*6*

POV Alicia

A few hours later, I put in my bag another apricot yellow trikini and a small white skirt to hide my enormous tushies. I looked at Sarah who was putting an umpteenth drop of perfume on her pink t-shirt.

- Do you think he will see me in pink?

- Sarah you worry too much. You are beautiful.

- But you are telling me this because you are my best friend.

- Sarah !!!! you look beautiful and put that perfume on. If you don't do it in less than 5 seconds, I'll let you go alone.

She dropped the flake and in less than 3 seconds Sarah was in front of me...

- I'm here.

- I'm here. Let's go.

Sarah looked at herself in the mirror and I laughed to see her exaggerating so much on her make-up. When we arrived in front of the beach, we watched the hotel car leave.

- Let's go!

- No. Wait... Do I look good?

- Yes. You're okay.

At these words, I took her by the arms and dragged her by force to the beach where when we caught our breaths we noticed that the beach was crowded with people. In fact, very rich people. Alicia swallowed as Sarah swore inwardly.

- How am I going to find the Sheikh's brother in this carnival of people?

- You're going to have to give up, honey.

- Well, let's go for a swim. Let's enjoy this good water.

Few people were in the water. Because rich people were far too pretentious to get into the water. So Sarah was the first one to step outside with my red trikini and dark glasses. While me while leaving the cabin, I already pulled my small white skirt which really did not hide me.

- I'm going to do without sun cream to go tanning afterwards! Come on, I must have the best place!

Sarah seemed to have forgotten a little bit the brother of the Sheikh. She was having fun and laughing like crazy while I, as usual, preferred to immortalize these moments with my camera. She was the twin I never had... She completed me and seeing her smile warmed my heart...

Soon after, the crowd started to die down as we were having a mini show in honor of the guests. Sarah wanted to go but as I'm not a fan of crowds and festivities, I told her that I was going to walk around a bit and that we would meet in front of the bar afterwards...

She left and I watched her go while doing some dance steps to the sound of the meringue. I blew of tiredness then I put myself to walk along the coast. The sea was very beautiful and the sun in the sky was surely at 1 pm. I sat for a while on the shore and watched the waves wash ashore. I felt relaxed and serene. It was heavenly of course, since this beautiful beach was private to the royal family and seemed to cost a lot of money. How often did the royal family come here? Once a year, probably... I breathed quietly and deeply to calm myself. Suddenly, the laughter of a little girl caught my eye. I looked and saw a little girl coming towards the water. She was brown and had long locks of hair. She ran into the water and a little too far, she plunged into the water. 5... 7... 9... 10 seconds, she didn't get her head out of the water. So I got up to approach her and I saw a small hand rising in distress. And without thinking, I went into the water and caught her before carrying her out of the water. She was as light as a feather but she had drunk water and was coughing in my arms. As soon as I put her down on the sand, she opened her eyes:

- Habdul?

She fluttered her eyelids and touched my hair in a soft and silky movement. And said in perfect Arabic.

- Allah!!! A half-breed!!!

- No, I am a mulatto, little angel.

She looked at me with wide eyes and put her hand over her mouth and said in English:

- You understand me.

- Of course I do! I'm a history buff, and for that I had to study languages to get a good feel for history. Are you feeling better?

- Yes, I'm fine.

She sounded like a princess in the way she spoke. She smiled and kept touching my hair as if it was something to be admired.

- I've never seen such beautiful hair, you know. My older sister is blonde and she always wears her hair in a bun.

- What's your name and where are your parents?

- They're too busy right now to notice that I've run away. I am Sarai, the...

- Eyy, sis, here you are at last. But who are you?

I looked up and saw a beautiful appolon. He was brown and he looked like Saraïe.

- She saved my life. I almost drowned. I neglected the swimming lessons a little too much.

He crouched down beside us and touched his little sister's forehead. Before helping her up as I stood up too.

- Thank you for helping my sister. But I soon noticed his absence and my mom will be along soon too. So... we have to get back.

- Alicia, I was looking for you...

I turned to my best friend who was coming towards me but had her eyes fixed on the beautiful appolon...

- Well...Well...Good evening, Your Majesty. She began with a broken voice.

And from her look, I could already guess who it was? Habdil. Well... It's about time.

