Queen of Persia ✔️

chapter ten

- باران می بارد -
part two: rain

Today, would make the count of twenty days since Parisa married Arman. A lot of things had changed since then. She had told him more stories and finished even more. Neither of them had talked about the incident. There was nothing to talk about. The only thing that hadn't changed was Arman's decision on taking Parisa to the war room.

Over the past few nights, Parisa had a few dreams or nightmares about a pair of familiar eyes. So familiar yet so distant. So beautifully dangerous. Only issue was that she couldn't recognise them. The dream almost felt like a past event that had happened long ago.

Parisa spent the rest of her days with the horrible ladies of the court, Aziz Banu, and Darya. They were her only entertainment. And at night, she spent her midnights with Arman. Nothing about him had changed. He was still the stone-cold Shah, just as before. But at night, he was just a boy ⏤ brilliant, blessed with too much power and burdened for eternity. Every night, he would sit on the same chair, quietly listening to Parisa. Some night he would fall asleep and others he stayed away till the very end. He still hadn't killed her. And he had no intention of killing her. Something within him yelled at her familiar eyes. The same eyes in his dreams.

Today, miraculously, Parisa had seen Arman throughout the day. He was in some sort of military outfit ready to walk into the war room. Curiosity took over her mind and body as she followed him into the room secretly. She silently waited for the guards to walk in, before standing behind the door, looking through the gap. Inside the room, she saw about ten men around a planning table decorated with a map of Persia. On the map, she saw small chess figures resembling the soldiers. Could Afshin be one of those soldiers?

"Jahandar, have you found those men who have escaped?" Arman asked. Parisa's heartbeat began to beat faster and faster.

Thud, thud, thud.

Her mind wandered back to Afshin once again. The thought of losing him to the war made her sick. Could he be one of the escapees?

"No, but we found the identity of two that escaped twenty days ago from the middle camp in the south, although we have no idea what they look like," Jahan answered, "one is a Turkish male, Emir Aslan. And the other is Afshin Dehghan, the son of a merchant who lives in Shiraz⏤" He explained. The rest of his words were a blur to Parisa. She felt her body tilt and her mind darken. Afshin had escaped successfully but they knew his identity. And once they had caught him, they would kill him. She had to do something about it, but her head was dizzy, and her blind was blank.

Slam!

She fell right onto the ground unconscious. The men turned their attention to the door to see Parisa on the ground. Arman turned his head around last but when he saw her like that, on the ground so helpless, he rushed towards her. He quickly picked her up in his arms carrying her towards the nearest room. Parisa could hear him even though she couldn't see him.

"Hold on Janedel, you will be fine, okay?" he was saying to her. This was the first time he had called her something other than her name. Janedel. A name so sweet and loving. So undeserving for a man like him. But she felt a little safer in his arms, her mind was filled with images of Afshin dying. She wasn't going to allow the man she loves fade away like that. Once they arrived at the room, he carefully placed her down onto the bed, calling for the doctor. His voice was filled with worries and his mind troubled. When the doctor arrived, he examined her making sure she was alright.

"She is fine, My Shah," he reassured Arman who was sick worried out of his skin, "she just passed out, she will wake up," he explained again. Arman let out a deep breath of relief before sitting down on the bed, beside her. He observed her and her beautiful face. This was the first time he had been so worried about someone. He almost lost himself when he saw her on the ground like that. Things like this shouldn't be happening to a man like Shah Arman, but at times he just wanted to be Arman, a boy so brilliant.

"You finally did what you wanted to do," he whispered to her, "you should have listened to me azizam. I don't want you to be hurt even if my intention at first was to hurt you. Even a cold heart melts in the right hands," he whispered once more before leaving the room. He commanded Azin to take care of her whilst he was gone. And just like that, a moment ended. Just like everything else.

✸

For weeks, Emir and Afshin ran for their lives, escaping from the troops that were after them. News arrived at their ears that the Chinese Emperor and the Ottoman King wanted to meet the Shah's new wife. They wanted to meet Parisa, and that idea made Afshin's blood boil. The idea of men around, his girl, made his blood rise high.

"Maybe we should attend that party," Emir suggested. It was a solid idea besides the fact that they were not invited.

"They won't let us in," he pointed out.

"My father's friend is attending, maybe we can be his bodyguards?" He suggested again. Suddenly, the idea wasn't bad anymore. It was a solid and doable idea. And so that became the plan. The two of them, began to walk north towards the massive city for the party. Their journey was going to take two days, just in time for the party.

Afshin couldn't wait to see Parisa once more. He couldn't wait to be her saviour. He couldn't wait to save her and kill that monster. He was about take a taste of his own medicine. The only thing he hoped for was for love to not be involved.

"What is Parisa like?" Emir asked curiously. Afshin hadn't told Emir anything about Parisa. He hadn't even told her about Parisa's appearance.

"She is the most beautiful girl in Persia. She is sensitive and naïve, but a woman of power. But that is what scares me the most. Power can hurt her," he explained with a sob buried deep in throat.

"Well, I might just be in love with your Parisa now," Emir joked in all seriousness. If times were different and they were different people Emir saw no problem in marrying a girl like Parisa. Strong and stubborn. The perfect equation for disaster. He loved that. And now Emir couldn't wait to meet Parisa either.

"Trust me, everyone loves her," Afshin said in all seriousness.

"Even the Shah?" Emir questioned but immediately regretted it. Afshin's expression became stern and frustrated. He wasn't a fan of that idea and Emir understood him. Another man loving your girl wasn't the best scenario to imagine. So instead, Emir kept his mouth shut for the rest of the journey.