Assalamualaikum Wa rahmatullahi Wa barakatuhu... my dear readers!
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Daarim looked at Muntaha and bit his lips as he removed his turban and placed it on Muntaha's wounds to stop the flow. He felt really helpless though, when he saw that the blood was flowing quite freely.
"Agony... This is much better than the agony from before! This is atleast familiar territory!" Muntaha mumbled. Daarim slowly but surely hit Muntaha's face to keep him conscious.
"Jibreel! Do not close your eyes! You need to be conscious! The dagger was-"
"Poisoned?" Muntaha completed for him and then laughed at Daarim 's shock, before spluttering blood, which made him stop laughing. "Yes I know Ya Akhi! I came to know the moment it touched my blood and began to give off a distinct smell! I am glad to remember these lessons!" Muntaha joked. Daarim angrily shook his head and lifted Muntaha in his arms. As far as he knew, the camp didn't have a full fledged healer, which was highly unsafe for the future king of Ghazdaan. He couldn't take him to any healer because Daarim wasn't sure they could have treated Muntaha well and also because there was no healer that he knew of around these parts. He had to take Muntaha to the valley.
He whistled to his horse the moment it came into sight. His horse trotted towards him. When the horse reached Daarim, he placed Muntaha on the ground and rummaged in the sack hung on the horse for a medicine that he always carried with him for emergency. The balm was Kaamla's own concoction and was a general antidote that could cut the effects of poison to a large capacity. Daarim applied it on Muntaha's wound and then lifted him to the horse, before climbing up. He urged the horse to move.
"Jibreel! I am taking you to the Valley of Qamar! You need to stay awake till we reach Kaamla! You get it? You need to try and stay awake! Do not give in to the fatigue or the grief!" Daarim told him forcefully.
"Huh?" Muntaha smiled at Daarim again. "Of course I won't give in! I have a duty to fulfill! Promises to keep! A kingdom to save and a woman who might or might not be waiting for me..." Daarim chuckled at Muntaha, who was weakening by the second but still was strong enough to hope.
He hoped he could reach the valley soon or the careful laid plans for Muntaha would mean nothing. He knew Sidra was present there. He knew she would meet Muntaha and after that what would become of them he wasn't sure of. But after witnessing a meltdown from Muntaha he wasn't so sure of keeping them away from the other. What if Muntaha never recovered from this setback?
He watched Muntaha as he tried to keep his eyes open. He was loosing more of his will to keep them open though. His face had now become so pale that it looked like the blood had stopped circulating through it.
For a second Daarim was scared that he wouldn't make it in time. The poison was coursing through Muntaha's veins much faster than he was travelling. But he held on to his hope and pushed himself to go faster. He had to reach Kaamla before the poison reached his heart, because, the future of whole Ghazdaan laid in his arms.
Daarim ibn Tahir was a ferocious warrior of the tribe of Reeh, just like his father had been some years ago. Daarim was initially trained by his own father, till he had been martyred in the wars of tribes. Then Hudhud took Daarim under his wing along with his own little charge Muntaha. After some initial friction the boys had worked well with each other. They were now sworn brothers and had vowed to keep the other safe.
Daarim had worked too hard in all these years. He was one of the swiftest and strongest warriors of the Reeh. He had been trained to travel more faster than the fastest of Reeh along with Muntaha. He had been taught to push himself to his limits and go on even after that. He had been taught to be smart in fights along with being strong. When he spied, he was never found out due to being sneaky and stealthy. His senses was sharp. He was a clear package within himself, but when he paired with Muntaha they were a lethal combination. Years of coordination between them had made them two arms of the same body. The tribe of Reeh was almost inhuman in their abilities but Daarim was the elite of the warriors of Reeh. Not many could surpass him.
As Daarim flew like the wind on his horse, he kept a strong hold on Muntaha. He couldn't let his brother down.
*****
Three days later.
Sidra had finished her classes with Zainab and prayed her Fajar, before she had joined Kaamla in her healing hut. Kaamla had smiled and invited her over as she sat making a paste, which smell quite aromatic.
"What's this for?" She enquired interested.
"Its made of Lavender and I added a Javez to it... Lavender is for good sleep and Javez is for curing pain. Javez is a pain reliever which we find in these forests. Highly effective for pain! When both of them are added together, it also creates a medicine to relive splitting headaches. I already have them stocked. I just make them as and when I have time. These come in handy you know?" Kaamla told her. She nodded.
