The Rightful Queen

Thirty-nine: Zain

    I had been incredibly busy during the past three days, but I made sure to always make time for Nuriya. She chose me. I still couldn't get over that. She went against her father's wishes and chose me. I would forever be grateful for that. She put me first and I would do the same no matter what.

    That day, I stayed with her until dinner and postponed everything. I didn't want to leave her alone after her father dared to hurt her and I ordered the servant's to transfer all her belongings to one of the chambers on my wing, precisely the chamber right next to mine. I needed her to be close to me.

    Mayan had been spending a lot of time with her, making up for my absence. I didn't want her to be alone. I knew Nuriya liked her space, but I was worried about her. Could you blame me? She even seemed a little shaken up.

    Luckily, I managed to free myself for her. I was planning on proposing to her. As a King, I was supposed to propose in a ball in front of the noble crowd, but I wanted this moment to be private. That was why I planned on taking her to one of my favourite places in Vinadra. I wanted to give her a good proposal. I wanted to give her the world.

    "You still don't want to tell me where you're taking me?" Nuriya wondered as she looked at me. God! She was perfect. Absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't wait until she was mine forever. "Is this the royal version of your adventures?" she smirked, making me laugh.

    "It's a surprise, Nuriya. Can't you wait?" I teased her.

    "Honestly, I'm not a fan of surprises, but I think I can start to love them because of you," she said. I had a feeling that Nuriya had been through a lot, but she chose not to talk about it. I respected her wishes. I was never going to force her to talk about anything. I was going to give her all the time she needed to open up about anything and if she chose to put whatever happened before past her, I would never force her to do otherwise.

    "I promise, you're going to love this surprise," I assured her.

    After a little while, the coach stopped and I got out, then helped her out. I watched as she took in her surroundings. I could tell by the look on her face that she loved the place. We were in the middle of the forest and there was a lake with a waterfall before us. I had always loved this spot.

    "Would you do me the honour and join me on a simple date by the lake, my beautiful lady?" I said with a smile on my face. How could I not smile when she was with me?

    "I would love to." She didn't offer me a smile, she threw herself in my arms instead. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek. "I'm so lucky to have you," she mumbled, her eyes on mine. If only she knew that nobody was as lucky as I was for having her in my life.

    I had already sent a coach with some people to prepare the picnic for us before our arrival. I didn't want to waste any time with preparation when I could be spending it with Nuriya.

    "I love this place," she said as she put her head on my shoulder while we both enjoyed our lunch.

    "I found it when I was fifteen. I was so angry at my father and I wanted to get away from his as much as I could. I took my horse and kept going deeper into the forest, then I found this place." I told her.

    "Were you always on bad terms with your father?" she asked me, taking my hand in hers. Her skin felt so soft against mine.

    "Most of the time."

    "Why?" She lifted her head and looked at me.

    "I was always against his policies and ideas. Nuriya, my father killed an entire family in the name of expanding his own kingdom. How could that be right? You know, the day I found that place, I found him burning the paintings of the whole Orman family and I don't know but I hated seeing him doing that. I knew nothing about them, but it just bugged me to see even the slightest traces of them being erased."

    I remembered how the flames ate up the paintings and I specifically remembered the painting of the princess. It was like her eyes were shooting hatred at me. As if I were responsible for this mess.

    "You are not your father," she said, bringing herself to sit in front of me. "Always remember that," she whispered, placing her hand on my cheek.

    "Promise me something," I told her, bringing her closer to me. She was sitting between my legs.

    "What is it?"

    "If you ever feel that I'm starting to turn into a monster like him, put me in my place. Prevent me from becoming like him, please." I had always had this fear, but I was certain that with Nuriya by my side, she would always keep me grounded.

    "Even though I know this will never happen, I promise I will stop you if I see you turning to be like him," she told me. Instead of thanking her by words, I pulled her into a kiss and I could feel her smiling through it.

    After a little while, the two of us got up from our places and took a small walk around the lake. I wished there was an artist with us at that moment to draw Nuriya. She looked so happy and happiness suited her. It made her more beautiful that she already was.

    "Nuriya, I brought you here to do something important," I told her nervously. Why was I nervous? She was going to say yes. She loved me. She chose me. Yet the moment still felt scary.

    "Which is?" she wondered.

    "Well, I want you to know that you're the best woman I have ever met in my entire life. You'e beautiful inside and out. I'm incredibly lucky that you chose to give me your heart and until my very last breath, I will do my best to always make you feel loved and cherished. When I look at you, I see my soul mate. Taw'am rouhi. I see the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I see in you the partner I have been looking for. I wish to rule my two kingdoms with you by my side, as my equal.

    "I guess what I am trying to say is," I took a deep breath and got on one knee, "will you do me the honour and be my queen?" I spoke as I took my mother's ring out of my pocket.

    I kept my eyes on her face and I could see how stunned she was. Was she not expecting my proposal? I told her more than once that I would make her my queen.

    "Yes! Oh my God, yes!" she exclaimed, placing on hand over her mouth to silence her laugh. Relief washed over me as I took her right hand and placed the ring on her finger. In Vinadra, women wore the proposal ring on their left hand when they were engaged and only when they got married did they move the ring to the left hand.

    I got up and wrapped my arms around her. I kissed her for as long as I could, trying to believe that this woman was mine. Nuriya was mine. I needed no other want but her.

    "I definitely did not expect this," she mumbled as we pulled apart.

    "I wanted to propose to you at my most favourite place," I said, tucking a strand of her soft hair behind her ear. "If you don't like the ring. I can get you another one," I offered although I hoped that she would like it.

    "I love it. It's perfect," she whispered as she looked at it. "Thank you for not proposing at an official event. I love how you made this moment special."

    "Well," I scratched the back of my neck, "I plan on proposing at your birthday ball, because I have to do it at an official event, but I wanted to make it special between us first."

    "That's okay," she smiled at me. "We got to have our own moment at the end of the day." She shrugged.

    Everything felt so right. It was all too good to be true. I should have known though. I should have known that something was always bound to happen. Something had to come out of the blue and ruin my happy moment.

    As the two of us were walking together, I felt Nuriya push me so strongly that I fell to the ground. I didn't understand what happened, but I did understand why she did that when I looked at her and saw her on the ground too with an arrow in her shoulder.

    I understood what it meant to have your world stop at a certain moment.

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Have I ever told you how much I love drama?
Well, you're about to go on a roller coaster! Fasten your seatbelts.
Published on September 3rd, 2022
Sara