Inscribed In The Stars

Chapter 6

Harun let the parchment slip from his fingers. His mind met a blank wall. With the confirmation of the Princess's Nikah complete, there was only one thing he had to do, yet he refused to accept it.

He didn't want to but he knew he had to. For the sake of the future of his people and for the sake of his family. He knew what he was signing up for when he ascended the throne. The choice was never his but the responsibility was always his to take.

Follow the opposing choice of your Nafs, he remembered; a phrase he never understood until now.

And so he did.

***

Dalia let out a sigh of relief just as she shut the doors to the twin's chambers behind her. The twins had exhausted her of her energy, with their endless requests, and yet she was still happy to fulfill them, hoping it would distract her mind.

As exhausted as she was from spending the day with them, her heart still felt unsettled, racing at the thought of leaving everything behind in a matter of hours. Diya felt her chest tug as she walked through the emptied palace halls, her melancholy echoing loudly in the slow footsteps she took. Her eyes perused around every little detail, and she smiled to herself wondering how she only appreciated the intricacy of the swirling patterns now after all the years she had spent growing up in the Palace.

Dalia made her way back to the comfort of her room when she halted right outside her doors, fingers twiddling with the amber ring. Her hands came up to her mouth in shock.

Her mother. She had almost forgotten about her mother. Dalia twirled around and hastened for her mother's resting place.

The late queen was buried in her favourite location in the Palace. Dalia reluctantly visited only because it was also her father's favourite place too. The Queen's private garden had been a gift after her birth and of the earliest memories she had, Dalia was always there with her mother and Raysa. They would watch over her as she dashed through the bushes, tripped over her own feet, and fell into the many ponds from leaning in too close. But since her mother's passing, Dalia had only returned once. The void of her mother's presence had been too much to bear so she never visited again.

Night had already blanketed the horizon with its twinkling stars, but lamps had been lit throughout, engulfing the garden in a warm glow. Dalia took a deep breath in and headed into the centre where her mother's body rested under the ornate pagoda. She may have not visited for a while, but Dalia's feet remembered exactly where to go.

To her dismay, she was not alone.

"I suspected you would come to bid farewell to your mother." The King said as he rose from the cushions. His eyes glanced at the amber ring on her finger.

Dalia hovered silently at the foot of the steps, wondering if she should turn back. Her father noticed her reluctance and twisted to face her.

"Come," he motioned, patting the cushion beside him. "Sit with us,"

Dalia almost searched for her father's companion when she understood who the King was referring to. Slowly but surely, she made her way up the steps and sat on the spot her father had indicated, smoothing out her burgundy skirt around her.

The King was dressed in simple attire, as he did during the late hours, but it felt odd to Dalia. For once, the glimmer of silk and jewels could not distract her away from the streaks of silver that ran through his scalp and beard. Dalia caught her gaze from wondering and focused her eyes on the greenery surrounding them, sweet memories forming tears at the corner of her eyes.

She furiously blinked them away.

"I know why you are upset with me," The King started, shattering the silence. "But I have my reasons for sending you there,"