"What are we learning today?" She asked Kaamla respectfully. Kaamla smiled serenely at her.
"I have not yet decided dear. You wait for a while. I will be done within some minutes in Sha Allah." Kaamla said as she continued grinding at a high speed. Sidra nodded and faced outside.
Kaamla's healing hut, like all the other important huts was situated near the foot of small mountain and was covered by the flora of the valley, hiding it. It was also always aromatic and fresh, due to various medicines made and stored here. She loved to have Kaamla's class in the early morning as it always freshened her up for her day.
She heard a commotion outside and frowned as she tried to look out towards the noises, through all the flora, unsuccessfully. She pouted and turned back towards Kaamla who was storing the medicinal paste in a jar now. After that was done, she washed the grinding bowl and kept it overturned in one of the corner and then wiped her hands before facing an excited Sidra and chuckled at her fondly.
She was about to open her mouth to speak, when a young boy suddenly appeared at the mouth of the cave in a panicked state. Sidra turned in a flash and her hand was on her dagger in an instant. She relaxed when she spotted one of their own and withdrew her hand. Kaamla had observed her thoroughly and was proudly smiling at her. She then faced the boy.
"What's the matter Ya Afaf?" She enquired the new comer.
"Healer! You are requested to attend to a patient. He was pierced by a poisoned blade. It will be too late if you do not come right this very second. He is in the guest hut beside Hudhud's house!" Afaf replied hurriedly. Her hut resided near Hudhud's too.
Kaamla nodded and picked up her satchel of supplies and turned towards Sidra.
"Do you want to come and watch?" She enquired hastily. Sidra nodded anxiously. Kaamla gestured her to follow as they exited the healing hut and walked towards the guest houses. Within very less time they had already found the hut and entered it.
The first person Sidra saw was Daarim, who was looking tearful. His jaw was clenched and his hands were fisted by his sides. Sidra frowned. She had never seen Daarim in such a state before. The next person Sidra saw was Hudhud. Even though she had not met him many times, she knew he was important here and that meant the one on the bed was as important too. She then saw Ajdaan who was agitated as he barked expletives at no one in particular.
She gulped as she took her first step towards the bed and then went on taking more steps. Kaamla had reached the bed already and gasped when she saw the person on the mattress. His face had already turned quite blue by then. She hastily took the last step and held the patient's wrist in her hand, slipping into her healer form.
Sidra had already reached the bed and the moment she went to take a glimpse of the person, someone blocked her tiny form. She looked up to see Hudhud, who was staring at her stoically. He shook his head gravely at Sidra.
"You are not allowed in here young one!" He told her seriously, attracting Daarim's attention who hastily came towards her and blocked her some more. Sidra narrowed her eyes at the two and gulped. She had a very bad feeling about the whole thing and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Let Daarim escort you to your hut!" Hudhud gestured to Daarim who nodded and came towards her.
"Let her through. I need her here." They heard a clear voice and turned to see Kaamla, who was watching them all gravely. Ajdaan was frowning at them too. He shook his head.
"I think she better go Ya Kaamla." Ajdaan said, "We can help you in this."
"Let her through Ya Hudhud!" Kaamla reiterated forcefully, "Do not shield her from pain. She needs to face this, if she intends to face what awaits her. If she doesn't taste this chaos how will she face anything." Hudhud bowed his head. He had wanted to spare her from this one thing she shouldn't have to bear, but Kaamla was right and he had to bow down. "Come here Ya Sidra!" Kaamla called her out and Hudhud moved aside to let her through. Daarim stayed put though and even held her arm forcefully, when she attempted to pass him. She looked up to see his face, which seemed to be in agony and then slowly gulped as she faced the bed.
A person laid on the bed. His face was blue and dark veins were clearly visible on his skin as they cris-crossed each other. The face was nearly beyond recognition, but she had it engraved on her heart, so how could she not recognize it? It was without a doubt Muntaha... Her Muntaha!
