A new beginning

Fineae stoods at the railing of a small ship and thought about the past.

A few months ago she had been a syrian warrior. She had a little village and the family lived from her pay. She had never been rich or something like that but she and her family could live from it. Her mother worked at the farms and her father took the harvest and sold it at the market.
While her litte siblings played in the garden with the family dog.

It has been a real good time. But then...
then came the dearth...

There was a really hot time. It was always hot, but this time it was as hot that the little well gave no more water. The last water they got was red like blood and it smelled evil.
The family started to wander around and looked for water but more and more wells in the near got red and the last wells got sheltered by their owners in arms. There were fights for water and somehow more people died in this fights then by the famine.

At first the family dog and some of the farm animals died. Her father took the family to the capital but on the way to the capital Fineaes youngest brother got ill and died a few days after. Fineaes sister cryed in argony and broke down just 2 days before the family arrived at the capital. She never arrived at the capital too.

Fineaes mother kneed down near her little daughter and didn't want to go on any more. Fineaes father had to hold on the fort and to pull her away to go on. After that Fineaes mother didn't spoke any more. She seemed to be broken inside.

The day they arrived at the capital should be the honour for all their efforts, but it wasn't.
All around the capital were displaced people surching for water and help. But the doors of the capital were closed. The capital had no possiblities to help all the poor. Armed warriers patroled at the town wall and threated everyone that dared to come closer to the doors.

Fineae stood there with tears of disbelief ran down her cheeks. She didn't regognice what is doing on until she heared a horrible cry. Her only left brother had dared to ran to the walls and the warriers shot at him. Fineaes father followed him to save him, but he got shot too. Both were dead.

Fineaes mother stepped to her husband. She seemed to be a zombie. She sat down between her husband and her only left son and hugged both. She started to tremble and than she cried out like Fineae never heard someone cry.

The people around started to shout and to upbraid the warriers on the walls and suddenly the whole crowed startet to storm against the castle doors. The warriers were not awaiting this storm. The shot at the crowed and yelled for aid.

Fineae stood there and stared at her mother while around them all the world seem to break down. It was like she would have been turned into stone.

The fight didn't last very long, the crowed was to big for the warriers, they were overrun quite easily. After the crowed had celebrated their victory they recogniced that there was less water in the capital too. They won nothing.

Fineae took her mother and sat down in a little distance with her. „What shall we do?“ , asked she her mum. But her mum didn't react.

So Fineae desided to move far away from this place of the death. Far far away there lays the future and the only way to forget all this horror. So she surched the next haven and started to sail to the west.

As she sailed past Benghazi her mother fell ill. She had the sea sickness but no will to survive and to get healthy again. Fineae rested at her bedside for days but she couldn't give her mum a will to get on. Her body has been burried at sea and Fineae surched the next possible haven to get back on solid floor.

She stood at the reling and looks up to the Tuareg castle. What will the future be like? More horror? Or will it finally get better?

Don Esteban sent a messenger to the castle. They were on the way home, after they had conquered new country for her growing people.
The messenger had the order his daughter Angi to inform of her return. She ran his household and looked after his remaining four children. After the death his wife Helena she had taken over this job.
Lonely it had become in his life. For this reason he rushed with joys in the new job to increase the people of the Tuareg. For nearly two years he had returned to these people. Years ago he had left it.
Generally he had earned in his life already with many people as mercenaries. In the south the north and the east he had already tried his luck.
Now, finally, he to settle down here hoped and to devote himself to the convenient sides of the life. He had brought two young, nice warriors from Sicily. With pleasure he would take up even more women with himself one lived, finally, only once.

The ship finally arrived at the coast near the castle of the Tuaregs and Fineae left the bord. She looked up to the castle and asked herself how it will go on with her.

On the beach there were a lot people looking at her ship and some also looking at her whispering and murmuring to another.

Fineae didn't know what they are talking about but she knew that some of them talked about her. She did as if she wouldn't recognice it.

