The Crown in the Storm ✔️

This is getting crazy

The door swung shut softly behind the nurse. The room had been furnished well, with a comfortable set of chairs placed adjacent to the bed. One of the walls had a wallpaper that was an eye catching vibrant pink. I, however, stared at Murad in shock. His face was swollen and he had several cuts on his face. Both of his arms had been fractured and his throat was covered with a white bandage. It was hard to believe that one man had caused such damage. I shuddered to think about what several of them might do. Uncle EJ brushed his hand lightly against mine in a comforting gesture.

"... how, Murad, it's good to see you" I stammered. God Elena, get some self-control. The man seemed to be going through hell.

"Begum Sahiba, Sahib, forgive me, I'm not able to stand..." he croaked out, his voice raspy, pain on his features.

I waved his apology away and Uncle EJ shook his head. "No... please, is there anything we can do to make sure you're comfortable?"

"No... you've been very kind. You were right Begum Sahiba. You were right. It's getting out of hand. I thought it was economic. I thought we could control it..." his eyes were full of panic and grief. He tried to sit up trying to stay upright.
"This isn't the time" Uncle EJ said gently, pushing him back on the bed.
"This is the time... Begum Sahiba, I've decided to resign from politics, my team will be releasing the public statement tomorrow." Shocked silence echoed in the room. I stared at the tiled floor.

"We'll respect your decision, Murad. Thank you for telling us. I hope you'll forward everything that your office has on the city, all the files and reports. I would also appreciate a list of possible candidates and election details." I wrote everything on a piece of paper, folded it and placed it on the side table, next to the flowers we had brought him. He nodded, the relief plain in his eyes.

"Best of luck. Hope you get better soon" I gave him a sad smile. It was heartbreaking to see the expression in his face. He looked devastated but the consolation on his face, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, was palpable.

"Get better soon Murad... it's been a pleasure working with you" Uncle EJ said following me out of the room.

We exited the room to see his wife and daughter waiting outside in the private quarters. They bowed their heads, their eyes wary.
"Please, do not hesitate to call us if you need anything," I said, placing a comforting hand on the wife's arm.
"Justice Begum Sahiba, we need justice,"

On the way back I massaged my forehead. Uncle EJ remained silent, his gaze on the passing architecture.

"Should I accept Ammi Jaan's solution? Should we use Feroze?" I said breaking the silence. He looked at me, his eyes were thoughtful.

"Do you want to?"

"It's not about me anymore... I made a mistake. It's time to face it. He made that mistake too, the blame shouldn't be on me"

"No... it should not" a slight smile played on his lips.

"This family comes first, these people come first. What if they're right, what if we've done something wrong?"

"We have done something wrong, we forgot who we were. All of us"

"Is it normal to second guess? To doubt every decision you make? Everything seemed fine yesterday and now..." the world seemed to be collapsing around me.

"Your father always said, one should always make the best decision according to what's happening. You don't know what will happen in the next hour, days or months..."

"So everything should be left to chance? To hope?" I stared at him in disbelief.

"Isn't everything left to hope? Hope everything will get better? Hope that the decision you've made would turn out right?"

"But probability? We can't ignore reality"

"That's the thing. You can not ignore reality" I stared at him. "A week ago, you used to have panic attacks if and when you heard Feroze's name. Now you're considering the possibility of working with him, for who? For us! For these people. You stood up for what you thought was right. You defied your mother and went out into the city, with a man you met a week ago"

"He told me he used to come to the castle when he was younger. Is that true?"

"You don't believe him?"

"Not entirely..."

" And yet you placed your safety in his hands."

"I had no choice. No one else would take me. Also, he keeps saying how I don't care as much or do not know what a normal person goes through"

"He speaks his mind... how refreshing" my eyes narrowed at his tone. "I had told him to keep an eye on you, that's why he took you out"

"I told him to not tell you" I exclaimed.

"He did not, the guards did. As for his comments... you can always pull your rank and tell him off." I stayed silent at that. "He did come to the castle. A lot of kids did. Why does that bother you?" no idea. I'd rather not dwell on that. "Where is he now Elena? Did you ask him?" I shook my head. "He's your personal guard and you don't know where he is?"

"He's just a guard... I have two with me right now" Zaroon had not even looked at me when I had rushed to the hospital. I had no explanation for his changing moods. I was not going to let him get to me. That's all.

"Just a guard... " Uncle EJ muttered his tone amused, his eyes on his phone. I gave him a surprised look but let it go.

We entered the castle where a very harried Andaleeb led us to the Mirror Room.

"But who's here?" I asked, straightening my clothes. I walked into the room and Izzy came into view. I smiled at his welcoming expression.

"Hey you," he greeted, giving me a brief hug.

"Hi... Who, oh" I stopped dead. A very attractive man stood next to Rania. His grey eyes looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. He was tall, muscular with wavy brown hair. He was dressed casually but oozed charm and style.

"Elena, let me introduce you to Salaar" Salaar gave me a brief bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elena. Izzhaan has told me a lot about you"

"And nothing about you. I seem to be at a disadvantage" He smiled at my reproachful look towards Izzy, his expression open. Uncle EJ stepped forward to greet him and I took the moment to widen my eyes at Rania. She nodded, her eyes wide as well.

"Salaar will be here for a couple of weeks. He wanted to come here for the wedding..." Izzy explained to us.

"But the Andes really have a mind of their own" Salaar interjected. "So I, regretfully, missed the wedding"

"You were in South America?" I asked.

"For the holidays, but I live in London"

"Elena used to be there too" Rania piped up, from the back.

"Used to?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "Home is home"

"Pity, it would have been nice to know that you still lived there" I smiled. Uncle EJ rolled his eyes and excused himself. I dawdled for a bit but decided against standing there and ogling our guest. So I excused myself to visit Ammi Jaan.

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Uh oh...

Salaar: