Princess of the dawn

Chapter 18

After a night of tossing and turning restlessly and waking up again and again, Jalal woke up with aching limbs. The battle took its toll. He got up heavily and dropped to his knees. With his hands up he prayed in gratitude for the successful outcome of the battle and that he was alive. The guards in front of his tent announced the arrival of Bairam Khan. Jalal stood up and greeted his mentor.

"Subha bakhair Khan Baba."

"Subha bakhair Jalal. How are you?"

"Everything hurts, but otherwise everything is fine." He didn't want to talk to Bairam about the feelings that had come over him the night before.

"Very good my son. Let's do some light sword exercises afterwards. I'll have Abdul fetched."

"Guard, get Abdul here," he called.

"As decided yesterday, we're moving back to Delhi tomorrow. And Jalal ... I didn't have the chance to talk to you about the fight yesterday. You did great! Your father would have been proud of you. All the efforts of the exercises have paid off. You are an excellent fighter. Soon you will be leading your own troop. You were also extraordinarily skilled in the negotiations yesterday. Everyone was enthusiastic about you."

Jalal heard the words of approval, but saw something lurking in his mentor's eyes. He made up his mind to be careful. In future, it will be better to weigh up the decisions and maybe also veto if he does not like something.

At that moment, Abdul entered the tent and Jalal was unable to answer.

"Salaam Abdul, are you all right?" Jalal asked worried. Abdul had a bandage on his left upper arm.

"Salaam Jalal! Everything all right. Just a small scratch. Do we want to do some light exercises?"

"Yes, let's go out."

All three left the tent and under Bairam Khan's instructions and eagle eyes, the two completed some light sword exercises.

After a while, Bairam Khan dismissed the two lads. They went to Jalal's tent and dropped onto a stool, relieved.

"All my bones hurt" wailed Abdul.

"Me too," Jalal replied.

"How did you fare yesterday?" he asked Abdul.

"At first I was honestly afraid to go into battle. I felt totally sick when I saw the enemy men running towards us. But when I saw how you fought bravely, I was able to overcome the feeling and then it got better. You fought as if in a frenzy. I've never seen you like this before. Your opponents didn't stand a chance. You mowed down everyone with your sword who came near you," said Abdul respectfully.

"I don't know what that was either. It just came over me. I simply functioned. I don't know much anymore either. I was actually in a frenzy. I couldn't even think about what was happening." Jalal tried to explain his feelings. He didn't tell Abdul about the odd soothing feeling that briefly had penetrated him during the fight. It now seemed too inexplicable and unreal to him. Did he really felt it?

"It continued during the negotiations. For the first time I was aware of what kind of power I have. Power over life and death. What if I make a wrong decision? That is quite a burden."

Abdul looked at him thoughtfully. "Mhh, you are right. That is not easy."

"And I don't know how to say this... I have a strange feeling about Khan Baba. I'm sure he means well to me. But... " he fell silent.

Abdul's eyes widened in astonishment. „What about Bairam Khan? He is your regent and like a father to you. Without your final approval, he cannot decide anything!"