CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

Khai’s words were drowned out as Mazeeda stared at the sight in front of her. She didn’t quite know what she was looking at. There the king was, resting on his side as the palace physician was changing his bandages; the old ones stashed neatly to the side, stained black.

The puncture wound from Sokath’s arrow was visible and it looked as though it did not heal in the slightest. The hole was constantly disappearing as blood flooded out of it and reappearing as the assistants wiped it away.

That did not catch her eye though. It was the color that stained the bandages and rags. The liquid coming out of Khai’s body was too dark to be considered blood. It was black, almost too black if that was ever possible. Maybe in a fool’s eyes it would look like blood, but Mazeeda knew better. She had killed enough animals to know the sight and odor of blood, and this was not it.

“Why do you bleed that color?”

Khai looked at the team of physicians before speaking. “It’s best not to talk about these things right now, my queen.”

Mazeeda nodded.

“Come,” he beckoned, pointing to the chair that was at the head of the bed. “Sit.”

She did.

“YOU MUST BE IN PAIN.”

“Leave that for me to worry, love of my heart.” The Malik gave her a pathetic grin that didn’t reach his brown eyes. A thin sheet of cold sweat coated his entire body as he lifted himself up into a better position. “Fretting about me will do you no good.”

Mazeeda stared at her husband’s bare torso that was wrapped tightly and cleanly around him. “I think I have a right to worry about your well-being, especially since it was my own blood that…”... nearly killed you, she wanted to say, but it sat bitterly in her mouth, and instead said, “...did this to you.”

“Will it put your heart and mind at ease if I told you that I am and will be fine?”

The queen scoffed out a teasing laugh. “And why should I believe those words?”

Khai titled his head, his dark hair sticking to his sweat-covered forehead. “I have never doubted the words that spill out of that mouth of yours since I first met you, do you not agree?”

“What you do and don’t believe is not something I can control over you.” Mazeeda watched her husband raise an eyebrow at her. “It is not my fault for making you believe a tiger can change his stripes.”

“But if you were the one to tell me that, I would believe it so.”

Mazeeda scoffed at his foolish remark. “Have you gone insane?”

The Caliph’s lip quirked up at the corner, his hand playing with the copper bracelet on his wrist. “My insanity is because of you.”

“You’re speaking in tongues, my king,” she said.

Khai barked out a laugh before wincing.

The Malika stood from her seat, leaning onto the bed, concerned and a bit irritated that he could be so careless.

Khai held up a hand. "Once again, I am fine."

Mazeeda sat down slowly, not in the chair, but on the bed. "Who are you trying to convince here?" She raised a sharp eyebrow his way.

"Both of us," he said through the slit of his eyes. Khai looked at her; looked at how relaxed her face was even though he was sure that the emotions in her were the complete opposite. Her lips were set in a straight line, contrary to when they were set on his own. The dress she wore was plain and minimalist, a color of pale green against her sun kissed skin. It clung loosely to her, complimenting her body in a way he had never seen in all the times he'd seen her. She looked liked one of the many paintings in the south wing, all the colors coming together to piece together a masterpiece, even if they lose their colors, its beautiful, all the colors. He was no painter, far from it, but perhaps when the time was right, he could get a painting done to her liking. Khai wondered if she had ever been there yet, if she understood what he was babbling about in his head.

"Your silence is scaring me," Mazeeda said, interrupting his train of thought.

He shook his head, turning his head only so he can see her while his body laid on its back. He noticed how her obsidian hair was growing past her shoulders, almost past her elbow now. Why haven't I noticed sooner? he thought. "Your hair grows quite fast," he voiced, "what do you plan to do with it?"

The Calipha touched her hair, contemplating. "I've been discussing it deeply with Adelah and Nylah. And Sinbad, no less. The twins want me to grow it out so they can design it every which way. Sinbad also wants me to grow it out, but only so he could use it as hair extensions. I didn't quite understand his request, his hair is as long and beautiful as it already is."

The man sighed, rubbing his temples. "Please do not mind him. He's just envious and infatuated with your hair. I advise you not to keep your hair long just for that sailor."