"Ya Allah!" She whispered as she felt like the world beginning to collapse and all around her. She felt the strength leave her legs and she began to fall. Daarim held her tightly. "No! No! No! This can't be. He should have been fine. He should have been safe. No! This is all a bad dream. I will wake up any second now. I will wake up. He is safe. No!" She muttered again and again as she began to get more hysterical by the second. She was shaking her head again and again and her eyes were tearing up. Her throat felt like it was clogging and she felt difficulty in breathing. She would have collapsed if Daarim hadn't held her safely.
"Let me take you back to the hut." Daarim told her soothingly in a gentle voice. She snapped out of her mutterings and glared at him, before she pushed Daarim away, atleast she attempted to. Daarim respectfully lowered his arms. She pushed forward and reached Muntaha before exhaling loudly. She touched his face gently and bit her lip so forcefully that it started bleeding. The first sob wracked her body violently, but she clamped her lips to hold the rest of the storm inside. She couldn't do that! She couldn't let go now. She couldn't have the focus on her when he was swaying between life and death. Right now all the focus should be on him. She couldn't let her emotions out till he was safely perched on the stage of life. He had to be snatched back from the clutches of death before she could empty this pain out of her system. Till then she had to bear this agony and trudge on...for Muntaha. She needed to not be selfish by letting herself feel. Right now she was supposed to be the assistant of a healer and that was what she was going to be. She took a deep breathe pushing all of her pain inside and withdrew all her emotions in a mask. She turned towards Kaamla quite strongly.
"What are we supposed to do Healer?" She asked so emotionlessly that had they not witnessed her going through hell and back some minutes prior, then they would have though she was just a person who was assisting the healer and had nothing to do with the man on the bed. The occupants of the room, if they wouldn't have respected her before, began to respect her from that very second. They hadn't seen such sense and strength from a long time. This woman was breaking apart all the motions that had built regarding the women from the outside world, in the past. She was building another image that could make all of them go shell shocked by the strength of it. Kaamla smiled at her student proudly.
"He has been poisoned by a venom obtained by the Reva snakes. Their venom is deadly. It takes some hours from the admission of venom in the body to reach the heart and once it does so, the heart muscles relaxes, failing the heart. But by the looks of it, the antidote for poisons had been supplemented as a first aid as soon as it could slowing the venom down. Yet it has nearly completed it's course and what we need to do must be done within some minutes!" Kaamla explained to her. While she listened carefully, the other occupants watched her closely. They would have thought that she was as uncaring as she showed, had they not seen her hand that remained on Muntaha's cheek, to remain in contact with him somehow, so that she is assured that he was still here with her. "We need to perform the thirty two point puncture healing to his body, to dislodge the poison and then apply the antidote specialized for this venom through the wound and also the puncture points." She told her. "I will be back with all the necessary items." Kaamla said and left immediately and Sidra turned towards Muntaha.
"Nothing is gonna happen to you!" She told him softly. Her eyes were burning with passion as she watched his face. The occupants looked away to give her pseudo privacy as it felt like they were intruding on something private. "My heartbeats are still going on, indicating that nothing will happen to you. For if you stop breathing then how will Sidra survive? You can't leave me like this. You wanted me to leave, so you could fulfill your duty. I did. And now you are opting to let go off your duty. Was my sacrifice and patience for nought? Was it all just a waste? No Ya Muntaha! You will survive and you will uphold your promises and you will fulfill your duty, because a warrior doesn't go back on his words... does he?"
Kaamla arrived the very next second and handed her a bowl and a rag dipped in something! She also handed her a vial, while keeping an empty bowl beside her on the other side of the mattress and filling it with a liquid from a second vial.
"I will start the process Ya Habibti! Remember! When I apply these needles at thirty points of his body the first time, he will throw out the poison. Then I will remove the needles slowly. The venom will also leave through the puncture points and you will have to wipe it all with this rag immediate. It is soaked in the antidote. He will vomit it out again. Use the bowl to catch that poison. And you need to feed him the antidote the very next second or he would close off his mouth making it difficult for him to swallow it. Understand? Then I will dip the second set of needles in this antidote and apply it back to him. In Sha Allah! This will work." Kaamla completed her instructions and nodded at Sidra to be ready as she begun to remove Muntaha's clothes and apply needles over it one by one. She applied the needles at some points on his scalp too.
Muntaha remained motionless throughout the procedure, but Sidra winced each time a needle pierced his skin. She hoped he would never be harmed again in his life.
