Princess Mahira never had a reason to leave the palace and see the kingdom of Kokomah. However, when the circus comes to the kingdom, she takes a day leading up to the event to explore. During her time in the town, she has the opportunity to help someone.

This is a commissioned story for  Tazzmo70

Thank you for your support Tazz. Your story was a great first commission.
If you would like to commission me to write a story with your characters, please feel free to send me a note.

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Princess Mahira looked out her window and sighed. The view from her room in the palace was sparse most days; the only things to peek at were the guards, the dignitaries, and the community leaders coming in to speak with the Sultan.

But these past few days had caused the inert sands to be kicked up in a frenzy. The entire city, palace included, was a sudden fountain of life. For the first time in years, the circus would return to the small kingdom of Kokomah. The Sultan, Mahira’s father, worked hard to negotiate the terms with the ringmaster. Based on what Mahira heard, there was a lot of discussion about how they would work with the circus to assist with the sand that ruined almost all the animals’ fur and the extreme heat that dehydrated the performers. Whatever the sultan offered or said, it seemed to be enough for the ringmaster. The entire kingdom erupted in cheers when the Sultan announced that the circus would be returning.

It brought the princess much joy to see her subjects as excited as they were. Her window, elegantly decorated with pink silk curtains and filled with glass (a rarity in most places), let in views of children chasing each other in the streets, beautiful women showing their skills dancing with swords, and men showing and selling their wares to the people who were approaching the castle. While admiring everything happening on the street below her, the princess suddenly grew restless. It came all at once: the urge to run out and see the city from the streets.

This was the first time she had ever felt this urge. Everything she needed was just a request away. Why would she feel the need to leave the palace? Even so, seeing the people and feeling the energy waft up to her window stirred the desire to go and see in her heart. Now, she wanted nothing more than to join the people she and her brother would one day rule in their festivities.

Mahira quickly rose; her heart now set on requesting permission to leave the castle. She straightened her off-white vest and magenta harem pants, before turning and crossing her decorated room. She pushed past the delicate curtains that separated her room from the rest of the palace.

The throne room was packed with canines and felines asking for different things. There was so much to plan for with the circus coming to the kingdom, so the sultan was hosting one of the largest courts that Mahira could remember.

Of course, Iasi stuck out of the crowd. He was a massive snake, almost as half as tall as the grand room that he was helping oversee. Though Mahira didn’t have his height, he still immediately saw her as she walked into the room. His eyes were practically attuned to the shade of her brown scutes. He sent a couple of guards over to collect her and bring her to him, so he could see what she needed. Once she and the guards made it through the space, Iasi lowered his massive head and curved his hood so the two could better hear each other.

“What is it, little oasis?” he asked, the esses were hissed sweetly. The princess slightly blushed at his nickname for her. Iasi was always like a second father to her and her brother, which meant that he would give them both pet names... even if those names were a little embarrassing.

“I wanted to ask Dad if I can leave the palace for the day,” she requested softly. She felt bad for disrupting the proceedings, but she had to set that aside for the moment.

Iasi considered this for a moment. “Is there any specific reason you want to leave the palace?” He broke his train of thought to ask.

The princess could only shake her head no, her long hair moving in sync “I just want to see everything happening.”

Iasi gave a soft smile, before summoning one of the smaller guards that stood by Sultan Tufal. An asp that Mahira recognized as Sufri stepped away from his post. He slithered over to Iasi and stood at attention, his uniform pristine. The massive mamba whispered into Sufri’s ear, and the asp returned to the Sultan.

As soon as he reached Tufal, he started whispering into his ear. Tufal quickly whispered back and raised his hand to stop the current petitioner from talking. Shortly after Sufri and the sultan began talking, Tufal raised his armored head and locked eyes with his precious daughter. He moved his clawed fingers in what resembled a wave before continuing the conversation with Sufri. His smile fell into a slight frown before long. He whispered something to the asp. The sudden expression change worried Mahira, and the asp’s message confirmed her fears.

“The guards are simply too busy to provide you with the protection you need,” Sufri repeated to them. Princess Mahira felt her heart sink at this. However, she understood why, it still felt unfair to her. She wasn’t sure what she could do, so she let her shoulders fall in discontent and began to walk away.

