Where they finally meet.

Twitter.

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@AmirBinAbdullah : The Royal House of Maraaish welcomes His Royal Majesty King Najaf Almaaz of Buredaan, Princess Haya Almaaz and their Royal delegation. Their stay at the Al Ansar Palace is an honour. We hope that this visit brings happiness and goodwill to both Maraaish and Buredaan.

@loveMaraaish : Crown Prince Amir Bin Abdullah spotted inside a local cafe this morning.

Instagram.

@Haya : “And if you ever find your world falling apart, you can come to mine.”

All floors were marble, shining like anything with gold streaks on the outline, showing off the Palace that belonged to the King of Maraaish, stair rails were present on both the left and the right side of the large hall, polished to a point where they could blind one's eye, three huge chandeliers spread their light across the entire area, family portraits hung all around the left side, painted to perfection and hung in gold frames.

The scent of fresh flowers spread a certain aroma around them, she hadn't seen anything other than the exterior and the main hall from the inside but she understood why everyone talked about the Al Ansar Palace like that. It was beautiful.

But it was not the reason of her racing heartbeat and her shimmery eyes.

She had been looking forward to meet him since a long time now, since the day she came to know of him, since the day she started to talk to him..she had tried to get him to come to her but he hadn't. So she came to meet him instead, expecting nothing but warmth and his welcoming gaze.

They had talked about Prince Amir on the way to Maraaish, even more than they talked about the King. They talked about his manners, his calmness, his kindness, his diplomacy. Haya wanted to add how handsome he was but remained quiet, acting like she did not know the man personally.

When they arrived in the country, they had been escorted by the youngest brother of Prince Amir, the minister of foreign affairs, Prince Subhan. He had been kind with his words, professional and decent.

But Haya had been impatient, ready to go to the Palace and meet the actual person, meet the man who had put a smile on her face several times.

In a white knee length dress, she tried to look as modest as she could, even wearing stockings under the dress that hardly showed her legs anyway. She knew he thought her clothes were haram so she tried to wear the ones that he would consider, not so haram.

She walked right by her father's side, a smile on her face while her heart raced fast.

Her eyes stayed on his face as she saw him embrace her father. He was handsome in the pictures, in the videos but nothing came close to seeing this man in person.

His scent engulfed her, it was so rich, so endearing.

"Your Majesty, we welcome you to Maraaish. The Royal House is Honored to have you at the Al Ansar Palace today."

There was such a calm in his voice, like he thought of every word before he spoke, like he wanted the other person to feel very important, like he wanted to make sure he was being good enough.

Her father, in return gave a grim smile.

"Thank you, Prince Amir. How are you? InshaAllah, well?" Their exchange of greetings went on for a moment.

"Alhamdullilah. I am very well. I hope your journey was pleasant."

"Yes, it was. How is your father's health now?"

Prince Amir did not say his father was very well, infact his eyes were suddenly covered with a certain sense of grief. He still nodded.

"He is recovering well. He will have dinner with you, ofcourse. But first, I am sure you would like to rest." He suggested, her father cracked a smile.

"I am an old man." He joked.

He needed his rest though. Haya knew how tired plane journeys made her father, even though the kind of travelling that they did, it was more comfortable than any person could imagine.

"The Royal Delegation that arrived with you is being taken care of very well." Amir mentioned, making sure that everything was smooth.

When are you going to look at me, Prince? I dressed up for you today. I don't dress up for people.

"Good. I don't think you have met my daughter." The King finally said, looking at Haya.

Haya looked at her father and then at him. His eyes came to look at her and her eyes stayed at him, she didn't think eyes were such an important factor but for a moment, Haya couldn't think of anything better than eyes.

His eyes were just brown in colour, like most people of his land but they were so intense, so gentle, so brown. His face was strong and defined but something about his eyes had her gazing.

Prince Amir smiled at the Princess.

"I have not. But I have heard great things about you. Princess Haya, I am Honored to welcome you at our Palace today."

Haya pulled out her hand, testing his limits. She had seen him shake hands with women dignitaries in several videos, surely shaking hands was not going to be a problem for him.

Amir placed his hand in hers. It wasn't rough but it was muscular, he gripped it for a second before letting go.

"Thank you very much, it is a pleasure to meet you." She responded, being as polite as she could be. She had put on the kind of make up on her face that made her look natural, like she hadn't made any effort to look beautiful.

But she had.

The last time she had made an effort to look good for someone else, it was for..nevermind.

Amir gestured towards the King respectfully.

"Please, come." Haya saw him guide her father towards a large chamber, a room so big that a small town could live in it.

The room was guarded already, wuth four royal guards placed right outside. The King turned around before entering the room, looking at his daughter.