Kaamla began to slowly remove the needles again. Once she completed the process, black colored opaque liquid began to exit the piercings. Sidra began to wipe it off with the rag ardently. The blue in his skin receded to a certain degree. After wiping all the traces of the black liquid, Sidra kept the rag aside. The very next moment, Muntaha opened his eyes wide and took a deep breath before shifting on his bed and vomiting a dark liquid. Sidra was ready with the bowl, as she sat on the mattress and supported him. He sagged and began to breathe torturously once he was done. He was too tired. She took the vial and immediately placed it on his lips. He stubbornly tried to dislodge it from his mouth but Daarim came forward and held his face tightly while Sidra emptied it's content in his mouth and held his nose. He swallowed the antidote helplessly and breath deeply through his mouth. Daarim gently settled him back on the mattress. Muntaha's eyes fluttered, trying to remain open. They landed on her and he frowned.
"Sidra?" He muttered hazily before his eyes drifted close and he was unconscious once again. Sidra remained rooted to the spot as she stared at him. He uttered her name... Her name! He remembered her? He didn't forget her! A wave of elation ran through her as she realised that he was much better now and that he had taken her name from his lips.
Kaamla began to pierce her needles again, this time dipped in the antidote though. Muntaha was whining slightly this time around. After she was done, she waited for some minutes before she removed the needles again.
Muntaha's color had now become quite pale, but that was much better than the blue that had covered him. He also seemed to be breathing freely now and was wincing and groaning as he tried to move. Kaamla covered him with a blanket and turned towards the other occupants in the room.
"He will be fine in Sha Allah. Let him rest for now. I will visit him again later." Kaamla instructed and nodded at everyone, before watching Sidra once. Sidra was busy watching Muntaha though. "Sidra? I am sure this lesson will suffice for today?" She enquired lightly. Sidra turned in alarm and nodded hastily making Kaamla chuckle as she exited the cave.
Within some minutes, one by one the occupants exited the cave and the only ones that remained were Hudhud, Daarim and Sidra. Hudhud cleared his throat, quite loudly, attracting both of their attention. They turned towards him in unison.
"Daarim can keep the watch Ya Sidra. Come! I will drop you to your hut." He told her gravely. She wanted to refuse but held her tongue. It was a favor for her that he had allowed her to see him and stay for his treatment but he wouldn't oblige anymore and she knew it. So she sighed as she watched Muntaha's face one last time and exited the guest hut with Hudhud who just accompanied her. They reached her hut which was adjacent to the one Muntaha was in, within some moments.
Hudhud entered her hut with her and stood at the door, watching outside with concentration. His brows were furrowed and his hands were clasped behind his back. He sighed as he faced her slightly.
"I know you want to meet him Sidra. I know you long for it. But I request you to stay away. Stay away from that boy before he sinks more and more into this hole and forgets his duty to his people. Free him from yourself, so he can fly over the clouds and rule over Ghazdaan with justice. I know that what I ask of you is very cruel of me. But do this for his sake. He is not who you think he is. Plans have been made for him since he was born. He is important." Hudhud told her gently. She could hear his voice clearly though- He was important, while she wasn't. He was so out of her league that if she tried to reach him, she would just break and fall. But what Hudhud was requesting from her was so heartbreaking that she couldn't stop a stubborn tear before it leaked through her eyes, before she imprisoned the rest of them once again. She angrily swiped it away and faced Hudhud.
"If you feel that my presence in his life would just come in between his destiny and him, then I wouldn't try to meet him. I wouldn't seek him. I promise. He will never know that I am present here." Sidra told him strongly. He smiled at her sadly before he turned to exit.
"You are a strong woman Sidratul Muntaha. I hope you get all the happiness you deserve." Hudhud muttered before he walked away. Sidra waited till he exited and closed the door, shielding the hut from the outside world and cut off the light that illuminated it. She sank the whole room in the darkness just like her being had been enveloped in it.
And then she dragged herself some steps inside the hut, before she sank to her knees painfully in front of her meagre belongings and rummaged through it for her necklace. As she removed it from the pack, she fisted it in her hands near her heart. The flower and the words weren't visible as it was the day.
