Zulqarnain, Humzah and Aliza were inside the throne room, Zulqarnain was waiting for Ashhad, Aliza was drawing a bird and Humzah was reading a book about warfare, Ashhad came running into the throne room with distress and tiredness clear on his face, just seconds after entering the throne room Ashhad collapsed to the ground, Zulqarnain, Humzah and Aliza rushed to check on him as Zulqarnain approached him and asked
Zulqarnain : Ashhad are you alright?!
Aliza : what were you running from?
Ashhad : * huff * * puff * Humzah * huff * * puff *.
Humzah : yes?
Ashhad : get everyone here * huff * * puff * Aliza get me a glass of water.
Humzah : Ok.
in less than a minute the friends gathered in the throne room and after drinking two full glasses of water Ashhad said
Ashhad : thankyou Aliza.
Aliza : my pleasure.
Kainaat : what's going on Ashhad?
Humzah : yeah, what happened to you?
Ashhad : after I left the palace, I was walking down the street when I met Mike, he invited me over to his place and I went with him, we were in his cottage when out of the blue a man entered the place with a scythe, he had white hairs, red eyes and weirdly enough he was wearing a black suit with fancy yellow colored designs on it, he attacked us and ...
Asad : and what?
Ashhad : he killed Mike.
Alyne : oh my God.
Ashhad : it's only a miracle that I managed to survive, otherwise I'd be dead to.
Asad : keep it together Ashhad, what you just witnessed is called a political assassination.
Hussnain : yeah but, who could've done this?
Ashhad : someone who wishes to destabilize Ortania, because that guy knew my name.
Hussnain : everyone knows your name your the king.
Aliza : what're we gonna do now?
Zulqarnain : their's nothing much we can do except be grateful that Ashhad survived.
Nizaam : that's great but, what about the SOM?
Humzah : this will be a big shock for their party, after all Mike was their chairman.
Asad : Ashhad did someone see you enter Mike's house?
Ashhad : no.
Asad : did anyone see you leave?
Ashhad : hopefully not.
Asad : let's hope no one saw you, otherwise we'll be in big trouble.
Hussnain : what about tomorrow's election?
Zulqarnain : they will take place regardless if Mike's alive or not.
Humzah : let's hope things go smoothly.
Zulqarnain : that's not possible anymore.
Hussnain : why so?
Zulqarnain : the thing that I feared the most has happened, a single political assassination is now going to turn this democratic election into a bloody mess.
Asad : we should prepare for the worst.
Zulqarnain : as sad as it may sound but Asad's right.
Nizaam : we'll have to be extra careful tomorrow especially you Ashhad.
Zulqarnain : may God be our savior.
after saying this the friends went back to their rooms, the night passed by uneasily as the threat of assassination caused all the friends to stay on edge, no one slept well except Nizaam and everybody woke up at the break of dawn, they all arrived in the dining room groggy and disoriented, despite the lack of sleep they all pretended to be well rested but the facade broke when Nizaam entered the room, Nizaam sat down, applied jelly on a toast and as he was eating it, he noticed how sleepy everyone was, Ashhad was staring the butter knife, Zulqarnain and Hussnain had their heads down, Humzah was sleeping while sitting, Kainaat was slowly opening a jar of pickles and Aliza was trying to keep her eyes open, as for Asad and Alyne they had not shown up yet, Nizaam placed his toast aside, he decided to have some fun, he asked
Nizaam : hey who's that black guy?
all the friends in the flash of an eye got alert and said simultaneously
Everybody : where?!!
Nizaam : relax, I'm just trolling.
Ashhad : need to stay * yawn * awake.
Nizaam : you guys need sleep.
Humzah : what no * yawn * we're fine.
Nizaam : yeah sure you are, now come on leave everything as it is and get some sleep.
Kainaat : but what if he assassinates me?
Nizaam : no one's gonna assassinate anyone, go to your bed now.
Ashhad : that assassin's * yawn * very strong * yawn * you can't kill him without me.
Nizaam : I'm giving you all 5 minutes, go to your bed now or else.