"I will rest for a while, Haya. You will be okay in your room?" He whispered to her, voice barely audible to anyone but Haya.

The King in him wanted to let everyone see his grandeur but the father in him, he worried about his little girl.

Haya gently squeezed her father's hand.

"Yes, father. I'm not a child. Don't worry." She said back in the same tone.

Truthfully, she could not wait to talk to Amir.

"Thank you, Amir. I will see you for dinner." Her father said to the Crown Prince, as the Chambers were opened for him.

"If you need anything, your majesty. I'm here at your service." Prince Amir replied, resulting in the King to chuckle out loud.

"Oh child, you're too formal. May God bless you."

"Shukran. Please rest."

He entered his room, leaving Haya to be taken towards her Chambers. Prince Amir could not help but stare at her in the proper way now, eyes looking at her beautiful hair and that one mole on her face that somehow made her look even more exquisite.

"Salam." He whispered to her, as if the earlier greeting had been way too formal, as if she meant more to him than the King's daughter. She was the woman he had spend weeks talking to.

"Salam." She replied in the very same tone, voice barely above a whisper. He noticed the way she walked and he also noticed the way she had interacted with him when they first met. As if she didn't really know him at all, as if he was just a Crown Prince, greeting her father and her.

She had been calm and composed, something told him that the woman knew how to control her emotions really well.

"You're well reversed in your manners." He complimented, making her walk up the stairs.

"So are you." Haya replied. She was not being as open and as blunt as she was in her text messages, she was not timid either but she only spoke when she was spoken to.

He didn't think her dress up was as haram as usual today. It was still haram though but he didn't need to tell her that. He wanted to, but she was not his, she could do what she wanted to do.

"How was your journey?" He enquired, seeing the way her arms were by her sides, her cheeks were flushed or maybe it was the tint that women used on their cheeks, she didn't look at him, she looked ahead.

"I slept through it." She answered.

"How's Maraaish?" He asked another question.

Haya had not seen anything but desert and mountains from the plane and they had landed right outside the Palace, she did not know how the country actually was.

"The Palace is beautiful." She responded in an honest manner.

The Palace was golden, just the way she liked it.

As the door to her chamber got opened, sudden rays of sunlight fanned her face, her brown eyes got much lighter as the rays fell on her, she looked like a woman who could sin as much as she wanted to and yet she would be allowed to enter heaven, just because she looked like she belonged there.

Amir could not control himself as the next words came out of his mouth.

"You're beautiful." He said out loud, meaning each and every word.

Haya turned to look at him, surprised.

He barely gave her a smile, gesturing towards her room.

"Rest, Haya. I will see you at dinner." His eyes lingered on her face for a moment, before he turned around and walked away.

Haya entered the bedroom, finally smiling as big as she could. This man was so magical and suddenly, she felt like her life might just be a fairytale after all.

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Haya had hardly ever worn a suit, she was the kind of person who felt much more comfortable in dresses and skirts. Today, however she had chose not to wear any of her dresses but a suit instead.

A peach-beige pant and coat with a black shirt underneath, paired with black heels. It was modest enough for both her father and the man she was trying to impress.

She had fought the urge to put on red lipstick, applying the nude one that made her look more natural.

A knock on the door startled her and she waited for the person to enter the room, her eyes looking at a woman, she had her head covered in a hijab, body wrapped around in a long flowy skirt of black and white. She was one of the workers in the Palace, Haya had guessed.

"We're ready for dinner." She said in a timid voice, Haya nodded with a smile.

"Are you here to guide me?" She questioned the girl.

Was Prince Amir not supposed to take them? What the hell was this disrespect?

She frowned.

"Only till downstairs." The woman added. Oh. Alright.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, thank you. I try to get ready on my own as much as I can." She conversated, trying to put the woman at ease as she quickly wore the small platinum earrings.

"Your name is-?" She asked, looking through the mirror at the girl who wasn't even looking straight at her.

"Sara." She muttered, looking up and then looking down again..

Haya nodded, spraying herself with some cologne and taking a good look in front of the mirror.

She walked towards the door and Sara opened it for her, following her as she walked outside.

"Sara, are you from Maraaish?" Haya's tone was much lower now as they walked down the stairs.

"Yes, I am. My family has been serving the Royal family for decades."

"Do they treat you well?"

"Better than what I deserve."

She smiled.

"And Prince Amir?"

She just wanted to know more about him.

"I don't know much about the Prince, I just know that he's a good man trying to make this country even better."

Her family had been serving Maraaish's Royal family for ages, it was not humanely possible for her to not know about the Prince. People who worked for them knew everything. The help always had the deepest darkest secrets.

"They've trained you well." Haya replied, complimenting the girl's ability.

