The Tale of the Tarkheena's Slave
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	O listeners, I relate to you the tale of the Tarkheena
Delhashi's Slave. It is a tale of romance and adventure, from the
ancient legends of Calormen.

	In the ancient days of Calormen, there lived a Tarkheena,
Delhashi, the daughter of the Zardeba Tisroc. She was beautiful,
more beautiful than any Tarkheena that lived at that time. Her
skin was dark, as the beans of coffee plants that sprout from the
Calormene Isles near Zalindreh, and her hair was as black as the
nights when Zardeenah does not deign to show her face to the
Empire.

	And it was said she could outthink the greatest
strategician of the Tisroc's court, and played all comers at the
game of checkers (a sport played with marbles and holes, not the
chessboard of Narnia).

	Yet, as the Tisroc's daughter, she had the privilege not
to marry; Zardeba Tisroc was strong, and did not require her as a
bargaining tool in alliances. He allowed her to choose a husband,
but no man could please her.

	At this time also lived the Tarkaan Aldain. He was young
and handsome, not old and wizened as many Tarkaans are, and he
ruled the far province of Tehishbaan. He had not business often
at the Tisroc's court, so knew not of the Delhashi Tarkheena
until the Tisroc called his Tarkaan Lords to council, that he
might raise taxes.

	At the council's dissolution, the Tarkaan Aldain took a
walk in the sloped gardens of the Tisroc in Tashbaan, and near a
fountain spied the Tarkheena Delhashi. He was struck dumb by her
beauty, and approached her.

	"Lady Tarkheena," he said, for what else could she be, "I
beg ask your name and your title." Delhashi said, "Lord Tarkaan,"
for what else could he be, "my name is Delhashi Tarkheena, and I
am daughter of the Tisroc (may-he-live-forever)." And with that
short answer, she turned back to watch the waters of the fountain
pour forth.

	Of this, he knew not what to think. "I am Aldain, Lord
Tarkaan of Tehishbaan, the western desert province," he said,
"and I beg ask of you what a Tarkheena of such beauty pretends,
residing in the garden of the Tisroc (may-he-live-forever), and
not married to a powerful Tarkaan in a distant city?"

	This time, she did not even turn to look at him. "No
Tarkaan may have my heart." Said he, "Why not, Tarkheena, for the
heart of a Tarkaan may not always be cruel and cold." Said she,
"No Tarkaan has won my heart, for none have yet shown himself
worthy." She looked at him now with cold eyes, which gleamed with
the light and set his mouth dry. "And no silver tongue may buy my
heart.  Leave me," she commanded, and turned back to the
cascading waters.

	At this the Tarkaan took a step back, stunned at the way
a mere Tarkheena could order him, and further stunned that he
obeyed without question. He turned, and made for the Tisroc's
Palace, and made petition to speak in his presence, which was
granted after a day and a night.

	"Lord Tisroc (may-you-live-forever)," he said, prostrate
before his emperor, "I beg to ask your daughter Delhashi
Tarkheena's hand in marriage, that we might strengthen the bond
between the court of Tashbaan and the province of Tehishbaan."

	The Zardeba Tisroc laughed, "What greater bond could
there be between my court and your province than the word of the
Tisroc?  But even were I to think that idea of any merit, I have
granted my daughter her choice of husband. And if you have come
to me, then you must have been rejected by her. Leave my court,
and do not trouble my daughter again!"

	Aldain Tarkaan thanked the Tisroc for his time, and
retreated from his presence. But though the Tisroc's words were
firm, the Tarkaan could not remove the vision of Delhashi
Tarkheena from his mind, and she haunted his dreams that night.

	As any good Tarkaan's would in such a position, his mind
turned to deception as a way to win her heart. He returned to his
province, and spoke with his vizier. "O, my long friend, I wish
to capture the Tarkheena Delhashi's heart. I am in need to a way
to be in her presence, though she does not wish it."

	His vizier thought upon this, and he said, "Might you go
as a slave, sold to the Tarkheena to serve upon her? From there
you may learn much of her ways, including the true path to her
heart?"

