She was the crown princess. Her mother died in the process of her birth. Her aunt died of illness, and her father's been taking care of her since she was 3. Jamil was older than her, only by a year. He was a street rat, a little boy who stole from the market to feed his homeless family. His parents abandoned him and his sister, when he was 6 and Najuma was 4, and he’s been stealing food and water for the two of them.

One day, when he was 13, he found a pretty necklace on the floor and went to trade it. To his surprise, three bags of bread and 2 bottles of water, even a jar of jam for the bread. He and his sister had never been better.

At that point, realizing what was worth more, rather than stealing food, he started to steal jewelry.

Eventually, he decided to sneak into the princess’ room, high up in the Sultan’s palace. The princess has the finest jewelry, and it could trade for plenty at the market. He had gotten good at sneaking and climbing buildings, as for running away from guards and stealing. When he landed on the princess’ balcony, he could see her jewelry, bracelets, necklaces, headwear, all so shiny under the moonlight. His street rat eyes wanted it all.

Something had caught his eye in particular. Just as he picked up a bracelet of gorgeous, red rubies, he heard a creak. He turned around, to see the princess, standing there in her cute little night gown. Their eyes met, and he dropped the bracelet. He had never seen the princess before. Even though he was 16 years old with a reputation to have no emotions, a pang of something hit his heart, he had butterflies in his stomach, and his cheeks felt warm. She seemed to be a bit pink as well, looking at him with those big, soft, vulnerable eyes.