Written In The Scars

Final Chapter

***

To my dearest companion Abbas,

I start this by praising God, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful, just like you taught me. Do you remember the day we first met? I thought you were crazy to have so much devotion to a God you have never seen in your life, you and the people of Balqaas. But back then, my heart was blinded by a blanket of ignorance and that is why I agreed to be led into a path of deceit.

Our friendship was planned. You see, my past is not one I can happily share, and even as I write it, my heart aches to see my parents again, to see my oldest brother again.

My brother and I were prisoners of war. I was nine years old and my brother Thirteen, when our parents passed away in the tragic war with Rughad and just like all the other captured orphans, we were sold into the slave market. The silver ring that is always on my finger, was a token from my father. My brother has the twin copy. It was the only belonging we had left, apart from the clothes on our bodies.

We thought that luck was on our side when we were taken to the Palace but they split us based on our age and I was forced to work in the stables, whilst my brother and a few others became servants inside the Palace. There was a girl who looked to be around the same age as me but instead of joining us boys in the stables, she was forced to join my brother in the Palace.

One day, I and two other boys had been granted the freedom to leave the Palace, to purchase horses but on the way to the marketplace, we were abducted. When I regained consciousness, my hands and feet were tied and we lay in a rotting wooden cart. As I forced myself up, all around me there was sand. After that, I never saw my brother again.

The years that I spent before being implanted in the Palace are memories I wish I could erase forever. I could never bring myself to recall the time I spent training for those years were worse than the time I witnessed my parents being murdered in front of me.

Just as I had been trained to, I befriended you to gain your trust and it didn't take long for you to fall into the trap. But spending almost a decade with you had swayed my intentions too. The more you taught me about your religion, the more I realised how much of a horrific human being I was and who I was becoming. I started to hate myself, but when I was with you, I forgot about my duty and became carefree. Our friendship was more important to me than anything else in the world, and for as long as I could, I tried to cut ties with the Master.

But whilst I was enjoying myself, my brother was suffering. From what I was told, he had become a fugitive after helping one of the King's concubines escape. The Master had taken advantage of this and extended his hand to him, and my brother, unaware of the mess he was getting himself into, gladly accepted.

They used him to threaten me when I refused to kill you and it worked. After a decade, we were reunited and at that moment, I made the decision. I was ready to take your life.

That day we were sparring, I kept thinking of my brother, hoping it would serve as an encouragement. There were plenty of chances but I could never bring myself to do it because you had become someone special to me, someone I valued more than my own sibling.

You were my brother.

And that is why I chose to do this.

Abbas, I hope you don't hate me for what I did and I hope God will forgive me for this.

Before I conclude this letter, I want to make you aware of the threat that your family is in. I had been implanted as a spy to kill you because of one man. This man wishes to destroy your family for the sake of attaining power. He already ruined the lives of two brothers but I will not let him ruin yours too.

Faris Ibn Al Khalifa.

I understand you may be shocked when you read this, but I assure you that your uncle is not the innocent man he claims to be. He is building his own private army, the same army I was trained in, to one day claim back the throne. I entrust this information to you, hoping it will protect your family from his greed.

I want to end by thanking you for granting a slave boy like me the treasures of friendship and religion. Do not feel guilty for my death. I pray that, instead, you live a long life of ease and joy.

I pray that you grow up to be a righteous man and find someone as kind and just as you to spend the rest of your life with and I pray that you are blessed with children who will bring joy and happiness to your household.

You deserve the world and more.

From your dearest brother,

Junayd.

THE END.

Glossary:

Azeezati - Sweety/Honey

Mama - Mother

Ammu - Paternal uncle

Habeebati - My love

Mahram - male guardian

Sahiba - My Lady

Mashallah Tabarakallah - Praising God for granting good news

Mabrook - Congratulations