"So you're telling me that Aunt Mamo feels there's a conspiracy against Feroze?" I asked, my brow furrowed in disbelief.
"What if all of this is connected? Think about it, Elena" she said, her eyes wide.
"That someone planted false reports, downplaying what was going on in the city? Started a revolutionary campaign, tried to assassinate you, injured Murad and is now after our public image?" this whole thing sounded insane.
"Yes..."
"But for what? I keep saying we have nothing to do with this and every single time, we end up having something to do with it"
"She thinks... she says it's Naila's father" she whispered, her eyes darting towards the door. I frowned at her paranoia. This assumption was dangerously close to what Rania and I had discussed during the wedding. "That's why Feroze will be coming here on his own"
"To ask for what? Our support?" why oh why did I fall for someone in the family?
"To stand against her father"
"He's not even Prime Minister and he's aiming to form alliances"
"Naila was never the charmer... they always needed Feroze to go out and convince the public. And you know our society, it's more convincing when a man does it" she twisted her mouth as if she had tasted something bitter.
"True. I'm already being labelled as characterless because I lived and worked abroad."
"I was afraid of that. But your father and uncle did not listen to me. It's different for a woman. They understand it but they can never comprehend it because they have never experienced it. I had to keep your Uncle close after your father's death... many wouldn't listen to me. His presence helped change their minds. Everything became a lot easier."
"I'm sorry..."
"No need to be sorry. Both of you have to be prepared for what's to come. After I die, your uncle can guide you but what about when he's gone? What will happen to us? How will we fight? We're more helpless than the average woman on the street"
"We will have our titles, our money, our land" I argued.
"Will we? The moment they decide to storm the castle, what can we do? Power lies where people want it to. The moment they decide to shift it somewhere else... it's over" I stared at her, feeling insecure.
"Will it always be a man's world...? I'm the heir to this place and I feel helpless right now. They can think of any accusation against me and that would be it. Men are charged and convicted for far worse and they roam around waving and posing with victory signs" I said, sitting down on the rug. This week was turning out to be the worst and it was still Monday.
"We have to be tough. We have to fight. We can never lose hope. We brought in Izzy to make sure that you girls would have someone to support you" I looked at her in shock.
"Brought him?"
"He lost his parents at a young age" she stated, looking at her hands.
"I know that... his parents were your friends"
"It's a little more than that. Why do you think your Uncle EJ never got married?" well, that was an odd question.
"I don't know... he never found someone?" which seemed strange because I had seen the way women looked at him. Uncle EJ had always laughed it off when we were kids and we had not bothered to ask him when we grew up.
"He was in love with Izzy's mother. Yes, " she confirmed at my shocked expression.
"How... does Izzy know?"
"No... no one but you. Your father was the one who suggested that Izzy should be raised with the two of you. I agreed because we knew that you needed a brother. Someone to look after the two of you. Izzy was the perfect solution since he had no claim to Gulzar Mahal and he would always put the two of you first" she ran her hand through my hair.
They were planning even then. Always planning the next move, putting the pieces in place.
"But... Uncle EJ?"
"Uncle EJ was overjoyed that he could raise the kid as his own." I placed my head on her lap.
"What happened... why did she reject him?"
"She fell in love with someone else and married him" Woah. No wonder Uncle EJ was so understanding about my situation with Feroze. He knew what it felt like to have your heartbroken. To have it shattered by the person you thought would protect it.
"Why didn't you tell Izzy?"
"Tell him what? That his adopted Uncle was in love with his mother? He's been loved all the same. It'll only confuse him. He is here because we love him."
"And for us"
"That was an added bonus"
"He's a person. He shouldn't have to bear this responsibility without knowing about it"
"We all bear responsibilities without knowing about them... don't make this into a big issue Elena. Just because he can be of use does not mean we don't love him"
"Of use..." I said bitterly. As much as my heart recoiled at that notion, the pragmatic side of me agreed with her statement. We would need him.
Later that day, I sat alone in my room. There was so much that was being thrown at me I was having a hard time processing it all of it. Tired of looking at the same walls, I went out for a walk in the gardens. The guards followed me out and stood around the parameter.
