"people are afraid of the truth and so they're most fearful of the dark - afra."
Afra's heart stopped at the moment the large chandelier struck the floor and crashed into the smallest of pieces spreading like a wild fire . The impact was so powerful and intense that she could feel the floor beneath her vibrate a little .
"SULAAYMAAN !"
Her head began to spin and her ears closed for a few minutes . Once the shock of that had died down and she relaxed relatively , her knees stopped wobbling . Another few minutes passed and realization of what had occured struck to her like a thunderstorm .
Afra shot up from her position and stared at the ground , panicking . There were the smallest pieces of glass shining against the floor and the ordeal was demanding her quick thinking and action .
Her eyes swiftly moved across the mess and fell over the triplets huddled close together , crying loudly and jolting with every small noise that followed .
"Girls , girls , please don't cry Habibtis . Just stay there ."
She violently swung her arms about , hoping that the girls would hear her out and calm themselves down because she felt herself get more panicky everytime their cries echoed .
She fisted her abaya and jumped across the floor to where Sulaaymaan had stood a few minutes prior to the accident , ignoring the girls .
At the moment he required attention because he was hardly seen .
From her peripheral vision , she could make out the triplets huddled close together shaking with fear and their eyes stuck to the floor .
She shook her head and focused on looking for Sulaaymaan .
Tiptoeing with attentiveness , she ignored the tears splurging her vision and tearing apart her heart .
Sulaaymaan was seen no where and what if he was huddled under the large body of the chandelier ?
The thought pricked her even more and she bit her lip hard to prevent the quivering of her lips .
"Sulaaymaan ?"
"Sulaaymaan ?"
She moved seamlessly without caring about the glass . If at all anything did end up happening , it'd be that she'd get pricked by a thousand pieces of glass .
And that was fine .
Very fine .
"Sulaaymaan , please ?"
She softly begged and turned her head around everywhere to see if she could make his figure out .
A few minutes of agonized silence passed and Afra dropped to the ground , rested her head on her knees and sobbed heavily .
"You Idiot , you should have let me get hurt . I hate you so much ."
She hadn't even deciphered the events going on around her and he had already jumped into action , trying to protect her . Who in their right mind would do that ?
What would leave her with nothing but a few scars , could have turned out to be life threatening for him .
Seconds and minutes passed by and Afra's sobs only got heavier .
"Sulaaymaan ? Afra ? I heard you kids comeback . Look I made some basbousa . And by the way , what was the loud sou â "
As Queen Basmah entered the living room , she gasped loudly and the tray in her hands fell to the floor , spluttering the sweet dish and drinks .
She stood shaking in her place until the Triplets started to call out for her . With slow and heavy steps , she walked closer to the girls and enveloped them in a large bear hug .
"Ya Allah ! Sulaaymaan and Afra ."
She softly hushed the girls down while looking out for Sulaaymaan and Afra who weren't visible . After her watery eyes searched the place with no avail , she gently pulled the shaken girls and got them seated at a corner .
"Afra ? Sulaaymaan ?"
She danced and hopped from foot to foot , trying to not shudder too much with worry and take control of the situation as a responsible adult .
"Queen Basmah ? Your highness , I'm alright . Check for Sulaaymaan please ."
She instantly reacted to the sound with a few tears and an audible relived gasp , before jogging towards the voice .
"Afra ! HABIBTI , WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE ?!"
Afra got up shakily , her head spinning harder and her breath shaky .
"Ya Allah ! Habibti.....â"
Afra swallowed and licked her dry lips . Visible from a corner of her black abaya , was a piece of a crooked glass shred that was pierced into her skin . Blood kept gushing from her cut , making the Queen reach out and grasp her by her waist carefully .
"Habibti , how did this happen ?"
Afra smiled weakly , the pain too much to bother speaking .
"Su... laa...ymaan â"
And before she could complete she crumpled to the floor .
"Ya Allah ! Afra , Habibti !"
The Queen helped Afra to a side and after blinking away the tears of helplessness , lay a kiss on Afra's head , made sure to pull her to a safer corner and went in search of Sulaaymaan .
