"it takes a strong heart to fall in love. if the person you love accepts you, it's beautiful and suddenly the world seems like a better place.
if the person you love doesn't return your feelings back, it results in death at the spiritual level. you live like nothing but a robot. love is unguaranteed and it takes pure strength to feel it - hafsa"

"So what you are saying is , I am to go to some Prince's palace and stay there because I'm in danger ?" Afra repeated Elsa's words , feeling her head spin while trying to keep looking at a very panicky Elsa , paving back and forth rapidly .

Inaya and Hafsa were staring between the two . They decided to maintain silence until they calmed down .

"Afra , that is true ! For god's sake , you've asked that for the umpteenth time !" Elsa snapped , resting her back against a wall and shutting her eyes .

Afra frowned ."Ma , are you kidding me right now ?! Why the hell am I in danger ? How does , whoever that prince is know about it ? Most importantly , how do you know that those people aren't some conmen ?" Afra asked , looking at Elsa who kept shaking her head weakly .

"Afra , you seriously think I didn't consider those options myself ?" Elsa asked , staring at Afra with a duped look .

Afra huffed out air loudly , running a hand down her face . She pulled her knees close to her chest and rocked back and forth in her seat , trying to calm down .

"Ma , that's not making sense ." She finally replied slowly and her voice hardly audible .

Elsa bent down in front of Afra and pulled her into her arms . "I have that gold leaf sanctioned with his stamp . It made enough sense for me to believe it sweetie ." She whispered in her ear , patting Afra's back .

It took Afra all of her strength to not burst into tears of helplessness . Things were starting to work out as she wanted them to . And just like fate suddenly seemed to ruin things for fun , her life had taken a miserable twist .

"Afra ?"

She whipped her head up to look at Elsa. "I just want to rest . Will you help me up to my room ?"

Afra hesitated , her gaze lingering over the sad smile on Elsa's face , taking in the sincerity of the whole situation . For a second , she thought her mother would burst out laughing over her joke .

But when her expression remained intact , Afra grudgingly stood up , tugging at her abaya and pulling it down .

"Sure . C'mon , I'll help you to bed ." She tried sounding as unaffected by the recent event as possible , linking her arm with Elsa's .

As they moved along , Elsa waved at Hafsa and Inaya , while Afra just moved along with a curt nod of her head . Her eyes emotionless .

It seemed like hours had passed since Afra left . Inaya had gestured Hafsa to just leave her be and go attend to everyone outside , who were all probably very worried . Inaya could hear the way she was getting bombarded with a never-ending queue of questions .

Gathering to the courage to face a very broken down Afra , slumped across the other end of the door of her parents bedroom , she walked out of the room , taking a round for the stairs .

As she neared the end of the flight of stairs , a faint whimpering was deduced by her ears . Breathless with a growing sense of worry , Inaya hurried over to find Afra slumped over the edge of her parents bedroom door , very distraught as her muffled cries grew louder despite her urge to keep them unheard .

Inaya had tried rushing over to her in haste and in the process , tripped over her abaya and feel face down on the floor , alarming Afra as her head snapped up with widened eyes . When she registered the position was in , Afra's eyes crinkled at the corners .

Inaya could make out Afra smiling widely enough . "Are you trying to cheer me up or just die because you're depressed by falling over the stairs face first ?"

"Maybe trying to cheer you up ?" Inaya shrugged .

With a heavy sigh , Inaya figured she might as well just quickly go to Afra's side than stare at her while trying to think about ways of comforting her .

"So , no songs and loud music today huh ? I still got your Mike and sings ready in case you changed ." Inaya questioned slowly , as she tried to settle down as close to her as possible .

Afra flinched a little as her head rose up very hesitantly to face her , her eyes brimming with the tears that had welled up in her pretty turquoise coloured orbs .

"I'm here now , let's share the pain together ." Inaya stated , a little amusement lingering in her tone .

Afra leaned across Inaya's shoulder , tears dropping down like the subtle drops of rain .

Inaya felt Afra's shoulders heaving , as she cried her feelings out . For very long , Afra had been aiming for the AESS entrance exam . The Aeronautical Engineering Space Station exam . Inaya had snuck into the website and was beyond shocked to find Afra being flashed across every news station as the county's topper for one of the most challenging exam .

When Afra slowly lifted her head up , Inaya noticed the fabric of the niqaab soaked wet in her tears and her bloodshot eyes that only just accentuated more against the dark of the niqaab .

"Afra ." She softly called out her name and help her sit back , her shoulders still heaving .

"Afra , okay , I know I'm going to be making absolutely no sense to you especially after a very deep impact that you had right now . But please refrain from kicking me ." Inaya lightly chuckled , trying to figure out Afra's state . She didn't want to exactly sound detrimental to her .

Afra chuckled lightly , frowning at Inaya . "This is Allah's test . A test that Allah has commanded especially for you . Of course , it's difficult for you to believe that such tests are meant for our good . Through them , Allah helps us come a step closer to Jannah while helping us learn something new in life . You won't understand this now , but you will look upto Allah and thank him for whatever happened ." Inaya gave her a weak smile .

"I will trust Allah and do my best In Shaa Allah ." Afra said meekly .

Inaya grinned wide . "Also , um , just so you know , you're a country topper now . You've passed the exam . No , what am I saying ? You've topped the exam ." Inaya shrieked , looking at Afra whose waterlines once again clouded with fat droplets of water .

"Oh Afra ! I promise there will be something in this situation you won't regret . Something that would make you become grateful for whatever happened . And don't worry , you'll still be able to study soon ." Inaya pulled her into a hug , rubbing her back up and down . She didn't see Afra cry so much ever before . She was a pretty strong girl and always hated to cry . It made her seem vulnerable and idiotic .

When Afra pulled away , she had a strong determination in her eyes . Something that sparkled and gave her some sort of rough look .

"Inaya , I'm not going to loose this battle . Just because I didn't win , doesn't mean I'm not a winner ."