A feather could have knocked
me over. Heck, I felt like it wouldn't even take a feather!
"Ayesha? She nodded.
"Yes, Diane."
This was too much! My mind went blank for a moment, then started
filling with questions.
"What--er,
I mean, uh, where is your horse body?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Anymore than I know where this
body is when I'm a horse."
"Well, don't you see anything when the change happens?"
"No," she shook her head, "I always doze off just before
the change, and wake up in the other one."
I started to ask another question, but Dad stepped in right then.
"Diane, let me make a slightly more formal introduction than you got
the other day when we came home." He stood and bowed to us.
"Princess Ayesha, may
I present to you Diane Artemis Williams? Diane, I have the honor of introducing
to you the Lady Princess Ayesha al-Balsamo, Crown Princess and heir-apparent
to the throne of the sheikdom of Balmibya!"
I giggled a bit at Daddy and his funny games, but played along.
I rose and curtsied to the Princess. She graciously accepted my
homage with a slight nod. Then I giggled again. So did she. I liked her. Already. Almost as much as I liked her as a horse.
We talked on into the night
until I started to nod off, then my father carried me upstairs, grunting
a little about "how much you've grown."
I learned a lot more. One of the things I wondered about was why
Ayesha could speak such good English?
"I was sent to school in California," she answered to
that. "My grandfather is a great believer in education."
Her grandfather is the current
prince of his country. I also learned that the horse body and the human
body are separate. Like this. The horse body has to eat its normal food,
in normal amounts, to stay healthy, and so does the human body.
I had read a lot of books about horses, and wanted to raise them
someday. I knew about breeding horses, but didn't know how to put it delicately,
so I whispered a question to Daddy.
He looked surprised, then told me to just ask Ayesha. I did. She
blushed a bit, but explained that, yes, she could have children, else how
could she have gotten here, and her horse body could, too. In fact, that's
how the line of Arabian horses started.
I clapped my hands in delight! "I always knew there was something
especially noble about those horses!"
Ayesha grinned. (She had excused herself earlier, gone back to
her stall, and changed into regular American clothes, shirt and jeans. She
said she just liked to dress up traditionally sometimes. It reminded her
of home.)
Then it occurred
to me to ask why she had come home with Dad. Her face got somber. "Because
my grandfather gave me to him." I looked confused. (And felt it.)
"You see, your father
coming over, drilling the wells, and showing my people how to become better
farmers will help them regain some of the wealth they had in olden times.
"And there was one last
part to the old sorcerer's curse. A part that gave us hope..."
Just then, Dad interrupted.
"Excuse me, my dear, but I intend to bring this up to the whole family
in a few days. Can you wait until then for the last part of the surprise?"
"Oh, gee," I yawned,
"I thought there had been enough surprises." That's when Daddy
carried me back to my room..pa?
Chapter Fourteen
Over the next few days,
I spent a lot of time with Ayesha, the horse. We would ride to the back
corner of our place where no one could overhear us talking, watching carefully
to make sure Doug didn't sneak up.
Oh, and Doug rode Ayesha a few times, making friends with her (as
a horse, that is), but soon tired of it, going back to his laboratory, waiting
out the end of his grounding.
Ayesha told me wonderful stories of her little country, and of
others. I had enough material for several books!
Finally, Dad asked me to stay up with him and come out to the barn.
As moonrise gets later each night, we just talked with Ayesha in her horse
body, keeping our voices down so nobody would hear the whinny-talk.
"Darling little girl,"
he told me in that voice that fathers sometimes have when they have bad
news, like my dead kitten, "it is time to tell you of the last part
of the wizard's curse."
He stopped, and turned to Ayesha, who bobbed her head. "He
told the prince that someday another wizard would come from the west, and
restore the land to its wealth." Dad looked a little uncomfortable.
"Ayesha's grandfather, the current prince, is convinced that I am that
wizard." He blushed.
Ayesha
nuzzled him, and he got even redder. "The magician said that when this
happened, the youngest Princess of the royal family would go back with this
wizard, marry him, and then the curse would finally be lifted."
Dad kind of choked on this
last. Ayesha laid her head across his shoulder, putting her cheek against
his. Dad reached up and stroked her muzzle.