"Sulaaymaan !"
"Habibi , please , give me an indication ."
She could feel her tears flow down her eyes . Afra had already lost too much blood . And Sulaaymaan wasn't seen .
"Ya Allah , my children . Ya Allah , please protect my children . Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raaaji'oon ."
With her mouth muttering the prayers under her breath , she searched for Sulaaymaan having faith in her almighty's will .
Twenty minutes later , she gasped at the sight that lay in front of her vision .
Sulaaymaan was huddled up in the left , invisible area of the staircase . She didn't know how to got up to that part that lay about a few steps away from the chandelier , but the feeling that enveloped her heart made her break down into louder sobs .
"Ya Allah ! Alhumdulillahi rabbil aa'lameen ."
She controlled her cries and swiftly moved to his aid . He was sitting against the wall supporting his left arm .
Large pieces of glass were embedded deep into his skin and when he attempted to move , his face scrunched up painfully and tears collected into his eyes .
She ducked down on her feet and carefully patted his cheeks . Faint spots of blood covered him from head to toe .
"SULAAYMAAN ! HABIBTI , HO....W.....WHâ AAT..... SULAAYMAAN...... MY â "
He tried smiling and took her hand in his , caressing it with his thumb .
"Alhumdulillah , I'm alive and safe mama . Please can you find Afra for me ?"
Basmah blinked with tears at him .
"H....o..w â "
"Mama ?"
Sulaaymaan softly called out , though he could barely manage each word out without wincing .
"Mama , please . I'll tell you everything but not right now. Please call an ambulance and search for Afra ."
Queen Basmah quickly shot up in her place , suddenly blown away by the fact that he was bleeding heavily and Afra was unconscious .
After brushing her tears away , she pulled her phone out from the pocket of his thoub and notified a nearby hospital of the condition . Once that was set up , she glided across the place to where Afra lay .
She couldn't believe something like that had occured within a matter of moments . So many accidents were taking place and she had not cared to give it much thought .
How careless of her !
She found Afra sprawled in a corner , and instantly ran to her . Getting down on her knees , she pulled Afra's head into her lap and recited different prayers without rest .
Afra moaned softly and Queen Basmah immediately started to search for something to ease her pain for a few moments .
It was not possible to fetch a glass of water and neither would it be appropriate to ask the triplets to carry on the task .
With a heavy heart , she continued muttering prayers and shook back and forth to help her stay calm .
She took both of Afra's wrists and rubbed them simultaneously with hers . Afra was breathing and was alive , yet the occurrences hadn't sunk very well into her . And she seemed to not be able to overcome the terrible incident .
She diverted her gaze over to where the girls had been kept earlier and sighed heavily .
It took a few more minutes until the sirens from the ambulance were heard . Although the task was hard and risky , she had to sit by Afra's side and order the girls to open the door and guide the paramedics through the gate .
"No , Kat don't jump â girls , don't hop around . It's broken glass for Allah's sake . And Jazz â no , you can't swing like Tarzan Dandelion . There's glass all over ."
After what felt like twenty minutes , the girls had officially reached the door . The Queen sighed and fell on the ground with relief .
She stood up a minute later after hearing loud and clear chattering followed by visualizing about five to eight people outside the door .
"Assalaamualaikum your highness . We received a call â "
A man stepped aside to greet the Queen only to be brushed off by her .
"Walaikumusslaaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu . As you can see , we have absolutely no time to waste with introductuons . As per the call , there are two patients . She's the one right here and Prince Sulaaymaan is a little towards the left of the staircase ."
With that , she dispatched them and made sure to ask where the triplets had been escorted . She saw the Triplets sat down with some nurses around them in the open van and set back to work .
"Mama , why is she unconsciousness ?"
Sulaaymaan had managed to let the paramedics wait as they had started to urgently pull him through for inspection .
"Habibti , relax ! I'm taking care alright . Now please go . I'll take care of her ."
He stared hard at his mom for a few more minutes before breaking into a small , rather shifty smile .
"Are you sure ?"
The Queen Basmah held a hand to her heart and nodded sternly .
