A Queen's Touch & Some Glitter

سولواں باب - Chapter 16

سولواں باب — Chapter 16
THE KING LAYS OUT HIS CARDS

SPRING WAS HERE. The earth was filled with colour all of a sudden. From the lifeless wilted plants that hung low in the winters, all of the dullness had sprung to life. Suddenly the trees were raising their branches, high and mighty to the sky. New leaves spoke of a new future that was on its way. Of the new life that was coming. Flower buds bloomed and pollen filled the air. Honey bees buzzed around, singing their songs in all their busyness.

The freshly cut grass was filled with dew drops each morning. A musky smell as the mist rose each morning, the sunlight made the dew drops glitter. Light showers of rain fell each day. After which the sun came out in all its might. The roads and trees washed of their weight of silt and mud. March had started off with the best foot forward. The harsh winters had been cut short instead replaced with cool afternoons and cold evenings. More bearable weather meant that the wedding season was at an all time high.

With the arrival of March, the reality of Lyana and Alamgeer's wedding had hit home. And the wedding preparations had entered the last stage. With a visible rush in movements as things were rapidly winded up. Not a single penny had been spared, the wedding was one that would be remembered for years. It was what Lyana would call her dream wedding and Ahad's way of giving his son the best money could buy. A compensation for all that his eldest son had been deprived of as a child.

The house of the Ahad's stood tall in its full glory. The trims that covered the Victorian style windows, were laden with bouquets of white flowers. A pop of red roses thrown in. The large white pillars that had been crafted with delicate hands, wrapped in wreaths of red roses and orange fairy lights. The large wooden doors, were decorated with lights in the doorway, and as soon as one stepped into the foyer, it was like they had arrived in a forest.

Wildflowers were arranged in crystal vases throughout the entrance. Placed on top of expensive marble mantelpieces. The large staircase, covered in flowers, and everywhere else, hung rows upon rows of flowers too. In the kitchen, the stoves burned bright as large glass containers of kehva were prepared. Stored in the fridge for use in the next few days.

The house had been throughly wiped down under the scrutiny of Gulaab. From the tiniest of crooks in the doors back to the large, high family portraits that hung on the walls of their home. She had ensured, Alamgeer's bedroom was refurnished. The wooden floors had been reinstalled and new curtains were brought out. Everything to the liking of Lyana.

Alamgeer too had thrown himself into the wedding preparations, wholeheartedly. He had been there for the selection of every tiny thing. Nothing was left under the responsibility of anyone. From selecting the colour of the chairs to what food was to be prepared on each day. Each minute detail was looked over by him.

He had turned his days into nights and nights into days. Trying to get his work and then wedding jobs done. His days were spent roaming the crowded marketplaces and his evenings in the library of his father. It was getting tougher by the second to convince the old ministers to let him take a position of power. Everyone wanted it for themselves.

His wedding was now two days away. His leave was finally beginning and he planned to sleep in. Gulaab stepped into his room with a glass of water in hand. She was supervising the work being done in Alamgeer's private garden. As a gift, Lyana had sent over a new enclosure for her, son, Raja. And to have that accommodated, a bit of renovation was needed.

Gulaab walked to the doors of the balcony, silently opening them as she stepped out. Noticing the gardeners shifting the trees to their new places. The guava trees were begging to bloom. The orange ones, holding the last of this seasons bounty.