chapter 21: two tales
"love is strong and changes people. something that no other emotion can do - gabriel"
Afra had been long since controlling the urge of breaking down into heavy sobs just so that she wouldn't worry everybody at home . Now that minute by minute , she witnessed her neighbourhood passing by , mixing into vibrant fields on either sides , she felt like she was far away . Far away from her very home for the first time in her life . From her relatives , her cousins who she had met hardly weeks ago , her aunt and uncle who she had seen for the first ever time in years . Most importantly , far away from the very family who protected her . She had been forced out of her consent into being protected by some unknown prince who she didn't even know was real .
Sure enough , she read the unmistakeable royal order . It did seem like a real royal message, but being the way she was , extremely paranoid and overly cautious , it did not make sense to her . To think of it though , her parents were totally dumbfounded over it . Which made it all the more obvious that it very certainly was a royal message . However , how could she simply believe the words of some paper when technology was available to even the worsest rule breakers and wanted notorious criminals ? It just didn't convince her . To go away with some man who claimed to be a Prince along with that minister seemed like she was taken as fool who would easily be victimised .
Her mind tried to keep a track of where they were headed to . Just incase , things went abnormally and she could just jump out of a running car and dash for her life in the other direction . She called it being precautionary while others called it being paranoid . Like she cared about it though . Her option mattered to her the most because certainly enough , when in danger , only she , her untrained legs and her quick witted mind would jump into action . Nobody would come to her rescue and she was taught to help herself rather than wait for a typical knight in shining armour .
How ridiculous !
Saying that she was in danger was one thing , but forcing her out of her own house , against her will was unbelievable . How big of a scandal was it that was threatening her life ? Whatever it was , it certainly wouldn't have been as bad as it had been narrated to her over and over again through that gold leaf and the prince himself . Not to metion her parents as well .
Whether or not she needed protection it was clearly her choice . Not even her own parents could pressurise her with their decision , let alone a royal member . Wanting to receive strong protection was solely her decision but clearly nobody cared about it much . She was tossed around in air like a rag doll .
After a lot of contemplation , she rested her head against the car window , trying to keep her eyes wide open , almost ready to withstand any attack . Her throbbing head seemed to make it almost impossible to keep her eyes open let alone cry or admire the wheat and barley Fields . Yet she was still sobbing and admiring the beautiful natural sceneries .
She was going through mood swings . Just amazing !
Involuntarily her gaze fell upon the prince on the driver's seat , the side of his face visible to her . She didn't want to examine him , but she somehow ended up noticing that he had really shiny hair . Perhaps her deep knowledge and interest in painting and sketching had unnoticeably got her interested in his almost lanky and childish looking body . It came to her as a guess that he could have looked like a growing up , young teenage lad if not for that stubble growing along his jaw .
She only hoped that these three months passed by in the blink of an eye .
Sulaaymaan had been very nervously gazing at her through the rear view mirror , her thin figure cuddled up as close as possible to the door . He jumped and almost turned around to see if she was still seated at the door or fallen out of the car when they seemed to have a road breakers and those small pebbles . On the ever busy road with cars flying as fast as wind , he shuddered at what could happen if she toppled out .
Shaking his head , he returned to cast his peripheral gaze on her . She probably was trying to not be seen or included in any small conversation they occasionally made every now and then . Not to mention , he tried not to seem like he was eavesdropping on her , but he heard her sniff very softly .
It made him want to pull his hair out .
How horrible it felt to be pulled apart from a family , he knew that feeling all too well to not be able to relate to her . Especially when she was being taken away by two strangers who happened to be men . Any girl in her right mind would be dying with worry .
Yet he had to do it .
It was all for her good . He had seen what the threatener had done to his family , his friends and his fiancé . He was capable of blowing up the entire country just like how he controlled the whole royal family . Had he not summoned for her as soon as he could , things could have gotten pretty darn serious .
And by serious , he meant extremely serious .
