and waited for them to slowly stand back up.

My gaze wandered over the kitchen. Massive stone hearths lined one wall, where roaring fires cooked whole spits of lamb and other meats, their juices sizzling and dripping into the flames. Long wooden tables were loaded with an array of colorful spices in jars, fresh fruits and vegetables piled high in wicker baskets, and bunches of fragrant herbs hanging from overhead beams.

I plucked a juicy-looking fig from one of the wicker baskets and took a bite. A burst of sweetness, with undertones of honey and a hint of berry-like tartness caressed my taste buds.

“I was just in search of a little snack,” I said, smiling innocently at them, but they remained frozen like zombies, never so much as blinking an eye. I snatched a few baskets from the wooden tables packed tight with fruits, vegetables and breads. “Really hungry,” I insisted as I continued through the kitchen. Discarded burlap sacks lined the floor near the door, and I used them to cover the food. “I’m just going to borrow this.” I snatched a dark-brown cape from a hook near the door, draping it over my shoulders and pulling the hood over my head. Opening the door, I was pleased to find that it led outside. The bright sun brushed against my skin as I turned back around. “You never saw me.” I smiled at the servants as I closed the door behind me.

There was a fifty-fifty chance that any of them were getting ready to rat on me, but judging by their shocked faces, they might completely ignore the fact that a princess had just walked through the kitchen and stolen food.

The heavy basket handles dug into my skin as I trekked through the gardens toward the gate. As I neared the arched gateway, I wondered if the guards would try to stop me. Surely, the servants had lives outside of the palace, so hopefully, I could walk right through unnoticed. Holding my breath, I approached the entrance. The guard's gaze brushed down the length of my body before dismissing me with a sneer. I scurried through the gate, never looking back, and stumbled into the dusty streets of the city.

My chest tightened as I noticed several smaller children tucked tightly against the palace wall, wailing for the guards to open the door and give them food. They were dirty and grimy and the rags they wore barely covered their tiny bodies. Tears pricked at my eyes as my heart broke for them.

I ducked down a nearby alley and motioned for the children to follow me. It struck me how desperate they must be to trust a stranger leading them into darkness. I set the baskets down on the dusty ground and pulled the burlap cloths away, uncovering the food. The children pounced on the baskets, stuffing anything they could in their mouths and fighting for more like wildcats.

“Easy now. There’s plenty for all of you.” I tried to soothe them in a calming voice, but that only seemed to make them more violent. The back of my head collided with the stone wall as one of them shoved me out of the way. Pain exploded in the back of my skull. I forced my way through the mass of children, making my way back onto the safety of the streets. I watched from a distance as the children scattered, not even a crumb of bread or leaf of a vegetable left behind. The desperation of the starving children made me sick to my stomach.

I rubbed the tender spot on my head as I wandered further down the street. That small amount of food was just a bandage over a much bigger problem. But that was why I was here. I’d endure the mind-numbing boredom if it meant helping these people.

I should probably go back inside the palace, but the little touch of freedom was so nice that I hesitated. I could take care of myself. It wasn’t like I was an actual princess. I’d been in places much worse than this before.

The sun beat down on me as morning turned to midday. The scratchy cape I wore clung to my sweaty body, but I couldn’t take it off and reveal the fancy clothes I had on underneath.

I stopped when I reached the center of the busy market. A single well that was crumbling and weathered caught my attention. The stones had shifted and eroded, creating uneven gaps and jagged edges. I walked over to it, peering into the deep hole in the ground. The little water within was murky and stagnant. I shuddered. Anyone who drank from this well would likely end up with dysentery.

A hand clamped down on my arm, squeezing without mercy. “Get away from the well! You have not paid!” I was thrown to the ground, landing with a harsh thud. My hands scraped against the coarse sand, the sharp grains biting into my skin. I caught myself just before my face collided with the ground. Dust rose around me in a cloud, coating my lips and nostrils.

I glanced back at the guard who had thrown me to the ground. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, almost daring me to defy him. I blinked up at him, scarcely believing the brutality he inflicted just because I peered into a well. My vision blurred as I tried to blink away the dust that was burning my eyes. That's when I noticed a long line of people with buckets, bowls, jars, and anything else they could use to carry water. Their faces were etched with desperation and weariness, each waiting their turn to draw from the cesspool.