"The love of your life is safe in the hands of the woman for whom you're the love of her life ."
Sulaaymaan rested his head against the side wall while the doctor gave final touches to his wound .
His white thoub was stained crimson red all the from the left arm to the side of his torso .
The doctor had already warned him that the glass pieces were very delicate and fine and while they had managed to clear his skin off of every bit in the last few hours , the possibility of those pieces sunken deep into his skin were high .
And for that , he had been assigned antibiotics and certain other medications .
But what had kept him jumpy all the while was Afra .
Protect her , Oh My Lord .
"And you must make sure to not let your guard down your highness . The pain is going to be severe I won't back down from letting that get known . Keep your arm clean and tidy and wash your wounds with warm water ."
The doctor walked towards the small sink beside his desk , threw his gloves and washed his hands .
Sulaaymaan supported his injured arm carefully and got down from the bed . After settling down on his seat , he waited for the doctor to pat dry his hands and get comfortable before him .
"We did take an x-ray just in case . It will give us an idea of how clear your arm is of shreds ."
He nodded , feeling his vision dance slightly . Perhaps the overwhelmingness of the whole situation was starting to affect him now that he was in a much protective environment .
Everything had happened within the blink of an eye , and he didn't have the time to perceive the incidents clearly . By the end of it , all he could notice was his injured arm , the chandelier's body lying down on the ground and the triplets huddled at a corner .
"You've also lost a great , great deal of blood . I would've given you iron through IV , however your condition isn't stable for that . Hence I'm asking you to take about three haemoglobin pills immediately after each meal ."
Sulaaymaan noticed how stern and sincere the doctor was . The medications he was on for depression were already sickening to live with . He didn't want to live on more pills . That idea was instantly disliked by him .
"You are desired to be on bed rest for a minimum of two weeks or better yet , until your injuries subside . No heavy jobs or stressful work conditions ."
Sulaaymaan slumped back in his chair and sighed heavily .
"Mr Sulaaymaan , I hope you understand how sensitive this situation is ."
He had his arms folded over the desk and he was leaning forward , staring meaningfully at Sulaaymaan .
"Yes doctor . I do get your point ."
He still kept his gaze fixed on Sulaaymaan for another few seconds before relaxing back in his seat , his expressions softening .
"You have also measley scratches and pricks everywhere on your chest and arms . And your face as well . I'll give you an ointment for that ."
His hands started to professionally hit the keyboard keys with his head bent low towards the computer screen .
A few seconds later , he sighed and adjusted with his back straight against the chair .
"That is it for you your highness ."
He shot him a small smile before quickly settling his arms down on the desk and looking rather tensed .
"Now about the other patient , Miss Afra Varghese ."
He paused and sighed , interlocking his fingers .
"She was unconscious when she was brought in right ?"
Sulaaymaan shot up in his seat , almost slipping down to the floor . He could feel his heart starting to race unevenly .
"Yes ?"
The doctor took another few seconds and very softy broke the news .
"She had actually stabbed herself with a large shred . Around the left corner of her abdomen . Accidentally or not , she still did loose a lot of blood ."
Sulaaymaan almost fell to the ground had it not been for him grasping the edge of the desk for support . Things were already stressing him more than ever and he felt like a part of him and his diminishing hope was reducing drastically when anything happened to his family .
And Afra was the most important part of his life .
"How's she doctor ?"
The doctor sighed and Sulaaymaan didn't like how he was expressing the condition .
A minute passed by as the doctor typed away once again and then looked back at Sulaaymaan .
"She's stable as of now . Because it's been a few hours , she also regained her consciousness . She has already been injected a dose of her iron through IV . For the next few weeks , she will need to drop by every other day to get her injections ."
Sulaaymaan frowned . Dropping by at the hospital every other day would be too risky . Who knows who would end up following them . Of course he'd be having his guards around but his gut was giving him a weird feeling .
He had learnt it the hard way to not ignore that .
"Doctor , do you think we can have a nurse assigned to Afra ?"
The doctor went silent for a moment , his sparse brows furrowing deeper as minutes ticked away .
