Ammi Jaan rushed towards me, were those tears in her eyes? She engulfed me in her arms, a controlled sob breaking out of her. I stood there stunned. Uncle Azhar broke protocol to embrace his son, who looked equally if not more shocked then I did.
Aunt Mamo started to lead Feroze and her grandson inside the house. The boy looked at me curiously but did not say a word. He was Feroze through and through. The same brown eyes and floppy hair. He even had his mischievous smile. He walked into the house with one arm around his father's leg and the other around a teddy bear.
"Come, Ehsan, Izzy, and Rania are worried sick" she started to lead me in and I turned back to look at Zaroon. He gave me a reassuring look and I followed Ammi Jaan into the house.
Uncle Ehsan, Izzy, Rania, Hania, Salaar and Hussein all descended on me as soon as I reached the foyer. All of them expressed their relief in seeing me arrive safely in one piece. Salaar and Hussein then both left to find Zaroon.
"And how are you, Uncle EJ?" I asked him, once the initial inquiries had been done with.
"I'm okay... knocked my arm against the railing. It's fine" he said showing me his cast. I grimaced at his pain.
"Are you okay honey?" Ammi Jaan asked. I nodded.
"Zaroon knocked me to the side, so I didn't get the brunt of it" now that I thought about it, how did he know? His sixth sense?
"Told you he's good" I blushed at Uncle EJ's words. Rania put her arm around me. Her whole body was shaking.
"I'm okay, baby..." I soothed her, running a comforting hand through her hair.
"You better be, because I don't want to be left alone, in charge of this dump. Only you could do that" all of us started to laugh at that.
"I guess I should ask after Feroze, now that I know you're okay" Ammi Jaan muttered.
"Why is Aunt Mamo here?"
"As soon as she heard the news, she couldn't stay away. She grabbed her grandson and flew here" Hania answered her hand around Izzy's waist. I nodded. Poor sweet naive Hania.
She had run to save her life. She also had a bargaining chip in her hand. If Feroze had died, she would have had Naila's son with her. One of her sons was handling the family business abroad, while the second one was in charge of the family lands. She would have to have Gulzar Mahal's support to have some political standing or clout.
Politics really was a dirty game.
We made our way into the library, where Feroze was being berated by his mother. Honestly, this was the most surreal thing I had seen in my life. Feroze stood there with his head bowed, listening to his mothers' lecture while his son played on the carpet.
"Enough Maimoona, he's been through quite a lot already. Let the boy sit" Aunt Mamo paused and sighed.
"You're right Noor, I am being hard on him. But I could have lost him today"
"We could have lost both of them today" Ammi Jaan corrected, her hand on mine. Aunt Mamo blinked. "My daughter was there because of your son. The least you could do is to show some courtesy and ask after her" I bit my lip to stop a laugh from escaping.
I could sense Rania's joy from beside me. I did not dare to look at her for the fear that I might burst out laughing. Ammi Jaan adored Aunt Mamo, so for her to call her out on her crap was hilarious. Aunt Mamos face went red.
"Of course. I must have forgotten in the state of things... how are you, Elena?"
"I've been better" I replied trying to keep the amusement out of my voice.
"I suppose the Captain is somewhat capable after all"
"Major" I ground out.
"Isn't that what I said?" A serpentine smile snaked across her lips. I bristled at her tone.
"Truly. Who could ever doubt your words" her eyes narrowed.
"Enough... Where's Danial?" Feroze said.
"In the suite... Hassan honey, why don't you go to your room?" Aunt Mamo replied. Hassan got up, gave us a small wave and then ran out of the room.
"He's a shy boy" Feroze answered at my questioning look. Aunt Mamo walked to the phone and dialed for Danial.
"Please, make yourself at home," I said moving towards the couch. Aunt Mamo turned red. Feroze rolled his eyes and I saw Izzy and Hania slink out of the room. Rania came and sat next to me. "Feroze, you should sit down. How's the leg?"
"I'll get it checked tomorrow"
"Elena...there's a crowd of people headed to the castle." Uncle EJ stated, looking up from his phone. Alarm zipped through me.
"To register their support..."Rania said scrolling through her phone. "They want to see you and Feroze" I looked at Feroze. He had a smug look in his eyes.
"Looks like we might have won after all. The south has spoken" he said sitting beside me. I looked up at him and smiled. "Whatever they tried to do? It backfired, spectacularly. Thanks to..." the door opened and Zaroon strode into the room. His eyes swept over us, Aunt Mamo standing near the desk as Ammi Jaan sat behind the desk, on her seat. Feroze, Rania and I were sitting on the same couch, while Uncle EJ reclined on the armchair. We made quite a picture.
"You called?" he asked Uncle EJ. As soon as he uttered those words, Danial burst into the room.