All it took for Afra to be his next victim was his interest in her . To be honest , Sulaaymaan just couldn't figure out how the guy had all the information fed to him without his precise understanding . Being guarded by the latest weapons and staying under the watchful eyes of the several undercover agents , it was starting to annoy him slightly . To be able to track down such minor information , Sulaaymaan finally came upon only one conclusion which seemed rather precarious .
There was someone betraying them .
And he had made a mental list to assign specific agends against all his security guards .
Just as he pulled up closer to the large , brass embellished with specks of silver gate soaring high into the sky , he tried concentrating hard on the faint gasp he had heard a second before . Much to his relief , as they neared even closer , he could make out the repeated gasps escaping her mouth . He shifted in his seat ever so carefully so as to not disturb the deep trance she was in currently , observing the royal mansion . A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched her leaning across the window , her hands midway in the air and her gaze observing everything briefly .
If this big mansion was making her feel elated and excited , he did not want anything more . He admitted that a part of him was worried that she'd not encourage the large settlement habited by barely a handful of people . As weird as it did sound , he had already learnt a few habits of hers or beliefs she followed . Like for instance , she hated it when people hurt her loved ones . So much so that she could become Hagrid right from bring a mouse . She didn't rely on important documents like the one he had sent over to her place to confirm someone's identity with . She believed in studying the person herself before judging them .
Or atleast that's what he thought .
No sooner had the car jerked to a stop , Afra had swung the car door open and was standing right in front of the gate with a totally blown off look on her niqaab . Her head was tilted a hungred and eighty degrees towards the up , analysing the tall and sturdy gates . He shook his head in amusement and a new ray of hope took birth in his heart .
Maybe she wouldn't hate him after all .
"Dude , I thought you were taking me to the palace ." She shouted , probably seeing that he was a good few feet away from her . "But isn't this place heaven ?" She dreamily cried , letting out a few audible excited squeals .
Sulaaymaan had stumbled over a few pebbles as he handed the car keys to Haamid and tried making his way to her . She was laughing away like a small girl enjoying in a carousel . It may have come out as a weird look to others to find him grinning in the air , enjoying Afra's child like behaviour .
As he started approaching the gate , trying to keep up enough distance between the two , a few gate keepers walked up and Sulaaymaan felt a small gush of pride seep into him as Afra tried taking him as a shield from some of the men giving her stern glances . Sulaaymaan had been equally frightened at their towering heights and built up muscles which could easily crush him to powder form .
After a few words were exchanged and introductions were made , which Afra most certainly didn't approve of , the doors swung open automatically . Afra's eyes didn't leave the gates until they shut behind her , slightly shaking up the ground .
"Oh Allah ! Let's do that again ." She delightfully exclaimed , her eyes stuck to her feet . "I'm positive the ground shook because of those large doors . Let's do that - " she paused and Sulaaymaan tried his best to stifle his laugh back at the sight on Afra's face . One of the guards had turned around and was glaring right at her .
"Let's not do that and instead bury myself in a jar of sand ." She nervously yelled , in an attempt to soothe the guards worn out expression .
"Miss Afra , don't worry too much about it . They tend to be keep to themselves and don't open up much ." Sulaaymaan's eyes were fixed on the eight large men standing by the gate in a line .
Sulaaymaan had turned around to take a leave for the gate , he sensed Afta still stuck to the floor , her eyes glistening with mischief . He didn't want to interrupt her but at the same time was curious at what was going on in her head.
"What are you thinking ?" He questioned , following her gaze with his hands clasped behind his back .
"None of your business ." Her voice as soft , yet it held strength , something that made her stick out in an appealing way .
"Hey , comeon !" He tried sounding cool , but she cut him with a roll of her eyes .
"I was just imagining a thin lanky prince standing among those hulks . Supposing they had to stick real close to you ." She paused , her eyes squinting as a quick laugh escaped her lips ."Did you get crushed ?"
He didn't mind her making fun of him . Infact , it felt really nice to have somebody taunt him like that . Loneliness and isolation had destroyed him to the point that somehow he had unwillingly lost the will or power to live .
But finally , the laugh rang in his ears , pointing out the start of a new soul that was forming within him .
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