warrior's heart

chapter 48

Recap

"Ya Sultan, the enemy! The enemy is approaching! They are here!"

Nawfal and the royal household rushed to the source of commotion only to see what they had never seen before. It was fear in the most raw form on Ali's face.

Ali was the commander of a battalion in Nawfal's army.

"Be calm Ali, sit and tell me what it is you saw" Nawfal replied, perfectly masking his emotions with that of calmness, except for the constant rap of his fingers against his side that only marliyyah noticed. She knew her husband was worried, especially after seeing Ali in such as state. The news was definitely an ugly one.

"I had taken ten men with me to stay in hiding and see if the enemy would approach stealthily and try to attack us. As suspected, they did, approach stealthily I mean."

"It is their number......"

"How many?" Nawfal asked, cutting him off.

"Five thousand men divided evenly between foot soldiers and men on horse back."

"Ya Allah" was all Nawfal could say as  Ammati slumped to the ground. They only had a thousand five hundred soldiers in their army.

"They fight under whose command?"

"The Boan king Ya Sultan, Fazil Beig himself".

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Sultan Imran sat in the garden in Misrah with his wife leaning on him as they enjoyed their fruits and the beautiful scenery before them. Everything looked peaceful, only, they could not feel the peace.

"Something is amiss, something is about to go horribly wrong" they both said to each other at the same time.

"You feel it too habibi? Asked Umm Marliyyah, sitting up so she could see her husband's face.

"Yes my darling. There is a cloud of doom that seems to cover everywhere. This is the kind of feeling one gets when war is imminent. Something is not right. Our loved ones need us.

Just then, general Al Basha came and knelt before them. Farouk Al Basha never knelt before the royal couple unless it was for two reasons. The first was during special royal occasions.

The second was to give news of war.

The grim expression on his face confirmed it was the latter.

"Where?" It was the queen that asked.

"Misrah. Fazil Beig is marching at an alarming pace towards them with an army of five thousand men."

"Prepare the men General Al Basha, we match to Misrah immediately.

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In Aswan, Abu and Umm Marwan ran after their flour covered grand daughter Nisreen. She had apparently tried to bake bread, much to the chagrin of the cooks and had ended up a mess of flour.

"Habibti, you will give Aisha a hard time cleaning you up! Please do not run anymore, your poor old grandparents will break their brittle bones trying to get a hold of you!" Said her grand father as he finally picked her up and threw her in the air, having flour all over his face.

"There you are you mischievous angel! Now let's get you cleaned up!" He said. As he was about to hand her to her grand mother, a guard came rushing, visibly shaking. Seeing that, Umm Marwan called Aisha to take Nisreen as Abu Marwan gestured for the guard to sit and take calming breaths.

"What is it man? Why do you look as though you have seen a ghost?!" He asked worried.  Umm Marwan handed him a glass of water that he drank with shaky hands, spilling half the contents of water on his clothes.

"Now, pray tell, what is the matter?" She asked him calmly.

"Your majesty..... Misrah.....fazil beig...... Misrah is under attack by fazil beig. He has a large army with him. Five thousand men!" He half shouted the last part.

"Fetch Othman immediately! Tell Abdullah to get the army ready, we leave for Misrah at dawn."

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"Too much strength in one strike Nawfal Al Fateh" said Marliyyah, as she graciously blocked Nawfal's sword with her own. The sight of her took his breath away and he forgot just for that moment that he was hours away from fighting a war that would without a doubt be bloody.

Her hair looked different, it was now wavy with a shade of red at the tip. It looked as though she had dyed it with henna. And her clothes...... Ya Salam. She wore trousers that were loose except for the ankles that were tight. And then there was that blouse..... She looked like she was ready to set his soul ablaze, perhaps she already did with the way she looked at him.

"Is that so Ya Sheikha?" He asked, feeling excitement course through him at the thought of a duel with her.

"But of course" she said, before she leapt forward with her sword, attacking him. And like that they fought for about an hour until they were flush against one another, their, lost in each other's eyes. In them she saw love, pure and full of strength and she also saw longing. It was however the fear of never getting back to her that made her pull him to herself to make him forget and reassure herself that it was only a warrior's fear.

If only she could believe in that reassurance, for her fear of losing him was now greater in magnitude.

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Fazil Beig sat on his throne in his tent that was as black as the pits of hell. The flag of the Kingdom of Boa stood atop the tent with the emblem of a cobra as evil as the man whose kingdom it represented.

A lazy smile found its way to his face as he picked up his glass of wine.

"I thought you would not be coming" he said, not looking up.

"I would never have disappointed you my lord" said Nalah, as she walked up to him before dropping to her knees, an evil gleam in her eyes.

"Is it done?" He asked.

"Yes my lord."

"Good, we strike at dawn."

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My dearest readers, I am so so so very sorry I haven't updated in months. Believe me when I say I have been so busy I haven't had the time. I'm sorry the chapter is short and perhaps not what you expected. I am trying to build the right atmosphere for war and I promise the next chapter will leave you in maybe tears? #evil snicker#  I would like to use this medium to wish you all a blissful and productive Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak! I would try to put up the next  chapter soon In Sha Allah. Do keep your votes and amazing comments coming. Trust me, I look forward to them. War is upon our beloved Kingdom of Heman! Until next time, Ma'asalam!