On morning time
Hajras sat alone on the temple stairs. He leaned back and looked at the heavy clouds above as the cool breeze gently passed him.
He sighed and mumbled to himself, "Where is she?"
He looked at the playground in front of him, it was lively and full of kids playing around, and he spotted someone running his way at a distance; he leaned forward to take a better look.
He saw Taz running toward him; she waved her hand and smiled as she approached him.
"Sorry I was late," Taz said.
Hajras stood up and said, "You took a while."
Taz smiled and said, "My family had a celebration yesterday, and I stayed up late."
Hajras raised his eyebrow and asked, "Ohh, what was it about?"
"My father got promoted in his job, I'm not sure what that means, but he said I will get more gifts from now on," Taz said.
"That is a good thing; he will receive a higher salary than before," Hajras said.
"I'm happy for my father," Taz said.
"Also, I think I have another clue," Hajras said.
"Really?" Taz asked.
"Yes, let's go. I will tell you on the way," Hajras said.
They walked out of the playground and headed to the main road.
Taz's friends watched from a distance, confused by the sudden shift in their relationship.
"How did they suddenly become friends?" Raghad asked.
"I have no idea," Rashed replied.
"It is simple; she wants rich friends," Fadi said.
"Having more friends is not a bad thing," Rashed said.
"At first, it might seem like that; then, she will leave us to spend more time with the nobles," Fadi said.
"Taz wouldn't do that; she had been with us for a long time," Raghad said.
"People change, Raghad," Fadi said.
"Taz would not do that to us," Rashed said.
"Are you sure about that, Rashed? Because I don't see it the same way you do," Fadi said.
"Yes! We can't just judge our friend just because she hasn't spent time with us lately," Rashed said.
"Well, then how about you go ask her?" Fadi asked.
"Me?" Rashed replied.
"Yes, you," Fadi said.
"I will ask her the next time I see her and prove you're wrong about her," Rashed said.
"We shouldn't be arguing over a simple matter like this," Raghad said.
Rashed and Fadi looked at each other in displeasure and hate; it didn't take long before Rashed sighed in frustration and walked out of the playground.
Raghad runs after him and shouts, "Rashed, wait!"
Fadi watched them as they went out and mumbled to himself, "Have it your way then."
Back to Taz and Hajras.
They walked on the east main road; the large temple was behind them.
"So? What's the clue you are talking about," Taz said.
"Remember the day we fought in? when we arrived at the guard station?" Hajras asked.
"Yes, but how would that give us a clue?" Taz said.
"Nawar and the guard said something I could not forget, neither could I stop thinking about it," Hajras said.
"I was not paying attention; I was more concerned about my father's reaction," Taz said.
"Seeing your father, I understand," Hajras said.
Taz chuckled and said, "He might be angry all the time, but as my mother said, it's because he cares about us."
They turned to the right as they reached the river street.
"On another note, Nawar and the guard mentioned something noticeable. They said this would be interesting; after hearing our fathers' names," Hajras said.
"What do they mean by that?" Taz asked.
"I'm not sure," Hajras replied.
"Do you think they know!?" Taz asked.
"I don't know, but this is far from a mere coincidence," Hajras said.
"I agree; what do you plan to do, Hajras?" Taz said.
"We should go and meet Nawar; he might know something," Hajras said.
Hajras and Taz continued south on the river road and headed to the guard station.
They reached the guard station after thirty minutes.
They approached the gate, only to be stopped by the two guards who stood in front of the large entrance door.
"Hold it, kids. What is your business here?" The first guard said.
"We're here to meet Nawar," Hajras replied.
The two guards look at each other briefly.
"Nawar is a busy man; what is your business with him?" The second guard said.
"He saved my life recently; I came to thank him for that and give him a reward to express my gratefulness," Hajras said.
"And the girl?" The second guard said.
"She is a servant in our esteemed household; she attends to my needs outside the villa," Hajras said.
Taz glared at Hajras from the corner of her eye.
"Let them enter; I don't want to be yelled at by the sergeant if what he said is true," The first guard said.
"Mind your manners inside, boy; the sergeant is in his office," The second guard said.
"Noted, have a nice day, guards," Hajras said.
Hajras went inside, and Taz followed him.
Taz grabbed Hajras's shoulder and stopped him.
"Why did you choose to call me a servant?!" She whispered.
"The guard station is a heavily secure place; if they suspected anything about us, they wouldn't let us in," Hajras replied.
"You still didn't answer my question," Taz said.
"Commoners cannot enter; however, only nobles can, with restricted access like, for example, not going beyond the floor we are in," Hajras said.
"I... damn you, I didn't understand half of what you said!" Taz replied.
"Just trust me and follow my lead," Hajras said.
"Okay, let's go, but we will talk about this later," Taz said.
"For now, let's focus on what we need to do," Hajras said.
They walked through the hallway until they reached the small corridor where Nawar's office was.
Hajras knocked on the door and heard Nawar's voice coming from inside.
"Come in," He said.
They stood together in front of Nawar, who sat in his office chair.
Nawar lifted his head, looked at them and said, "Did you have another fight?"
"No, but we want to ask you some questions," Hajras said.
Nawar put his pen down, chuckled and said, "Sure, but first, you have to tell me how you got in."
"I am a noble; I have the right to enter the guard station," Hajras said.
"How did you convince the guards to let Taz in?" Nawar said.
Hajras winked.