She leaned in, looking the girl straight in the eye.

"Tell me. Whatever you say, it will stay between us girls." She gave Sara her typical Haya grin and the woman could not help but speak up.

"Between us girls, Prince Amir doesn't have anyone in his life. He's very calm by nature but he's very charming with his words. He hardly gets angry and for him, this country, its culture..it is everything. And he loves his father more than anyone in this world. "

She quickly said her words, careful as she looked around to see if anyone was hearing her or not.

Haya just nodded.

"Thank you, Sara. I will make sure to put in a good word for you." She whispered as they reached downstairs.

"It's my pleasure, Princess. If you need anything after dinner, I will be right outside your room."

Haya put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it as a gesture of gratefulness and then looked ahead, spotting her father in the middle of the large hall, surrounded by his many men.

"Someone looks dapper." She commented, walking up to him.

Her father's eyes lit up as he looked at his daughter.

"And you my daughter, you look like the daughter of Buredaan." She smiled at his compliment, seeing that his eyes still screamed tired even though he had rested and changed.

"Feeling better?"

"As fresh as a daisy!" He exclaimed.

Haya simply shook her head, looking at his delegation behind him.

"And you all? Liking Maraaish?" Her father let out a laugh, she looked at him confused.

"They've been here plenty of times, my darling. They know Maraaish really well." Oh yeah. Right.

"Right. I'll go and explore it in the morning." She announced.

The sudden confusion on her father's face was enough to show everyone that he was not aware of her plans.

"Was it planned, Haya?" He questioned, knowing that his daughter could be reckless like that. This was not Buredaan. She could not go around and explore like that.

"No, father. But I want to."

"Haya."

"Please, dad." She insisted.

"Who will go with you?" Before she could even respond, she felt a man right by her side. A man she had got dressed for, a man she actually liked.

She felt him before she saw him. It was because of his scent, she had never really felt the presence of a man because of his scent. God, what was it about this man?

She moved away, standing by her father's side and greeted the Prince with a smile.

"Good evening, Your majesty." Prince Amir greeted, shaking hands with the King yet again.

"Amir." Amir's eyes turned to Haya, appreciating the way she looked.

"Salam again.." He greeted her. An outsider could never understand what both of them were actually conveying to one another.

His eyes were speaking to her. She hoped that it was not her own head playing games with her.

"You too." She mumbled.

"I'm here to escort you inside, if you'll allow me."

The King nodded in agreement, telling Amir once again that he was being way too formal, that men his age were supposed to let loose. Amir had simply chuckled, not saying anything further as he escorted them to the main Hall. The dining hall.

Utter silence sprawled all over the dining hall as the King of Buredaan entered inside, greeted by the King Of Maraaish, a man who had to be held by the Crown Prince Amir as he embraced King Najaf of Buredaan. Amir had been right, his father's health was not as well as the world thought it was. He was sick and tired all the time. No wonder the Crown Prince was so well reversed in everything, he had responsibilities.

The two Kings met according to their traditions, talking to each other like one would talk to his old friend. The King of Maraaish thanked King Najaf for visiting him at such a crucial time.

He talked about his son, Prince Amir. If he had been well with his manners, if he had made them feel welcomed and if he had made them feel at home.

Haya saw her father beat at the Crown Prince, talking about how impressed he was with the young man.

Finally, her father put his hand on her arm, introducing her as his daughter and she stepped forward, pulling out her hand once again as she shook it with the King.

"Good Evening, Your Majesty. I hope you are feeling better now."

She showed her utmost respect, not just because he was Amir's father but also because the man genuinely looked ill and had yet been hospitable enough to host a dinner in their honor.

"I am. Welcome to Maraaish."

Haya gave him a small smile.

"Thank you." As the King got introduced to the Royal Maraaish Delegation and everyone got settled in for dinner, both the Kings saw it fit to have a meeting in private.

Not exactly private as both had their translators with them, Crown Prince Amir also accompanied the King and so did the foreign ministers of both the countries.

"Please enjoy your dinner." Amir said out loud to everyone as Haya walked to sit on the front table.

He frowned, seeing her walk away.

"Aren't you coming?" His words stopped her, she grinned at him.

Well well. Someone is eager to spend more time with me.

"Unlike you, I'm not a crown Prince." She replied, the frown replaced with an amused expression on his face.

"That's too bad, hmm?" He teased, ready to walk away.

Before he could do so, Haya heard the voice of her father, calling for her name.

She looked at him.

"Haya, come with us."

Both Amir and Haya had smiles on their faces as both entered the Private room, sitting at opposite ends but only looking at one another.

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@Haya : "How rare and beautiful it truly is to even exist"

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Thoughts? The real story starts now.