warrior's heart

chapter 29

Assalamualaikum dearest readers, Pardon any mistakes Please!

Marliyyah woke up with a start as her palanquin came to a stop. She had cried herself to sleep, remembering and missing her family even though it had not been long when she had left them. She opened the curtain just in time to see Nawfal dismount his horse. He smiled as his eyes met hers and he walked up to her after tying his horse.

"I see you are awake".

She returned the smile and nodded slightly.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking at her surroundings. They were in a forest and it looked as though they had stopped to rest and eat and also feed the horses before continuing on their journey. They were with alot of people and so they had to ride at a slow and cautious pace.

"We stopped here to rest and feed the horses,we have about three hours of journey to Heman. You may sit and rest and I would bring our food", he said, leading her to a carpet he had spread for the two of them in a more private part of the forest. He helped her to sit before he went back to get their food, some Sherbet, grilled lamb and dates coated with honey as well as some fruits to eat. He placed the small trays of food neatly, before he got some water for her to wash her hands.

She washed her hands and watched as he served them on the same plate before he moved close enough to sit near her and motioned for her to eat. They ate in companionable silence until she chocked and he quickly fed her some Sherbet, rubbing her back gently until she stopped coughing.

"I see someone is enjoying her food a little to much" he teased, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Marliyyah scowled at him before she thought of something and smirked. She quickly picked up a date seed and threw it at him while he was still smiling. Nawfal's mouth dropped in shock at her little attack and before he could recover, he felt more seeds on his cheeks and his clothes as she kept throwing them at him. As she reached for more seeds, she discovered she had none left and her smile vanished.

Nawfal smirked evilly,having noticed that she had no weapon left and he started to shift closer to her, slowly and deliberately, his eyes never leaving hers and the smirk never leaving his face.

"Ya sultan.. what..... what.... are you doing?" She stammered, while shifting back in her sitting position. He did not answer her but continued to move close to her until he was close enough, too close Marliyyah thought, her heart beating. Nawfal continued to stare at her and before she knew it, he began to tickle her.

Marliyyah fell on her back in fits of laughter all the while begging him to stop but it fell on deaf ears as Nawfal continued his attack.

"Please!Stop! Nawfal! Please ssttop!" She said, in between fits of laughter.

"Will you ever throw dates at me again?"

"No!"

"Will you promise to listen to me?"

"Yes I will!"

"Will you promise to keep smiling?"

"Yes I will!"

"Will you ever let yourself fall in love with me?" He dared to ask as he stopped tickling her, hovering over her with his black orbs burning into her honey like ones as she stopped laughing.

Marliyyah found herself lost in his eyes and they continued to stare at each other, his eyes showing so many emotions and hers a careful barricade that refused to be lowered so he could see what was in her heart. His eyes roamed over her face until they settled on her lips and back to her eyes again. She could see how he was battling himself so he would not have to kiss her and so she broke the eyelock, too aware of how close he was and how rapidly her heart was beating.

Nawfal immediately got up from his position as he was hovering over her and cleared his throat, realising that he had gone too far this time and how much he had had to control himself and not kiss her. He knew he had to gain her trust and get her to become his friend as only then would she let him into her heart.

"Forgive me" he said, standing up abruptly, his back to her.

"I shall send a maiden to clear up everything and also send your palanquin here so that you do not have to walk all the way back. I am sure the horses have been fed and are ready for the journey. We leave immediately."

And with that, he was gone.

Marliyyah was left with a lot of conflicting emotions within her. How could she have let him to get so close to her? Why did she allow herself to get so friendly with him? Had she not made up her mind that theirs would be a formal relationship with nothing but respect between them? Why then was she letting her emotions cloud her logical mind? No, she must not let this happen again. This was the first and last time she would ever let him or let herself get so close to him again. She had to maintain her distance and that was what she was going to do.

Soon enough, the palanquin was brought as Nawfal had promised and umm Nisreen helped her into the palanquin before going back to her family.

She quickly closed her curtains,too afraid to see Nawfal after their little encounter in the forest and as she dropped the curtain, she heard the hooves of his horse and she knew he had taken his position beside her.

She knew with him taking care of her and ensuring her safety, it was going to be difficult to maintain her distance but she would try,try all she could to do so.

It was going to be one of the biggest challenges she had ever faced.

For the first time, she was afraid,afraid that she would lose.

.....

#Please don't shoot me, I know it is short! However i wanted to give you something to make up for all the time I had not updated. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Until next time, ma'asalam! #