She smiled, closing the door behind her. What a beautiful yet stubborn individual! Whenever I saw her, I thought of very strange things, like how soft her lips looked and how easy this all would've been if she and her family didn't exist.
Chapter 5
There is no one to cry to. All those shoulders I once had, are now done. Burried beneath rubble, Distressed by their own loss. Myself included. Though my position better then many, I was in my own kind of pain. Like we all are. We all suffer from different ills, though others are greater, and mine still matters. I needed to escape, to desert my feelings, but I couldn't. How could I? wouldn't that make me my biggest oppressor, my biggest obstacle? I had to feel what I was feeling. I would hate to lose this too.
My grandmother. Was dying. She was home, losing home hurts. People define pieces of land as their home, four walls as their home, but to me, it was my grandmother. the scent of her traditional arab meals, the scent of her perfume and the song she used to sing to me while she lulled me to bed. I never knew how much I had until it was gone.
She hadn't abandoned me despite my rebellion. She let me live for myself…but now I wished that I had lived for her in some way. Maybe if I did, I would have felt less pain watching her fight for her life. At least air entered her lungs. At least her body wants a dead island; it accepted food and water and medicine, it's awful of me to force her body to. But I had to. I was going to fight for her when she couldn't fight for herself.
She told me that she still had so much to tell me. So much to explain. That i needed to live long enough to do what i was born for. She told me these but never said why. No one ever says why.
"She's not showing any signs of recovery, and every day, an extra machine is stabbed into her…
"Do you think she would've wanted this?" Aliyan asked, removing his jacket.
Grandmother was still in the private ward, heavily guarded.
"It's not about what she wanted; it's about how, if I were in her position, she would've fought for my life.
"It's my duty to protect and pray for her..."
"We won't cut her down unless you say to; in fact, I don't think Adam will allow us to.
"They go way back."
"He still hasn't explained that to me."
"He will, in due time, for now, and you must marry him.
"Here's a letter from your grandfather. He wrote it before he passed away. It'll give you some clue as to why Adam is doing what he's doing.
"Salama, you know it's our norm to get arranged; why do you reject such a suitable candidate?"
He left the ward after handing me the letter.
I don't understand why I was being pressured to marry a man I did not know or love.
I looked toward the letter that supposedly had all the answers i needed. Was i the problem, because i had all the answers in the palm of my hand. A letter I had no courage to open. Once i open it, none of this will be a mystery, all will make sense.
I arrived at Adam's manor moments after my visit.
I was living with him, unfortunately. I had no where else to go, I had no one to turn to.
Especially since most of my friends were killed in the most recent raid at our village.
"How's she doing?" Adam asked emerging from his study, scaring the young out of me.
"Not great, we might need to cut her off soon."
"Never…If she dies, our world will be out of balance for longer…"
"I would ask what you mean by that, but at this rate, it's pointless.
"Everyone speaks in riddles whenever I ask questions."
"It's not time yet; you aren't ready."
"I'm too tired for this," I said walking towards the lounge.
I changed my shoes, and as I stood, Adam pushed me back into the couch.
"Stay seated, missy," he said, unbuttoning his collar.
His perfume again…it was complex.
From afar, it disgusted me, but when he came closer, it intoxicated every part of me.
I felt stunned by his presence. He grabbed my chin "Don't be sassy with me.."
I couldn't find the words. I couldn't find my breath. I wanted, to …ki-
"Move!" A guard yelled.
The house immediately shut down. All the glass windows were now covered with iron, and the lights went off. Adam pulled me into his arms, lifted me over his shoulder, and ran to his bedroom, where we entered his study.
Locked within the confines of it, he switched on the "defensive mechanism" which was merely a glass bubble that he left me within before rushing out with a gun.
Great.
Here we go again.
*
"Grab the guns out the back and call in all the men we have; the mafias have infiltrated the barrier."
"Is she safe?" Aliyan asked.
"In the dome I replied."
"Did you tell her yet?"
"About her being the heir of the mafias
"Hell no, it's not something you say casually."
"You have to tell her, she needs to marry you."
"Even if we do get married, both of our parents are missing.
"Who will bring in the treaty?"
"That is something to worry about later. For now, as her grandmother said before her current state, marry her and worry about the possibility later."
"It's not that-"
"FIRE!" Aliyan yelled as he watched the guards gather themselves near the door.
This was normal. Who wouldn't want to kill the son of the president?
The missing president.
One would say everyone would adore and love…their future ruler but no. I was just as hated and despised as my father, which makes the reasoning behind his disappearance more viable.
"Move out the fire; we don't want you getting shot again," Aliyan said, moving his gun away.
"Is she safe?"
"I believe so," a guard replied. " We found the leader of this assassin, told him we had their heir, and they held fire."
"Why do you have her?" masked men asked a rifle at hand.
We were all masked men at this point. This guerilla warfare revealed to the world that neither of us wanted to bear the burden of people knowing who we were. I hated that I had been discovered in my supposedly safe home.
"She's my wife."
"Impossible, that treaty is a myth and a fib.
"We don't want peace."
"Well, you have no choice. Our missing leaders made a promise to one another, and it must be fulfilled."
"I don't care.."
"We have her, she's married to me now.
"You have no choice but to accept."
"Bring her out, prove it."
Aliyan left the room and fetched Salama from the dome she was being kept in. She looked petrified, clearly having been sheltered her entire life, as her grandmother stated.
"What do you want now?" she asked.
Maybe I was mistaken. It must have taken courage for her to say that in front of so many armed men.
"Long live the heir!
"Long live the heir!" they all chanted as she walked down the stairs.
"Is it true...have you married this spy."
"What's it to you?"
"it affects the drafts we have made since your father went missing."
"My father?"
"Yes, the mafia king."
"My father was the mafia king?" she said, turning towards me.
"Yes."
"I-"
"Just answer the question," Aliyan snapped, "These men are not meant to be here."
"Don't talk to her like that," the masked leader replied, "We'll take the spy kid if you ever do."
"withdraw your troops and we`ll talk, my house is way to crowded for my liking."
"Fine, he said before speaking in a foreign language."
"You speakthe native language," Salama yelled, "the one grandmother taught me."
"Yes we are the native people of this land,
"as for your husband and his people. imposters from another realm.
"why did you marry the enemy heir."
"I had no choice," she replied taking my hand into hers, "things must be done for this land, this was a small sacrifice."
He removed his mask and handed it to her, "your family would never do anything to sabotage our honour..."
She smiled, taking the mask. The men left with his men, and Salama slid her hand away. I couldn't tell why my heart was broken in that instance. I wanted to be held by her again. I needed to be held by her again. It felt right.
"What was that all about?"
"Thank you for playing along."
"Welcome.
"Aliyan kinda threatened me, he seemed irritated."
"With good reason.
"I need to tell you something."
"Later," Aliyan said, "The city needs you."