I was starting to get the idea, and I wasn't sure I liked it at
all. "Anyway, dear," he continued, "there was absolutely
no polite way I could refuse her grandfather, but he could see that I wasn't
sure of the idea, so he also sent enough money along from the treasury to
take care of his granddaughter for a year."
Dad paused, watching my face change expressions as I switched from
hope to despair at the thought of losing my horse, then embarrassment when
I realized I was hoping to keep someone under a terrible curse.
Dad rushed to get the last words out of his mouth. "Well,
uh, I guess maybe the old wizard was right. I mean, it's been a long time
since your mother died, and I've been very lonely sometimes, and, well,
the time I spent with Ayesha in her own country, and the nights we have
stayed up talking, and-- well, I've fallen in love with her, and I want
to marry her!"
He
looked at me, hoping I would approve, afraid I would burst into tears. I
wasn't certain of what I would do, either. I thought about it: Lose my friend,
Ayesha the Horse? Would Aunt Ellen have to move? Did I want another mother?
Did I... I realized I was thinking only of what I wanted, and it was very
selfish of me.
I hugged
Dad. "Of course! Ayesha is beautiful, and a wonderful girl either way!
We'll be friends... but does this mean we have to move back to her country?"
Dad's relief was written plainly
on his face. "No, not for many years. When her grandfather can no longer
rule, Ayesha's father will take the throne. Only when he is done will she
have to go back to take the reins of power."
"But we can visit, before then?" I had visions of handsome
young Arab warriors dancing in my head. Silly. I didn't care about boys!
I changed those visions to one of me accepting a prize for being the World's
Greatest Writer of Middle East Stories. That was better.
"We will visit a lot. Now, you realize that we can't tell
anyone else about the curse, right? Doug would try to make money on it."
Maybe Dad knew my brother better
than I thought! "Of curse--I mean, of course! But I'll miss you as
a horse!" I went to Ayesha and put my arms around her strong neck.
She whinnied, softly and clearly,
"And I'll miss our rides, and being able to run like the wind, and
stand on a hilltop, proud and noble. But all things come to an end. How
else would we have room for new beginnings?"
I wondered if she had been
talking to Aunt Ellen..pa?
Chapter Fifteen
Ayesha and I rode together
as much as we could as Dad waited for the next moon that would rise early
enough to present Ayesha the Princess to the family.
When that night came, Dad made an announcement at the supper table.
"Family, you know I have been traveling for many years, and I am sure
you know how much I have missed my wife and your mother. But I have good
news!"
Doug and
Aunt Ellen looked at each other, then they looked at me. I played along
and tried to look puzzled.
Dad
continued. "On my last journey, I met a wonderful woman, a princess,
and we have fallen in love and intend to marry."
Doug's face was a mask of shock. "But, Dad--" he began,
then Aunt Ellen shushed him.
"Quiet, Doug. This is a decision for your father to make.
It's about his happiness."
Doug stopped, and I could almost see the wheels turning in his
head as he started thinking about having a stepmother who was a for-real
princess.
Dad continued.
"She will be here for you to meet in a little while." I tried
to keep a straight face, but I burst into tears and ran outside. Nobody
followed.
I ran to the
barn. It had just hit me that I was about to lose my beautiful horse forever!
I didn't know how Dad would explain that, but that was his problem.
I went into Ayesha's stall,
threw my arms around her neck and sobbed. She nuzzled me and mumbled into
my ear, "There, there, Diane. I don't know what will happen when I
marry your father. Maybe, if he's not really the wizard, I'll stay the same
as I am, now."
"Oh,
but that would be terrible for you!" "Not necessarily. My family
has been like this for many hundreds of years. If it is to be so, then I
will live with it. And I do love your father very much, and the rest of
your family too. But you must go now. I feel drowsy, and that means I'll
be changing soon."
"Oh,
dear Ayesha, I'm sorry I am so selfish, sometimes. But, if it is to be one
of the last times, could I watch it happen?"
She pondered this for a moment.
"Okay, but don't be upset at what you see. I have no idea
what goes on."
I
stepped back against the far wall of her stall, and she hung her head and
closed her eyes.
Nothing
happened for a few moments, then Ayesha's body started to glow, faintly.
It got kind of fuzzy around the edges, then disappeared. Right away, there
was Ayesha the Princess lying on the soft straw. In a moment, she stretched
and stood up.
