***
The two brothers ran to the nearest ATM. Fahad had adapted a habit of keeping his debit card on himself instead of his wallet incase he got robbed. The thugs had searched them and emptied their pockets while they were out cold. Their phones, their money, id's everything!
They had been on the wet grounds of the bushes till the next morning. Saddam woke up first. They had heard tales of the famous Lagos city. Here, everyone minds his business and two men on the ground, probably dead was not their business.
They had limped to the nearest pharmacy and gotten the most treatment they could get for free.
"What do we do now, where do you think they are? Where do they have Yasmeen?" Fahad asks with a shaky voice as he collects the dispensed cash. He was scared and angry. Its been hours since they took Yasmeen to God knows where. If they wanted to hurt her, they would have done so many times over by now.
"What kind of useless brothers are we? How can we lose our sister to those animals? Twice! Our parents will never forgive us "
Fahad said and punched the nearest surface which was a meral gate. Pain rocked his entire left arm but he stomached it because he deserved it. A few curious lagosians stared at the brothers, some even stopped walking to look at them.
"Mind your business!" He yelled at them which only got him more stares and a "your father" from the sparse crowd.
"I hate this town" he says walking away. Saddam followed him quietly.
They got on a bus that was headed for Rimi and began their trip. Their long long trip. They were both quiet, each of them imagining what they would do to the emir once they could get their hands on him.
***
Mubasshir paced up and down his spacious mordern bedroom. Thinking and unable to think at the same time. It was well after midnight.
"Bloody hell " he said to himself. He needed an insider. Someone in the palace who knew where they kept Yasmeen. So he could go in one night and smuggle her out. And stangle his filth of an uncle while at it.
He chuckled at himself. That would me suicide and he knew. His uncle would have tripled the guards and security since he kidnapped the girl.
Harrowing images of what Sani might have done or is doing to Yasmeen violently invaded his mind untill he felt like puking. He wanted to punch something so bad.
An idea came to his mind. He went to the store and dug up an old palace guard iniform. He dawned it on and left the house, managing to not wake his mother.
The security lights of the palace were shining bright. You could be seen from almost fifty metres away. There were police men littered outside the palace gates.
So he went through the back, drove a longer distance to reach the abandoned back gate. He had always wondered why the gate was left unguarded. Probably because only a handfull of people knew about or because anyone who got in through there will get to the maid's chambers first.
'That is messed up' he thought.
He parked his car a safe distance away from the gate.
Mubasshir landed in the palace with a soft thud, remembering when himself and his little brother scaled the little gate all the time in the name of fun. He said a silent prayer for his brother that died many years ago and pushed further into the cold darkness.
"Who are you!" He heard behind him. He froze and his heart beat escalated dangerously.
"Who are you?" The girl said again. He cringed at her volume.
"Why are you yelling dammit!" He said in a stern whisper, turning to face the girl. She was either one of the maids or one of Sani's many wives. He couldn't tell. He quickly dragged her to a corner with his palm over her mouth.
"I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I am looking for Yasmeen! " he whispered in her ear.
She sagged slightly and he slowly took his hand off her mouth.
"You're the prince! I thought you died!" She said loudly again and his hand instinctively shot up to her mouth again.
"What is wrong with you are you trying to get me killed?"
"I'm sorry b-but they said you died! They said they buried you!" Mubasshir smiled, he cannot wait to see the look on his uncle's face when he sees him, alive.
"I don't have time for this" he thought.
"I don't have time to explain. I have to go. Just please, shut up!"
He swiftly disappeared into the darkness and maneuvered his way to the queen chambers. With a swift sweep of his flashlight, he saw the faces in the room. A bunch of women and children. No sign of Yasmeen.
"Dear God don't let her be in his room" he prayed silently.
The palace compound was like a maze. Anyone who didn't belong will get confused, probably use one of the doors that'll lead him to where the guards were. Much more in the dark. But Mubasshir knew what he was doing. He could get around this palace with his eyes closed.
In minutes, he was at the window of his fathers room, which he expects is now San's room. His stomach flipped in his abdomen. His uncle was a terribly light sleeper. A suddenly flash of light will definitely wake him up. So Mubasshir tried to see into the room without the light. It was too dark.
Instead of the flash light, he took out his phone. With the brightness at the minimum, he looked into the room. There was a figure on the bed. It was lying on its side, facing away from the window. Judging by the curves and indents, it was a woman. Yasmeen!
What to do! What to do! What to do! His uncle was not in the room, or on the bed atleast. So he is probably sleeping somewhere very close by. "Bloody hell"
"Yasmeen" he whispered, praying to God that she is a light sleeper.
"Yasmeen"
"Yasmeen!"
The door to the bedroom suddenly opened and Mubasshir tripped over nothing and fell backwards. The damn "baban riga"
If not for his medical degree, he would have sworn he had a cardiac arrest out of fear. He quickly sat up and glued his back to the bottom of the window sill and hoped the top of his head won't be seen.
Light flashed out of the window, directly where Mubasshir was.
"Spike, is that you?" Came his uncle's voice. What kind of stupid name is spike? He wondered who spike was but stayed perfectly still. After sometime, the light went away and he heard the door to the room lock twice. "Bloody hell"
****
Sun streamed into the room and the rays fell directly on her face. She squinted in her sleep. She opened her eyes and saw ombre pendant lights on a tray ceiling looking back at her. Her tried to remember when she became rich but instead, the horror of where she was set in and she bolted up straight.
"You are so beautiful " Sani said. He was sitting on a chair across from where Yasmeen lay. She gaged inwardly but said thank you with a sweet smiled. He smiled back at her.
"Well, rise and shine, we have a wedding to plan" he said excitedly and left the room. He returned shortly after with an iPhone box.
"Since you've been a good girl, and you've stopped being stubborn, I got you this! Don't even think of calling your brothers, their phones are with me. And as you know, Mubasshir is extremely unavailable so you're stuck with me" he said and smiled. Her heart tugged.
"Thank you" she said and smiled.
She rested back on the plush pillows and remembered the dream she had. She dream that someone came for her. To take her away from here. It was Mubasshir. He stood by the window calling her name.
A/N
SHORT CHAPTER. ENJOY!