"Ah, the man of the hour! Major Zaroon saved the day. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Danial, this is our center now. We will run the campaign from here, we've only got a few cities left, but it's time we show our base"
"Uh, excuse me" I interrupted Feroze. Every single person in the room had their mouth open at his announcement. "Intrusion much?"
"It makes sense," he said, crossing his arms.
"You can't just expect to stay and run your campaign from here" he huffed and my blood pressure spiked. "You're using us."
"You used me. How is this different. We are family after all. Gulzar's family"
"Fine, that means I am the heir. Are you prepared to concede that? I will be the head of the family" silence echoed in the room. His eyes flashed. I knew what he was thinking. I was his superior. A smirk came over my lips and I saw Feroze bristle.
"That's outrageous. She's a girl. She can not inherit the title" Aunt Mamo shrieked. Apparently, she had the same thought process as her son.
"Actually, she can," Uncle EJ answered. "It's hers by birth"
"Whoever she gets married to gets the title. This has never been done before"
"You're wrong, again. Honestly Maimoona, I would expect you to know your family history" Ammi Jaan said calmly. "Elena will not be the first to inherit the title'
"Rani Noor got the title during a war. Those were different circumstances. The other leaders of the south would never agree, this is encouraging descent."
"If they want to strike back and reclaim their place, they will. The two most powerful members of the family were attacked today. Who's to say they won't be next?" Uncle EJ interjected. "Elena is their best bet. Their only bet"
"We have other heirs. Sons" I looked around the room. Feroze was red in the face. Rania looked like she wanted to punch him, Zaroon had his jaw clenched and Danial looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. The trio stared at each other, their hostility visible. "Ehsan, you're the next in line"
"I am not Maimoona. I gave up my right when Elena was born. Her father had it changed in the will. You could verify it from the law ministry. Elena is the one and true heir of Gulzar Mahal. She is now the head of the family. Noor was the acting head, it is time for Elena to assume her place, formally" I stared at Uncle EJ. He had given up his right for me? Abba had it written in the will?
"This does not make sense. Who will she marry? What about the title then?"
"Goes to her children"
"If I know anything Mother, the title will remain here since the person she wants to marry doesn't have any" Feroze said darkly. Zaroon's gaze sharpened and I blushed.
"Not for the first time" I snapped and he glared back at me. I thought about the knife Zaroon had given me. Maybe now would be the right time to use it.
"What? Who is he talking about Noor?" Ammi Jaan gave Aunt Mamo a cool look.
"That's neither your or your sons business"
"Isn't there a crowd headed towards the castle?" Rania piped up. "We need to figure that out people, like pronto"
"Open the gates," I said. A chorus of protests echoed in the room. I looked at Zaroon. "I want snipers on the walls. I want extreme vigilance... but we'll let them in. It will be as it was during my Grandfather's time" he stared at me. "Please" I mouthed. He nodded and went out of the room.
"Are you insane?" Feroze said. I whipped my head to look at him.
"What, are you scared?"
"Yes," he said unabashedly. I laughed.
"Are you sure about this Elena?" Ammi Jaan asked, her gaze steady. I nodded.
"How do you want the balcony?" Rania said, typing away furiously. "We can have the tall vases from the foyer moved there"
"That's a good idea," Daniyal said coming to terms with what was happening. "Sir, you'll need to clean up" Feroze gave me a dark look. "Then you and Begum Sahiba can make an entrance in precisely 45 mins"
"You're crazy," he said just as he and his mother walked out the door. I ignored his words and focused on Rania.
"This is our power show. Make it an elegant one." she nodded excitedly and ran out. I sighed and lay down on the couch, trying to rest my neck.
"I'm proud of you honey," Ammi Jaan said getting up. "Go to your room. I'll go and help Rania with the details. We also need to get you cleaned up. What are you wearing?" I laughed at her wrinkled nose.
"Someone was very kind to me"
"And I will hear about it once this is over" and she too walked out of the room, leaving Uncle EJ and me in the room.
"Bold move," he said. I got up and looked at him.
"I learned from the best"
"You really are growing up and on your birthday too," he said as we started towards my room. I gave a short laugh. "What happened?" and I told him everything, from the attack to Mrs. Akram. "Hate to say it but Feroze is right. They could still be out to kill you and Naila's absence suggests that something is wrong"
"Everything is too clean... too systematic when it comes to the New Revolutionaries. That's not how urban revolutions work. There is someone powerful, someone influential behind all of this. We're grasping at the edges. They're always one step ahead, with the police, with everything."
"You're right but we can't count the anger and disappointment out"
"True" I gingerly, sat down on my bed. "But I feel this is the right thing to do. A leader has to work on instinct right?"
"And some good sense" we both laughed at that. "Get some rest... it's going to be a tough couple of days"
"Or years"
"Or years" he acknowledged and walked out of the room. I opened my bedside drawer and took out the knife Zaroon had given me. I ran my finger over the engraving on the handle.
'Fight'