An Eid With The Prince

[3] THE THIRTEENTH RULE

The Prince had a new crush on his long list if secret admirers and it was Zarah Ibn Abdul-Rahman. His handsomeness was beyond earth, his perfect jawline made him Italian while the turban on his head told his Arabian Prince part perfectly — through the pictures google offered Zarah, it looked into her eyes. Zarah would pay anything to stare at him, his blue eyes were just irresistibly charming. Her daydreaming was cut abruptly by the ringing of her phone.

It was an incoming video call from Mustaqeem.

She picked the phone up, closing her laptop. "Assalamualaikum." Sarah greeted as soon as she accepted the call, waving at her best friend through the call. Mustaqeem was FaceTiming from somewhere that looked like a study, Zarah could see layers of papers scattered everywhere.

"Hey Zarah!" Mustaqeem waved as well before breaking his smile into a slight frown, "what's wrong with Safeenah?" He inquired as he could her devouring the deep-fried chicken briyani.

"Don't worry, she's okay," Zarah disregarded, frowning at Mustaqeem this time.

"What now?" He inquired, hands raised in the air.

"Why didn't you call?" Zarah said, whining like a babe.

Mustaqeem rolled his eyes, tutting. "I've been busy, have you meet with the Prince?"

"Nope, I haven't," Zarah paused, remembering the Prince's image made her felt insecure, like she wasn't worthy to work beside the Prince. "—To be honest, I don't know what to expect; I am so nervous, what is he like?"

"You don't want to know." Mustaqeem simply answered.

"Why? You're making me scared."

"You'll pass for sure I trust—" His voice broke as soon as he was about to finish, the video call froze, leaving behind a screeching feedback.

"Hello? Hello? Mustaqeem, are you there?" Zarah inquired, waving at the frozen image of him. Swiftly, the call ended, sighing, she sank inside the soft king-size bed. Zarah stared at the ceiling, witnessing the crystal chandelier that was swinging around due to the cold breeze that blew in through the opened window.

Zarah wasn't sure she wanted the job, but Safeenah's happiness came first.

°°°°°

The doorbell chimed continuously, causing Safeenah to wince, wishing it would stop. With a growling stomach, likely indicating indigestion — like her mother had warned, she slipped off the bouncy bed where Zarah slept soundly. Tiptoeing to the door, she turned the knob cautiously. Outside the door, she saw the silhouette of a man through her sleepy eyes.

Safeenah rubbed her sleepy eyes, "uncle Dil?"

"It's Dale." He corrected, playfully pinching Safeenah's chubby cheeks, "Sobahul khayr, where is your mum?" He inquired.

Good morning.

"She is still sleeping — come in." She opened the door for him, "but be quiet, you don't want to wake the mighty yeti." Safeenah joked, giggling as they made their way in.

"Let's be quiet then." Dale advised with a bright smile.

Safeenah entered the bedroom, while Dale stayed behind.  Inside the room, she climbed up the bed and shouted, "ummi, wake up!" Her voice pierced Zarah's ears, causing her eardrum to vibrate against the stapes within.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Zarah exclaimed with a wide yawn. "But I thought the alarm was supposed to ring," she remarked, eyeing the broken alarm clock, which appeared as though she had wrestled with it.