Hussnain : alright alright jeez we're going.
after this the friends went back to their respective rooms and in the blink of an eye fell asleep, after a well needed sleep everybody woke up again and once again they went to the dining room where they had a delicious breakfast afterwards they went to the throne room where Nizaam was already sitting on a chair drinking some tea as Hussnain walked up to him and asked
Hussnain : Nizaam did you not sleep?
Nizaam : I was already well rested.
Humzah : I see.
Ashhad went and sat on the throne and said
Ashhad : alright gentlemen, today's the day, the day when our rule either ends or becomes permanent.
Alyne : well not permanent, cause you don't know what the future brings.
just then a girl entered the throne room, she had brown hairs and grey eyes, as Ashhad said
Ashhad : jeez Alyne, stop scaring me.
Alyne : I'm not ...
Girl : excuse me your highness.
that was when everyone noticed the girl as Ashhad asked
Ashhad : yes, how may I help you?
Andrea : my name is Andrea Hayes, I'm vice chairman of the SOM, I have came to you with a very unfortunate news.
suddenly Asad got scared as he feared that Ashhad might unveil the events of last night but, to Asad's surprise Ashhad asked
Ashhad : really what?
Asad took a sigh of relief as Andrea said
Andrea : the chairman of SOM Mike Morrison was found dead in his home.
Ashhad : oh dear.
Andrea : his death has had a huge impact on our party, it'll take some time for us to recover from this big loss, till then I would humbly like to request you to please postpone the elections.
Ashhad : I'm sorry.
everyone looked at Ashhad in shock as Andrea asked
Andrea : what?!
Ashhad : the whole nation has prepared for this day, we can't just cancel it.
Andrea : but we have no candidate!
Ashhad : so what, replace him.
Andrea : do you even understand the gravity of the situation?
Ashhad : I very well do, infact had something like this happened to me, my friends would've done the same thing, right guys?
before anyone could say anything Asad said
Asad : absolutely.
Ashhad : see, no big problem.
Andrea : so you're not postponing the elections?
Ashhad : nope.
Andrea : very well then, I Andrea Hayes hereby boycott this election and its results.
Asad : go on, do you're worst.
Andrea : oh I will, I will do my worst.
with that said, Andrea barged out of the palace as Hussnain asked
Hussnain : everything's gonna go ok, right?
the nationwide elections had begun, devoted SOM supporters as well as SOM fanatics refrained from voting, back at the royal palace Zulqarnain was heading outside when Asad approached him and asked
Asad : going somewhere?
Zulqarnain : yeah, I was getting bored so I decided to go out for a walk.
Asad : mind if I come with you?
Zulqarnain : sure.
Asad : awesome.
the two left, meanwhile in Hussnain's room, Nizaam and Hussnain were involved in a heated match of ludo, with a lucky dice Nizaam achieved victory and said
Nizaam : I win again.
Hussnain : aww man, you're too good at this.
Nizaam : just my luck.
just then a knock happened on Hussnain's room door and Hussnain asked
Hussnain : yes who is it?
Kainaat: peeked inside and asked
Kainaat : may I come in?
Hussnain : sure.
Kainaat came inside as Nizaam said
Nizaam : come join us.
Kainaat : I'd love to, but I need your help with something.
Hussnain : yeah what is it.
Kainaat : you see before the revolutionary war, I had tied my horse at my house in Stevenburg, if you could please bring it here and tie it in the stable of the royal palace, I'd really appreciate it.
Hussnain : sure, I'll do it.
Nizaam : I'll come along, besides I'd get bored here all alone.
Hussnain : great let's go.
the two left to retrieve Kainaat's horse, meanwhile in Alyne's bedroom, Alyne and Aliza were chatting like good old gal pals as Alyne said
Alyne : back on earth, I had a craze of trying new hairstyles, their wasn't a single hairstyle that I didn't try.
Aliza : that's pretty impressive.
Alyne : by the way, what do you like Aliza, clothes, makeup, hairstyles?
Aliza : frankly, I don't know.
Alyne : oh come on, you must've had a craze for something.
Aliza : I don't remember.
Alyne : you don't remember your own life?
Aliza : crazy, right?
Alyne : yeah ... pretty crazy.
just then a knock happened on Alyne's bedroom door and she asked
Alyne : yes who is it?
just then Humzah asked from outside
Humzah : it's me Humzah, can I come inside?
Alyne : sure.