Iasi, though, felt terrible for the poor princess and stopped her before she left his reach. It was so sudden to Mahira that she had to stop herself from balling up.

“Sorry princess, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Iasi said softly. “Let me try something before you give up.” Iasi leaned back over and started whispering more to Sufri. It took quite a while for Iasi to tell Sufri everything that he wanted to say.

“Do I really have to remember all of that?” the asp asked with a huff.

“The gist will do... if you’re capable of that,” the mamba responded, clearly frustrated with one of his subordinates talking to him with such a tone. Sufri turned around and muttered to himself as he walked back to the sultan.

“He better be repeating what I told him and not complaining,” Iasi joked with Mahira.

Mahira didn’t hear Iasi’s joke though; she was focused on the conversation that Iasi had sent off the small snake to carry out. It seemed to go on a lot longer than she would have thought for such a simple request. She began to pace in the small area that Iasi had cordoned off for the two of them.

“Patience, young oasis,” Iasi said with a grimace when she accidentally stepped on his tail. He looked at the young princess, “How about you go to your room and begin changing for your adventure? You’ll want to wear your kaffiyah and jiliaba. You might also want to put on some of your mud to keep your scales hydrated.”

“I can’t. I have to wait for my dad’s response,” Mahira said.

Iasi shook his head. “I’ll send someone to tell you his response, but he’ll say yes.” He spoke with the confidence of someone who’s dealt with her dad on a thousand things, which, given his role in her father’s court, was probably true.

The princess looked at him for a moment, before starting to make her way back through the crowd. The guard that originally brought her to Iasi led the way to the exit, and once they had separated from the crowd, she and the guard separated, him back to his duties in the throne room and her to her room to prepare.

She had pulled on her clothes and was just beginning to put on her mud on her scutes before someone announced themselves in her bedroom. “Princess Mahara, we must be off.” She sped up rubbing her mud on her scales. “I’ll be right out!” she called back.

It didn’t take too long before she walked back out to meet the guard.

“Iasi instructed me to lead you to the proper exit,” the snake, whose name the princess could not remember, told her.

“Will you be my escort? Mahira asked, confused by the guard’s words.

“Iasi explained to me that you won’t have a royal escort will not be necessary for your excursion, especially given that there will be guards patrolling the city.”

The princess was shocked, though pleasantly so, by this development, “How did Iasi...”

“I apologize, princess,” the snake interrupted, “but I do need to be quick. All I know is what I’ve said to you.”

Mahira was put off by his curtness but said nothing and followed the guard to the passage reserved for the sultan’s special guests. Once they made it there, the guard explained how she would get back in and then started walking back the way they came. Mahira watched the guard until he turned the corner. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned and looked at the street and the few animals that were walking past. This was her first time out of the palace for nothing more than her exploration. She stood at the precipice for a moment. She was gathering up the courage and considering how different the outside world might be. After that moment, she stepped out onto the street.

The first thing she noticed was how windy it was. Her clothes were flapping around her almost constantly. Though this was new to her, she wasn’t interested in the city’s weather. She was interested in her city’s people. With that in mind, she turned in the direction where she heard the sounds of people.

Her senses were quickly bombarded with the sights, sounds, and smells. She began walking with the crowd and admiring the outfits of the citizens. Though her typical clothes were made of luxurious materials and rare colors, she was still amazed by how nice all of the jiliabas were. For a moment, she was distracted and tripped over her feet. This led to a stumble pulling her out of the rhythm of the large group. She was bumped into a couple of times before she stepped to the side and let the pedestrians continue. No one grumbled at her for getting in the way, and some even apologized to her before continuing.

As she was looking at the street, she heard a voice pipe up beside her: “City walking really is something else.”

Mahira jumped and turned to look at the speaker, a shaggy dog that had the fur on his head tied back in a ponytail. “Oh, sorry young lady! I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” Even with his fur tied back, some of it still covered his face.

“Uh, it’s okay sir,” Mahira assured. At that moment, she smelled something delicious. She swiveled her head a little to try and locate the source, eventually catching sight of a shop selling spices. The smell brought to her attention that she was hungry.

