>>5561322Mahmud sighted, for him a frank was a frank, no matter where he came from, he was not a well travelled caravan guard, he was a simple farmer who grew his crops around the Nile and he really hated those grasslands, hills and trees under a cold, grey sky. And the rain... It was raining every time.
-I do not know, but those Franks were too small to have coats at our size, and now my feet are cold... By Allah I wonder what kind of Jinn has sent us here... We should have been fighting with the mongols under the sun and not trying to fight this mud...
The evil Jaffar practically spat at him. He was already sour in their village, and now he was even more sour in campaign.
-Ah yes, Mahmud is cold, maybe he wants to go back to his three wives so they could help him. He wants sun, he may ask what he wants to the jinns, it was him who cursed our column ! He is doing dark mag...
Mahmud could not tolerate this and told.
-Shut up ! I know that you cannot bear the fact that I have three wives and that I have married Aisha after what happened to her, but it was not her fault and if you...
-Only a dishonourable man marries dishonoured women you fennec !
They would have begun fighting if not Saddam who said.
-By Allah behave yourselves or I will give you a taste of my shoe !
It was definitely more humiliating than beating them with the scabbard of his sword. Mahmud agreed to remain calm, he knew that it was poorly seen that, having already two wives, a rare thing amongst peasants, he married a third one who had been raped and who instead of killing herself our of shame tried to live. Some people blamed Aisha... Sweet Aisha, what could she have done against those bandits ? For him she was to be pitied and not reviled... But Mahmud knew that he was a soft man, it was like this... Even his parents, when they were alive, told him that, and now his three mothers in law told him this too. Heh, if everybody knew what having three mothers in law meant they would probably not call him too lucky. It made him think of Zahira and of Fatima too. And his children, would he see them again ? He had been called by his emir even when he didn't knew how to fight and feared his first battle, fortunately he had only to kill unarmed frankish peasants for now. He hoped that he had not to be in the first line during the next skirmish, fortunately he was now a scout and he was climbing some muddy hill instead of being with the rest of the troops, he could run instead of fight if he saw the enemy. It was in those thoughts that he saw Saddam tell.
-Lie down ! Now ! Before they see us !
But it was too late, the small troop of armoured horsemen bellow the hill that they had just climbed saw them. Mahmud did not knew what to do. But strangely a robed figure left the ranks of the Franks and engaged them.
