Chapter 32- An Unknown Threat!
Royal Palace, Ghazni-
“What are you thinking?” Nasir asked as he traced Fatimah’s smooth and fragrant skin of her face, the two lied in each other’s arms “How about visiting Razia?I am dying to have a glimpse of my childhood friends Nasir.” she replied with a sad sigh “Your wish is my command my queen, we shall begin our journey as soon dawn breaks tomorrow.” he said only to earn a content smile from Fatimah. “I wonder what would be Razia’s attitude towards Altunia, we ought to bring them together all over again.” she said in a hushed voice, her voice was laced with concern “We shall speak to her about this as soon as we reach there.” Nasir assured Fatimah earning a satisfactory smile from her.
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Royal Palace, Dilli-
“What on the earth is Malik Altunia doing here?” asked a fuming Shamshaad, no matter how much she tried, how calm she appeared, she could not stand the presence of the man who was apparently the cause of the havoic their lives went through “Nanaijaan he is here solely due to some official works.” Razia tried to calm her down, though she had grown deft with lies and facades, she also was very well aware that her grandmother was once a queen too “Then I want him gone as soon as possible Razia!” she stated in a hushed voice though her voice was fairly laced with fury and annoyance before she stormed out of the chamber. Razia could see the rays of hope vanishing, but she could do nothing about it. Sighing, she buried herself into the ocean of her thoughts and themes about poems, she loved to compose poems too.
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Rehaan made his way through the main corridor of the massive Dilli Royal palace, he was on his way towards his own chamber, the corridor was unwontedly silent with only a few guards patrolling around, but he came across Mouizudeen’s chamber on his way, though he was a well mannered boy and knew very well that eavesdropping was not an appreciable activity, his instincts compelled him to lean in, his sixth sense told him to.
“Well, we ought to keep up with this, spread nastier and dirtier rumors and in no time, Altunia would be molded into the desired direction too Men are like clays, I had told you before too, they are weaklings. Altunia would definitely believe the rumors if we manage to prove them true somehow, after all, he is a jealous and possessive man.” a woman spoke in a considerably loud tone, perhaps she knew that nobody was present and was oblivious to Rehmaan’s presence ‘Well but, he is not a fool either, how on the earth are we going to prove these rumors as true? We all know that Yakut and Razia are close friends, no more, no less.” a man spoke in a comparatively lower voice, yet, it was loud enough for Rehaan to hear clearly what he said, his eyebrows furrowed on hearing the mysterious conversation, suddenly, he could hear the padding of feet, someone was about to open the door, alerted at once, Rehaan ran to the nearest pillar and hid his small frame behind a massive pillar.
Peeping out, he saw a woman in Burkha, though her face was not visible, his curiosity about the man was instantly quelched as soon as Mouizudeen stepped out of the chamber, Rehaan palmed his mouth at the sight, unaware of Mouizudeen’s wickedness that he was before, though he could not understand what they were conversing about, he knew that it was something that was being plotted against the Sultan herself.
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The moon shone brightly on the sky of Dilli as it played hide and seek with the patches of clouds wandering aimlessly in the dark sky. Razia kept gazing at the moon until she felt a presence behind her and she knew at that very instant who was it “Mirza!” she took his name like prayer before she turned around and was immediately welcomed by a warm, loving and gentle embrace “Altunia’s chin rested on her shoulder as he did so “Did you speak to Shamshaad Begum?” he asked her lovingly “She loathes you Mirza, she cannot even stand your presence.” she replied dejectedly as she pressed herself more to his torso “We shall see about this later.” he said as he moved up his chin and adjusted it on her head
“Let us just cherish these moments for now.” he added suggestively as he tightened his hold around her frame, he wanted the moment to last till eternity, but all such wishes and hopes were disdain, they both knew that at some point, they were required to part ways, even though temporarily, it was disheartening and exceedingly painful. “Mirza where will all these lead to? Do we even have any future?” Razia asked, her voice, though a mere whisper held many emotions that questioned their relation “I believe we do.” he replied in resolute voice. They stayed in each other’s embrace until Razia finally pulled away “Mirza what shall I say to Nanijaan, how am I supposed to explain this to her?” she asked dejectedly . The rays of hope were disappearing into the darkness of guilt and duties “We shall talk about it later on.” with those words, Altunia leaned closer and sealed his lips with hers .
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“And this is how, you must aim.” Yakut instructed Rehaan as he taught the boy to aim correctly , complying, Rehaan got hold of the right posture before he hit his target with his dagger precisely, earning a nod and smile of satisfaction from Yakut, though it had been a couple of days since he overheard the mysterious and threatening conversation, Rehaan could not get the things swiped off from his mind, neither did he got a proper opportunity to reveal anything to the Sultan herself, he was afraid too as he knew that Mouizudeen was her half brother, he was uncertain about Razia’s reaction, would she believe him? Perhaps no. He was lost in his thought when he heard footsteps nearing him, looking up, he found the Sultan herself approaching him with a smile “So, I see Yakut is training you really well and with utmost care.”
she commented glancing at Yakut and then back at Rehaan, to which he could only smile back. Yet the conversation was not leaving his mind, pangs of guilt stung his heart, ‘What if they are upto something fatal?’ he thought before he made up his mind to finally confess the truth to her, whatever he heard, whatever would be the repercussions, he could care less “Sultan..I..I have something to tell you, please do not get me wrong, I am just informing you what I heard.” he began reluctantly “Rehaan, you are fee to share anything with me, I am your guardian.” Razia assured him, gently gripping the child’s shoulders “Sultan..I..’ but brfore he could speak further, a guard entered the practice hall and greeted Razia with utmost respect “Sultan, the Subedar of Gjazni, Sultan Nasirudeen Shah along with his wife has arrived in Dilli.”
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Author’s Note-
Finally updated, I know I am updating after almost a month and I am sorry for this inconvenience, but due to my admission issues, I had been wrapped up with loads of forms and works and entrance exams. Please pardon me, I might not be regular this month but by July, I will be updating regularly. Thank you so much for being so patient and empathetic with me.