"Of course, but I think I should probably grow it out like I've always done back home. It’s a tradition for the women of Evilla to grow their hair out for prosperity and fertility, for honor and good fortune."

"Love of my heart," Khai spoke softly, hand moving to pull the sheets over his torso. "What is it that you want? I understand why you want to grow out your hair, but do you want to because that's what you really want? Do you want it or do you want it because someone told you to want it because of a tradition?"

"Um…" she hummed out insecurely, something Khai did not know his queen was capable of. He'd always seen her as someone who was always so sure of what to say. Her hands moved back and forth against each other. "It feels wrong to say that I don't know. It's only natural for me to keep my hair long, to stay on the path I've always walked on."

"That changed the moment you took the place of Shazerade as my bride," he stated out rather matter of factly.

"Perhaps that is so. If I do what I want, will I be betraying where I've come from? Will I upset my smallgods?"

Khai looked at the ceiling, sighing. "I too used to be like you, Mazeeda. I too used to believe in my families smallgods naively and blindly; that they were all good and righteous." Slender hands played with the copper bracelet like second nature. "Of course, that all changed one night. What I mean to say is this: what you want is valid, no matter how selfish it is. Do you sit and hide in the bushes for your next prey to come, or do go and search for it?"

His words touched her heart. Although the queen had also seen Khai as her husband and murderer, perhaps he was wiser than he looked. The storyteller looked at her listener and saw that his dark eyes had a far away look to it. She couldn't place what it was. Anger? Regret? Loneliness? Heartbreak?

Fear?

"I will do as I please," the Malika finally decided. "I came to check on you, but I'll be glad to continue the story of Sharik and Leilah."

"Not tonight, love." His voice came out strained. "It'll be best to see your way out as quickly as possible. Also, send in the closest servant my way."

The queen scrambled out of the bed. "Are you in pain? Are you uncomfortable? What do you need? I can help."

"I just need you to listen to me. I'm not in the mood for negotiations or stories tonight, that's all."

"I find that hard to accept."

Khai scoffed. "I expected such an answer. You haven't changed a bit, have you? Will you do as I asked of you?"

"Only if you tell me why."

He turned his head away from the woman. "Expect a long night, is all."

Goosebumps ran up her entire body. "A dangerous one?" Her mind instantly went to the night he tried to slaughter her.

"I can't say for sure. But you must promise me to not come near my chambers until you get word from me." The hand resting on the bracelet clenched around it.

"How long will that be?" Mazeeda eyed his movement.

"Never long, but I pray you know better than to hold those expectations to heart."

AS THE DOOR CLOSED WITH a thud, Khai sighed, closing his eyes in pain and disbelief. He barely managed to push such an excruciating feeling to the back of his mind while talking to Mazeeda. He finally let himself break into a sweat and groaned out into his empty room.

"Dammit," he cursed out harshly, hand clenching the sheets, ready to pull it away.

"You called for me, sir?"

Khai looked across the room to find a middle-aged mam in his presence. Her sighed. "Yes. Please bring me Amon as quickly as possible."

"Understood." The man left as quickly as he came.

Knowing there was no prying eyes, Khai lifted the blanket up, the fear growing inside him confirmed. He had not stopped bleeding and the blood stained bandages were proof of that.

His wound had no complications as of two days ago, but ever since this morning, he had woken up to his bandages soaked in his blood. The stitches sewed in him didn't seem to stop it either. Khai began to fear for the worst, something he never felt since three years ago.

"Why is this happening?"

|AUTHOR'S NOTE|

hey hey hey. i am so sorry for making you guys wait this long for a chapter that was just dialogue between khai and mazeeda.

i wanted it to get out there that i recently just started my first semester of college, so i'm trying to get the groove of things down. with that said, i will publish a chapter once a month (or more if i have a three day weekend like this one or if i'm on break). ofc, things are subject to change. i want to be able to give you more chapters as the school year goes on and i get the hang of things.

thanks you so much for hanging in there with me. *insert hang in there cat poster*

see you all nexttime!