Written In The Scars

Chapter 12

When Haifa awoke the next morning, she was alone. The curtains had been slightly drawn open, allowing the sun to seep in over her eyes. She grimaced at how bright it was before pulling the covers over her head, aching to stay in bed longer.

But today, Haifa was learning to make rosemary cookies with Umm Qassim so she could share the recipe with her family for Kawthar's wedding. If she lay here any longer, she wouldn't be able to get anything done today. With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the bathing room. 

The kitchen was as busy as usual, even after breakfast had been served. Haifa smiled, missing the moments when she, her mum and sister would prepare food together. Now she wouldn't need to, or for the rest of her life.

"Haifa Azeezati, over here!" came a familiar voice to her left. Umm Qassim's wave straight away grabbed her attention and Haifa made her round the back of the kitchen to a less busy space.

"Are you ready to bake?" 

"It's been a while, but I'm sure I haven't lost my skills just yet!" Haifa jeered.

"I've laid out all the ingredients," Umm Qassim explained, pointing to the array of foods perfectly spread across the large stone worktop. "So all we have to do is start baking!"

Haifa hadn't noticed the time fly by, as she enjoyed taking in all the tips for baking the perfect biscuits. The sun had already passed the highest point in the sky, when they took out the biscuits from the stone oven, the sweet smell filling her senses. Despite having lunch whilst waiting for the biscuits to bake, a new set of hunger arose from the sight of the emerald-flecked goodies.

"They look delicious Mashallah!" She exclaimed, placing the hot pan carefully on the cleaned worktop. "Let's see if they taste good," 

Umm Qassim fanned them with a clean cloth, before quickly grabbing for one. The instance a smile formed on her lips, Haifa let out a sigh of relief, then tasted one herself.

Haifa felt proud of this accomplishment.

"They taste amazing, Alhamdulillah! I can't wait to take these to my family," Haifa said just as the Prince came huffing down the stairs to the kitchen. Everyone stopped what they were doing to greet him and the silence caught Haifa's attention. Her eyes drifted towards the Prince who was striking towards them with a panicked look.

***

Abbas removed his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping it would alleviate the banging pain in his head. Any longer and he would start to despise staying here.

"Let us take a short break," he announced to the Ministers across him, removing his glasses and placing the letters down. He was already out of the door before anyone else, breathing in deeply the air of another place that wasn't his Study. The sun still shone high in the sky, granting a beautiful temperature outside. Yet, here he was stuck inside unable to enjoy the weather, still trying to get used to his new role as Commander. Who knew there would be so much detail in the scriptures of previous battle formations. After long hours of staring at words, he longed to be in her company.

Things had been better between him and Haifa since his confession about Junayd.

Abbas walked away from his quarters absent-minded, before coming to a halt at a set of familiar doors. He knocked twice and readied a smile, but the room was empty. After searching around, he strode back out and made for the dining room only to find it empty again.

"Where is my wife?" He asked a servant who he came across.

"I saw Sahiba this morning at breakfast, but of her whereabouts now, I wouldn't know,"