Fire in the Heart : The Princess and the Bandit (9781629020112) by Slaughterbown

dear friends. He couldn’t believe how well this was going and was filled with intense pride. He had noticed their quiet, little Rasha and wanted to be sure she was included, knowing that she probably wouldn’t contribute anything at all unless encouraged. “Oh, and this is Rasha, our own little sweetheart.”
    She timidly replied, “Hello.”
    Without hesitation, Natalia turned. “Oh, you are so beautiful! You have such lovely red hair! What do you do to it?”
    “Nothing.” Rasha giggled.
    But Natalia continued. “You must do something to it. Please tell me your secret!”
    Rasha said, giggling, “I don’t have a secret.”
    Satisfied, Elijah continued the introductions. “And this is Isabelle!”
    Natalia responded with a curtsy. “Hello, Isabelle.”
    Suddenly, frowning, Isabelle and Nizar walked out of the hideout.
    “What’s their problem?” Elijah said, shaking his head.
    Firas tried to smooth things over. “They…um…I think Nizar has been having a lot of stomach problems lately, and Isabelle, well, is just mad because…she…forgot…her lunch today.”
    Grateful, Elijah responded, “Uh…yeah, exactly.”
    Natalia clasped her hand together. “Oh. What a shame.”
    “Hey, Firas. Why don’t you and Bayan show her the hideout?” asked Elijah.
    Firas excitedly jumped up. “Sure! Come with us! We will show you!”
    Natalia followed the two men out of the front room.
    For the first time in weeks, Bayan showed a lot of excitement and joined the two as they walked through their humble abode. “This way, highness!”
    As soon as they were out of earshot, beaming Karim stepped over to Elijah and whispered, “How in the world did you get her here?”
    Elijah casually shrugged. “Hey, she wanted to come.”
    “You have more charm than I thought, Elijah.” Karim winked.
    Elijah took the opportunity to open up to his friend. “She is amazing, Karim. I have never met anyone like her.”
    Karim patted him on the back. “Nice catch!”
    Rasha said, “Elijah!”
    “Yes?” He quickly turned.
    Rasha came to life. “She is so beautiful! The princess is actually here in our hideout! This is a dream come true!”
    Smugly, Elijah replied, “You got that right!”
    She continued, “Will she stay with us?”
    A look of slight dismay followed. “I don’t think she can, but I am sure she will visit us.” In his mind, he thought about how wonderful it would be if they could spend the rest of their lives together, but he didn’t want that to happen in the hideout. She deserved far better than anything he could offer, at least now.
    Rasha continued to beam. “I hope so. She seems so incredible!”
    Inspired, Elijah replied, “Well. Why don’t you go talk to her and enjoy her company while she is here?”
    She shyly asked, “Do you think she would mind?”
    “I think she wants to talk to you as much as you want to talk to her,” chuckled Elijah. He knew his new friend well enough to encourage Rasha. He couldn’t imagine Natalia turning a meeting down like this—ever.
    That was all it took. Rasha walked right over to her.
    “Cute, Elijah. Real cute,” Karim said.
    Elijah felt the happiness, especially after Nizar and Isabelle took off. Music from the street below drifted in the night air. The festive atmosphere caught on all over the city. Karim lit a few extra candles and threw away Bayan’s old apple. He laid out some bread and cheese to Elijah’s liking. Everyone was in a party mood now, and what better thing to do but eat and drink together. Elijah pulled out two large flasks of aged wine, while Karim grabbed cups for everyone. Elijah set the wine on the large table and glanced Natalia’s way every so often. He couldn’t have asked for anything better as she stood there, telling her special stories of life in the palace and breaking out in laughter at the other’s comments. This was the most fun his friends had had in months.
    The wine quickly started to disappear. After the third bottle,