Nawar chuckled and said, "You're cunning, kid."
"Nawar, what do you know about our parents?" Taz asked.
"You mean Radhi and Ahmad? They're well known in their fields," Nawar replied,
"What she meant to say is, what do you know about their past?" Hajras said.
"I heard a couple of rumors about them," Nawar said.
"Could you give us an example?" Hajras asked.
"Ahmad is the first Noble who isn't born from a well-known bloodline. Apart from that, he was not born in Babilim," Nawar replied.
"What do you mean?" Taz asked.
"That Ahmad and Radhi were born and raised outside Babilim," Nawar replied.
"If that was the case, how did my father become a prominent citizen?" Hajras asked.
"Ahmad struck a deal with the King, so I heard," Nawar replied.
"If the King himself was involved, that was no ordinary deal," Hajras replied.
"The details are classified even to me," Nawar replied.
"Do you know what our true family name is?" Taz asked.
"Al-Dakheel?" Nawar replied.
"Al-Dakheel is not our real family name; it is a given one," Taz said.
"Who told you that?" Nawar asked.
"A reliable source of information," Hajras replied.
"Your source is well-informed," Nawar said.
"Will you tell us about our real family name?" Taz asked.
Nawar sighed and leaned back on his chair.
"Nawar?" Taz said.
"For your safety, it is better to leave that name in the past," Nawar said.
"What do you mean by that name?!" Hajras said.
Nawar stood up and said, "It means your visit here is over. Leave the station, or I'll have both of you escorted out."
Taz pouted and left the room.
Hajras stared at Nawar and said, "I will get what I want, one way or another."
"Hajras, do not seek your true family name; it will only bring you trouble and misery," Nawar said.
"I will decide that myself," Hajras replied.
Hajras left the room.
Taz walked out of the station calmly.
She contemplated how close to the truth she was, only to be denied
"This is unfair," She thought.
Hajras ran to her and called her name.
Taz stopped, looked back at Hajras and said, "What?"
"Are you simply leaving?" Hajras asked.
"What could we do, Hajras? No one is willing to tell us about our family," Taz said.
Hajras thought briefly and said, "I have another plan."
"We can't do anything anymore; our families, Nawar, aren't going to tell us," Taz said.
"You are correct, we can't do anything ourselves, but I know someone who can," Hajras said.
Taz raised her eyebrows and said, "Hajras, I hope this isn't one of your sloppy plans."
"I will contact someone, but for now, you need to have faith in your cousin," Hajras said.
Taz chuckled and said, "Cousin? I never thought we would call ourselves that anytime soon."
Hajras extended his hand to Taz and said, "Do you trust me, cousin?"
Taz smiled, shook Hajras's hand and said, "Yes, cousin, I trust you."
"Let's go on our separate ways; I will find you when this is all over," Hajras said.
"Wait, are you leaving me?" Taz asked.
"Have faith in me. I will return to you when I have the answer we seek," Hajras said.
Taz said sadly, "I will miss you, cousin."
Hajras smiled and said, "Promise me one thing."
"Yes?" Taz said.
"Do not tell anyone about what we have been doing," Hajras said.
"Why is that?" Taz asked.
"From what Nawar said, our family's history seems troublesome and might bring unwanted attention," Hajras said.
"Did he say why?" Taz asked.
"No, but promise me you won't tell anyone," Hajras said.
"I promise, cousin," Taz replied.
Hajras smiled and said, "Farewell, cousin."
"Farewell," Taz said.
Hajras walked away. Taz watched him as he went, letting out a heavy sigh.
She walked back to the playground.
Feeling the cold breeze grazing her face, the light of the afternoon sun warms her.
After thirty minutes.
Taz reached the playground, and she saw her friends again, but this time something was off. Raghad and Rashed stood away from Fadi as if they were avoiding each other.
She walked to the siblings, the closest to her.
"What happened?" Taz asked.
"Rashed and Fadi argued," Raghad replied.
Taz pouted, furrowed her eyebrows and said, "What did they argue about?"
"Fadi insisted you left us to be friends with Hajras," Rashed said.
"We know you are not the type of person that would do that," Raghad said.
Fadi walked up to them.
"If she were, she would tell us what her business with Hajras was," Fadi said.
All of them looked at Taz.
Fadi crossed his arms and said, "Well, will you tell us?"
"I can't," Taz muttered.
"We can't hear you!" Fadi said.
"I said I can't!!" Taz shouts.
"Why not?!" Fadi said.
"I can't tell you," Taz said sadly.
"Is it because you don't want to tell us why you suddenly became the noble's slave?" Fadi said.
"I am not a slave for anyone Fadi!!" Taz said in frustration.
"Then explain why you spent the last two days with Hajras," Fadi said.
Taz stayed silent.
"We promised not to keep secrets from each other," Rashed said.
"I know, Rashed," Taz said.
"Then why you won't tell us?" Rashed said.
A Tear fell from Taz's left eye.
Taz said in a brittle voice, "You know I can't break my promises, Rashed."
"I told you from the start, she values those nobles more than us," Fadi said.
Fadi walked away.
Taz wept and spoke in a broken voice, "Rashed? Raghad?"
Rashed pouted and stared at Taz in disbelief, and walked away.
"I am sorry, Tanaz," Raghad said softly.
Raghad walked away.
Taz burst into tears as she watched her friends walk away. She headed out of the playground and wiped her pouring tears as they fell.
The End