It was dark in the room and silent until Veruna spoke up, gaining Saahir's attention, "you forgot your promise."

He was lying at her side and both of them were sharing the blanket but upon her words, he tilted his head slightly towards her, "what promise?"

"You had said you would tell me about your country."

"Oh," a soft sigh escaped him, "I forgot..."

"If you're not sleepy, you can tell it to me now. You said you would keep your promise."

He paused, "that's all very well and I have no issue in telling you right now. But are you not going to go to sleep?"

"I don't fall asleep in any place other than my own room. Though you will be surprised to know that comfort has nothing to do with it," she added, knowing what his remark would be otherwise, "this bed you've made here is much softer than the one I am used to."

"Oh, so the League has equal treatment for both male and female assassins, that's interesting," he replied and it was then she realized that they had never really brought up the fact that he knew she was a League member beforehand.

"You know I am from the League?"

"I've seen your armor, madame. I can hardly mistake that."

"Stop calling me madame," she remarked, looking up at the dark ceiling made of the same wooden planks he had been nailing together when she had reached the hut.

"So you want to know about my country..." His voice was soft as he started, a hint of nostalgia and melancholy lacing his tone ever so slightly, "it's been years since I left my homeland and came wandering here to Amma and the twins. Fate sometimes has a lot of surprising things in store for us. Five years ago, I wouldn't even have dreamed that I would be here at this moment, telling you about the country I was born in."

She knew he had a habit of weaving his words into a story and it was one of the many things about him that had lured her in. Saahir could be an excellent storyteller, she thought, though she knew the story he was going to tell was every bit as real as the time they were sharing together under that wooden planked roof.

"I am from Persia and I came here during the war," he resumed, "the cloak you are wearing right now, was given to me by my father and he tied it around my shoulders himself the day I had left my country forever. He was hoping that I would return home soon. Victorious. Leading my army back with our flag flying high to show that we had been triumphant. But fate had other plans."

She was listening to him very closely, connecting his words to the questions she had regarding him. If he came there during the war, it meant he had been on the opposing side of the League. And by the way he had just put it all, it seemed as if he had been leading an army.

An army that was supposed to go against the League of Assassins in battle.

"I led my troop into battle but we were not prepared for the harsh weather and the brutality of the League of Assassins. We tried our best to stand our ground but Ra's Al Ghul's men tore through us as if we were nothing but a flock of pigeons. In just a few months, the army of thousands that had come with me was reduced to just one person."

"Then what happened?" She asked when the pause became slightly longer.

"Haven't you guessed who I am by now, Veruna?"

Hearing him say her name for the first time made her heart flutter slightly. The way it had left his lips felt so natural as if he had voiced it out a thousand times before and for a second the words asked before that seemed to have faded in the background.

"I may have a guess," she replied, "but I don't know if I want it to be true or not."

"Why not?"

"Because then it would mean you were an enemy of the League. And the League is all I have," her words were hushed as if even saying it out loud would somehow bring doom to them.

"Was the League always all you had?" 

His words took her back to a time she no longer thought about, more than fourteen years ago when her father had still been alive and with her.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be the one asking questions," he didn't let her give him an answer just yet, knowing that she wouldn't want to tell him anything so soon, "I was telling you my story, not the other way round."

"It's alright... But don't keep me guessing, tell me, who are you?"

His brown eyes looked down into her soft hazel, "my name is Saahir Shah and I am the only son of Shah Nasir of Persia."

"Shah Nasir... The Shah of Persia?" The name felt familiar and though it wasn't what her guess had been, hearing it from him had shocked her, "Saahir... You are the prince of Persia?"

"No, I was the prince of Persia. Now I am just Saahir; a peasant who lives with his Amma and younger twin siblings in this humble forest hut."

She had sat up, unable to keep laying down and listen to the rest of the story. She seemed shaken by the revelation and bits and pieces of what she remembered of the League's war with Persia were coming back to her.

It was the last time Dusan Al Ghul had led the League's troops along with his father and they had gained victory. The opponent army had been vanquished mercilessly and most of their soldiers had been killed.

But the opposing army had been quite a lot to handle even for the League's assassins as they had stood their ground for months though Saahir did not consider it as much of a remarkable feat. At last, after months of ruthless battle, the league had overpowered them and killed every single one of the soldiers to set a fearful example for any other country that might have plans to stand up against them. 

The leader of the Persian troops wasn't found though everyone believed that he must have died in battle too.

