Talking to the Moon ✔

-Chapter: Twenty-nine -

We had dinner with Prince Omar in his chambers. It was pleasant and the people around us were glad that we had managed to reconcile, but my mind went back to the promise I had made in the stables. I had given him my word and it meant something to me.

Once we were done with dinner, I found myself heading towards the third floor. No one stopped me or asked me any questions, I wondered if that was Omar's doing too. He seemed to always look out for me, even when I did not need him to. I did not why and I did not how I felt about that or him.

There was something about him – something that could not make me hate him. I had judged him as arrogant before but now that I knew him better, I knew he wasn't. There were always two sides to him and it made me confused. Which side was the real Omar? Was it the confident Prince I saw every day or the trembling Omar I saw in the party? How could someone mask their emotions so well? I had tried and I had failed.

He could tolerate everything but he could not tolerate me thinking badly of him. Why? Did I mean something to him more than he let on? Did he mean something to me?

The guards opened the door without questioning me and I was glad. I was tired of having to explain everything to them. But now we had an understanding.

The room was dark as usual but this time the drapes were pulled to the sides. The Monarch was not on his bed. His window had a little extension and he sat on that. His face was illuminated by the moon's radiance. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at him wondering if he had realized I had come.

"You do not talk..." he said quietly and I turned towards him blinking. Did he realize I was mute? How could I respond to him?

"You are the only vision I see that does not talk. You just sit, stare and go. Why?"

He turned fully towards me and I read his eyes. In the few days that I had been around him, I could make out his mood through his eyes. His eyes were very emotive and they helped me.

He did not have the glint in them; his eyes were not moving rapidly. They were dull and tired looking. He was in his normal state right now.

I decided to be bold as I stood up and walked towards him. He just stared at him. I sat opposite to him and touched his arms which he had kept on top of his knees. He was cold and so pale. He looked paler due to the moon too. He blinked at me confused and stared at my hand. He pushed my hand and walked away from me.

"I can harm you." He said.

What was strange of the Monarch was that he remembered everything. In his normal state, he remembered his previous actions and he regretted it. He did not mention but I could see it in his eyes. But at the same time, he knew that he could not control it.

So it was his past as well as the guilt of harming people that ate away his soul pieces by pieces.

"But you do not..." he said almost talking to himself. He gritted his teeth and placed his hand on his head, "you do not make me go crazy."

I just stared at him and then I smiled. I wanted to make him comfortable; I wanted to make him realize that I was a friend and not a foe. I patted on the space opposite to me and glanced at him. I needed to make him trust me. I did not care if he thought of me as a real person or a figment of his imagination. As long as he believed that there was someone there that cared for him, I was glad. I had grown up thinking that the Moon was there to look out for me even when a part of me believed that it could be a figment of my imagination. But my belief overpowered my rational side. Sometimes, you had to overpower that side.

He moved, but not towards me, he walked to his bed and sat on it. I simply shrugged and stared out the window. His window opened towards the back of the palace. I could see the private garden from here and I could see the statue of Queen Iqra. They did not keep it hidden anymore. I never saw the point that. He knew they were dead; protecting him from the truth would not help him.

I had to admire the love that he had for that woman. Was I capable of loving someone in that way? I did not know. I never thought of that before. I just knew that my family would be the only one that I could love and care for. I loved my friends in the palace too but the not the type of love that Qamar had for Iqra or Aqib had for Laia.

"Can you talk? The silence...I hate the silence!" He gritted his teeth and covered his face with his palm. I could see his finger twitch a little but I reminded myself to be calm. I could not help him if I was scared of him.

I walked towards him and removed his hands from his face. He looked at me and then moved backwards yelling at me, "Can you stop touching me!"

I held my hands to my sides and looked at him, then with my right hand's two fingers I pointed at his eyes and then towards me. He blinked at me confused, caught off guard.

But he continued to look at me and that is what I wanted. I placed two fingers on my lips and then shook my head. I waited to see his reaction.

It did not but rather he continued staring at me as if in trance.

I opened my mouth and pointed at my tongue and then wagged my thumb sideways that depicted 'no'.

"You are not a vision..." he finally said.

It was his turn to catch me off guard. After my entire act, he had concluded that?

"No my visions..." he said looking down his left hand hovering over his head, I could see it trembling, "they are people I know or have seen before. I do not know you."

For a man who had been declared insane by everybody, he sure had put some thought into his crazy. Could it be that his rational side was trying to find a logical reason behind his actions? Or try to differentiate between and real or not-real? He knew that he got visions. How many people who suffered the way he did understand that?

Monarch Qamar intrigued me in a way that no one had ever.

I shook my head as an answer to him but he did not see. He seemed lost in his thought.

"I cannot..." I noticed his lower lip trembling and I moved towards the door slightly, "I cannot see her because of you." He looked at me and his eyes were filled with tears. I stopped moving and stared at him confused.

"Ever since you started visiting, I cannot..." he rubbed his face with his hands. He was trembling all over and I did not know what to make of it. Who could he not see? Did he mean his child? I found myself tearing up too and I did not know why. I wiped them away confused.

Did he want to see her? I thought to see her messed up his mind. But then as someone who had lost a loved one. Wouldn't I want to see Imad again if I had the chance? I would like to touch him, hug him, and kiss him. But why Qamar think that this was because of me? Was I really doing something to him? Could it be my powers?

I shook my head. I was simply being silly. I could not think like that.

I did what I thought was best. I reached out to my ear and pulled it down slightly. I was sorry if he thought that he could not see Princess Yusra because of me. I could not help it. He did not look at me as he continued to cry. It was a pitiful sight. The Monarch of the kingdom crying in front of me may be that was the reason why I was tearing up too. My heart went out to this man. He had gone through so much, it was not fair.

He looked at me finally. I did not know if he noticed small gesture or whether he interpreted it correctly. He just shook his head and said, "Just leave."