I cannot bring myself to leave the Dunes, not yet. This is as close to home as I have felt since crossing the ocean and my heart aches at the thought of ripping it away once more. I know that I will eventually have to return to the Badlands, to Naz, if only to tell them that I cannot stay there any longer. Malika Feray seems kind and I do not want to disappoint her but I can no longer live content amongst the scrubland of the Badlands knowing that Maslakhat has offered me a place here, where I belong.

Starlight shines down on my face like a balm, and I drink it up eagerly, raising my face to take in more of its radiance. I missed nights like this, cuddled up against my alab as he told me of his kingdom and the great feats he'd accomplished as a warrior. I was his first, his precious jawahra, and while my brother was set to inherit the kingdom, I would be the one to protect it most by marrying to one of our strongest allies.

The fact that I'd run away as soon as he'd told me who I was supposed to devote myself was my greatest shame.

A sound behind me captures my attention, and I turn just in time to see the striking figure of a stallion as he dashes towards me. Lithe as a dancer I arc away from him, my own petite hooves leaving trailing furrows in the soft sand of the Dunes. Particles dash across his lower limbs, soiling their pristine white with soft gold, invisible in the dark. With a toss of my dished head, I orient towards the source, ready to give the careless majnun a piece of my mind, but find myself stopped short by the words that he offers in apology. That was my language.

Immediately my heart lifts and I cannot help the excited tumble of words that spill from my mouth. They are informal and my alab would be ashamed at how casually I greeted a stranger that had nearly dashed me to the sands below. "Masa' alkhayr ya sadiqi!"

I step toward him, enchanted by the pale glimmer of his hide, backlit by the moonlight. He was the most desirable of our colors, and perhaps most striking of all was the warrior's mark across his face and chest. In my home he would be celebrated, one chosen to wear the mark of a true son of Allah. It brings to mind the briefest memory of my betrothed's description, but the shame of my escape causes me to shove it down deep. If my father had not found me here, he would not either.

At his statement, I allow my bell like laughter to trickle across the sand. The sound surprises me, it is higher than my normal voice and it reveals the giddiness that bubbles up inside me. My experiences with the male gender had been understandably limited, and I was so rarely in the company of someone that took my breath away that I was not entirely sure how to respond.

"I miss my old home less when my feet skip across these dunes." I offer in assent to his question. I cannot keep my eyes from him long, and they dart to his face once more before skipping away. "I hope I did not disturb your run. I know what it is to run free across the sand and I would not wish to deprive you of joy."

A smile curves along my lips again and I bring my gaze to his once more. After a moment's hesitation, I cave to temptation and take a step toward the elegant stallion.