Aisha shudders, both at the horrid sight, and the realization that men surround her. Her palms slick with sweat, and those wide, lucid eyes revert to digging holes in the tiled floor.
"Forgive me, I was not aware we had company." The man says, his confusion ever-apparent as he glances between the two of them. "Am I intruding?"
"No, Aabid. In fact, you are just in time," Hussam replies. Aisha practically sensed his jaws harden at the audacity of her prior request when he utters, "Aisha here was just heading out."
He had listened; she thought.
Hussam gestures to the gate with a brisk nod. "Leave us."
"I would, ya sheikh, but you are hindering my path."
"The laws did not deter you from trespassing those gates to begin with; my hindrance is the least of your troubles." He admonishes. His mighty height shrinks slightly as he bends, eyes daring her to speak. "I will assign the royal physician to Ali's care. But heed this, never enter such quarters without your sheikh's orders. And let this be a reminder to all who dare to defy them. Understood?"
Aisha started, "But her highness summoned—"
"Am. I. Understood?"
If looks could kill, Aisha would have long been a corpse. She trembles at his seething glare, but gave a dull nod that caused Hussam's brow to leap. Her hands fisted, and when his eyes darted downward, they quickly unclenched.
Terrified, yet somehow, she could not hold that troublesome tongue of hers. A fatal flaw. "I am not sure I understand a man's anger towards a simple act of humanity. Perhaps his own has hardened so much it has ceased to exist."
It was fleeting, but Aisha did not miss it. Danger flickered in those diabolical orbs and before her nerves could waver, she stormed out of the room and into the corridors. Muffled voices traveled to her ears as Hussam orders the guard outside to escort her beyond the premises. The knight's reply froze her swift steps.
Aisha suddenly felt faint.
Even in his stewing rage, the brooding savage had not only considered her safety but spared her. It was then, and only then, that Aisha used her head for once. Her incompetence made her realize that man was not just any man.
She had just foolishly insulted the great Khalif of Al Qays.
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Upon entering the cookery, an array of feasts lie before Aisha's feet as Batul, one of the kitchen maids, fills a steaming pot of tea into porcelain cups. None of it made sense to her. Aisha was not aware an occasion had arisen, and she was privy to every affair that took place within the palace walls. It was she who oversaw the maids, their tasks and the serving of guests.
"What is happening?" She queried.
"Where were you, Aisha ukhti? Baraka has gone mad looking for you. "
