I was stoked. I could not wait for the clock to tick eight, so Zain would come and take me to whatever adventure he had in mind. He said he was going to show me how Vinadrian commoners had fun. While part of me was furious that I was going to be introduced to this experience by a Carbilian murderer, the other part was thrilled and overjoyed.
Luckily, Lady Mayan agreed to cover for me. A voice in my head kept assuring me that she was a true friend, but another voice kept warning me to beware of everything and everyone. My trust issues sometimes took control over me.
I could have easily told my uncle that the king was planning a secret outing for us, but I found myself keeping this little piece of information from him. I found myself desiring to live the life of a normal noble lady who fell in love with a king who surprisingly knew how to have fun. I found myself forgetting why Nuriya was created in the first place.
I decided that tonight I was not going to be Nuriya Al-Jazi, the trained noble lady who wanted to assassinate the king to pave the way for the emergence of Sedra Orman. I was going to be another version of Nuriya Al-Jazi. A version who was truly excited to have the king take her on his secret adventures.
I was aware of how wrong this was, but I just wanted to steal a night for myself. Was that so bad? Was I deprived of the right to have fun in a way I would enjoy? I realized that I was going to have fun with my enemy, but if this was my only chance to have fun, then so be it.
"I don't think my father would ask about me, but if he does, tell him I felt unwell and went to bed." I probably told Mayan that a hundred times, but I needed to make sure that she was not going to mess up.
"Can you stop fussing about this? There's nothing to worry about. I have got your back," she assured me and I nodded. "I have to say, you look amazing in this outfit. I think you can pull off anything." She admired what I was wearing. This was an outfit sent by Zain.
I had to admit that I was rather astonished when I saw it, but it was not something I hadn't worn before. However, he had never seen me wearing something like that. He only saw me wearing expensive, elegant dresses.
I was wearing a long blue skirt that stopped right above my ankles. It wasn't like the heavy skirts I was accustomed to. This one wasn't puffy as it did not have any underskirt, just a simple long slip, making it light. My movement wasn't hindered. I was wearing a simple off-shouldered white top that hugged my body with a black bodice corset. I looked like a commoner, but I loved how the outfit looked on me.
At exactly, eight o'clock, there was a knock on Mayan's door and I immediately made my way to open it. Mayan was smart enough to dismiss her maid earlier, so it was just the two of us in the chambers.
"Your Majesty," I said with a smile on my face once I opened the door. As I rose from my curtsey, I was surprised to see how elegant he looked. I looked terrible beside him! "A-Are you sure I'm wearing the right clothes?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Good evening Lady Nuriya," he smiled back at me. How beautiful was his smile. "You're certainly wearing the right clothes. You don't have to worry," he spoke with confidence. "Shall we go?" he said, extending his hand for me.
My heart was beating so fast. I have done a lot of dangerous and spontaneous things in my life, yet this felt different. I took his hand and closed the door behind me. I looked at his outfit again, studying how elegant he looked with his formal coat and dress-up pants and shoes.
"How are we going to sneak out?" I couldn't help but ask.
"In order to sneak out, we have to go to my quarters," he said, making me stop in my tracks.
"Your Majesty, I can't be seen in your quarters. What would the guards say? You do realise that a lady has to protect her honour, don't you?" I had to show him that I cared about my honour like any other lady and just because he was the king, it did not mean that I would allow him to take me to his quarters.
"Don't worry, I would never put you in a scandalous situation. I dismissed the guards for a while, so we need to hurry," he said. I looked sceptical for a moment then nodded. I followed him and surely, there were no guards around, just one or two in a far place; nevertheless, I kept my head down until we entered his chambers.
The moment we entered, he took off his coat and I was surprised by how casual he looked. The coat made him look like a king, but without it, he was wearing simple dress-up pants, a vest, and a shirt.
"I guess I look fit for our little adventure, right?" he grinned and I nodded. "Now, you have to excuse me for what I'm going to do, but nobody should find out about this way. Trust me, this is for your own good too," he said and a crease appeared between my eyebrows. What was he going to do?
I watched him as he took a blindfold out of his pocket and my frown deepened. "I'm going to wrap this around your eyes and once we're out, I'm going to take it off, all right?" he said. My doubts were starting to increase. I had to comply though. I had to get on his good side. I guess I could not completely forget why Nuriya was here in the first place.
Carefully, he wrapped the black blindfold around my eyes, and my heart hammered in my chest. God! This was scary. I wasn't scared of the dark, but I was scared of not being in control.
"Trust me, I won't let anything happen to you," he assured me and I could feel a sense of guilt in his voice. He took my hand and guided me. My steps were reluctant and unsteady, but he was so patient with me. "I'm sorry. I promise I will make it up to you," he kept apologizing. I decided to play along and let fear take over me. I let my body shake and I could tell that he sensed how afraid I was. "God, Nuriya, just hold on for ten minutes. I promise the night will be worth it. I won't let anything hurt you," he reassured me for the millionth time that I was starting to feel sorry for him.