When she had arrived in the valley, Nazlee had removed it placed it in a small cloth sack, which she had handed over to Sidra when she awoke. Nazlee had never known that it was a unique pendant that glowed at night. Right then Sidra held it for sometime as her emotions wrecked havoc on her. She had not worn it since then so it doesn't get harmed during her rigorous practice.
After some moments of trying to calm herself with her necklace, she placed it back in the sack and placed it away. She stood back up and swallowed with difficulty. Walking some steps, she was overwhelmed once more and lifeless dropped near her bed. Her heart had cracked the moment Hudhud had asked her to stay away from Muntaha, but now as she sat there rocking to and fro on her knees, clutching her hands in each other like a prayer, she could feel it shatter completely. A sob wracked her form just as the first tear appeared. She had closed off her emotions for such a long time that their appearance now couldn't be controlled, wouldn't be controlled. Like a force of nature, they broke through her defences and engulfed her heart in chaos. She began to cry earnestly as she tried to close her mouth off tightly, to prevent any sound from escaping. She wouldn't let the world know that she was breaking apart. This was her pain to bear and her's alone would it stay.
The sobs wrecked her whole being and made it difficult for her to see anything due to the tears that were filling her eyes. She was at her most vulnerable point in life and she was clueless as to how she would handle this. Was this... Heartbreak? If so then how did anyone survive this pain? She felt like her life had been sucked out along with her hope and happiness.
Hudhud had said, he wished that she would get all the happiness she deserved! Oh the irony! The only happiness that she wanted was the one she had been banned from! He was declared as something so above her, so unattainable that she felt it was a crime to just think about him. Or did Hudhud feel that she didn't deserve Muntaha? And so what if he did? She already knew that she didn't deserve Muntaha. He was the sky and she was the land and they were doomed to be apart. Not that he would want her anyways. He himself had asked her to leave. So what if he had named her. It was a kindness and nothing else. What about the way he had uttered her name earlier today? It felt like he was tasting her name on his lips. Was she imagining it? She must be, because he wouldn't lower himself to somebody like her. He deserved more.
She felt her throat being closed off again and felt difficulty in breathing. But now she allowed the feeling to overpower her. In the privacy of this hut she let all the emotions take over. She let them push her down in a never ending hole of despair. She felt like this very house she was in was trying to suffocate her and she let it. She tried unsuccessfully to breathe deeper. Everything was becoming so much difficult. Her head was spinning and she caught it in her hands as she tried to stop it from losing itself.
Today she felt like the most lonely person of this world. Unwanted by her parents, unwanted by her family, unwanted by the man she loved (for it was love, she realised when he was on the step of death)... The only people who wanted her had been snatched away by fate and planted so far away from her. And now all she had was pain and desolation.
She wanted to cry loudly and declare to the world the extent of her loss. She wanted to let them know that there was someone in this world who had nothing to live for right now. But she didn't exhibit her feelings, her pain to anyone. She wouldn't let anyone see the damage that had been done to her being. She was broken and hopeless and she wanted to just lie here and fade away forever.
She wanted him safe. How could she jeopardize his life and plans and his oh so important duty. For herself? If anything like today's incident happened again then she wouldn't survive it. He needed to live even if she would live no more. Because a world without him wasn't a world she preferred to live in. How he had become so important was something she didn't know. But she knew he was. She had reached that point in her love for him that, his being was present in her being, continuously. there wasn't a second that she forgot him. There wasn't a moment that she let him go. He painfully stayed and she let herself be cajoled by his false presence.
What should she do now? Should she just leave? To fulfill her promise? Should she just let him go? Should she run away for his safety and intactness of his plans? She should! She should make her own way and try to defeat the demons and the sorcerers by herself, through whatever training she had!
But as she tried to get up, her feet refused to obey. She just sat there for a long time, shedding tears of grief and loneliness. How would she let him go once again? How would she remain patient? How would she walk away when her last glimpse at him was of his weakened state! Was that the image her mind would conjure everytime she remembered him? Could she bear this pain?
So many questions swirled around her head making her feel panicked. Her heart wanted to claw out of her chest and her brain was about to explode with pain. The hut seemed to be moving in on her. She tried to calm herself but it felt impossible as a light ache began on the left side of her chest. She received a shock on the left side as she struggled to keep herself straight.
And just as the door was banged open, she lost the control of her knees and fell, leaving everything behind...
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