The Prince of Persia, the very skilled and fearless son of the Great Shah of Persia who had later spent years trying to negotiate with the League to hand his son over. But how could the League do so for they had never imprisoned him in the first place?

He had just vanished, never to be found again until his existence became forgotten among the countless names of the warriors left unspoken.

Yet that same former prince was sitting next to her, his brown eyes focused upon her in what seemed to be a mild concern.

"I made you worried for no reason," he shook his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you."

"Saahir, tell me the truth... Why are you still here?" A strange sort of fear gripped her heart, Talia's words of warning resonating in her mind all over again, "do you plan to take revenge on the League? But then why wait for five years... What motive do you have...?"

He shook his head, seeing clearly that she had gotten mistaken about his intentions. And that was quite expected because he was after all still quite against the League. The only person he wasn't against from the League was Veruna herself.

"I abandoned all thoughts of taking revenge the day I met Amma and the twins," he spoke up, "you might not believe me and I won't justify my honesty but I really have no plans of striking against the League. I lost everything in the previous war but I can't risk losing the family I have now."

She was looking at him in a mixture of disbelief and shock. The man in front of her who bore every hardship head-on and led such a rough life was once the prince of as prosperous an empire as Persia. She couldn't stop thinking how hard it must have been for him to give up everything and choose to live in the wilderness just for Amma and the twins.

He could have gone back to his country if he had surrendered, he could have returned to his life of luxury. But the guilt of losing his army and the battle had kept him tied to that very forest.

And the duty of looking after Amma and the twins had made him give up his plans of revenge as well.

If it was anyone else than him, she would never have just taken his word for it. 

But looking into his brown eyes and hearing the pain in his tone when he had spoken about his country and his father, she couldn't help but think that he wasn't much different from herself.

They were both alike in many respects. Both were wronged by the League in the past yet left with no option to retaliate. In a sense, both of them had accepted their fate just like that.

"I promised to tell you about my country because I couldn't keep you in the dark," he spoke up, his voice drawing her towards him again, "I admit that I was an enemy to the League and I have stood on the opposing side of yours on the battlefield. But I had no intentions of fooling you or using your connection to the League for any of my plans. In fact, I have no plans that involve the League anymore. All I want to do is to keep Amma, Habiba and Assam safe. It's been five years since the time I was standing on the other side of the battlefield, I have come far from that point now and I don't want to go back."

She didn't realize that her eyes had started to well up in tears and when she felt that wetness roll down her cheek, she was somewhat alarmed. Saahir noticed as well and he reached out to wipe the tears away but stopped before touching her face.

It was almost as if he was asking permission, waiting if she would let him come close to her even after knowing the truth about him.

She saw that the expression on his face was sad too as if seeing her tears had hurt him as well. She didn't stop him and let him cup her face very tenderly in between his broad palms, his thumbs wiping away the tears from her cheeks.

"Saahir..." His name escaped her lips in a hushed whisper as she spoke, "you're not lying to me, are you?"

He shook his head, "every single thing I told you tonight is the truth, I can swear it upon my life. It is true that I was an enemy of your League and perhaps I still might be if they try and do anything that would get my family hurt. But I have no intentions of striking them in revenge. I gave it all up and I swear, I will never ever hurt you or anyone close to you."

It was all too much for her to take in just the span of a few hours. And with the cold wind blowing and the freezing atmosphere already chilling her bones, she did not want to think of anything else that would make her stop trusting the man in front of her.

To her, he had always been kind and respectful. He had always been gentle and very loving towards his family too. There was not a single sign of deceit when he had recounted his story to her, every word and every fact was laced with genuine emotion.

It all pointed in one direction that he wasn't lying. 

"Veruna, please say something, anything... I am afraid you've gotten upset due to me," he mumbled, pulling her slightly closer to him as he saw that she was getting colder.

Her eyes had fallen shut and she took in a deep breath as if she was making up her mind about it all.

The fact that he said her name again and he was so close to her made her act on instinct. Her arms gently encircled his neck, closing the gap between them. With her wrists crossed at the back, she pulled him close and kissed him.

Saahir was thrown off guard at first but it didn't take him long to respond, that kiss feeling like a taste of home after so long of wandering astray. Even to Veruna, it was something more than just a moment shared between them, it was exhilarating and reassuring at the same time.

Perhaps in the morning, she might think that she had made a mistake in letting her guard down for the first time in her life. But at that moment the only thing she could think of to lessen the pain he was going through as well as to subdue the ache in her heart was to connect their lips together in a sweet gentle kiss.

A silent promise that she believed him and knowing the truth about him had not pushed her away from him.

***