“It’s exactly what you have, that sense of fulfillment, that I’m missing. I need to step away for a while. Stand on my own two feet. Only then will I know what I truly want.”
“Just be careful. As much as you want to see this world you keep talking about, don’t forget your heritage, Jazmina. We all have roots. Don’t hurt yourself trying to bedifferentjust for the sake of it, because in the end, you might lose yourself. You might look in the mirror and no longer know who you are.”
“You’ve matured a lot since marrying my brother.”
“Maybe. Honestly, I think even though we’re the same age, deep down, I’ve always felt older than you. Inexperienced, yes, but I knew what I wanted.”
“While I’m living a late adolescence?”
She smiles. “You’re twenty-one. You left adolescence a long time ago, missy.”
“Yes, and now I’m even too old for university. And to be honest, I don’t even know if that’s what I want.”
“Can I give you some unsolicited advice?”
“There’s no such thing between us, Adeela. Your advice will always be welcome.”
“It’s nothing big, but something I’d do in your place: instead of trying to figure out what you want, eliminate what you don’t. Whatever hurts you, cross it off. Don’t force yourself.”
I pull her into a hug. “That’s good advice, Your Excellency.”
“My advice is always amazing, Your Highness.”
After kissing my nephew one more time, I step into my brother’s private jet without looking back, or I’ll lose my nerve. But as soon as I sit down and fasten my seatbelt, my phone rings.
Kaled.
“Good morning, Your Excellency. As-salam alaykum[16], my sheikh.”
“Wa alaykum as-salam[17], my sister. You’re already on the plane, I assume?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“It’s fine. Adeela came, and I had breakfast with Father today.”
“But not with your mother?”
I sigh, wondering if he’ll be one more person to criticize me. “No. She barely spoke to me these last few days, just like our sisters.”
I wait for him to justify their behavior, but instead he changes the subject.
“You’re aware that I’m giving you a vote of confidence by allowing you to study abroad?”
“With all due respect, my sheikh, I’m not a child asking permission to go to a candy shop. I’m an adult, Kaled.”
“An adult with zero life experience. However, that’s not why I called. I called to remind you of the rules you’ll have to follow. Do not run away from the bodyguards under any circumstances, Jazmina, or I’ll bring you back so fast you won’t even know what happened.”
“I won’t run, as long as they at least pretend they’re not bodyguards. They don’t need to walk around in suits and darkglasses, or people will think I landed on the wrong planet. Who walks around with an escort twenty-four-seven?”
“We do. The Royal Family. You know your duties and responsibilities. You’re a princess, not an ordinary girl, Jazmina. You’re aware of the scandals involving our country in the last two years. We don’t need any more negative attention now that our economy and internal conflicts are finally stabilizing.”
The disappearance of our brother, former Sheikh Naim, who was officially declared dead about three months ago, turned Rheadur into the center of the universe when it came to gossip. Celebrity magazines feasted on the reports from women who had been his victims. We knew Naim lived a reckless life outside Rheadur’s borders, but what came to light was a nightmare. Models and actresses came forward describing the parties on my brother’s yacht[18], where they were drugged and then abused.
I still don’t know how my father survived such shame. Even though almost everything is forgotten now, the episode will always remain a scar on Rheadur’s history.
As if that weren’t enough, after Kaled became sheikh and began reinstating women’s rights, radicals inside the country organized attacks that resulted in arrests and death sentences, since in Rheadur, any assault on a member of the Royal Family is punished with capital execution[19].