"I'll bargain with you for it."
"Noor, Hayati, you sound madder than my father. And allow me to say, my father was a very mad man."
She grabbed his arm and stared into his eyes. "Cyrus, why aren't you listening to me?!"
"Entering my mind? Noor that sounds half impossible! If this would actually work, Marzaban would've done it."
"My father once did it. My brother had nightmares for a whole month. Some bad memories had returned and haunted him for a couple of nights. We got complaints and someone threatened to hang us cause it sounded like we were doing something bad to Jamil, so my father did it. It took several nights, but he managed to find a way to make sure that is was forgotten."
"You're father most likely practiced magic his whole life. You, dear, haven't been for two years."
"Three actually."
"What?"
"I'm nineteen."
He shook his head as he removed his arms from her grip. "More of a reason for me say no. Here you can have the bed."
"Cyrus! I can't live like this! I've never felt vulnerable in my whole life, but now I deeply do. I can't walk without worrying I might fall on someone because my feet are too weak to hold me up. I grew being told that I should not rely on someone, and right now it seems that I need to rely on someone.
"Please. I helped my dad those nights, I know it by heart. Let us try this one night, and search for the curse before dawn's first light. If I have come to harm you in any shape or form, I will seek whatever punishment you see fit."
He searched for something in her eyes, anything that might show him that she has been trying to deceive him. But all Cyrus saw was pure helplessness.
"Show me what to do."
Her furrowed face lit up instantly as she stood up. "Sit at the edge of the bed."
He did what she had asked of him, his legs swinging to hang over the bed.
"What now?"
She stepped forward, resting her hands on the side of his head, but his leg wouldn't allow her to stand properly. She cleared her throat, "you mind?"
A small knowing look appeared on his face before he parted his legs. She stepped closer, her back no longer arched.
She smacked the side of his head, earning a scowl from him.
"What was that for?"
"Wipe that look on your face, it proves you're a scum as much as the pashas."
"Ouch, Sultana. You really know how to win my heart, don't you?"
"Really? I don't think I'm trying on that part."
He snickered before rubbing the side of his head with her hand. "Anything I should know?"
"Never let go of my hand, or you'll forever be lost in your own mind."
♔
Noor slowly opened her eyes, a blurred sound of a thunderstorm clap waking her up.
When her eyes fully opened, her eyes widened at the scene in front of her. She looked at her side, Cyrus having the same expression.
"This is my mind?" He whispered. It mostly likely horrified him.
Thunderstorms clapped every once in a while, the sky above them cloudy and dark. Other than that, they stood on sand. Sand dunes.
"That's one thing we should work on."
He looked at her confused, the idea of him being in his own mind not settling well with him.
"What?"
"The layout of your mind is sand dunes. It's not that easy to travel across, especially under stormy skies. It might rain at any moment and we'd be sinking in mud."
She paused as she bent down to pick up some sand in her hand. "It's black too."
"So what do we do now?"
"Remind me to shape you into a positive person. The mind reflects you as a being. It would be easier if it was nice and sunny with a stable road to walk on."
"You think you can change me, Noor Al Khan? Not even Marzaban, my childhood friend, could do so."
"I did not say that. You can be an idiot as much as you want, but I need you to be someone with wonderful thoughts."
She tugged at his hand as she leads him deeper into the dark desert. "Be careful Cyrus. Memories appear randomly. Do not drag yourself to them, or you might bring unwanted ones. The mind can fool, and be fooled. Do not fall for the tricks."
"Then what do we do?!" He called over the wind.
"Unless you're sure that it's the memory where the curse is recited, don't touch anything."
They walked, Noor intertwining her arm with Cyrus in hopes of the wind not blowing them apart. Whispers of distant memories passed their ears, small portals opening in the sky to show the memories. Noor noticed one, the day why they had put the crown on her head. As she stared at it, she felt Cyrus drag her along with him. The moment her eyes had caught what the king was doing, she screamed.
"Cyrus, no!"
She grabbed his hand that reached for the portal in front of him.
"Have you forgotten what I have just told you?! You could've trapped yourself and I would get killed for your foolish acts!"
Cyrus looked at her with wide eyes, "I thought it was the memory. I saw my father."
"That can't be it."
"How would you know?"
Her hand pointed towards the endless desert in front of them. "Forgotten memories are way deeper into the mind. We haven't walked a whole lot."
He took a deep breath before nodding and walking by her side again. It wasn't until the sleepiness taking over their body that Noor noticed that they had run out of time.
♔
Noor, once again, opened her eyes. Her hands draped over someone's shoulder. Her head rested on the shoulder too, not wanting to move from the comfortable position she was in.
"Noor?"
She was about to answer nicely before she quickly recognized the voice and lifted herself up. She was resting on Cyrus as he sat on the bed.
He can sleep while he sits?
"Why are we out? We didn't take long."
She rubbed her head as she stared at the window. "Let us try this one night, and search for the curse before dawn's first light"
"You mean to say that we have spent the whole night in my mind?"
"Time works slower in the mind. I do not know why."
Silence occupied the room before Cyrus stood up and walked himself out of the chamber, leaving her all alone.