Osman was leaving the west palace in the morning when he heard shattering noises followed by screams and shouts. It was coming from downstairs.

"What is going on here?" Osman demanded from the guards in front of Arta's door.

"She has stopped eating it's been 2 days now."

"Very well. You may leave!"

"But prince she has become crazy. She might hurt you."

"I said leave!"

They bowed and left the corridor.

Two maids were coming from the other end of the corridor. When they got the sight of him, they gasped and vanished. They had never seen him in this part of the palace.

Opening the door, the first thing that Osman saw was shatters of plates and glasses, a broken chair and a messy bed. Looking up he saw something was coming toward his face. With a swift move he managed to dodge it but something else hit his shoulder. It was a pomegranate that hit him.

Feeling annoyed he charged toward Arta preventing her to throw more stuff at him. He grabbed her arm "Stop it." He looked into her eyes furiously.

She had lost lots of weight and looked miserable. Her hair was messy, and her clothes were stained and dirty. But still looked pretty and confident.

Arta was breathing rapidly and was pulling her arm to get free from his grab. Osman grabbed her other arm and forced her to stay still in front of him.

"Take your dirty hands off me!" She shouted.

After a few useless attempts when she realized she cannot free herself she stood still "OK OK, I'm calm" she said while breathing heavily and gradually Osman loosen his grip on her arms.

"You wanted to meet me?" Osman said coldly.

Arta didn't reply. Her gaze was on the wall in front of her.

"Well, it seems you don't have anything to say." Osman turned to leave.

"What do you want from me? Why you have kept me alive?" Arta said with hoarse voice.

A smile crept on Osman's face. Concealing his smile, he turned and stand in front of Arta.

"That is something that you should ask Sultan. I'm just following the orders." Tears already filled in her eyes.

"But" He paused for a moment "You can improve your condition here if you collaborate."

Arta looked up into his dark emotionless eyes. "collaborate? On what?" Arta said looking suspicious.

Osman thought for a second. He knew if he asked for her help to open the door this instant, she would refuse for sure.

"Nothing special. Just stop throwing things at people and follow the rules here. You can live as a maid from now on. I hope that you are aware of your condition. You are no princess anymore and no one can change that. We are far too strong for any fool to start a war with us. Hope you understand it too." He was trying to say that even if her father decides to form an army against them, it would be yet another defeat.

Arta opened her mouth to say something. But instead, tears dropped down. She knew he was right but could not admit it yet.

Osman left the room and instruct Khadijeh to give her maid's clothes and duties.

"Let her be for today. Give her tasks from tomorrow."

Khadijeh nodded.

"And if you suspected anything about her inform me immediately."

After Osman left a couple of maids gathered around Khadijeh.

"What has happened Khadijeh?"

"I heard she is going to be a maid."

"I heard she is so pretty."

"She gets what she deserves, she is a spoiled princess. I hope the prince cuts her throat soon." Said Amal, one of the maids with hatred.

"You are so cruel Amal," said Nahla, another maid who was following Khadijeh and so curious to know who the princess is and what is going on. She knows everything that happens in the palace. Although she is a good-hearted person, everyone knows her as a gossiper.

Khadijeh was walking toward the laundry while the girls were surrounding her and bombarding her with their questions and assumptions.

"Enough!" at the laundry entrance she turned back suddenly toward the girls. "I don't want to hear any gossips in this place. Go back to your works. NOW" she shouted, and the girls left her looking disappointed.

***

Arta was sitting at the edge of the bed. Crying silently. Her mind was drifted to the happy times that she had in the palace living a princess life. Thinking about her father and brother and what Osman had said. She was deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone had entered the room.

Khadijeh was standing in the room, looking around. Everything in the room was broken except for the bed. She couldn't believe that a tiny girl like Arta could do such damages. Looking at Arta, she looked thin and compared to most of the Arab girls she had a smaller and delicate figure. Her long hair looked greasy, she had a healing bruise on her cheek, her hands had lots of scratches and her clothes look dirty and stained.

