Deewani

گیارواں باب

6 Months Later

Safa gazed into the darkness of the tunnel. No light glimmered under there. The last of the lamps had long breathed its last fire. A faint cry of the muezzin was heard in the distant. Her swollen eyes hurt as another tear drop rolled down her cheeks. Her limp hair fell flat against her sunken cheekbones. The once raidant and youthful face had lost everything. Nails full of dirt from scratching against the walls were raised in a prayer to the heavens. Safa had from a very long time turned away from human help. When she needed it there was no one. Her faith in humanity gradually broke as her relationship with Allah grew stronger.

Her relationship with Her Creator was tied with strongest of threads. She shared a close bond with Him, where He would sit and listen to all her complaints and smile down on her selflessness and good heart as even in moments of such agony she refused to curse the people who had ruined her.

Safa's hands wiped her face roughly as she saw a maid bring her her watery porridge. The maid had turned her face away from her as she all but threw down the little clay pot. Safa picked the bowl with caution and began taking small bites. The bland porridge did nothing for her tastebuds but it did not matter. Safa no longer cared for food all she craved for was peace of the soul.

Little than an hour later a woman rushed into Safa's chamber and grabbed her by the wrist. Dragging her out of the pit into the sun, she felt her eyes burn and sting. It had been ages since she last encountered the outside world. Her legs felt numb and she was about to drop on the floor had the lady not been pulling her.

Upon reaching the servants quarters, the woman tore of Safa's clothes from her body before throwing her into a tub of ice cold water. It was December and the cold was its height, the sensation of her bones rattling against each other was heightened by the water. The woman scrubbed her skin until it turned pink before dunking her head in and washing her hair. She proceeded to take all unwanted hair off of her body.

"Badshah ki biwi maa banne wali hai. Rani sa keh hukam par tujhe aaj un keh samne pesh kia jai ga take teru zindagi ka faisla kia ja sakay"
The woman mutteres with zero sympathy.  Safa heart dropped to her stomach hearing such words. She felt nauseous and the shivering exceeded as she thought of her future.

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Aahil smiled at his wife who lay next to him wrapped in the thick furs to keep the warmtg in. He was happy in this little bubble that he had created. Rubbing his hand gently on the protruding belly he sighed with a feeling of completeness. No one and nothing could steal this moment from him.

Outside the cold raged a war against the sun. Light against dark. And yet the cold had seemed to overpower.

Aahil felt a hand graze his stubble lightly before lips kissed his cheeks ever so gently. He smiled doen at the woman in his arms. His Queen. His Haya.

When he had married her he did everything in his power to not forgive her. But after a few days he gave into her relentless cries. He could not deny the love that he felt she had for him. Eventhough he felt disgusted at times by her actions he still let it slide for she was his biwi.

Today would be the day he would tell his court about the child, his heir and give a final verdict on his first wife. The past few months were tough. His sister had died in childbirth and so had her child. His mother had gone hysterical and blamed it all on Safa. A woman who had not seen the sunlight for six months. So the news of a child had brought a huge smile on all of their faces.

It was when the sun was at its highes when Aahil sat down on his throne with his wife next to him. Both of them were macthing in cream and maroon dresses. With Aahil wearing a sherwani and Haya opting for a lehnga. Her veil covered the front hiding their little secret. Infront of them sat their courtiers wondering why a meeting was called urgently.

" Oh my faithful people. You have guided me when I needed your advice the most. Your counsel has always been beneficial for me. So today I wish to reveal a happy news. A glad tiding. The Queen, my wife Haya is with child. Announce seven days of celebration. Ensure the poor ar3 fed and free those who were captured for petty crimes."
Aahil ended his statement with glee. All around him people cheered threw their turbans high into the air and shouted prayers for the health of the mother and the child.

"Now please sit. We must move onto important decisions. My first wife Safa has been imprisoned for six months. Today her fate will be decided. I request you Safa, to move forward and give your suggestions or forever hold peace with the sentence we announce"
Aahil spoke with authority. His eyes remained stonecold and Safa was dropped in his feet by the guards.

Her face had lost its life. The once youthful beauty had been reduced to nothingness. Sunken cheekbones, swollen and red eyes, limp and lifeless hair. She was not who she had been on her wedding night.

"King Aahil I have a few desires. One is do not divorce me. Second is give me a small house to live in without any servants and lastly give me my ghongroo. May Allah bless you with a son and peace."
Safa replied with utter calmness. Aahil and Haya were shell shocked. They were expecting to see tears and her begging for a chance.

The courtiers shouted at her and said that she had demands that were not reasonable but their cries went silent as the Queen regent spoke
"Very well. I will see to it that your demands are fulfilled. However from this day forward you shall have no ties with the royal family"

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Safa loved her small home. The tiny house had a small kitchen and a small well in the back. There was a tiny bed in one the main room with a small beaten carpet.

It was not much but it was enough for Safa. She danced day and night away on the confinement of the four walls. She danced for her love. She danced for her teacher. She danced for her only helper in dark times. She danced for Allah and found peace in it. The times she was not dancing she spent in remembering her Creator. And Safa danced for her peace and for her healing that was brought about by the divine being that is her Allah.

Authors note
I could've ended the book here in this chapter but I will he writing 2 more. I had not realised we had covered so much of the plot. The next will be the last chapter and after that the epilogue.

In times of the Corona virus I hope everyone is staying safe and is with their loved ones. Stay safe. Stay healthy ♥️