Aunt Mamo could be right. Naila's father was known to be manipulative, but for his own son in law? Would he undermine him? The only reason would be to make sure that Feroze would do as he said. What were they afraid of? What was he planning to do that scared them? The only reason you'd want to control someone would be because you knew they'd get out of your control.
As for the south... could he be behind all of that too? Or were the reasons genuine and the movement was indigenous? Could it be both? We had provided them with an excuse. Our messages to the other family's of the south had been dispatched. At least they had been warned even if they believed this would not affect them.
I sat on the bench and pulled out my notebook and started to sketch it out. The revolutionaries were talking about us being elitists, good for nothing. That sounded similar to what Zaroon had said. I may be out of touch but I was by no means an elitist. How would I get that out to the people? The second problem related to this issue... Murad. I wrote his name with a heavy heart. I had never liked the man but I would have never had him suffer the way that he did. His family was demanding justice and there was the case of the unoccupied seat. We also had a possible traitor in the interim government. I still had to find out who had authorized the work on Friday.
Making my notes, I looked at the connections. I had a lot of questions and possible theories but no answers. I needed to go find someone I could trust to infiltrate the group...
"I hope I'm not interrupting... "I came to my surroundings. Salaar stood to the side of the gazebo, his face amused.
"Not at all. Please, have a seat," I said gesturing for him to sit. He chose to sit next to me.
"You seemed to be deep in thought," he said pointing to my notebook. I laughed lightly, placing the book on the bench.
"Habit." I tried to stop staring at his face. Why was he so attractive?
"This is a lovely place. So peaceful"
"Yeah... it's one of my favourite spots in the garden" I replied looking around fondly.
"Izzhaan gave me a tour of the castle. It's amazing. You guys live in such a historical place" I smiled at the praise.
"We are lucky. Gulzar Mahal is beautiful. You should see the city, it's even more impressive"
"You could show me" I stared at him. "Too forward?" he joked.
"Haha, slightly" he rubbed the back of his head embarrassed "but then I feel this is your first misstep?"
"You'd be wrong. I do fall into a stammering pattern when I see a pretty girl" he smiled in an aww-shucks way and I laughed.
"Somehow, I don't believe a word of that sentence" he laughed his voice echoing in the garden.
"But, what do you say? Show me around the city? We'll make a day out of it. Izzhaan says you know the place well" Izzy the not so sneaky matchmaker.
"Begum Sahiba" I jumped at the voice. Zaroon stood at the front of the gazebo, his eyes hard.
"Yes?"
"Who's that?" Salaar muttered.
"Your mother wants you to dine with the family"
"This is Major Zaroon... he's head of security," I think. Also, my personal guard.
"And he came to tell you this?" Salaar echoed the question in my head and relaxed on the bench.
"Yes, where is Andaleeb? Or Alia?"
"I'm also her personal guard," Zaroon said, his hands behind his back.
"I also saw a bunch of guards posted around the garden. Wait, are you under lock and key?" he whispered.
"Worse," I whispered back.
"Can't escape for a second huh?" he teased, his eyes twinkling. I smiled at his teasing. It felt nice to just relax.
"Come on. You must be starving," I said getting up.
"Your notebook," he said getting up with me. I thanked him and we walked to the dining hall together, with Zaroon trailing behind us.
"So you've traveled a lot?"Ammi Jaan asked Salaar. He nodded.
"80 countries" he answered. We were all seated at the dinner table, having dinner. Salaar was entertaining us with stories from his traveling days.
"Which one's your favorite?"
"Ah... I would say, Turkey. It's a beautiful country and Istanbul, ah what a city!"
"I know! The Hagia Sofia? Beautiful" I said reaching for some biryani.
"Exactly" he agreed to give me an approving look. "But Italy is a close second" and we all nodded in a collective agreement.
"Have you asked Elena about the trip to the city? I've heard she knows it quite well" Izzy said, giving me a warm look. Both Rania and I coughed.
"Are you okay?" Ammi and Hania said at the same time.
"Yes, yes, fine" I wheezed out.
"Izzy you know the city quite well. Why don't you and Hania show Salaar your parent's house and our favorite spots? I'm sure we'll join you" Rania said, hiding her face behind her napkin.