Clearing her throat Khadijeh tried to grab her attention. Arta slowly turned her head and locked her gaze on Khadijeh. More tears came out of her eyes. Khadijeh was the only woman that she had seen in almost ten days. She wanted to hug her and cry more.

"I'm Khadijeh, head of the maids in the prince's palace." She said coldly. "You need to change your clothes." She put the clothes on the bed. "Your work will start tomorrow. I'm expecting to see you in the kitchen at 6 sharp."

Arta turned her head without saying anything and refocused her gaze to the floor in front of her. How naïve she was to think that this woman in front of her would care for her. She is their enemy who happened to be the princess of this land, they hate her even more. Khadijeh left the room after a few seconds of silence.

She sat in the same position thinking and traveling in the pleasant past. She could occasionally hear whispers on the other side of the door. How could she accept to be a maid in her own palace? To serve her enemy? How ironic. What a ridiculous fate she has.

The night had fallen. There was no more movement outside of her room. She had thought a lot about her situation and already planned her escape from the palace. She just needed more time to plan and analyze her surroundings.

She stood up, grabbed the clothes from her bed. She opened the door and was surprised not to see any guards outside. No one was in the corridors. A smile crept her face, she might not need to wait for some time to perfume her escaping plans she can leave now. "I just need to reach to the king's chambers tonight." She thought to herself. She wanted to flee the place using the same secret tunnel she took before cause no one knew about it.

Going up the stairs she went toward the entrance door. She was about to reach the door when she saw the door's handle turned. She quickly hid behind a pillar. A soldier came in and ran upstairs. When the door opened, she could see at least ten soldiers guarding the door outside.

All the excitement that she had to flee the palace tonight left her and she went downstairs again while hugging her clothes.

She needed to take a bath. She took a torch and went inside the bathing pool hall. This was the first time that she was using this door, the maid's door. She touched a square looking bowl close to the entrance door with the torch in her hand and the hall illuminated. She went inside and checked the water temperature with her tow, it was cold. She had seen her maids warming up the pool before, so she knew how to do it.

There were four square windows on the floor around the pool that she removed their solid covers and then put the torch in a hole by the pool to light the fire under the pool. She needed to wait for a few minutes for the water to get warm.

***

"Come in" Osman replied to the knock on the door.

A soldier came in with a letter. He took the letter and dismissed the soldier.

He opened the letter. It was from one of his spies in the town.

"I've got some information about a guy who had worked in the treasury of the palace before. If I found the guy, he could probably help you to open that door. It seems that he is hiding somewhere but I will find him. Rest assured my prince."

This was the first time that he felt they had progressed a bit with opening the door. "I might not need her help after all." He thought to himself and felt more relaxed because it would be so difficult if not impossible to get any information about that door from Arta. For sure she wouldn't help them but she was their only hope until now.

He ate his dinner with appetite and decided to take a bath before going to bed.

He opened the door in his chamber that led to the bathing pool. "That's strange!" he thought to himself. The air was warmer than before and a pleasant light was coming from downstairs. Slowly he descended the stairs holding his sword in his hand.

Standing on the last stairs he saw someone in the pool but the curtains hanging between the pillars around the pool had prevented him to see who was in the pool. Slowly approaching the pool, he realized that there is a woman in the pool. Her back was toward him.

Steam was coming out of the pool; a pleasant aroma had filled the hall and the warmth of the air had made the pool area very dreamy and delightful for Osman. He couldn't believe his eyes. His eyes were pinned on the angle in front of him, although he knew he was sinning, he couldn't break his gaze. He was mesmerized by the angelic naked body behind the curtains. She had a perfect body, flawless and desirable.

Suddenly as if she had noticed his gaze she turned and a faint scream left her mouth. Arta quickly came out of the pool and wrapped herself in the white sheets. She was running toward the door when Osman grabbed her wrist from behind. Their heart beating erratically, one out of desire and the other out of fear as he pulled her closer.