The dog continued talking, “You know how I can tell that you aren’t used to walking in the city?” The dog blew some fur out of his eyes, “Besides the fact that you’re one of the few armadillos that come into the city?”

This intrigued the princess, “how?”

“You don’t set a firm intention with your steps,” the shaggy dog replied, “Look at everyone as they walk past.” Mahira and the dog fell silent for a moment, watching the animals. It didn’t take long for the princess to see what he was referring to. Everyone was clearly trying to get somewhere. Even the ones who were dressed like tourists looked like they had a goal in mind.

“If you want to get anywhere in the city without getting tripped up, you gotta pick a place for your feet to end up and walk like you won’t let anyone take that spot from you.” Mahira nodded at this advice, understanding it as if he spoke an obvious truth. At that moment, her stomach growled loud enough for the shaggy dog to notice.

“Haha, sounds like you could use something to eat,” the dog said. Mahira nodded, slightly embarrassed. “Well, sorry for holding you up with my babbling, but it sounds like you have a good chance to practice. There’s a food stand down that way,” the dog pointed in the direction that Mahira had originally been heading. “The smell is a bit strong and quite a few people are usually milling in front of it, so you’ll see it.” She nodded and thanked him.

She stood on the edge of the crowd, setting her intention. She knew where she wanted to go, and she took the first opportunity that presented itself to begin walking in the crowd again. She walked with a confidence she didn’t earlier, sure of her footing the entire way to the food stand the shaggy dog described to her. She took a place in the line, feeling light from this success.

She was about to order her favorite dish, naan and crickets, before she heard something. It sounded like a shout. The princess looked around and saw a panther crawling in the sand. Fortunately, the street had mostly cleared out. So, Mahira was able to reach the panther to see what was wrong. When she reached the panther, Mahira saw its tail, she immediately knew why it was crawling.

The panther’s entire lower half was a fishtail. The panther was a mermaid.

The panther looked up at Mahira. She had the same youthful look that the princess saw in the mirror. “There’s a man...”

“Hey!” a shout filled the air.

Mahira turned to see a male cat running toward them, his ears pointed.

“The panther grabbed Mahira’s arm. “Please don’t let him take me...” she pleaded.

Before Mahira could ask what was going on, the large cat reached them. “Thank goodness,” he said, panting, “you found my performer.”

Mahira looked at the two of them, confused. The cat took it upon himself to answer her silent question. “I’m one of the talent managers of the circus, and Rena is one of our oddities!” He said this loudly and with a sense of pride as if he were trying to sell a ticket to Mahira right there.

“You mean one of your freaks,” the panther-mermaid, Rena, said, venom dripping from her tone.

“Quiet you,” hissed the cat.

“Sir,” Mahira said, “it doesn’t sound like Rena would like to be a part of your show.” She was trying to have poise like her mother taught her, but the cat looked at her with an amused expression.

“Little girl,” he sneered, “it doesn’t matter if she would like to or not. Her family signed a contract. You do know what that is, right?” Mahira was about to explain how she was familiar with contracts from her teachers, but the cat didn’t give her a chance to. “It’s like a spell in one of your silly little fairy tales. One person asks for something, and the other has to do something if they really do want that thing. Now, if you’ll excuse me...” the cat began to walk towards Rena.

Mahira wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t think it was fair for this cat to force the mermaid to do something she didn’t want to. Not to mention, the way the cat talked to her infuriated the princess. He might as well spat at her. She decided that no matter what happened, this cat would not walk away with this mermaid. The princess sidestepped to place herself between Rena and the cat. She stared him in the eyes.

“You know, spells can be broken too,” Mahira began, enunciating her words like she had heard Iasi do when he would try to convince her father of something. “You took a girl away from her family to make her work? I wonder how easy it would be to break yours?” Mahira wasn’t quite sure if it was easy to break a contract like that, but she had to stop him from taking Rena in any way she could. Even so, what she said did worry the cat. He was lost for words for a moment.

“W-what? Get out of the way, kid. This doesn’t concern you,” he hissed.

“I think it does. The circus forcing someone to perform in my kingdom is my concern,” she snapped back.

The cat didn’t think what she could have meant by “my kingdom.” Instead, he raised his hand and turned his body. “Little brat, someone should teach you some manners,” he said before he started to swing.