	And the Tarkaan thought this a good plan, and the two
plotted.  The next day, true slaves of the Tarkaan were sent in
the vizier's care to the Tisroc, as a gift to the Tisroc, and
Aldain was among them, dressed as a servant. The vizier explained
them as tribute and thanks for the Tisroc's kind words to the
Tarkaan.

	"And my lord Tisroc (may-you-live-forever)," he said from
upon the ground, "This slave has served my Tarkaan well." And on
these words he indicated none other than Aldain. "It grieves my
lord to part with him, but he grants that he may be of some
service to your daughter, for he knows the ways of writing and
speaking, and could teach the Tarkheena even as he serves her."

	And the Tisroc thought this a wise gesture from the
Tarkaan, and accepted the gift. He dismissed the vizier to return
to his lord, but upon leaving the court, the vizier stole away to
the streets of Tashbaan.

	Aldain, in the manner of slave, was made to wait upon the
Tarkheena Delhashi. He drew her baths, and brought her sherbets
and salads, and tried to learn her manner. One day, a rich
Tarkaan from Calavar came to the Palace, and asked to make her
his bride. She granted him the chance to beat her at checkers,
and they played at once.

	During the game, Aldain brought them ices and melon
slices, and fanned them, but his eyes and thoughts were on the
game. In due course, the Tarkaan lost, and was sent away.

	That night, once the Tarkheena had been set to bed,
Aldain stole away from the Palace, and sought out his friend the
vizier in a cafe on the streets of Tashbaan.

	"I have watched her play checkers," he said, "And wish to
learn the way to overcome her at this game." The vizier thought
on this and said, "I shall seek out the best player in all of
Tashbaan, and bring him here tomorrow night. Be here, and we
shall pay him to teach you the game."

	And so it was that the next night Aldain returned to the
cafe, and did indeed meet the finest checkers player in all of
Tashbaan, perhaps all of Calormen itself. They beseeched him to
relate his knowledge to Aldain, and paid him many Crescents. And
for the next month, each night, he taught the Tarkaan the game,
until Aldain could merely be drawn by the master, and did not
lose.

	When next the Tarkheena was in need of amusement, her
slave Aldain asked if she would play him a game of checkers, and
she laughed but agreed.

	Much was it to her surprise that she lost the game. She
demanded they play again immediately, but again her mere slave
bested her.  A third game did they play, and when again she was
overcome, she sent Aldain away and flung herself to her bed.

	The next day, not long after the rising of the sun,
another wealthy Tarkaan appeared at the palace and asked for her
hand.  She thought upon this, and challenged him to a riddle.

	Riddles were a sport often played in Calormen, but only
among the wisest of Tarkaans and viziers. The Tarkaan blanched,
but agreed.

	"What howls, but has no mouth; what stings but has no
stinger; what buries but has no shovel? Answer this, and I shall
be your bride.

	She sat, and waited as the Tarkaan thought, and had
Aldain bring her a lemon drink. For an hour, the Tarkaan thought,
but it was in vain, for he had no answer, and was sent away by
the Tisroc.

	At this, she laughed, and returned to her rooms. Soon,
Aldain approached her. Since he was from the western desert, the
answer to the riddle was clear to him. "My lady Tarkheena," he
said, "might the answer to your riddle be the wind?" At this she
turned to him coldly, and sent him away. He bowed, and retreated
willingly.

	And now the Tarkheena Delhashi knew not what to think,
for a slave had bested her at the game of riddles and the game of
checkers, something no lordly Tarkaan had yet done for her. And
she found her thoughts lingering ever more upon the slave, who
she realized she found handsome despite his status.

	One day, she called her slave into her presence, and
asked of him, "O slave, who are of base blood and ignoble
upbringing, how come you to know of games of skill and riddles?"
And he answered, "O my Tarkheena, may it please you, such games
are common among the slaves and servants of the western province
of Tehishbaan."  For though it was not true, he knew not what
else to say.

	But upon those words from his lips, she remembered
another who spoke in that voice and also spoke of Tehishbaan and
the western province that held it as its capital, and she guessed
who he might be, though she said nothing.

