Hamdan grabbed his phone to turn off the alarm. Still laying in bed on his stomach, he opened just one eye to see the screen.
6:00 a.m.
Sep. 19, 2016
"Argh..." he groaned, burying his face in the pillow.
It had been a long and boring summer for him. He had been in London hanging out with friends and family, to Italy for an endurance race, back to Dubai for work, then off to Morocco trying to get away, in Yorkshire hunting with his father and finally, he decided to go to Iceland to see if that would motivate him a little and clear his mind.
Nothing worked.
To make matters worse, he had just come back from participating at the Endurance World Championship in Slovakia. As the current champion, there was a lot of expectation on him and the UAE team. Well, things didn't go quite as planned. Hamdan could not even finish the race, his horse did not pass the third vet check and was disqualified. Ajayeb — a star horse from his father's stables — had to be put down due to a fatal injury in one of her legs. The other two horses that managed to finish the race, did not pass the last vet check and were disqualified as well.
And that day, September 19, marked the one year anniversary of his brother's death. It seemed so much longer to Hamdan.
He had a busy morning ahead of him, having to attend two official events with his father — Sheikh Mohammed — and he was not looking forward to it. He managed to sit on the edge of his bed and scratching his head he made up his mind.
Gym first, he thought.
---
"I'm getting too old for this," complained Uncle Saeed as he got into the back seat of Hamdan's G Class after the last event of the morning.
The little man was the person that Hamdan spent most time with, apart from Saeed Hilal. The uncle wasn't just a nickname, he was really Hamdan's uncle and he was supposed to be a mentor and offer guidance for his nephew on all of his royal duties. But Hamdan knew that it was also his job to report everything back to Sheikh Mohammed. He didn't really mind, he had nothing to hide and he loved his uncle Saeed.
"Come on uncle! A handsome young guy like you?" Joked Hamdan while closing the door on the passenger side of the car.
Uncle Saeed was used to the jokes and didn't pay much attention to them.
"So, to lunch with your father?" Asked Saeed, making sure he was going the right way before he started driving.
"Please, Saeed," Hamdan replied, checking his phone. "What are you doing after lunch, uncle? We're going to the stables with AJ and Hammed, do you want to come?" He added.
Ahmad Jaber was one of Hamdan's closest friends and Mohammed was his five-year old son. Everyone called them AJ and Hammed for short.
"No, thank you. You go without me, I'll go home."
"Suit yourself," replied Hamdan.
After lunch, Hamdan's little entourage arrived at the stables. He changed his keffiyeh for a baseball cap in the car and stepped out.
"Welcome," Salem greeted them.
"How are you, Salem?" Asked Hamdan.
"Happy to finally see you here," he replied, messing up Hammed's big head of hair.
"I've been too busy. Anything new?" The prince wondered.
"Everything's been running smoothly. Everybody is very excited about the new season."
YOU ARE READING
Promise This (English Version)
Fanfiction"A strand of hair was laying over her left eye and he slowly tucked it behind her ear with his index finger. His hand kept going down to the back of her neck and he caressed her blushing cheek with his thumb. She did not seem to be cold anymore. His...
