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❝Once upon a time in Baghdad, a street girl teaches the Khalifa of the kingdom why a king needs a queen.❞
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Started: June 5, 2021.
Completed: March 30, 2022.
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cover by @xniftykayx
featured on wattpad historical fiction, undiscovered...
That's the thing about love they don't understand. It shapes you in its absence too.
— Akif Kichloo
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Him
He holds up her pendant in the air and stares at the name of God glinting in gold. He has kept it hidden with himself, no matter how petty the act might be considered, but happy to have something of her in his hands. And now, she wants it back.
Noura wants to go back home. And she wants him to return to her the gift her father has given her. His lover wants her old life back-- without him.
And though he loves her, he wants to live too. But he doesn't know how to make her understand that a man as mighty as him has come to the mercy of a woman so savage as herself-- she doesn't care about him at all.
He places the pendant on his palm and pecks the name of his Lord.
"Of the two things you've asked of me, I can give you one. But the other will cost me my life, habibti, so forgive me for denying you that."
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Her
It doesn't take long after Eskander's departure for the havoc to break lose. But it doesn't come crashing down all at once. Instead, little by little something new comes up-- something more concerning than the last time.
Noura wakes up to jasmines and a note: Jasmines remind me of you.
She doesn't need to know who it is from. Keeping the flowers, she burns the note to ashes. Next time she goes to the bazar, she'll need to tell him to stop sending her these. They can create a misunderstanding that might very well become a sword at her throat.
But now when Eskander isn't here, he has left behind more guards at her service. She can convince Hafez to her liking, but she cannot trick everyone. And even though they don't follow her around everywhere, they're still there with their eyes on everything. She cannot keep everything from them. Yet still, she doesn't know how the notes are ending in her chamber without anyone's knowledge.
Who is the man? How does he have access to the inside of the palace?
Nothing makes sense to her, and she cannot bring herself to mention it to anyone either. She's alone, on her own, and she's in no position to be taking risks. Besides Eskander now if there's someone she trusts, it's Hafez. Princess Maysoon and Fereydun come later on the list. But this isn't something she looks forward to discussing with any of them. And no one might be able to help her until they know the man themselves.
Then again, any scandal will imperil his life, given she's resident of the palace now. And she doesn't want that.
She's having lunch in her chamber when one of the maids enter the room. She presents a fancy looking box and a letter to her.
