“Why did you wake us up so early?” Zayed yawned, his hair all over the place as he entered the study wearing pajamas, with bananas all over them.
We all stared at him. Me, Khalid, Zara, Rahim and our grandmother. Only he was the one wearing pajamas, while all of us were dressed up, ready for the day.
“It’s ten in the morning,” Zara deadpanned.
“Is it?” He looked out of the balcony to see the sun and squinted his eyes. “Yes, it is.”
“As I was saying before Zayed interrupted us. I want to bring Nasrin back and by the way I treated her, she is mad at me,” I announced.
“She definitely hates you,” Zara agreed, nodding her head. “Probably punch you when she sees you.”
Everyone murmured their agreement while I gaped at them. “That doesn’t help me.”
“We are not here to tell you pretty lies, Zain. You fucked up and you are owning your mistake,” Khalid said, and rolled out the map of Azmia and Maahnoor. Rahim helped him with pointing out the capitals and making a red circle where our palaces were situated.
My brother was right. Again. It was about time that I accept my mistake of pushing Nasrin away when I could have handled it way better. I didn’t have to treat her as a sultan would, I should have listened to her and talk to her like her husband. Because of that, she had almost been killed with poison. I would never forgive myself if that had happened.
I will go to Maahnoor and bring her back.
“Sultan, allow me to arrange your safe journey to Maahnoor,” Rahim said, already making a plan and writing it down.
“I will beat some sense into you before you leave,” Khalid said, crossing his arms. I nodded at him.
Zara beamed, her smile giving me hope. “I can ask Nasrin to give you a chance so you can talk and make out and woo her back!”
“You are reading way too many romance books,” Zayed commented and yelped when she pinched his arm.
“Thank you, Zara, that would be helpful.”
“I will make sure the palace is ready to celebrate the return of Sultana,” my grandmother piqued in, smiling at all of us.
We all agreed and started planning about my journey to Maahnoor and how I should talk to her without getting stabbed and win her back.
“Hey.” Zayed frowned at all of us. “What should I do?”
“We almost forgot that you are useful to us,” Khalid commented and glanced down at the map before looking at his friend. “Provide us with the fastest horses you have.”
Zayed grinned, “On it!”
“But why horses?” I asked.
“Because horses make everything more romantic, duh!” Zara answered, shaking her head as if it was common knowledge. Maybe I should invest in romance books from now on.
* * *
“Whatever happens, don’t get killed.” Khalid wished me his good luck when I climbed the horses, making sure I had everything that I needed.
“You say that because you don’t want to be crowned as the sultan,” I teased.
He smiled, “You know me so well, Brother.”
“Don’t forget the gift!” Zara said when the guards started moving, the sound of their horses neighing surrounding us.
“I won’t,” I replied, and looked at the palace one last time. I hope I will have Nasrin riding with me when I see the palace again.
I couldn’t risk having Khalid, Zara, or Zayed with me. Like how we travelled differently through airplanes to be safe in case something happens. I didn’t want to risk their lives for a mistake that I had caused.
I hadn’t told them about the risk of sneaking into the palace of Maahnoor. If I get caught by their guards, I would be as good as dead. The people of Maahnoor, especially the royal staff, were angry with Azmia for taking Hamid Elbaz as hostage. Even if he had been accused of murder, it was a crime to take a guest as a hostage. I had done just that by ordering him to be kept in the dungeons when he had visited Azmia to have lunch with us and his daughter.
That is why I have to try my best not to get caught. Or they would keep me as their hostage.
The sound of horses galloping was pressed down by the harsh wind of the night. Our plan was simple, go to the Palace of Maahnoor, talk to Nasrin, woo her with my charms and good looks and bring her back to Azmia where she belonged. Rahim had suggested to travel in the night and reach the palace before dawn. As Maahnoor was our neighboring country, the desert provided us with the access of sneaking into the country.
I could use a Jeep or a helicopter, but that would create noise and attention that we didn’t need. If they caught me in Maahnoor with Nasrin, the council would think that I was a suspect in my own mother’s death. Whatever happens, I have to try my best not to get caught. Or get killed.
Reaching the palace of Maahnoor was easy, sneaking inside it was easier. I made a note of reforming and restructuring the palace of Maahnoor after seeing the cracked walls and chipped paint. It barely stood a chance against an earthquake, and it pained me that I had allowed Nasrin to stay there thinking it was safe.
“Fancy seeing you here, Your Grace.”
I turned, short knife in hand, and took a sharp breath when the barrel of the gun was pointed between my brows. I sighed, seeing who it was. “Elena. I didn’t think you would be here.”
She grinned and lowered the gun and tucked it safely in the band of her jeans. “How could I ignore you begging me for a favor to keep an eye on your wife? She is very cute by the way.”
I smiled at her green eyes, her blonde hair tucked into a ponytail. I wished I had the time to greet an old friend, but I didn’t. “Where is she?” I asked and like a professional she was, she led me straight to her room. Well, below it.
“Climb it. It will be easier to escape.” Elena said, her eyes assessing the empty hallway and the barren gardens as I stood below the balcony of Nasrin’s room.