One of the sailors from the ship tipped her an the shoulder. „They are wondering about your haz“, he told her. „My haz?“, asked she faithless. „Yes“, he answered and walked on.

Fineae looked around at the inhabitants of this strange nation. She was as used of the haz that she would have never believed that there are nations where a haz is something unusual but there where some women and noone has a haz.

But didn't tell Allah that there is a duty to wear a haz? Where did she come? Do they not know about Allah and his requirements, bans and rules? Do they not know of Allah at all?

Gosh! That can't be true! Or did Allah test her heart and believe on him and sent her hear to tell these poor people of Allah?

At first Fineae desided to walk on to the castle to ask for a place to stay and maybe a job to get money for a small room to live in.

She walked up the small alley that seemed to lead to the castle. As she stood at a crossing she didn't know which way to take as a little girl ran up to her. She was thin and looked like a begger but she was just about 10 years old. She asked Fineae something in a language that Fineae didn't understand. „Bakshish?“ she asked again and hold her hand to her.

Fineae knew this word. She gave two coins to the girl but the girl looked very sad at the coins. The girl looked at her and aswered surprisingly in a language that Fineae could understand. „These coins are counting nothing here.“

Fineae stared at her. She was in a stange nation. Strange religion, stange language and she had no counting money. In this moment she realiced that she had nothing left.

She realiced that the most important thing to survive was to get a job as quick als possible. She thought about what she was able to do and what she could do and the only thing that she was able to was to fight. She asked the girl for the way to the castle and where to go for a job in the army. The girl helped her and showed her the right ways.

Fineae wanted to go on but the girl hold her back. „Take these coins back. They are yours and they do not help me“, she told Fineae but Fineae looked sadly back at her. „Keep them. I don't need them either. May they be a lucky charm for you.“ The girl smiled and Fineae left her behind and walked on to the castle to such someone who could give her a little bit of hope.

Angi allowed to call her brothers and sisters to tell them what her father had written. Of course Georgius moaned again around. Since he was old enough to do the service of a man, he kept in absence of her father for the head of a family. „I wanted just to the gate around my guard there in to step. Now where most warriors are not at home, it is important that there reliable people do her service.“ „Now oh and you think, one of the reliable ones you would be? However, I can comfort you Caliph marmud with his fighters is on the way home. It seems that they succeeded and have conquered new areas. Father is soon at home and you have to carry a heavy burden less.“ Not without mocking laughter she simply had to say him this. "Now can resign them soldier and your duty fulfil.“ Shaking the head she saw to him behind here. If Jungs become men, she imagined before they around both latest concerned.

Finally Fineae arrived at the castle. She knocked on the door and somebody opened it.

Fineae looked at the man and stuttered. „I'm looking for.. for.. somewhere to live... and for.. for .. a job.. and so on...“ She was ashamed for stuttering, but the man looked at her and didn't understand a word. „I mean a want to know where i can sattle down“ The man shaked his head.

Fineae turned red. She had forgotten, that they didn't understand her language. She turned around and hasted back to the crossing where she had met the young girl. She looked for her and found her sitting near the street and playing with her coins.

„Nice to meet you again“, the girl greeted. „I need your help“, explained Fineae. „Please come with me. I need a translator. Would you please do that for me?“ The girl looked at her. Fineae knew that she would like to have some payment therefor, so she assumed. „If you help me getting a job and a home, i'll take you into my house. You'll teach me to speak this language and i'll pay you for your help. Do you accept?“ The girl nodded. „Ok let's get you a job. My name is Ellah by the way.“
Fineae smiled. „Nice to meet you Ellah. My name is Fineae.“

Ellah and Fineae went back to the castle and knocked on the door. The man arrived again and opened the door, Ellah told him the reasion why they where here. The man took them to an old man that had his office in a little room of the castle. He was surrounded by maps and babbled around until he notivced that he had visitors.

