Fatima’s only reprieve from leadership was her gender. She was glad that she did not need to bear responsibility for heading the council. Her brother would, by right of his birth, would take it instead. She wanted nothing more than to ride free on the horses, find a man she loved, and bake bread for the children they would have together.
Until their father fell ill and her brother, Asadel, became regent in his place. In an eagerness Fatima never expected, her brother heaped trouble upon trouble onto the council he led. Disputes were settled in his friend’s favor, gifts were sent to flatter his growing ego, even basic duties such as overseeing the herd began to go untended.
When it became too much, she disappeared one night, only to return as Filaq, lost brother to the tribe. Her father recognized her, answering the council’s questions of her heritage with a nod. A wave of his hand indicated he wished Filaq to be his regent.
While Asadel seethed, Faliq was welcomed as a fair arbiter, a wise master of the herdsman, and one who lived as humbly as the rest. Perhaps most admired of all, was the time Faliq spent with his father, even though he could not speak and communicating with him could be as difficult as interpreting tea leaves.
In his anger and jealousy at being usurped, Asadel began to spy on the new regent, even going so far as to follow when they went to pass water. Seeing Filaq crouch in the bushes, he strode forward to confront the sibling he knew to be Fatima, seeking to reestablish his dominance.
Few knew what became of Asadel. Even fewer mourned him.
See the author’s published work here.
Image courtesy of John Keeley.
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