Imagined Evenings — H.C. Turk

Sherri Zwiefelhofertziegen (19) is on a field trip to the Mid-Eastern nation of Kharnstan for Arabic studies when a friend challenges her to steal some saffron from a sacred field. Foolishly, Sherri complies, but is immediately overwhelmed by a semi-corporeal “earth angel” who curses her and sends her back in time 1,500 years.

Sherri finds herself in a magnificent palace where she is befriended by the court sorcerer, Thaled. Just when she begins learning how to fit in the culture, a deadly situation arises: finding his wife, Aniz, having an affair with a cook, King Srayar orders her to be executed, but the king's son goes further. Prince Badir coerces his father into wedding a new wife each day, killing her the following morning. But the king's vizier, Zaman, loves Aniz, and arranges for the despised prince to die instead, as aided by Thaled.

Though she just wants to go home, Sherri can't avoid becoming involved: the chamberlain, Meszir, is aware of the situation, and will try to prove it by attacking the weakest link: Sherri. Meszir thus convinces Srayar that this foreign girl should become his first temporary wife. So, Sherri finds herself in bed with the naked king, who will enjoy “lusty coupling” with her all night, then have her beheaded in the morning. But Sherri begins telling a story that so enthralls the king he falls asleep. Sherri keeps her virginity, and her head.

This continues day after day because Sherri's storytelling is so convincing that the king becomes addicted to her tales. Directly involved with Thaled and Zaman as they try to resolve palace intrigue, Sherri eventually falls in love with Zaman. He feels the same about her, but he might be adjudicated a traitor and executed. A resolution to this dilemma arrives in the form of “Badir”: Meszir has arranged for another wizard to disguise his deputy to so perfectly resemble the dead prince that even his father is convinced. When the false Badir demands that Zaman must be executed, Srayar agrees.

With Zaman bent over the chopping block, Sherri has opportunity to tell one more story. Going beyond conviction and vividness, Sherri manages to place Srayar in the final story. The scenes that she describes become the events of his life. Sherri controls the king's world, and knows his thoughts, but Srayar retains his willpower. In order to leave the story and reenter the true world of his life, Srayar must agree to Sherri's terms. If she succeeds, she will gain freedom for herself and her lover. If she fails, she will find herself beside Zaman beneath an axe.