In Sultana:
Two Sisters, Efrain Peralta must rescue those under his protection
including his only daughter Esperanza from a deadly Moorish raid. The leader of
the raiders is Ahmed al-Qurtubi, a man of illustrious origins who finds himself reduced to the role of slaver in the ever-shrinking kingdom of Granada.
Ahmed is a practical, determined man ruled by his desire to recapture the lost
glory of his family. He will do anything to achieve his goal, including
resorting to the capture of innocents along the Christian border with Muslim
Granada. Despite his coarse actions, his men revere him, which Esperanza quickly learns.
“La!” A gravelly tone echoed in the night. Thick
leather boots emerged from the shadows. Esperanza’s gaze traipsed up the length
of them. They reminded her of similar expensive pairs she had seen on the feet
of the Cerda men. The boots rose to the wearer’s knees, stopping at the hem of a
voluminous white cloak. Dark eyes in a weather-beaten craggy face with a thin beard peered at her. Other
men followed the stranger until at least twenty of them stood over her.
She
drew her knees up to her chest and averted her gaze. The stranger dismissed the
man with the knife and took his place. Thin olive-brown fingers went for her
chin. She slapped his hand away, seething at his presumption. Those around him
stepped back or focused murderous glares on her.
A
chuckle rumbled through the stranger’s barrel chest before his stare darkened.
His palm swung wide and connected with her cheek. Her shocked tears fell
without warning.
He stood. “I have no wish to hurt you. Never do
that again, mi querida.”
When I was imagining Esperanza’s initial encounter with Ahmed, the
face of Palestinian actor Ashraf Barhom kept coming to mind. He hasn’t had any
breakout roles, but if you’ve watched The Kingdom (with Jaime Fox and Jennifer
Garner), Agora (with Rachel Weiss) or
Clash of the Titans (with Sam
Worthington), you’ve seen Ashraf Barhom appear in pivotal scenes. In each movie,
his characters project confidence in their abilities, whether he is portraying as a Saudi
Arabian officer, a warrior monk or a bounty hunter, and an easy adaptability to changing circumstances, which perfectly mirrors the forceful personality of Ahmed al-Qurtubi.
The first meeting of Esperanza and Ahmed reveals more of his dangerous nature:
The
Mohammedan leader stroked his beard as he stood. “There
might be more
coin for me elsewhere, but I’m uncertain it lies within the old kingdom of
Valencia.” He reached beneath a fold in his cloak and withdrew a long curved
blade with weaving lines along its surface. He pointed the sword at Esperanza,
who shriveled against the rock.
“You
see this, little hope? The finest steel from Damascus. I took this from the
first man I slaughtered more than twenty years ago. It has never left my hands since
then. I remember each person it has killed. I have never beheld another blade of the same quality and
craftsmanship, until today.”
He pulled
another weapon from within the cloak. The jewel-encrusted handle glittered
in the darkness. Esperanza shuddered as he held up the dagger she had last seen
in her father’s hands.
Next time,
learn more about Fadil al-Qurtubi, Ahmed’s young nephew and the chief tormentor
of Esperanza and her counterpart Miriam, in Sultana: Two Sisters.
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