As she began her long way home her heart was heavy with sorrow yet her step was light from her new found love. But she had not discovered the fruit of that tree which grew in the middle of the desert, the only fruit still missing in the Empress' garden. Instead, she had turned the tree back into a woman, losing it forever. But, she had found love, bliss and happiness, if only for a short while there, under those monumental boulders on the rocky ground in between the princess' legs.
The way back home was easier and shorter than she had remembered. Was it because she had finally grown used to the shifting sands beneath her feet? Was it that she had found her bearing again? Or was it that she had become invigorated by the lustful encounter and the shared passion between her and the strange princess? She did not know, but she didn't dwell on these thoughts for too long. For soon she saw the familiar spires and minarets of the city whose streets sparkled like gold in the afternoon sun, whose parks and palaces were renowned for miles and miles, and whose people were so beautiful and proud, carrying on with their lives as if nothing had changed.
Because nothing had changed, not to them, not to the city of Gurganj, nor to the Empire of Xvarazm. But only Nilgoon appeared to be changed and had returned a different woman than she had been when she left. Even though the houses that she passed and the faces that she saw all seemed familiar, some part of her was different now. It was as though she remembered another city from another time, seen through another's eyes, and she walked among them as if in a dream.
She did, however, have a task to fulfil, and her duty demanded that she should see the Empress to whom she owed her life and whose trust she did not deserve. Nilgoon was sad when she approached the palace; not so much for her own life, for even if she were to die she knew that some small part of her would survive somewhere else, reclaiming a throne that had long been abandoned, returning home in glory and power. No, she felt sad for her Empress, whose garden would always miss that one fruit that was nowhere to be found, other than deep in the desert, on a place where no plant should grow, and in which no plant grew any longer.
As she passed through the palace gate, she wondered what that fruit would have been like. Glowing golden, like the shiny fruits she had seen in the palace garden? Radiant and pulsing, like the drop-like things hanging from the trees there? Or small and sparkling, like the stars in the sky, emanating a sweet smell? In her mind, it took all different shapes and forms. Sometimes its bloom changed into a myriad of colours and patterns, its taste soon sour, then sweet, then both at the same time. If only she could bring it to life through her mind, she thought. Maybe if she meditated long enough on it? Maybe if she prayed hard enough, for God surely had been merciful and great and had bestowed upon her plenty of wonders already.
No, she thought, it wasn't right. In her heart she felt, truer than any truth she had ever known, that none of that would work. Cheap trickery and dark magicks would not aid her in her quest. She had failed, and as a failure she should return, be it as it may.
The Empress awaited her already in the garden where they first met. She was not wearing the glowing garment any more whose gems sparkled like starlight, but a simple, white dress, which nonetheless radiated as if lit by an inner light, making her skin seem even whiter than it was, her hair even more black and shiny, and her eyes more piercing and fiery than Nilgoon remembered them.
Suddenly, the thief felt very dirty, very dusty, very rugged and weary from travel. Her skin had gotten a deep brown tan and her hair was bleached a light brown from wandering so long in the sun. Her lips were dry and her fingers were rough. She felt like she didn't even deserve to be in the presence of the Empress, let alone be trusted with her quest.
