Princess Sultana's Circle

seen him years before being interviewed on Saudi
television. I had never forgotten him.
    Saeed’s jovial manner
belied his gruesome job, and never would I forget his terrifying
words. Saeed Al Sayaf is an employee of the Ministry of Interior.
An executioner since he was a young man, he has wielded his sword
many times, and he is now training one of his sons to take his
place! For beheadings, Saeed claimed to use a special sword
presented to him by Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz Al
Sa’ud.
    Saeed also carries out
punishments for lesser crimes, such as theft. I recalled Saeed
explaining that he used sharp knives to cut the wrists of thieves,
since it would be difficult to hit the exact spot on a small target
such a wrist with a weapon as large as a sword!
    During the interview, Saeed
had laughingly claimed that he preferred chopping off heads to
cutting off wrists. He also expressed his keen disappointment that
the booming economy of Saudi Arabia had lowered the crime rate.
There were too few criminals to keep him busy! He had then
discussed some of his more memorable beheadings. And, after
chopping off more than six hundred heads, as well as sixty hands,
he had many stories to tell.
    The most horrifying story I
had never forgotten involved two condemned men, partners in crime,
who were to be executed together. This was before our current
procedure of covering the eyes of the condemned. As a result, the
second man watched as Saeed’s sword sliced through the neck of his
comrade; the severed head fell at his feet. The terrified man
looked up and saw that Saeed was preparing his sword to strike him.
He fell to the ground in a faint. He was examined by the attending
doctor who declared that the man’s heart had stopped. As the body
of his friend was carried away for burial, the fallen man revived.
The swordsman was called back, and the man pleaded to be
spared.
    I will never forget the
wicked smile on the executioner’s face as he chuckled at the memory
of what must have been one of his better days. Of course, Saeed
could not agree to any such thing, and the man was immediately
beheaded.
    Huda spoke once again.
“These British women are obviously guilty of murder. They should
pay for their crime against Allah.”
    Sara, with her soft heart,
looked at our cousin in disbelief. “Oh, Huda! Surely, you do not
mean that.”
    “ And why not? If a Saudi
citizen commits a crime in England, or in America, are they not
forced to answer for their crimes?” Huda flicked her fingers in
dismissal, “Do our Muslim laws mean nothing?”
    Maysa spoke up as she waved
a newspaper in her hand. “Did you not read this report, Huda?
Perhaps these women are innocent. They say here that they were
tortured by Saudi policemen. Such things do happen, you
know.”
    Huda flashed her an ugly
look. “Maysa, do not be so naïve. Of course the women did it! They
were found guilty in a Saudi court! And what else would a foreign
criminal claim, if not police brutality? It is a typical Western
trick to escape punishment!”
    Huda then rose from her
seat and straightened her dress. “All this talk makes me hungry. I
believe I will have Sultana’s cook prepare me this new recipe I
found in New York.”
    My heretofore hidden
distaste for Huda was about to surface. I spoke loudly enough for
Huda to hear: “It appears that the glutton has an insatiable
appetite for blood, as well as for food.”
    Huda slumped against the
wall as if she was stricken with severe chest pains, but we could
see she was pretending. Nevertheless, Sara and Maysa ran to her
side. As she was being led away, Huda shouted that she was having a
heart attack, and that someone should call her husband to tell him
to arrange her funeral!
    Our maids were alarmed, but
I reassured them. “Do not worry. Although Huda is destined to
collapse of a heart attack, her destiny has no connection with my
words. Huda’s final fate is directly linked to the thick layers of
fat that have gathered around her heart.”
    The maids began to laugh.
Although overweight, Huda was the most robust woman in our extended
Al Sa’ud family, and well known for her dramatics. Since she was a
young girl, Huda had routinely feigned heart attacks. Most likely,
I assured everyone, Huda would enjoy many delicious dishes before
she heard God’s final summons.
    Still smiling, I went into
the kitchen to instruct Jada, our London cook and housekeeper, to
prepare our dinner.
    To my surprise, I found
that Jada had