Princess of the dawn

Chapter 26

The drover looked at him startled and ran out of the forest.

Jodha was sitting on her balcony reading a book. Suddenly she felt a pain in her left shoulder. The ring on her finger, which she now always wore when she was alone, spread warmth and her heart began to beat wildly. "Jalal!" She thought. What about him? A Messenger had brought the news that the ruler was moving to Punjab to support the troops left there against Sikandar Shah, who had started drove in taxes there. Was he hurt? She touched her shoulder. The pain was gone. But she still felt a deep inner unrest. She started praying.

Jalal rode slowly out of the forest with Abdul. They were expected by the excited hunting party. The 'Khidmattiya' had swarmed out as soon as the drover ran excitedly out of the forest and reported that Jalal had been injured. Jalal slipped from his horse and was already expected by the Hakim.

"Jahanpanah what happened?" He asked. Jalal showed him his shoulder in which the arrow was. The Hakim reacted immediately.

"Sit down please Jahanpanah!" No sooner had Jalal sat down, the Hakim began carefully to cut open Jalal's robe and remove the arrow. Jalal winced and tears welled up in his eyes. He gritted his teeth. He didn't want to show any weakness and blinked the tears away quickly. The Hakim sniffed the arrow and the wound. "Do you feel good huzoor? Can you move everything, do you have inner pain?" he asked.

"No, only the wound hurts" replied Jalal.

"The arrow has no barbs and I was able to remove it neatly. Thanks to Allah, it was not poisoned either," the Hakim explained to him. It is not a very deep flesh wound. The arrow must have been shot from a greater distance. Please take off your robes. I will now clean the wound and apply a herbal paste. That will burn. Please forgive me huzoor" said the Hakim worried.

"It's fine" said Jalal through clenched teeth. He closed his eyes and suppressed a groan as the Hakim applied the paste. At the same moment he felt a gentle touch at his shoulder and looked around curiously. There was nothing there. The Hakim rummaged in his pocket for a bandage. Jalal shook his head in amazement. At the same time he felt a warmth emanating from the ring on his hand. What did Abdul say? Who knew what the Almighty was planning? His ways are unfathomable, he thought. The Hakim had meanwhile bandaged the wound with clean cotton strips. Jalal put his robe back on and stood up.

"Shukriaa Hakim," Jalal said respectfully. The Hakim bowed.

"Take rest for today Jahanpanah" he said. "Tomorrow I come to look after the wound and bandage them again." He bowed again and was taken away by a guard.

"Abdul, did you see anything in the forest?" Jalal asked.

"No, nothing. I only realized something had happened when you screamed," said Abdul contrite. "Who dares to attack you?" he said angrily.

"The shooter must have been further away, said the Hakim. Otherwise the arrow would have penetrated deeper. Surely he was tucked away in a tree and was just waiting for a good opportunity" said Jalal grimly. "Either it was a very bad shot that he only hit me in the shoulder or it was calculated and should perhaps be a warning." Again he realized that he was not safe.

"You could be right. Let's wait for Bairam Khan and the guard."

In the meantime, word had got around to the hunting party that Jalal had been injured and curiously they came closer to find out more.

"Nothing happened, we're fine. We were hit by an arrow from a cowardly assassin. Bairam Khan and the palace guards are looking for him"Jalal explained to the concerned noble.

At that moment, Bairam Khan galloped to the group. He was furious.

"Jalal, are you all right?" he called out worriedly as he jumped from his horse and walked towards him.

"All is fine Khan Baba. The Hakim bandaged the wound. It is not very deep and will heal quickly. Did you find something?"

"No nothing!" he shouted angrily. "As if the earth had swallowed him. No traces, nothing! We will reinforce the guards." Slowly the palace guards also returned.

"Did you find something" asked Bairam Khan harshly?

"No, nothing huzoor! Not the slightest sign!"

"The guards are being reinforced!" He snapped at the guard.
„You pay even more attention to the safety of His Majesty. you will be liable for his life!" he yelled. "Take up your posts!" he dismissed them.

After a while, Jodha's restlessness subsided and herheartbeat calmed down. "Oh Kanha, I hope you have heard my prayers!" shethought and dedicated to her book again.

To be continued...