Desert Queen by Ashley Wren (best novels to read for beginners txt) 📖

and away from civilization. I had no idea where I was, but the land looked strangely familiar. I looked around me; all I could see was sand for miles and miles. I continued walking.
Before long, the atmosphere seemed to change. The sky grew dark and clouds began to roll in. Amazingly, it began to rain. The rain was cold and soothed my grateful skin; however, the darkness from the storm was beginning to make me lose course. Soon, I could see no more.
Afraid of being lost in the desert, I sat down where I was to wait out the storm. I sat there, completely serene, regardless of the rain; I waited. As I waited, the atmosphere began to change once more. As I watched, the sky began to clear and the air took on an aroma of perfume and roses. As I lifted my gaze to the sky, I saw a familiar face descending from the heavens; it was my grandmother.
“Jaddah!” I called, running toward her. She raised a hand, beckoning me to come to her. When I reached her side, I stopped and stared at her, barely believing what I saw. She spoke to me in that sweet voice I hadn’t heard in so long. I recognized it instantly, like the face of an old friend.
“My darling!” she said. “It’s so wonderful to see your face again. My, how you’ve grown!”
“Oh, Jaddah! I’ve missed you so!”
“I’ve missed you too my dear,” she took me in her arms and gently caressed my cheek. We stood that way, embracing each other, for what seemed like ages before I finally broke the silence.
“Jaddah… what are you doing here?” I asked, pulling back to look in her eyes. Her face grew serious.
“Oh my darling hafeedah*, I’ve come to warn you!” she said.
“Warn me?” I replied hesitantly. “Warn me of what?”
“Dear, your caravan is in grave danger. There are men coming… a group of them.” I didn’t understand.
“What do you mean Jaddah? A group of men?”
“Bedouin men,” she said. “Passing through for Ghardaia. My darling, don’t fret, but they are going to take you away.”
“Take me away?!” I cried, distraught. “Oh Jaddah, I don’t want to be taken away!”
“Hush my dear,” she said. “Everything will be alright. You must go with these men, and they will leave your men in peace.”
“But… what about me, Jaddah? What’s going to happen to me?” I began to cry into her beautiful white gown.
“Don’t you worry my dear, they will cause you no harm,” she said simply this, and nothing more.
“Jaddah, how do you know all of this?” I asked her. She laughed gently.
“You must remember, my desert queen. Jaddah knows all,” with these last words and a kiss atop my head, I watched in silence as she began to ascend back to Paradise. She sweetly sang that haunting melody as she rose.
“A world of light
And love I bring
I come for you
My desert queen…”
With this she was gone, disappearing into the clouds. There was a flash of light and the clouds vanished, leaving only the harsh rays of the sun, once again burning my delicate eyes.
“I love you Jaddah,” I whispered…
~~~
I awoke to a beam of light shining in my eyes; it was Uncle.
“Come now, my dear. We must be leaving.”

I dressed quickly and packed my things. I hurried out to where a few of the men had gathered in the rest tent for a quick breakfast before our departure. I grabbed a handful of granola and a bottle of water, and then went back out to help the others take down the tents. I couldn’t help but notice that one was missing; I didn’t dare ask what they had done with it, or what I knew it once contained.
The sun was just rising as we finished packing. Uncle called Hani over to help him with the map. They spread it out upon the ground; Uncle glanced to the sky.
“The sun is rising from there,” he said, pointing. “That means that direction is east; I know exactly where we’re going now.”
Finally back on course, Uncle and I climbed up on Tatuk and we set out once more. Ashraf took care to fasten Kazim’s camel to his own. As we rode farther, the sun climbed higher. Soon the miserable heat was back again. Though the sun was burning my skin, I hardly noticed it; I was too absorbed in thoughts of my mysterious dream.
My mind went back to that spot in the desert where my grandmother had descended from the sky. I heard her words echo in my ears, “My darling, don’t fret, but they are going to take you away…” I knew it was just a dream, but it all seemed so real. Anxiously, I kept an eye on the horizon as we continued our journey.
Hours more brought us even farther into the desert. Eventually, we began to see buildings in the distance; we had reached Touggourt. Within the hour, we finally made it into the city. This meant our journey was nearly half way through. As we entered the city walls, a group of villagers came to greet us, as is common in the desert when caravans pass through. Uncle decided we were making an unscheduled stop for the night and asked the villagers where we might find some shelter. One of the eldest villagers pointed us to an inn where she said we would be able to rest and clean up.