After some encouragement from Uncle EJ and a kick from me, Izzy agreed. Salaar was a good sport and did not push the topic any longer. After dinner, we moved to the mirror room, it was the most personal formal sitting area in the castle. Everyone was served coffee and desserts and we all settled down to talk about our day. Izzy and Salaar were arguing about which mountain range was better for hiking. Ammi Jaan and Hania were talking about the newest trend on Twitter. Uncle EJ was on his phone.
"You need to work on our statement regarding Murads departure, tomorrow," I told Rania once I was done explaining everything to her.
"Yeah, I have it under control" she replied, typing on her phone. "What's up with Zaroon?"
"What do you mean?"
"This morning, the two of you seemed very cozy..."
"If by cozy you mean at each other's throats then yes" she smiled at my snappy tone.
"He seemed pretty upset when you came in"
"That's his permanent expression"
"True...have you ever seen him smile?" I had. Several times. I still had no idea what to make of it. "What's his deal anyway?"Rania asked shoving some of the molten lava cake in her mouth.
"His deal is that he lost his mother at a very young age and was enrolled in the military because his father couldn't take care of him"
Both of us turned to see Uncle EJ looking at us with a very disappointed expression on his face.
"Yikes" Rania muttered looking at the ground.
"How young?" I asked. He had lost his mother and his father had not cared for him. That had to mess you up.
"He was ten," Uncle EJ said, his voice low. We both stared at him in shock. Poor Zaroon. Poor Uncle Azhar.
"I didn't know. I, crap" Rania nodded at my words.
"Language Eli. Haven't I told you to not judge people?"
"Uh Uncle EJ, you're doing that with Salaar" Rania interjected. I choked on a laugh. Uncle EJ did not care for Salaar, at all.
"That's different"
"Same game, different name" I countered.
He gave me an irritated look. Smiling, I placed a kiss on his cheek and excused myself. Tired from the weight of all the information that had been dumped on me today, I trudged to my room. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
"Hey" a voice muttered from the bottom of the staircase.
"Hi" I replied surprised. I looked at Zaroon intently. "Are you okay? You don't look too great" He looked tired and haggard.
"Thank you, you really do know how to make a person feel better," he said his eyebrows slanting together, a smile playing on his lips. I sighed. Must everything be a fight with him?
"You're also surlier than usual" he shrugged not meeting my eyes. I stood there awkwardly, wondering if I should walk away. I thought we had a truce.
"How is Murad?" He asked after a minute.
"Bad" he stared at me. "He looked awful. I feel horrible." he nodded, rubbing the back of his head.
We stood there awkwardly. I didn't know what else to say to him. Do I say something else? Should I leave? There was a strangeness in the air and I was hyper-aware of my surroundings.
"Well then... I should go to my room now"
"I'll escort you" I nodded and we started to walk. My head was reeling from a million different things and the man walking next to me was at the forefront of all of them.
"So... long day tomorrow?" He asked.
"Yes, I have to start preparing for Ferozeuddin"
"Will he be staying here?"
"Most definitely"
"You seem very sure about him"
"He's family"
"Family you wanted to avoid" I rolled my eyes.
"I also wanted to avoid staying here and yet here we are" and indeed, here we were.
"Wait... " I turned to look at him. "I know I say a lot of things that are..."
"Infuriating, annoying?" I supplied helpfully. He sighed.
"Only to you. No one has ever said that to me"
"There it is again" We had finally, reached my room.
"It's just, that you..." and then he paused.
"I?" I prodded.
"You listen. You don't dismiss something just because of who's saying it. I know you say you don't want to hear it..." He looked up, his eyes earnest and open."But I saw you that day in the market, you do care" Well, this was unexpected. His gaze lowered to meet mine and his voice deepened. "You're playing a very dangerous game Begum Sahiba"
I felt goosebumps erupt on my arms. I tipped my head to look at him. The prolonged eye contact was making my cheeks flush.
"What game?" I whispered. His throat bobbed and he looked at me, straight in the eyes. He leaned in and then lowered his head. We stood there, outside my door, our heads inclined intimately towards each other.
"You let me hope" I heaved in a breath. Oxygen, I needed oxygen. I broke the eye contact and nodded. He stepped back and ran a shaky hand through his hair, a tinge of red on his cheeks. Slowly, he bowed his head, paused, turned around and gave me a very small and a very cautious smile.
That damn smile. I was in trouble.
***********************************************************************************************