“That necklace is MINE!!!” Tina shouts
out, “It was a gift from my regular customer from the Garden of 1001 Pleasures,
where I work! After three nights in a row, doing my duty for the kingdom of
Kalahari, in the Garden, the Sir gave me that Necklace!”
(looks around at the gathering who is
here to hear my story.)
“After the third night in a row of my
pleasing him, he gave me that generous gift, He knows I like necklaces,
especially one of shining pearls. I had
a shiny box, though unused so it was a bit dusty, to keep the pearl necklace in
when he gave it to me. After he left, I bathed, put on new silks and went to
the tavern, for I was famished.”
(Giggles to myself, knowing that only
my belly had not been filled.)
“I also had no service at the tavern,
so I made my own dinner. While it was cooking, I looked in the box and smiled
at my new necklace, hence the box was slightly opened. When I retrieved my
dinner and the tankard, the gravy was spilling over my plate onto the table and
the tankard I filled too full and it was spilling over as well. I put the
necklace on the shelf, so the gravy and drink did not spill on it.”
(looks at the gathering again to see
looks of approval, smirks at some rolling their eyes)
“After I finished my meal, I went to
get up, and found another customer for the Garden lurking behind me. He grabbed
my wrists and bound them with rope! I tried to scream out, saying that I needed
to get my necklace, but he muffled my screams and used a silken sash to silence
me, pulling the gag tight between my teeth. I could not scream out, through the
gag. He then dragged me back to the Garden annex, where he cuffed me to the
slave post, and used me! I would still be cuffed to that Slave Post, if it had
not been for Miss Nila, who came and released me from the post. Miss Nila had
me bathe, washing away what the Sir had left on me, then she inspected me.
Seeing I was clean, to Miss Nila's satisfaction, I put on new silks and
returned to the tavern to retrieve my gift BUT IT WAS GONE!!”
(Looks suspiciously at the gathering,
then remembers Nada's honesty)
Smiles, and says in a matter of fact
manner, “I heard that Nada had found my necklace, so I am here to get it back!”
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| Lady Nilasso applauds the story of her Garden Girl TinaWo |
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| Lady Samaira, Market Manager Anette CapriHorn, and the evil Sailmaster Thorgrim |
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| Roxe with Stephanie Brown in the Background |
ROXE
I am Lady Roxelana Chronander, though
you all might call me by another name now.
(shoots a dirty look at Minister
Afraa.)
When I heard of the necklace found in
the tavern, my heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Not all my possessions
vanished into the pockets of that thief?
It is a matter of public record that I
fled Sweden with my dower consisting of several pieces of jewelry. I sought to
find a buyer for those pieces here, to pay for a small home in which to spend
the rest of my days as a quiet widow. Some sticky-fingered scoundrel broke into
Lady Malika's locked chest, where the bulk of my dower had gone into
safekeeping.
In those days I could be seen often
wearing a string of pearls, to match the pearl-ended hairpins in my coiffure.
Oh yes, not too long ago I was not barred from wearing my hair up off my
shoulders like a respectable lady, and not down like it is now like a maiden
girl or wanton.
My theory is that the the thief snuck
into my room at the inn but as he made his escape there was a crowd around a
table in the courtyard before the tavern. Does it not then make sense that he
would hide it for retrieval later? But then after he managed to make off with
the much greater amount from the locked chest and ran to get a head start on
any pursuit by the forces of law and order.
It is only right and just that this
necklace be returned to me, though some would say I am entirely too vocal about
what would be just.
(glances over at the Minister
again.)
Please return to me the last thing I
have of my proper station of nobility. It's the right thing to do.
(curtsies in an almost regal manner
as she returns to the audience.)
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| Shayla Rhagreb views the performance of Afraa. |
AFRAA AL ABID
“Is there
anyone less appreciated than I am?” complained Afraa al Abid, as she staggered
toward the Delicious Syrup Tavern after another long day of signing papers,
spending money on jewelry for “Royal Miscellaneous,” and keeping track of the
King’s romantic errr “affairs of state.”
“Well, I’ve
had it, it’s Friday night, and I am going to the Tavern to see if I can drink
enough ka-la-na that I see Allah!” muttered Afraa, as citizens moved out of the
way of the mumbling minister, used to seeing the steam coming out of her ears
at the end of a work week.
Amazingly,
the Tavern was empty. Little did Afraa know that the King was sponsoring a
Maypole dance at the Palace, with free food and drink provided to the citizens
and their slaves, and the Grand Prize: a hot bath with the Maypole winner! The
Tavern paled by comparison to that particular thrill.
Trifles such
as no drinking companions had never stopped Afraa before, however, and she
rather looked forward to a night of solitary drinking when she realized she was
alone in the Tavern. “Let the good times roll,” thought Afraa, as she pried
open the barrel of ka-la-na.
Six drinks
later, the drunken Minister felt the need to play, and losing track of all
discretion, took out of her secret pouch the glistening treasure that had been
smuggled to her by her long-time secret love, the Emir of Fatsonia, who
undoubtedly had acquired this beautiful pearl necklace by entirely legal means.
Rubbing the
pearls against her cheek, Afraa concocted the ridiculous but entirely
understandable fantasy that the Emir was in the Tavern, and being the romantic
god that he is, was seducing her (in between bites of grape cake and croissants!)
Fantastic apparitions merged with drunken hallucinations and before long, Afraa
was in the throes of what we in Kalahari know as a “Monarch Moment.”
“Mmmmm”
thought Afraa, who by this time had forgotten where she was, and what she was
holding in her hand. “Why am I holding these eggs, and why do they have a
string through them?” Looking around to see if anyone noticed, and being
consoled that she was totally alone, Afraa shoved the “eggs,” (and I know all
of you clever people have figured out that they were not eggs, but the PEARL
NECKLACE!”) on the shelf. But in her drunken state, the top of the jewel box
popped open, which went unnoticed by the inebriated Minister, who turned around
and immediately passed out, face down, into a sack of flour.
When the Tavern crew came
in the next morning, they immediately dusted off the Minister, and allowed her
to stagger home, all memories of the previous night gone with the last of the
flour dust, with one exception:
THE NECKLACE IS MINE!
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| Stephanie ponders Afraa's drunken tale. |
Though all the stories were fabulous, the judges came to a conclusion that Afraa al Abid had won, and Lady Nada made that announcement to an audience thrilled by the clever stories, and the witty remarks they themselves had made!
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| Sultana of Stories Nada Syuhada |
