Acting Royal #Wattys2017

Chapter 35

ZAYN

Zayn and Rafiq sat in a mind numbing silence. They might not have been saying anything out loud, but Zayn could almost hear Rafiq's brain working, and visa versa he was sure.

Rafiq finally made a move to the window, he looked out over the grounds.

"What?" Zayn got up and walked over to see what he was looking at. Out the window, at the other end of the garden, he could just make out the shape of the burnt stables. Why had no one every tore that place down? It had been sealed the day of the accident, boarded up and no one had ever been in there again. When he thought about the months of agony his sister had endured at the hands of the doctors. Cleaning the dead skin away and dressing and redressing her wounds, he could still hear her screams- no amount of pain medication helps, the doctors had said.

"We need to get Jenny home tonight. As soon as it's dark I'll go down there and unlock the doors and we can leave."

Zany nodded. He felt sick just thinking about her down there in prison. He'd been down there as a child once and remembered being terrified. The prisons were dark and cold and hundreds of years old. During the many wars that had wracked this part of the world so long ago, many prisoners had been held there and probably tortured and killed there too.

"And when Amir finds out in the morning?" Zayn asked.

Rafiq shrugged. "We'll tell him we decided to follow his good advice and put her on a plane and send her packing. He's not going to care about her as long as he thinks she doesn't pose a threat. You should be more worried about the Dutchess Sophia. The only thing standing between him and the throne is you marrying her."

"And my dad too."

"Your father is stepping down, I doubt he sees him as a threat, but you... "Rafiq looked at Zayn. "You're going to have to be very careful until we decided how to handle Amir."

"Why can't we just go and tell my father?"

"Think for a moment, Zayn. You have just lied to him in the worst way possible, anything you say now he won't believe. He'll probably think you're trying to get Amir out the way. With Amir out the way, your father has nothing to force you into marrying the duchess and getting rid of Jenny. Besides, your father would never believe it. He's been by your fathers side for years, he stepped in and became the surrogate son while you were gone."

"He'll listen to you." Zayn countered.

Rafiq looked at Zayn and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Not anymore, anyway. The amount of times I've taken your side or stood up for you over the years... your father wouldn't believe a word that came out of my mouth."

"But my mother would."

"Maybe." Rafiq nodded, "She might. But we still need proof. Nothing can be done without proof."

"So there's got to be a way of proving it then! What if I confront Amir, what if I ask him, he may just taunt me with it, knowing I have nothing on him."

Rafiq shook his head. "I'm not sure what one does in a situation like this. I forgot to get my degree in international espionage."

Zayn managed a small smile. "Me too. I forgot to get a degree full stop."

"You didn't forget, Zayn. You just didn't bloody try." Rafiq looked at him meaningfully. "Let's just focus on getting Jenny home and we'll take it from there. But right now we both have to be careful. Especially you."

"And Rana?"

Rafiq nodded. "Possibly."

Zayn thought of Rana all of a sudden. "She hates me right now for lying to her."

"She'll get over it." Rafiq said.

"I have to go down there and speak to Jenny. I can't stand thinking about her down there alone, she must be terrified."

Rafiq shook his head hard. "The best thing you can do for her right now is make sure Amir knows she means nothing to you. If he finds out you were down there... leave her. I know how hard it is, but it's for the best."

Zayn hung his head, "I'm never going to meet anyone like her again, am I?"

Rafiq nodded. "She is one of a kind."

"I'm never going to love anyone again." Zayn looked up at Rafiq and a pair of sympathetic eyes looked back at him.

"Sometimes you only get one chance at love." he said softly.

"Are you speaking from experience?" Zayn asked. "Is that why you won't go on any of the dates I set up for you?"

"Something like that." Rafiq confessed.

"Who is he?" Zayn asked quietly, the mood had turned somewhat somber now.

"He lives here. We were together once, in secret, but it wasn't safe... you know what it's like here. It's not exactly accepted."

Zayn stood up and grabbed Rafiq by the shoulder, "That will be the first thing to go when I'm king. Believe me."

Rafiq smiled and shook his head. "Sweet sentiment, but you won't change the hundreds of years of discrimination inbred into everyone here."

"Well, I can try. Can't I?"

"You're going to be a good king, we just need to make sure you become King." Rafiq said smiling up at Zayn.

"But I'm going to have to marry the dutchess?"

"Unless you want a murderer running the country?" Rafiq stood and faced Zayn. "It's hard. I know. But we cannot all be free to love who we want. That is not everyone's destiny, I'm afraid. It's certainly not ours."

Zayn nodded. He knew that now. He had always known that becoming king would probably mean marrying someone he didn't love, and that would have been fine with him a week ago. But now that he knew what love really felt like, and now that he had met Jenny, the thought of never being able to love her again was torture.

Letting Jenny go today, would be letting go of love... forever.