Walking in to the old desert inn, the twelve of us were certainly a sight. We were soaked with sweat and our hair was caked with dirt. Any time we took a step, a steady stream of sand would poor from our clothing. Regardless of our appearance, the innkeeper greeted us with warm enthusiasm.
“Welcome to Touggourt’s desert oasis!” he called, coming toward us with his arms open wide. He stopped and studied us for a moment more before continuing on. “You all look like you could use a rest.”
“We certainly could,” Uncle said. “By any chance, could you spare about six rooms?”
“Right this way,” the innkeeper smiled. He took Uncle to the front desk while pointing the rest of us upstairs. “Rooms five through ten are vacant.” As Uncle signed us in and paid for our stay, the rest of us went to bring in the packs from outside where we had tied the camels. Bringing my things to my room, I quickly unpacked my toiletries and then headed for the bath.
I turned on the water in the bath to heat as I undressed. Glancing in the mirror, I was shocked at my reflection. My hair was tangled and tan with sand. My eyes were dry and red, having been irritated by the arid desert climate. My skin, which was tanned to begin with, was now dark and cracked. I hardly recognized myself.
Quickly, I got in the bath and washed my once-beautiful dark hair. Though it was hot outside, the warm water felt amazing to my parched skin; the heat soothed my aching body. I took my time, enjoying this unexpected luxury. When I was through, I flushed my poor eyes with cool water and looked in the mirror again. The red was beginning to fade and my deep green irises were back to their beautiful shade.
Wrapping myself in a towel, I went back out to my bedroom. I rummaged through my bag to find my long, green dress I had thought to pack before we departed Saida. The dress bore a beautifully elegant floral pattern and stretched nearly to the ground. It had no sleeves, but had straps that tied behind my slender neck. I dressed myself and sat down on the bed to comb my wet hair. Being wet, my hair now flowed past my breasts and stretched to my waist. When my hair was combed straight, I went to the mirror to put on my makeup. I didn’t use much, only putting on enough to enhance the natural beauty of my features. Quickly, I brushed my teeth and found my black high heels that went beautifully with my dress. Leaving my bag on my bed, I left my room and went downstairs to the main room; it was here I found most of the others, gathered around a center table.
“Well men, it looks like we’ll be arriving in In Salah a little later than planned,” Uncle was saying.
“I don’t think any of us mind that, Mahdi,” Ragab said.
“Nevertheless,” Uncle continued, “this puts us behind schedule and I hate to leave the village any longer than necessary. Our trip home is going to have to be quicker.”
“well, let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” Hani said. “Until then, we should rest.” As Hani said this, the innkeeper entered the room.
“Dinner time,” he said with a smile.

The twelve of us were seated around an extravagant table, joined by the innkeeper, his wife, and a few of the other guests. Before long, the servants came out with plates piled with food. Everything was delicious and soon we were yawning as the exhaustion set in.
We talked with the innkeeper for another hour or so, retelling to him the events of our trip thus far. I noticed Uncle carefully avoided the story of what happened to Kazim. Before ling, I felt myself beginning to nod off.
“Kalila darling,” I heard Uncle chuckle, “let’s get you to bed.” Wearily, I got to my feet and let Uncle lead me to my bedroom. I turned on the light and closed the door behind me. Quickly, I undressed, replacing my evening gown with my nightgown. I was so exhausted that I didn’t even bother removing my make-up. Already half asleep, I shut off the light and finally climbed into bed.
It was amazing to lie in an actual bed, a luxury I had missed since our departure from Saida. I felt sleep begin to wash over me and I gave in willingly. As I was just about to fall asleep, I felt a strange tickle against my foot. I assumed it was only my bedcovers, and turned on my side to get more comfortable. As I turned, the odd tickle began to run up my leg. It was only then that I realized the tickle was not my bedcovers.
Screaming, I tore the blanket off of me and sat up abruptly in bed. I scrambled back and pressed myself against the headboard, drawing my knees to my chest in the darkness. I screamed again and immediately heard footsteps outside in the hall. I heard Uncle calling my name and saw the door being flung wide open. Someone flicked on the lights.
I saw several of the men standing in the doorway and heard them gasp in shock. There, with me in my bed, was a snake. With dismay, I realized that I was held captive in my bed by a Mamba.
The Black Mamba, being one of the most venomous snakes in the world, is highly feared in Algeria. One strike from this snake and I was dead. Realizing it was