- Saraïe, let's go make a sand castle while waiting for your brother.

It worked and a few seconds later with the little girl in my arms we were running to a good place for the sand castle.

A few seconds later, I turned around to see them walking along the beach. She smiled and refocused on the little girl who was laughing under the crooked form of the palace.

- We'll have to do it again!

And they did. While they were finishing their masterpiece, a little boy broke the silence which was blooming in the air...

- Sarai? Come, I think I have discovered a treasure of Captain Hook.

The princess took leave of me whereas I looked at her leaving while running with her friend I finished the sand castle.

- That is a beautiful castle you are making there!!!

That voice... My heart was beating fast and I felt watched and that look seemed intimidating and I couldn't move and in a superhuman effort I stood up to face a man...a real man...an appolon carved by Zeus himself... He was brown and had black eyes as black as a crow. I swallowed but smiled as I finally realized that he was looking at me intently and was attached to my smile. He was looking at me way too much.

- Uh...

This simple word seemed to pull him out of his reverie and he said again:

- Sorry for ruining your castle.

I looked at the old castle which was a shapeless pile of sand at the moment. I had probably crushed it by standing up suddenly.

I swallowed as I saw his gaze boring into my cleavage. Even at a reasonable distance I felt small and ashamed in front of this pile of muscles. I swallowed harder.

- I saw you talking to the princess. So...

- Sorry, you are her bodyguard. She almost drowned so I saved her...

- Oh!!! Bodyguard? Yes...yes. That's right I am her bodyguard. She escaped while I went to check some things.

Ok. I'll have to get a bodyguard... At least one that's muscular like this one...

- Okey I see, kids are real balls of joy... Hard to control them!

- Yeah, that's true. So how do you like this day, the beach?

- Uh... It was good.

External POS

Good. She thought the beach was fine. But it's a palace here. It was a real paradise. Habdoul thought.

- This place is beautiful.

- Yes, it is beautiful. But it lacks the traditional laughter and singing and games.

- But, did you see the little show earlier?

- No, I did not. I'm not in a festive mood.

She thought of all the faces she had seen languishing in misery and without being able to restrain herself she launched into a speech...

- I can't afford this luxury when I know that my poorer peers can't afford even an hour here. All these beautiful marvels are useless in my eyes if it is only superstitious people and wanting to get rich who can benefit from it. The dance floor was empty!!! Everyone was talking business!!! This place is heavenly but it is lifeless!

Alicia had talked too much and she understood it when she saw the veiled look of the bodyguard. She swallowed and apologized...

- I am sorry... I am sensitive and I have sometimes the bad mania to shout loudly what I think.

Habdoul said nothing. He should have felt angry with such comments against the first construction he had signed during his reign. But he was surprised. No one had tried to talk to him from this angle and in a definitive tone that didn't require a reply. She saw the young woman bite her lip and then she resumed:

- You know what? I'm not sorry... I'm not sorry at all. When I think of all those faces gnawed by hunger and torn by misery. And them? This Sheikh who is their leader with his family and his staff live in a cozy little nest while these people, under their house that would not even stand a rain, they were trying to survive... It was horror out there and to make up for it they organize a beach day that these poor people won't even be able to watch on TV to see coming...

No, it's not your problem, Alicia. You risk getting arrested, he's a royal bodyguard !!!! He will surely tell the sheikh everything... she thought. For his part, the Sheikh felt amused that for the first time a woman took him for a bodyguard and it was so amusing that he let her believe what she had put in mind.

- I'm...I'm sorry... I think it's none of my business. I have to leave you...

Alicia looked at the man strangely he didn't look angry but looked like he wanted to pierce her, his eyes piercing...He seemed to read her like an open book. She didn't even know his name! Habdoul could not look up at this beautiful creature. She was a light-skinned mulatto with curly hair that cascaded down to her buttocks. Her lips were pink and she was shapely where she needed to be. He felt the most fragile part of his anatomy awaken. Did she even know who she was talking to? Habdoul thought. He smiled at the thought. Faced with his gaze and his smile that burned her, Alicia swallowed but said nothing, she turned around and for more than 10 seconds she wondered whether or not she should greet her, but in the end she decided. Without a word more towards the beautiful appolon she left...