The low-born {Book 2}

Chapter 9

Not Edited

The glorious smell of flowers permeates the air as Princess Esmat prances around her garden deep in thoughts. For the past thirty minutes, she has been thinking of an appropriate response to her husband prince Nouri's missive.

At now eleven summers old, her reading and writing has improved tremendously coming a long way. But here she was moping and muttering under her breathe. "What do I tell him? I have not seen him in three years. I doubt he would recognize me if I walked past him!" She huffs as she turns swiftly.

Dressed in the finest of drapes befitting of her status and jewelries one could only find in the castle, she looked every inch the princess she now was. Her dusky skin glittered under the sunlight as her brown orbs sparkles with inner turmoil.

Her accompanying attendants stood-by and watched her closely as she gloats on. Chewing her lower lips, her brows knit tightly together as she gesticulates wildly with her hands.

"I don't know what to tell him." Princess Esmat laments once again to no one in particular as she sits on a stone bench with a huff. "Do I really have to send him a reply?" She asked herself as she fiddled with the tips of her waist length black hair.

"Permission to speak your highness." Her senior lady in waiting says moving towards her with utmost care. Princess Esmat, though kind and sweet, she is known for her volatile temper that consisted of throwing and destroying things when frustrated. A temper only queen Omeed could curb.

In the absence of the princes, queen Omeed has taken it upon herself to care for their consorts like a mother would. She became their tutor in her spare time as she taught them what it meant to be a queen and the wife of a leader. Her famous quote to them had been, 'A woman's fate is in a man's destiny'.

"You may speak lady Azar." Princess Esmat says staring at her with a blank expression and a clenched fist.

"Your highness, you could ask his highness how he's faring. Inform him of what a glorious weather it is here in Isfahan at the moment. Ask him what it's like to live among-st the common people." Suggests lady Azar.

Princess Esmat snorts in a very unladylike manner at her last suggestion. "He had chastised me when I asked him the same question in one of my missive to him."

Prince Nouri and Arsham were not permitted to speak to anyone about their experiences. Not even their parents were required to know so much due to security reasons. Fear of their enemies knowing their movement and location had required such drastic measures.

"Forgive your ignorant servant your highness." Azar says immediately with a bow of her head.

With a heavy sigh, princess Esmat gestures her to rise and beckon her to join her. "You were only trying to help me lady Azar, fear not for you shall be handsomely rewarded." She smiles as she finally got several ideas of her own to include.

The flapping wings of his falcon indicating he had a message from Isfahan aroused prince Nouri from his deep slumber. He had barely fallen asleep as his thoughts had been on his brother. One look at his trained falcon, he immediately knew the missive was from his wife.

"What has she got to tell me this time?" He mutters in a quiet whisper as he retrieves the missive from his closest pal. Prince Nouri had a close affiliation to his falcons since his mother queen Omeed gifted him the birds as a young boy.They were never too far away from him.

Although now fairly old, his birds were the closest thing he had to a friend, companion and confidante in the absence of his beloved brother.

Over the years through his travels, prince Nouri has become clear as to what he wanted out of life as he rigoriously paved a path for himself. But he has kept his intentions close to his heart. Not even prince Arsham knew as he would have tried talking prince Nouri out of it.