I eased from the ground and backed away from the well before the guard hovering over me decided to use the sword he was threatening me with. I watched from a distance as, one by one, the people paid a man sitting at a rickety table before being allowed to approach the well and dip into its murky depths. A jolt of cold prickled down my spine, rooting me to the spot. My mind struggled to process what I was seeing. These poor people had to pay for that tainted water?

“Back to work!” another guard thundered, drawing my attention away from the injustice of Jalam.

Quickly melding into the crowd, I joined the line of men and women being herded like sheep as they were forced back to work. I didn’t know where we were going or what I was going to do when I got there, but I was determined to see the extent of the mistreatment of the Canaari people. With a powerful genie at my disposal, the thought crossed my mind to wish for him to burn the entire palace to the ground with all the haughty royals and evil guards.

Suspicion crept through me when we reached the gates that led outside of the fortress walls. What kind of work could they possibly be doing outside the heavily guarded kingdom? We walked for a while with the insufferable heat beating down on us, each step feeling heavier than the last. The humid breeze that whipped through my hair was far from refreshing, with tiny particles of sand brushing against my skin like sandpaper.

My breath caught when we reached the top of a sand dune and I looked down over a massive dig site. Tents made from tattered canvas and patched-up cloth provided scant shelter from the blazing sun, and the ground was littered with debris, evidence of hurried, careless work. I had to admit, even someone as vile as Mathew took better care of his dig sites and workers.

The workers were dressed in threadbare clothing stained with dirt, blood, and sweat, as they dug tirelessly under the watchful eyes of the guards.

“Get moving,” a guard bellowed and shoved me forward. I quickly fell back in line, and we carefully descended the steep dune. The sand shifted underfoot as we went down. The air was thick with dust, making every breath a struggle and further adding to the misery of the place. The foul stench of human waste hit me full force when we reached the bottom, causing my eyes to water. I glanced over at the overflowing makeshift pots that were being used as latrines. My skin crawled at the unsanitary and dehumanizing conditions.

I froze when I saw children, too young to endure such work, being forced to labor alongside the adults, their small hands sorting through the debris of what looked like a collapsed mine .

This had to be the dig site that the servant mentioned when Razoul was in my room. How many precious lives were buried under the rubble?

A hand snaked out from a tent, clamping off my scream as it banded over my mouth. Panic squeezed my chest without mercy as I was pulled into a dingy tent with gaping holes in the canvas roof.

“It’s me, sayyida. Don’t scream.” Ranen’s deep voice was a balm to my rising panic. He slowly lowered his hand and turned me to face him. “Have you gone mad? What are you doing here?” Anger swirled in his deep irises.

My heart was still galloping like a wild stallion, but I breathed deep, willing it to calm. “You said you wanted to find the dig site, well, I found it,” I said, pulling back the flap of the tent and motioning at the horrid sight.

“I see,” Ranen growled. “But that didn’t mean you were to leave the palace alone in search of it.”

“Does that mean you were worried about me?” I asked, batting my lashes in the manner I knew he hated.

He held up his banded wrists. “I have to, remember?”

I shrugged, too disheartened to continue the banter with him. “We have to do something to help these people. Have you seen the way they’re being treated?” I asked. Ranen opened his mouth to respond, but I continued before he got a chance. “The children sit by the palace gate wailing for food, and do you know that the people are being forced to pay for water?”

Ranen gripped both of my shoulders, turning me to face him. “Which is why we need to find that book. None of this is going to stop as long as Razoul is king.”

I huffed, more than a little defeated by his response. I didn’t want to waste any more time looking for a book. These people needed help, and they needed it now.

“Can’t I simply wish for all of this to go away?” I asked, a hint of hope in my voice.

Ranen smiled at me genuinely for the first time. “Wishes aren’t miracles, ya amar. My meager genie powers can’t fix something of this magnitude.” He reached up, brushing his fingertips along the curve of my cheek, and my heart flopped in my chest.

I stepped away from his touch as my traitorous legs turned to spaghetti. “Fine, but at least take me back to the well, if nothing else,” I demanded. “I’m determined to make sure they at least have fresh water that won’t kill them.”