"Yes sir . I think we can do that ."
He nodded vigorously , a reassuring smile pursing his thin lips .
Sulaaymaan returned the smile , trying to steady his breath as the doctor got up from his seat .
"If that's all your highness , shall we proceed ?"
Sulaaymaan nodded and stood up , making sure to support his left arm as they commenced going down the hallways and into a larger and more secure hallway with bodyguards lining the different rooms .
"The VIP section is heavily guarded . You may be rest assured ."
Sulaaymaan snorted .
If only the doctor knew , how he had started to hate the words rest assured .
"Wait here a moment your highness ."
With that , he shuffled into his pocket for something , pulled out his identification card and held it up against the scanner beside the doors . Sulaaymaan observed carefully as a loud click was heard and he held the doors wide open .
"You may now get in ."
Sulaaymaan hurriedly matched forward , shooting suspicious glances at the security men who had hardly bulged from their spot .
After giving them a few disturbed glances , he gathered his courage and with a final nod at the doctor shut the doors behind him .
A large carpeted room lay ahead of him . A floor length window opposite to him showed the mesmerising city that stretched for yards beyond . Across the window lay burgundy couches and a black leatherette coffee table .
To his left were two metallic doors that showed to the closet and washrooms .
He instantly headed to the right from where he could hear faint television sounds . Large curtains hung down shielding his eyes from the other side .
"Miss Afra ?"
He pushed the curtains a little and peeked in . To his relief , Afra's covered legs were seen .
"Sulaaymaan ? Ya ALLAH !"
"I'm here but don't worry . Just cover up properly ."
He pulled the curtain away and faced the other side , shifting from feet to feet . A few seconds passed and he heard her wince softly or groan with strain . He didn't like how she was the one being targeted .
He hated seeing pain in her eyes .
"Sulaaymaan ? You can come in now ."
Sulaaymaan took no time in trying to push the curtains away as he ducked down and passed through them .
He bit his tongue when he saw Afra up against a pillow of a pale pink with the lower half of her body covered in a thick blanket .
There were a few monitors set by her side and a particular one formed a lump in his throat .
The ECG
He let his gaze linger over the crooked lines that symbolised her heart rate . A tear slipped down his eye and fell right onto his cheek .
He shook away the thoughts and focused his gaze on Afra whose eyes were crinkled . She was smiling , but her eyes smiled more . They were glistening slightly and as per usual , Sulaaymaan diverted his gaze and let it fall onto the blanket instead .
A minute passed in thick silence as Sulaaymaan stood erect with his hands clasped in front of him .
He knew she was taking her time in examining him but he would have preferred it if she did that when he wasn't noticing it .
Shifting on his feet , he cleared his throat awkwardly .
"How are you feeling Miss Afra ? You worried us s â "
"You worried me so much by disappearing like that !"
Sulaaymaan's head darted to her face which was ducked down . Tears were flowing down her eyes in visible streams and he had to fist his fingers close to prevent from wiping them away .
"Miss Afra â "
"Sulaaymaan , let's get married soon ."
Sulaaymaan shook where he was standing . His head felt like it was spinning with the way Afra was reacting .
He gulped , trying to form a reply .
"Yeah...sure . That we will have to . But for now , we have something more important to take care of ."
He changed the topic , because they had no time . Her behavioural change had left him speechless for a few minutes and he had forgotten what was happening around him .
Afra's eyes squinted .
"What ?"
"We need to escape as soon as possible ."
« Assalaamualaikum Princesses ⤠.
I hope this update was satisfactory . â¤.
Also , you lovely ladies....and gentlemen if I have any.... I'm extremely curious about one thing ?
Please please let me know â¤
When you guys read the chapters , can you imagine what's happening as you move along ? â¤
Very curious about that . Please drop a comment to let me know that .
And I hope the story's not boring . I hope I'm not wasting anyone's time . ⤠.
I love you all so much . â¤
Jazak'ALLAHU QAIRAN KATHEERAN for your precious votes and everything . â¤
Lots of Nutella ,
Me ;) »