"I'm f-fine," I stammered on purpose. The place I was in felt like it was a bit narrow and darker than the castle. We had to descend a flight of stairs, which meant that we were probably underground. Was it possible that we were in the tunnels my uncle used for our escape during the attack? The mere thought made me actually shiver.
"You're not having a panic attack, are you?" he sounded worried.
"Let's just keep walking. The faster the better." Even my voice was unsteady.
I was suddenly taken to that atrocious night.
"But mama," I squealed in my uncle's arms as he kept running through the unknown tunnels that I had never seen in my entire life.
"Sedra! Stay quiet!" he hissed, placing his hand over my mouth to silence me. My eyes brimmed with tears. I was petrified. I didn't know what was happening. I woke up to Uncle Hood snatching me out of my bed. There were screams everywhere. I didn't understand what was going on.
I was surprised when I saw two men push my bed away from the wall, taking off the beautiful tapestry that decorated the wall. I didn't know there was a door behind my bed. A perfectly hidden one. There was no handle on it. They just pushed it from the right side and it slid open. My uncle immediately walked through that door, followed by a few people behind, then he started running.
I wanted mama and papa. I didn't know why we were leaving them behind. Were we playing hide and seek? I didn't want to play this scary version. I wanted to play with mama and my maids.
"You're going to be okay, Sedra. I will keep you safe." His voice softened when he noticed I was crying and I just nodded, scared of what might happen if I spoke. "I'm going to cover you now. Don't make a sound." Again, I nodded and he wrapped me in a thick blanket from head to toe, trapping me in darkness. This made me more scared.
"What are we going to do? The king and the queen are dead!" I heard somebody say that and I gasped, squirming in my uncle's arms. No! mama and papa! I wanted my parents.
"Nuriya! Hell! I didn't know the blindfold would be a bad idea." I heard Zain's voice. What happened? I was walking with him, wasn't I? Why didn't it feel like I was walking? "Open your eyes, come on." Why should I open my eyes? What difference would it make if I was already blindfolded?
I reached for my eyes and discovered that I wasn't blindfolded anymore. Did he take it off? Did I take it off? Slowly, I opened my eyes and realized that I was on the ground in his arms.
"W-What happened?" I frowned, looking at his worried eyes.
"You had a panic attack," he explained and I looked down in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry. I'm fine now," I mumbled, trying to stand up. Indeed, I was in the tunnels. "You can put the blindfold again." I didn't want to know where I was. Suddenly, I desired nothing but to stay in the dark. Seeing where I was made me visualize the night everything went downhill.
"No, I don't want you to have another panic attack," he refused.
"I'm fine now," I assured him. I wanted him to know that I was ready to do what he thought was best. I was determined to get on his good side and make him trust me.
"If you panic again, I will take it off for good." I nodded and closed my eyes before the piece of fabric touched my eyes. I didn't know how long I was blindfolded, but I believe it wasn't for long. After ascending a few stairs with Zain being incredibly careful and patient, I could tell we were finally outside.
"I think you can breathe now," he said, taking the blindfold off. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that were outside the palace, in a hidden area among a few trees inside the woods close to the palace.
"So this is how you sneak out?" I smirked and he nodded. I looked around me and truly, I did not know how we ended up here. I looked back at him and saw that he was wearing a flat cap, which made him look like a commoner.
"The cap looks nice on you," I complimented him.
"Thank you. Now, one more thing to make you look like a Vinadrian commoner." He said, unfolding the piece of cloth he used as a blindfold. This was my first time noticing that it was a floral blue hair scarf. "Do you know how to put it on or should I put it on you?"
"I don't know how to put it," I lied. I knew how, but I wanted any chance to make him get close to me. He nodded and I watched as he turned the square-shaped scarf into a triangle.
"Excuse me for doing this," he said before approaching me. My heart hammered as his fingers reached for the front of my hair. I watched him as he pulled two strands out of my low ponytail then he placed the hair scarf right after the two loose strands. "Place your fingers on the front of the scarf," he instructed me and I did as I was told. He tied the edges of the scarf below my ponytail and I felt him pull off my hair tie, making my cheeks redden.
Not once had I had such an intimate moment with a man before. I was never allowed to be courted or to even like anyone. It's not like I had time for that anyway.
He went behind me, brushing his fingers through my hair, giving it more volume, and threw two chunks over my shoulders, then stood in front of me again.
"How do I look?" I wondered. I was dying to look in a mirror.
"Flawless." My cheeks reddened more and I looked down shyly. I was not feigning any of this. My heart was about to leap out of my chest. "Now it's time to make myself unnoticeable," he said, pulling something I could not recognize out of his pocket and placed it over his mouth.
When I noticed what it was, I burst out laughing. "A fake mustache." He nodded, laughing as well. "You do look unnoticeable," I admitted.
"Good," he smiled. "Let's go." He took my hand in his and together, we walked towards the city. It had been so long since I last looked forward to something, but I was surely looking forward to spending the night with Zain.
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Poor Nuriya is still traumatized by what happened in her childhood. Can you blame her? She never had the chance to heal.
Do you like Zain?🥰😻 Personally, I love him❤️
Published on July 20th, 2022
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