The princess turned her head, preparing for a hit that never came. What came next was the cat yowling in pain and a familiar voice:

“You raise your hand to royalty like that?”

Mahira opened her eyes to see the huge Iasi standing over the tall cat, his hand wrapped around the would-be slapper’s arm. The cat looked at the mamba and back to the princess, “Royalty?” he asked, a tremble entering his voice as he realized how much trouble he was in.

“I don’t see sand falling out of your ears,” Iasi answered. He looked at Mahira and winked, “Now if you don’t wish to face the wrath of the sultan, I believe you should apologize to the princess.”

The cat muttered a quiet “I’m sorry.”

Mahira turned her scaled nose up at him, “I think it’s clear that I’ll want a little more than a half-hearted apology like that.”

The cat growled, “You brat, you’re really going to make me give you one of my performers? Can you guess how much she cost?”

Iasi tightened his grasp on the cat. “Watch your tone,” he warned.

“She’s not some toy I’m going to ask you to share,” Mahira said, “I want you to release her from her 'spell’ completely.” She paused and let the cat take in the silence, “Or we can discuss your attack on me with my father.”

The cat hung his head, knowing that he had no choice. “Fine,” he sighed, “Rena, the contract your family signed with me is void. These two here will be your witnesses, so learn their names.” There was an air of threat to these words, but it still was enough for Mahira. She nodded at Iasi, who released the powerless animal. The cat skulked away with his tail between his legs.

Once he was gone, Mahira ran over to hug the mamba, thanking him for helping her.

“We can’t celebrate just yet, little oasis. We have to deliver your charge to safety.” Mahira looked back and responded,” You’re right!” and ran over to the mermaid.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Rena answered, “thank you for helping me.” The panther reached out her paw. Mahira took it and helped her sit up. It was the first time she took a good look at Rena’s tail. The tail was a beautiful light blue, almost the color of the sky. The webbing of her tail was a shade of orange that looked like a fruit a guest of her father brought from a far-off land. “Wow!” she marveled, “your tail is beautiful!”

Rena smiled softly, “Thank you. You should see it when I’m in the water. The way it shines is stunning.”

“Oh!” Mahira shouted, putting her hand into her hand, “Iasi! Can you...?” She turned to look at the large mamba.

Iasi had already begun talking to more guards. “There’s already a cart on the way and we’re getting space cleared for her safe release at the port,” he called back. He was always on top of things, anticipating everyone’s needs.

As they waited for the cart to arrive and on the way to the port, the princess and the mermaid talked. There was a lot of breaking the ice. Mahira found out that Rena was her age, almost to the day. The mermaid told the princess about how her family was forced to sign her away when they all were captured in a fisherman’s net.

“Oh no!” Mahira said, covering her mouth, “That must have been so scary.”

“I don’t really remember,” Rena admitted, her black paws on her tail, “I was too young. But I’m sure my family wants me back.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

There was a bit of silence before Rena brought up her own topic.

"It was really brave of you to stand up to the big cat like that,” Rena said, “how did you do it?”

Mahira took a moment and thought back to the advice the shaggy dog had given her earlier. “I chose a place for my feet and didn’t let anyone take my place,” she echoed.

Rena smiled at that, “It’s a lot easier for people with legs, huh?”

Mahira smiled at the joke, “In your case, choose a place to put your fin.”

The both of them laughed at the silly joke.

When they reached the port, Mahira held Rena’s hand as she hopped from the cart to a place she could safely dive from. Right before she hopped into the ocean, Rena pulled Mahira into a hug. Mahira hugged back, her shutes bristling against the fur of the panther.

“I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, princess,” Rena promised.

“I won’t forget you, Rena,” Mahira promised back.

And with that, the two left their embrace. The mermaid dived into the ocean to begin her own adventure. Iasi walked up to Mahira’s side, “You did a good thing, little oasis.”

Mahira nodded, but something still itched in her mind. “How did you show up just in time to stop that cat from hitting me?”

Iasi chuckled, “As soon as I was no longer needed, I went out and was able to locate you. I had been following you for a while.”

“Oh, then, why didn’t you stop him sooner?”

Iasi looked at Mahira, “You were holding your ground well without me.”