Chapter 22: Yachting

"Father," said Princess Elaheh during a pause in a public audience one day, "Do you ever use the Imperial Voyager?"

"The Imperial Voyager?" he seemed surprised, "Oh, the yacht. No. Going to sea with nowhere to go seems silly to me. I didn't get rid of it because it doesn't cost much to run and it is used by the senior members of the military for secret meetings sometimes. I took Alima and Ayda for a cruise once, but it wasn't much fun."

Princess Elaheh could imagine exactly what sort of meetings the senior military wanted to hold in a location as secluded as a luxury yacht at sea.

"How big is it?" she asked.

The Emir shrugged and turned to Kamal Qumsiyeh, the Head of Protocol, "Do you know?"

"Yes, Master," he replied and then fell silent, not adding to that bald acquiescence.

"Well? How big is it?" asked the Emir.

"It displaces approximately eleven thousand tons, Master. It is about 400 feet long, overall and has accommodation for forty guests and their staff. There is a crew of three hundred, but only two hundred and fifty hundred of those are aboard at any one time..." Kamal Qumsiyeh would have gone on but the Emir waved him to silence.

"That means it is as big as a medium sized cruise liner," the Emir told her, "As I remember it, the accommodation is about the same as your guest suites, but there are forty of them. It seemed very nice when I inspected it and we ate well. Things are more relaxed there; for example I was very politely warned not to take virgins because most of the crew are male, and mistakes can happen."

"Sounds fun," said Elaheh, "Can I borrow it?"

"Be my guest," said her father, "What are you planning?"

"I don't really know. I'll have to think about it."

"Well, if you want to go to somewhere like Monte Carlo, remember that ships are slow, so have Admiral Hargreaves take it there and fly over to join it when it's there."

"I had thought just a trip to Abu Dhabi, but Venice has always tempted me, and by sea is easily the best way to get there," said the Princess.

"Fly to Venice and join the ship by helicopter would be my advice. If you really want a cruise, then fly to Naples and pick the ship up in the Adriatic."

"The Adriatic, that sounds like a great idea."

She wasn't really sure what she would do when she got there, but all the same her mind started to make plans about what she might get up to once out of the confines of the palace. After the audience was over Elaheh made her way back to her quarters. On the way she happened across her half brother; he was sitting in the arboretum waiting for an audience with the Emir.

She approached him, but with a measured contempt she said, "Prince Mustafa. I didn't think you were here until next week."

"What concern is it of yours what plans I make? You should be grateful that our father has honoured you as anything other than the bastard daughter of an English whore. You should be on your knees servicing a Master, not parading around as if you are something special."

"And you think you should be my Master do you?" she said as she turned her back on him and began to walk away.

Without warning she felt a hand at her throat and saw the glint off the edge of a ceremonial dagger flash before her eyes.

"This might be mostly for show, but I can assure you that one thrust of my wrist and you will no longer be of concern to me, or anyone else. I grant you that might make my father angry, but nothing he could do would help you."

Breaking free, the Princess turned to face her attacker, the Crown Prince, spitting at him.