Humzah came inside and asked
Humzah : greetings, I hope I didn't disturb you?
Alyne : not at all.
Aliza : come join us.
Humzah : actually I needed your help with something.
Aliza : what?
Humzah : I noticed that you two have been really close friends with Kainaat lately.
Aliza : yes.
Humzah : I was wondering, if by any chance you knew her favorite things like her dislikes and likes or anything that she may want.
Alyne : I don't really know that much.
Aliza : Kainaat is a very good listener, she values the words spoken to her before giving a reply.
Humzah : so you don't know anything?
Aliza : sorry I can't help you in this regard.
Alyne : actually I do know one thing.
Humzah : what?
Alyne : she once said that she liked the crimson roses, their a rare type of flower that only grow in certain regions of the world.
Humzah : can't you tell me something that's actually attainable.
Alyne : don't worry, crimson roses can easily be found in Stevenburg.
Humzah : really?
Alyne : yeah, you just need to search a bit for them.
Humzah : well in that case, I'll start looking for them right away.
after saying this Humzah left as well, not far from the royal palace Zulqarnain and Asad were strolling through the streets of Stevenburg when Asad asked
Asad : so Zulqarnain, who do you think is gonna win this election?
Zulqarnain : our main antagonist was the SOM and since they're no longer in the election, so our victory is ensured unless all the other parties form a coalition against us.
Asad : that is very unlikely to happen, you know besides us and the SOM their is actually a third party that I think had the chance to come on top.
Zulqarnain : really who?
Asad : the CLO.
Zulqarnain : you have to be kidding me.
Asad : Ashhad's my relative that's why I'm a part of the PRO, had that not been the case, I would've voted and supported the CLO.
Zulqarnain : you really love Communism, don't you?
Asad : love, I live for Communism, may the red flag fly high and may the hammer and sickle stay united.
Zulqarnain : sure.
the two continued their walk, by now people had started gathering around ballot boxes and were taking turns to vote, Zulqarnain and Asad soon reached the centre of Stevenburg where a large crowd had gathered around a ballot box and everyone was waiting for their turn to vote but just then a mob of angry people erupted out of the blue armed with torches and pitchforks, this angry mob started attacking the voters and the situation quickly escalated out of control, seeing this Zulqarnain asked
Zulqarnain : hey what the hell are they doing?!
Asad : seems like a protest.
Zulqarnain : protest, wait do you think that's the SOM?
Asad : probably.
just then the attackers saw Zulqarnain and Asad, they came running their way as Zulqarnain said
Zulqarnain : looks like we've got company.
Asad : let's give them hell.
not far from all this commotion, Hussnain and Nizaam were bringing back Kainaat's horse, Hussnain was slowly riding the horse while Nizaam was walking by his side as Hussnain admiringly said
Hussnain : I must say, Kainaat trained him well.
Nizaam : yeah, it's really obedient.
on the other hand Zulqarnain and Asad were fighting a fight for their life, Zulqarnain used his shield to deflect any oncoming attacks whilst trying to deal as little damage as possible but, Asad did the exact opposite and with a sickle in hand Asad used its sharp edge to critically injure many attackers driving them away in mass, seeing the weird choice of weaponry Zulqarnain asked
Zulqarnain : you have to be kidding me, a sickle?
Asad was so indulged in combat that he shouted will great valor
Asad : LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!!!
Zulqarnain let it slide and continued focusing on his defense, not long after Hussnain and Nizaam passed by the same area and when they saw Zulqarnain and Asad, Nizaam shouted
Nizaam : hey that's Zulqarnain!
Zulqarnain who recognized the voice turned around and saw Nizaam and Hussnain, Asad was fearlessly fighting but Zulqarnain knew that he would lose in the long run so in an effort to save their lives, Zulqarnain grabbed Asad's hand and made a run for it, during this retreat Asad annoyingly asked
Asad : Zulqarnain, what the heck are you doing?
Zulqarnain said nothing and when they approached Hussnain and Nizaam, Zulqarnain shouted
Zulqarnain : Nizaam, Asad get on the horse quickly, we need to run, they're coming!
in the flash of an eye, the four men got on the horse, and the horse galloped away, the attackers gave chase but thankfully the friends escaped unharmed.