„What do you want“, asked he without a word of wellcome. Ellah translated Fineaes demands and the old man looked at her askant.
„Can she pay?“, he mumbled. Ellah looked at Fineae and answerd the old man. „She will work for it.“ The old man laughed but it was a sarcastic one. „What does she be able to do? She looks like a beggar. Just like you too. Will she beg for the money?“ Ellah turned around to Fineae. „What do you want to work?“, she asked. Fineae grinned. „I had been a knight at Syria. So i think i would be a good soldier.“ Ellah smiled and told the old man about Fineaes decision. The old man looked at her and called one of the guards then he looked at Ellah. „If the young lady is able to get a job at our armie, than i'll give you some land. If not, no land. Let's go and look what we can do.“ He went to the guard and spoke to him.

The guardsman told the two girl to follow him and left the room. Ellah and Fineae were brought to the caserne to speak with the commander of the army. He will decide if he would take Fineae to his armie or if he would not.
Fineae was nervous. To much depends on his final judgment.

Georgius stood in the gate appeared as the strange women there and the older ones both her request reported. He heard what the older companion with her negotiated and accompanies them first to the older man and later also to the barracks. It will be maybe astonished if she sees who is here commander of the home army here and this say during the absence of the Caliph has, he was glad already in advance.

In the barracks Angie was occupied just with the weapon inspection when three appeared there. Angie ran not only the household of her father, she was also the castle governess but also commander of the home army.
„You Angi here is one which would want in our army“, he believed grinning about his sister. Annoyingly Angi flashed her brother in: „And why do you make then no well-arranged announcement? What should she think him what we are for a wild heap?“ „Now calm down, she understands anyhow no word, the little one with her is makes her interpreter“. „Nevertheless, you can make it right“, she answered already a little milder.
Then position announced accepting Georgius: „Commander a candidate for the army“. Again once he was angry at the fact that his sister about him had to determine. One day I will have post.
Meanwhile Angi scrutinised the both with critical eyes. „So you want to the army of our illustrious Caliphen? What do you imagine what in addition enables?“ Critically she looked at the both.

Fineae looked unbelievingly at Angie. A woman as a commander of the army. She never had seen a woman in such a position. She never knew that that could be. She was a simple warrier at the army in Syria. That was the best a woman ever could reach there.

As a fact of that shock she didn't react at first as Angie asked her the last question. Ellah pointed at her and asked for her herself. „Lady Fineae was a warrier at the Syrian army. She is able to fight. And now she is asking for a place at our army too.“ She showed Angie the coins to demonstrate the truth of the story in Syria.

After that she explained to Fineae what she had told the commander. Fineae nodded. „Good. What now?“, she asked. Ellah looked at the commander and waited for her answer.

Angi had to smile suppress when she saw the astonishment which appeared in Fineaes face.
She nodded Ellah, to the sign that she had understood them.
When Fineae spoke then to this, Angi noted that Finae did not control her language.
„Legend to her, they can start with us, we have even more women in our army. If she makes good her thing, will have of the Caliph which soon comes home no objections. Our language should learn them, however, already still. However, say me who are you then and what would you want here?“
A strange team thought they when it waited for an answer.

Fineae smiled. There were people who could understand her. She nodded. „Ellah will teach me how to speak your language“, she explained.

„I've left Syria as everthing collapst there. There were less water and everyone fought for a little bit of it. My family died and now i'm alone. I wanted to leave the chaos and i wanted to rebuilt a new home far, far away from Syria. The sea and the wind brought me to your tribe. I hope i can rest here and look for a new life.“

She stopped and pointed in the direction of some maps. „I was told that i would only get a little land to live when i would be able to join our army to get money. So i'm hear – asking for a job.“

She smiled. „Please let me show you that i'm able to fight and that I would be a good warrior for your army. It would be a honor for me to join you.“

At this moment Angi was deflected. A stable fellow rushed in and reported to her that the army with the Caliphen was within sight. Angi nodded to this with thanks and turned to Fineae. „I hit before you rest, look around in our castle and tomorrow of step you against one of the homecomers in. Then Caliph marmud should decide itself. If you may, now you can go with me to the gate. There I would like to welcome the army. Georgius allows to start the people for the receipt.“ Georgius nodded and got on the way.