She smiled
at me. "Hi, Diane!"
"How did you get clothes on?" I asked her.
"These are the clothes I was wearing when I changed to a horse.
Now, you must go inside and let me put on some nice clothes to meet your
family--again!"
She gave her whinny-giggle, and I laughed, too. Suddenly, I knew everything
would be all right, no matter what happened.
As I went back into the house, I ran into Aunt Ellen who had come
out to look for me. Just in time!
"Diane, dear, hurry inside. Please try to support your father
in this, as it's very important to him."
I just nodded. Aunt Ellen was trying to be sweet, but she didn't
know the secret shared only between Dad, Ayesha, and myself.
"Your father said that all the papers were arranged, and a
little after his bride-to-be comes, the preacher is coming over to perform
the wedding, so we must get busy."
I don't know how Aunt Ellen managed it, but within fifteen minutes
the house sparkled like glass, Doug had had a bath, we were both in our
best clothes, and she had come up with a small cake. Not a decorated wedding
cake, true, but she only had fifteen minutes.
As we settled from that whirlwind of activity, a knock sounded
at the door. Dad answered it.
"Come in," he invited.
Ayesha stepped inside. Aunt Ellen and Doug gasped. So did I. She
was dressed in something that seemed to combine American clothing with The
Mysterious East. It must have been made of silk, and I could see golden
and silver threads mixed in. The skirt came almost to the floor, and she
wore a headdress like the first time I saw her as a woman in the barn. But
the veil this time covered her eyes and face, but not thick enough so we
could not see through it.
Introductions
were made, starting with Aunt Ellen, then myself, then Doug. He was even
polite, bowing a bit. I could see he was in awe of meeting genuine royalty.
Aunt Ellen was smitten, particularly
with her gracious manners and her perfect English.
Finally, practical matters came up. "Bob, are you planning
to leave on a honeymoon?"
"Well, yes, but not for a couple of days," he replied.
"We thought we'd just travel around a bit in the local area. Then,
when school starts up again, we might go back to her home for a visit, all
of us together. Would you like that?"
Boy! That made a hit, especially with Aunt Ellen, who had never
been further away from home than St. Louis!
The preacher came, was charmed by the beautiful princess, Aunt
Ellen cried a little, the wedding was done, we all ate cake and drank fresh
apple-juice punch, then it was time for bed.
I lay awake a long time,
wondering if the curse was lifted. I'd noticed that Dad and Ayesha went
to the barn-- just in case? I decided that I would learn how to fix the
fence, myself. After this, I thought that Dad at least owed me a horse of
my own, and I intended to collect, somehow. Maybe one of the fine Arabs
from the royal stables?..pa?
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, early,
I went out to the barn, wondering what I would find.
"Ayesha?" I called, softly.
A low whinny, then she came trotting out. I ran up to her. "Oh,
you poor darling! It didn't work!"
"Yes, it did!"
I turned to the barn.There stood Dad and Ayesha the Princess, holding
hands and looking into each other's eyes, smiling..pa?
Chapter Seventeen
Well, I'm still Diane, and
I'm still confused. I don't know how, but the wizard's spell, when finally
broken, left both bodies behind. Ayesha the horse has never talked again
(and truly, I don't want her to-- it would be awful to think that someone
had been left behind permanently inside an animal), but she still follows
voice commands perfectly, and seems to sort of understand when I talk to
her about Brian, Barney's son, and how I feel funny when he's around, and
how I was mad and embarrassed but happy when he asked me to go to the Town
Carnival with him (I'm going, but I haven't told him, yet. Ayesha says it's
best to keep men guessing just a little bit), and she never, never strays
from our family.
I'm
confused.
What do we
do now about having two beautiful women named "Ayesha" in our
household? Dad explained to Aunt Ellen that he'd named the horse for his
intended bride-- but do we change one of the names? Maybe that won't be
a problem, since Dad calls Ayesha the woman "Princess" all the
time. Heck, she has a right, doesn't she? Good thing, too, because Ayesha
the horse always answers to that name, and I'd hate to try to change it.
Ayesha the woman also rides
Ayesha the horse, and they ride very well. Almost as if they were one.
Sometimes, I think they still
are.
But I'm still confused
about one thing. When I'm a Great Writer, can I ever write about this? Will
anyone ever believe me?