Come Into Bloom

To Forgive Is Divine

They cannot own land still and have to liase with a native to occupy a place still. They still cannot do productions unless a native can spearhead the operation as the partner for the company and so on.

But the emir has given the twelve tribes an ability to gain citizenship indefinitely as long as they can prove their lineage according to the cultural rules set by the emirate.

But the deal breaker is Princess Ena who finally accepted Sir Salih's offer of marriage and yesterday, the emir has already signed the marriage pact as the head of the Hamidi clan...' Aisha lowers her tone then and as if others are watching, she leans into Malika and says softly. 'There is something wrong with the picture. Mother is always right about these things. The queen is not rattled by Lubna's triumph and Ena is smug since the announcement of her engagement. The Sultana seems aloof even though she should be happy that her daughter won this round of games in life and the emir has secluded himself since morning as he usually does when he wants to pray hard and think clearly about a certain course of action....'

She actually adjusts her sitting position because clearly, there is much more to say. Malika is shocked that so many things can happen in three days.

'Politically, I think you need to check headlines because Sir Haisam's disappearance is causing a lot of discord. The Alkali shocked everyone by openly accusing the Fillos. The mrithi Alkali declared war on the Fillos of they don't provide adequate explanation why and how Kareem Fillo os associated with Sir Haisam's disappearance. The Thiltes quickly point fingers at the Takhis and you know that after the mating season, families have grudges and therefore, something like this could easily blow up. There is a lot of unrest regarding the issue. But the Yussoufs are inviting all true heirs to a bonding week. This extends to their significant other halves, a tradition well liked by most of us to be honest. There are proper chaperones and the entire week will be thrown into a fun mix of danger and excitement. But since they re not known for their generous hearts, many people are dubious and we are all thinking of RSVPing soon. We all think they plan to use. The chaos for some sadistic plan of theirs. Afterall, they haven't leeched on any of the true heirs yet...' Aisha sighs with a subtle shake of her head.

'The chaos is by design as is most political instabilities in Maicki. I think that Sir Haisam is close to finding put the identity of the shadow king. So they had to eliminate him. I think that they had to create unrest to be able to protect his identity once again. Which confirms the fact that the shadow king really has infiltrated the upper nobility' Malika thought out loud. She shakes her head a little and then looks at Aisha again. She discovers that Aisha is smiling a little.

'What?' Malika is curious. Suddenly, she is self conscious that she is speaking to Lady Aisha Abdulaziz. One of the most distinguished women in all of Maicki! Yeah. It still wasn't sitting well with her that she was the most distinguished lady in Maicki. But she guessed she never truly would fit into her role that well. Even with constant reminders, she needs a lot of time and her guts seriously needs upgrading. A part of her considers that maybe, maybe she only needs time to develop into the part of her she had suppressed previously for the last seventeen years!

'I feel like we will come to know a true princess yet. My mother is confident in your abilities. I admit that I wasn't convinced before, but somehow, when you talked just now, I was inclined to beleive you. Here is a deep quality to your thoughts that looks to the future and not just now. And you seemed engrossed in something so general that wouldnt necessarily benefit you. I feel reassured that you are thinking about it. That you dont rely on other peoples opionion to make your own. That you are your own person and you have your own mind. It's a quality I haven't seen in anyone I am to look up to in our generation yet!' She confesses.

Malika feels embarrassed she was being praised for nothing. 'I dobt like being praised when I did not do anything special. But I think you are too Frank to make me comfortable. So I guess that if you can stop praising me for things I didnt do, I will be most honored to have you for a friend'