✵ featured ~
❝Once upon a time in Baghdad, a street girl teaches the Khalifa of the kingdom why a king needs a queen.❞
✵
Started: June 5, 2021.
Completed: March 30, 2022.
✵
cover by @xniftykayx
featured on wattpad historical fiction, undiscovered...
Show me an orchard where I have not slept, Tell me a time I have not loved,
— Dorothy Livesay
✵
Him
"Riots in the kingdom? Let's see."
He reads the letters sent to him by his spies one by one. She fills his glass with water and puts it in front of him before going to stand by the window of the courtroom.
"How bad is it?" she asks.
"Deteriorating every day."
"You shouldn't be taking it lightly."
"Am I?" He puts the letters down, meeting her eyes across the room. "How come?"
"The girl has you occupied."
"No," he refuses her firmly. "Traitors, habibti, we've traitors among us. They've me occupied."
"Then find them." She turns her back to him. "Kill them."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Her
"What do I want?"
Muawwiz repeats the question Noura has asked him. He smirks and locks his hands behind his back. She jerks up her chin at him. He slowly begins to circle her and she stubbornly stands her ground without cowering away.
"I want to know," Muawwiz speaks, "why did you leave the palace at the crack of dawn when the world was dead asleep to witness your trickery?" He stops and faces her, boring his eyes into hers. "Where did you go, sayidati?"
Her heart flutters abnormally in fear but she doesn't let it take over her, managing to mask her worry and keep her composure. She smiles sweetly at him.
"You spy on me, commander?" Noura clicks her tongue. "That's low for your designation, unless the caliph actually put you to this duty."
He grins wickedly at her remark. "My designation doesn't limit my duties towards the crown. What I see, I try to understand. And I'm unable to understand what are you up to, so I'm only asking you straightforwardly."
"I think I made it clear to you before, but I'll repeat myself just this once." Noura takes a step closer towards him and grits through her teeth, "I'm not answerable to you, Muawwiz."
A snarl replaces his grin. "Maybe. But you're answerable to the Ameer, and he has demanded your presence in his chamber."
"Because you've filled his ears against me?" she scoffs and he scoffs back.
"I don't trust you, Noura, just like I don't trust Eskander. But I'm a man capable enough in myself." He towers over her and she has to tilt back her head to look up at him. He's strong in his built and height and his threatening eyes alarm her. "Never be foolish enough to betray the crown. The caliph makes the land tight for those who does so."
