Khalifa

32 Glimpse

"How come?" Noura asks.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "I was working as a spy in the bazar to collect information of use to me. I've fought in wars as a soldier and I kill for benefit. As for a merchant, I trade into buying people's loyalty with gold."

She stares at him, taken aback by his honestly and in disbelief of his profession. "What good are sold out people to you?"

"They're no good to me, but I don't buy them for myself. I buy them out of other's business so they're no good to them either."

"Ruthless," she comments. "Who do you spy for?"

She knows the answer to her question but she wants to know how far he can go opening up to her. Hadi lets out an amused laugh and parallels her gaze.

"Who do you think?"

"I don't know," she feigns innocence. "And I don't understand why you would tell all this so frankly."

"Because you wouldn't rat me out."

"How are you so sure?"

"I know you wouldn't endanger Eskander's life, now would you?"

Noura stops walking abruptly. He does so too and turns to her. She takes a steps away and clenches her fists.

"I thought you're Eskander's friend."

"I am."

"You're using him to keep my mouth shut." She scowls.

"You're taking it the wrong way," he tries to explain, gingerly moving nearer. "I'm in hiding because I'm a wanted man. If Eskander is found to have any association with me, he'll pay the price for it too. So the wise thing in the given circumstances is to keep it all a secret."

"What crime have you committed to be wanted?" Her tone goes terse with a tinge of fear. "Who are you actually?"

"I thought my eyes get me in trouble all the time because they give away my identity to those who have ever known me. So I've to keep them covered to stay unknown to the world." He lowers the cloth from his face and grins ironically. "But here I bare myself to you and you still ask me who I am."

She gazes up at him, brows met in concentration, searching those eccentric orbs, hoping to find the missing pieces of their entangled past he claims to share with her. But like always, she comes empty handed.

"I've never known anyone by the name of Hadi before, so I know if I've ever known you, that isn't your name then," she insists and his grin turns wider and roguish.

"I recognized you when I saw you with Eskander in the bazar the first time you came here with him. I wouldn't have recognized you either if it wasn't for him."

"Well, what do you want from me?" she demands straightforwardly. "Why the flowers and the notes?"

"Did you mind?"

"Yes."

"Too bad, I'm stubborn," he retorts playfully, earning a glare from her. "I feel freed with you," he confesses. "You had no expectations of me. You spilled my milk, approached me and was kind to me. For the first time in my life, someone was genuine to me. You didn't try to judge me or take advantage of my apparent poor status but instead recompensed my loss."

Noura chews hers lip in confusion, not understanding how any of it relates to everything.

"And besides," he adds with a smile, "you were a special girl as a child."

She arches an eyebrow and crosses her arms. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, not with me."

This gets a laugh from him. "Oh, I know, malika. This attitude of yours is what's queenly to me. I know you can't be wooed easily."

"And why would you want to woo me?"

He simply continues his walk down the pathway. She has no option but to follow after him.

"I've known many women in my life," he tells her. "And nearly all of them fitted into two categories: the desperate, bland type. And the cunning, manipulative type. Where would you fit?"

"No where in your imaginations."

Another laugh comes from him, another fleeting glance. "That's your answer, sweet one. That's why I want to woo you."

She frowns, not liking the direction of the conversation. "You don't know me as well."

"But I want to."

"Don't bother. I'm not interested."

"Why not?" They stop at a street where a horse is tied, probably his, as he pets its mane. "You're interested in someone else?"

"Yes, I'm interested in going back to my home, and not the palace." She peers around. The sun has already begun slipping down to the horizon. "You'll take me back to the palace?"

"Not me."

"Then who?"

As if to find her answer, they hear distant sound of horses approaching. When they come near them, the men dismount their horses and one of them makes his way towards them. Noura doesn't recognize him at first with his face covered until he comes to stop by them. When their gazes lock, his eyes widen, and so do hers.

"Fereydun?"

"Noura?"

Hadi smiles naively between them. "The lady got into a little trouble. Someone send men after her. I found her and brought her with myself. Thought since she's Eskander's family, it's best to send her back with you."

"What?" Fereydun studies her appearance, urgency and worry instantly coloring his orbs. "Are you alright?"

"Long story," she deflects sheepishly. "I'm unharmed, thanks to the kind sir here."

The corners of Hadi's mouth twitch up before he purses his lips in a thin line. "My pleasure, sayidati."

"Who did you come here with?" Fereydun asks.

"Adam."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. I lost him at the bazar."

"And Hafez?"

"I didn't bring him with me."

He frowns in disapproval before turning to Hadi. "I'm glad you found her."

"Me too."

He tips his head gratefully at him before motioning over his men. "Escort the lady back to the palace."

One of them brings forth a horse for her. Noura looks at Hadi. "Thank you."

He replies with a smile before advising, "Watch out for the people around you, sayidati."

She nods and turns away from him, mounting the horse. Fereydun comes forward towards her.

"What about Adam?" she asks.

"He'll be informed." He then directs to one of his men. "Take the lady to general Eskander. Update him on the matter."

Noura wants to protest. She wants to request Fereydun not to tell him. Eskander shouldn't know. She has no excuses to give him, no explanation or whatsoever, but finds herself tongue-tied. She feels as if this time she's helpless against her fate.

The man tips his head at Fereydun. "As you say, sayidi."

Two of them mount their horses, preparing to take her back to the palace, and one stays behind with Fereydun. Her eyes connect with Hadi for the last time. They unhinge her with their vehemence, the cold-blooded beast which resides behind his smiles and easy, candid demeanor, a glimpse of which she has seen today. Yet still, they hold a familiarity she cannot shake off. One day or the other, she'll solve his riddle too.

The reins snap. The wind whooshes past her. And she leaves him behind her-- until she sees him again.

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Busy preparing for my finals, writing has to slow down.

So, any theories?

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