Confronting Shadows

Mahra

Ammar looked at Isra, in shock, he knew it was a possible outcome but to hear it shocked him. Isra turned to the window to avoid his eyes.

"Your father was so happy at the news. I thought he would ask to get rid of it but he didn't. he wanted the child and asked her to take time off the mission to take care of herself." Rasheed said, though he wasn't close with isra back then, he loved the king dearly.

So, she was put under your mother's care and worked from home. Isra was a soldier who didn't have anyone to tell her anything about pregnancy. She trusted Mahra to help her with everything. I'm sure you know isra has to take painkillers to deal with the pain from varask. in pregnancy you can take only take some kind of painkiller. Mahra used to crush up the wrong kind and mixed it isra's food. eventually at 6 weeks, isra lost her child." Rasheed tells him the first bitter truth.

Ammar leaned away speechless. He looked at Isra for confirmation and she give it to him by avoiding his eyes.

"No....i had an elder brother?" he cried, his eyes beginning to hurt from the flood of tears.

"When the king found out he had isra removed from your mother's care. He bought isra to the palace and kept guards and maids to take care of her. Isra was inconsolable to the point that she refused to eat or even sleep. king sayf had to bring Saira back from Taziz city to be with her, to console her. But your mother found another way to harass her." He took a breath.

"what did she do?" ammar asked knowing that it was going to break his heart. knowing that he could never take any of it back. yet he was adamant to know the truth, to why isra left, why Mohammed left.

"In 1999 Isra went to Iran on a mission. your mother who had friends in that country spread a rumor that a spy was in the country. She eventually got arrested and tortured for several days before king Azer found out. He immediately asked your mother to give the evidence to release her and she did, in exchange for king sayf." Rasheed spoke, thinking back to the conversation.

he was there that day, when king sayf begged Mahra. he even tried threatening her but if she had died, isra would be rotting in a Yazidi prison.

"She made king sayf sign a prenuptial contract to not divorce her till she dies. Unwilling he had to sign it and marry her before the news spread of an Arab spy in Yazd. She gave the evidence 7 days after the marriage. When Isra was released she was hospitalized for over a month and needed therapy to use her hands again." Rasheed snarled at ammar.

Ammar felt waves upon waves of anger, grief and guilt hit him all at once. his eyes bloodshot from the continuous crying.

"It's not the time to break down yet, you have so much more to hear kid. So much more." Rasheed says leaning towards him.

isra looked at Rasheed, there was pure malice in his eyes, as though it wasn't ammar but Mahra sitting in front of him.

"Brother that's enough." Isra tried to stop him.

"No, he needs to know his father's suffering. He needs to know how low his mother stooped to keep you and his highness away." Rasheed yelled refusing to listen.

"I want to know...I need to know the truth." ammar says looking up and wiping his tears.

For a minute Rasheed stopped and looked at ammar's tear filled eyes. He was guiltless in all this, he needn't hear it, but he decided to continue anyway.

"Your mother demanded that king sayf stayed away from Isra. He had to oblige, he was under oath and contract. I was around them at that time, I was getting more and more close to Isra and I saw her crying all the time. I saw her interrogate more brutally than necessary. I saw her kill even those that could be saved, I saw her almost driven mad." Rasheed sobbed, grief finally taking over anger.