“Why escape?” I asked, tucking the knife back into its sheath.
“Just a hunch. I will keep an eye out,” she said, and winked at me. “Go get your girl, Zain.”
Giving her a nod, I rubbed my palms and started climbing the wall, wincing when the edge of my fingers burned against the plaster. Mental note: add more safety in the palace. If I could easily breach it in a matter of minutes, then anyone could.
“What are you doing?”
I screamed. Nasrin screamed.
“What the fu—” I gasped and scrambled up on the balcony. I leaned against the railing and rubbed my chest where my heart thudded loudly. “You scared me.”
She stared at me, her eyes wide. “I should be the one saying that! What are you even doing here? Climbing a wall? Are you hurt?”
“I am here to woo you and not get stabbed,” I blurted. “No, I am not hurt.”
Her eyes softened before they turned dark and she punched my jaw, almost pushing me down the railing of the balcony. I hissed and rubbed the small throbbing on my jaw.
“Okay, I deserved that,” I said and blinked at her, watching her rub her red knuckles and murmuring something along the lines of ‘fucking handsome face.’
“Nasrin, is everything okay?” Someone shouted from the doors of her room as I took in the plain white sheets and four-poster bed. No riches or opulence surrounded it. It was plain and boring… nothing like Nasrin. How could she live in a room like this?
“Yes, I… I saw a scrambling cockroach and punched it,” Nasrin answered, glaring at me.
“You punched a cockroach?” The guard asked through the door.
“Yes, go away. I am okay.” She turned towards me and pointed at me, “You.”
“Me.”
“You.”
“Me.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because I am sorry for being an asshole. I shouldn’t have pushed you away and ordered you to stay here when I could have listened to you.”
“Yes, you are an asshole,” Nasrin nodded, crossing her arms, my eyes lowering to the tee shirt she wore. It was odd seeing her in such casual clothing. Shorts, tee shirt, and her bare feet. She looked young.
I licked my lips.
“Wow,” she scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. “You have the audacity of pushing me away, sneak up into my room at midnight and give me that look.”
“What look?” I blinked at her innocently.
“The look that means you want to have teenage role-play sex with me!”
I blushed and eyed her bed. “Well, I was thinking about having sex with you in your childhood room.”
Nasrin didn’t reply because she was too busy eyeing me and the bed. I smirked, taking a step towards her but she shook her head. “No, I am still mad at you,” she said stubbornly, keeping her chin high.
“I know.” I took a step closer.
“Really mad, Zain,” she whispered.
“Mm-hmm.”
Another step.
“Like I want to stab you multiple times and leave you to rot in the desert mad.”
I blinked down at her. “That’s very expressive.”
“I have thought about it a million times.”
She was smiling.
Aw, God, she looks adorable.
“What else did you think about me?” I asked, breathing in the jasmine scent of her. This is home. “Did you think about the time when we were naked in the bath? That night in the pool? Or that time—”
“Yes. I hated myself for thinking about it because even though you treated me like that, I couldn’t stop missing you.” She forced her words out, looking away from me and stepping back.
“I am sorry, Nasrin. Stab me, if that’s what you wish, but please give me another chance. I will do anything.”
“Anything?”
I nodded.
She looked me in the eye and said, “Then kneel.”
I dropped to my knees, looking up at her. “This is kind of sexy, not going to lie.”
Her face turned red as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “Will they execute my father?”
My smile dropped. I nodded.
She took a sharp breath and rubbed her arms. “What about my brothers?”
“Council will question them, but not as… strictly like your father, because he confessed that no one from your family knew what he had done. I am trying to push them hard enough so they won’t question any of you and sympathize with you.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Nasrin?”
She glanced at me, still on my knees in front of her. I handed her the small bottle of the custom-made perfume as she frowned at it, taking a small sniff.
She grinned. “This smells like jasmine!”
“It does. It’s for you.”
“Why me?”
Stupid fool.
“Because I love you.”
Nasrin almost dropped the bottle and gaped at me. I continued, “I love you and I am sorry that it took me so long to realize. I-I wanted to let you know how I feel about you. You don’t have to say it back, of course. Only when you are ready and comfortable.”
She parted her lips and shook her head as if she was surprised. “Zain, I… I don’t know w—”
“Nasrin, open this door now!” The guards yelled and her doors shook. I heard Elena’s soft whistle of warning and I knew my presence was known to the guards of Maahnoor.
“You have to leave, now!” Nasrin helped me up and took me to the balcony.
“Is that it?” I asked, my voice small. “I can’t leave. I want to spend more time with you. Come with me, Nasrin. You don’t have to return my feelings, but come with me. Let me keep you safe. Please, come to Azmia.”
The guards yelling got louder, and I knew I had to leave if I wanted to get out alive. But I couldn’t move. I had promised myself that I would bring Nasrin back with me. No matter what happened.
“Zain,” she whispered my name as if it was the answer I needed.
I understood. My promise to myself didn’t matter because she didn’t want to come with me. It was her choice.
“It’s okay,” I lied and forced a smile as I stepped back and dived off the balcony with the help of a wall when the guards broke the door.