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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...
But his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside her lungs and breathe her blood and be smothered.
— Tim O'Brien
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Him
He's sitting with his parents under a pergola in the garden as his father explains to her mother the need to return to their home, and her mother insisting on staying behind in Baghdad, suggesting he goes without them. They've already overspend their stay here. But it's a home to his mother that the home of his father never had been.
He watches as Noura runs in his direction with his wooden sword, waving at him, her hair a mess as if she has gotten in a tussle with someone, which given her fierce personality he believes she might have.
When she sees his parents there, she stops in her tracks, hesitating on approaching him. His mother notices her and smiles welcomingly at her, motioning her over.
"Come here, darling. What happened to your hair?"
She gingerly comes closer and his mother opens her arms for her. Her timidity dissipates as soon as she steps into them.
"A boy was fighting me for this sword. I fought him back. He pulled me by my braids," she tells the princess.
"How rude." Princess Halah runs her finger through her hair affectionately. "Let us redo your braids, shall we?"
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Her
"Don't create trouble," he continues to whisper, sending a jolt through her. "Unless you want to end up in the dungeon for spying. There are guards on duty here."
The proximity of him to her dismantles her rationality to bits and pieces. Adam keeps her pressed to his chest with his lips against her ear and his hand around her mouth. In the given position, she's barely able to think straight, let alone speak. His body against hers sets her afire. She's not used to this contact-- not so much, not this close.
Noura digs her nails into his wrist in an attempt to get away from him. He hisses, and she can almost imagine the black storm rising in eyes.
"For once, don't be an unruly woman, habibti."
Helpless and trapped in his arms, the only thing she can think of doing is what he had done to her. And without thinking it over, she licks his palm. He nearly jerks behind her but her trick fails as his hand keeps her mouth clamped shut. She grumbles his name in annoyance.
"Don't speak," he warns. "I'll release you, but don't get us caught. Understood?"
She wants to start a war against him as soon as she gets away from him. She wants to jump at his throat and cut off his tongue with her dagger for spoiling Eskander's reputation to the caliph-- for plotting behind her back whilst playing nice. She hates him for making her trust him only to cheat her. But she can do nothing against him, at least not now. So she only nods her head.
