The night guard stood in my doorway. It was four in the morning and my day usually started at eight or nine in the morning. 

        "She demands you report to her at once." He said with a small bit of terror in his eye. "And bring your shield because she was throwing things," He stopped and looked down at the floor, then back up a me, "heavy things. She wanted me to leave and send you to her." My eyes rolled at the dramatic way he spoke but as sure as the sky was a…

    "You mustn't expect manners. This chick isn't polite unless you have something to offer." The other guard said as he filled me in while we walked through the pillared outdoor hallway on the perimeter of a courtyard. As we made our way to the princess' room, he filled me in on important things to keep in mind. "If you cross her, you won't know until it's too late. She's like a damn shayteen, an evil jinn. She'll give you a polite smile, tell you not to worry about it, and then…

     I've decided that to begin with this story, I should give you a bit of background on Nef and myself. 

       One Arabian night, as a warm south wind played with the desert sand dunes under a cold blue bed of diamond sky, a young boy of eighteen waited under a cypress tree for his love. She arrived on a camel, wearing a silver niqab and a white abaya and when they saw each other, she stripped herself of her clothing and they made love. In the morning, the…

           I'll be honest. I'm not a writer by profession. I just want someone to hear this story; my story…our story. It's difficult to know where to begin. In the first place, I could bore you with the details of Nef's birth. In the second, I could put you to sleep a lot quicker with the story of my birth. 

          This story that I am about to tell you is not a message of complaint. I complain a lot, especially in the beginning but honestly, if it were not for the…