	She at once sent him away, and thought further on what
she was to do. Soon, another lord Tarkaan appeared in the court,
and begged for her hand. Her games and riddles had been taken
from her by her slave, so she told the Tarkaan, "Go forth into
the desert to the north, and bring me back the riches of the
south, and I shall be your willing bride."

	And the Tarkaan knew not what to do, for the riddle made
no sense to him. Nor did the Tarkheena rightly know, for she
merely wished to rid herself of the man. But he set forth in vain
search, and it is said he was never seen again, such was his
desire to find the riches in the cruel desert.

	But Aldain knew not that it was a trick, and set out that
night to speak with his vizier, who still lingered in the city of
the Tisroc. He told him of her challenge, and the vizier related
to him a tale of a cruel Efreet who stole the gold of the
southern provinces and retreated to the wild desert with his
riches.

	The two planned and equipped the Tarkaan Aldain to go
forth into the desert in search of the Efreet, and he took with
him a pack of foods and a bottle of water. He set out to entrap
the magical being though he knew not how he should accomplish
this impossible task, so set was his heart on the Tarkheena
Delhashi.

	After four days and four nights, he had found nothing,
and was short of supplies and his bottle was empty of water, for
there was aught to be found in the desert. And in the palace he
had left behind, Delhashi noticed his absence and wept, for she
had grown to love the slave who was a Tarkaan, and rightly
guessed the reason of his absence. She had not wished to send him
away.

	Endless seemed the search of Aldain, and he found
nothing. One night, he heard the calling of the jackals, and laid
down, and made peace with Tash, and cried of his troubles. "O, I
have given my life to seek that which would make Delhashi love
me." And with these words, the sands swirled around him and the
powerful form of an Efreet appeared on the dune before him, for
Efreets are often drawn by tales of woe and love.

	"You give your life for this woman?" boomed the voice of
the Efreet. "I shall give her to you for a lesser price, for I
can give you anything!" "And what is your price?" cried Aldain,
for he knew the trickster ways of the desert genies.

	"I ask but for your soul!" laughed the Efreet. And Aldain
thought quickly, and bowed his head. "It is yours, but for this
woman's heart." And he reached into his pack, and brought forth
his empty bottle. "My soul is kept within, as is the way of my
people!" he lied.

	And to the Efreet, a soul is a tangible thing that may be
kept somewhere precious or safe, and he said, "Then I claim it,
and will grant your wish!" And he laughed and reached into the
bottle. But he could not find it, and reached further in, and
further until he was entirely within. And Aldain clapped his hand
over the bottle's mouth, and cried "Now you will obey me!"

	And the Efreet struggled, but could not get free, and so
acquiesced. Aldain said, "I ask only for you to return me to the
court of the Tisroc, clothe me in my Tarkaan robes, and give me
the treasures you stole from Calormen. Once that is done, you may
go free." And the Efreet howled and begged and complained, but
agreed, and an Efreet's word is its bond.

	And the Efreet worked his magic, and Aldain Tarkaan
appeared in the Tisroc's court, before the Tisroc and the
Tarkheena Delhashi and the Grand Vizier and all the court,
clothed in his proper clothes. And the tears that still flowed
from Delhashi's eyes changed from sadness to joy, as she saw he
was indeed the Tarkaan.

	And then the gold of Calormen's south, long thought lost,
poured out from the bottle he upended, filling the court and
setting the Grand Vizier to shriek. And he tapped the bottom of
the bottle, and the Efreet appeared. "You are free, Efreet, and
my thanks!"  And the Efreet quickly retreated back to the desert
through a palace window.

	Aldain Tarkaan bowed to the Tisroc. "My lord Tisroc
(may-you-live-forever), this gold belongs rightly to you and I
would have you have it again. And I ask your daughter Delhashi
Tarkheena, for her hand in marriage."

	And the Tisroc turned to his daughter to tell her his
thoughts (which were, it was later recorded, that it would be
foolish to turn down this young lord), but she was already in his
arms, and they were wed soon after.

	They lived in splendor in Aldain's palace in Tehishbaan,
and when the Tisroc died (for they do not always live forever),
he became Tisroc after Zardeba, and his vizier and loyal friend
became Grand Vizier. And it was a glorious time in Calormen.