The Court of Myrtles

The Court of Myrtles is located on the last emirate of Muslim Iberia. Abu Abdullah is its sultan in the narrative present of the novel. It is in the court where Fatima was born into slavery as the sultan's concubine. Hassan also works here as Abu Abdullah's cartographer. While the two friends live in The Court of Myrtles, they possess no agency over their own identities or futures. Fatima is bound to her duties to Lady Aisha and the sultan; Hassan is similarly limited by his mapmaking responsibilities.

At the start of the novel, General Marquez and Lady Luz arrive at the court at the behest of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. When Fatima learns the invaders seek to capture and torture Hassan, the friends flee the grounds through an underground passage Hassan creates with a map.

The Boat

The boat Fatima and...