The girl tried to run as fast as she could but she was soon out of breath. It was not easy to run in her condition. Desperate, she stopped to look around and tried to find a place to hide. Behind her, she could hear the screams of what, was her entire world. Tears stained her face as frantically searched for a safe abode. There was a promising tree not far off ,the foliage of which appeared to be thick enough to hide her from her enemies. Plus no one would expect her to hide in a tree. She looked behind once, the flames from the building that she used to call her home reached so high that they were visible for miles. Even then why nobody came to their rescue, she did not know. She reached the tree, very much out of breath. She then hoisted herself up a low-hanging, thick tree branch and began to climb high. Had she not spent her entire childhood jumping from tree to tree, she would have been unable to achieve such a feat right now. With difficulty she reached the highest of the branches . She then settled down to rest. The tears that were dried up before now began to fall again silently as she pondered the fate of her handsome husband. The cries of her dear one started to fade slowly but the clashes of swords ,spears and voices of the cruel attackers did not stop. She knew they were searching for her. In the times, when having multiple wives was a common practice, her husband ,the master of the manor , took only one. Her. She was important.
Slowly the voices started coming closer to her abode.
"Where is she? Did you see her among the dead?" a man shouted.
"No. I would have recognized her " a voice she knew quite well spoke up. She forced herself not to gasp.
"We have checked every single body back there. Everyone is accounted for except her. What do we do now? " another voice.
"She can't have gone far. Not with her condition. Let's keep on searching " replied the voice of her husband's best friend, the one he trusted with his life. It seemed like he was the one who had betrayed him.
"Vizier she must Be found. We will receive payment, only if we bring her head. Otherwise, Kamal won't pay" he repeated urgently.
Kamal! He was behind all this? How could he stoop so low?
"Spread around. Search every nook and cranny" said a harsh voice.
They started spreading around. They searched everything, leaving no stone unturned but luckily none of them thought to look up. Had they looked, She would have been found.
Kamal was once her best friend. The person closest to her heart. Only when she fell in love with her future husband, did he reveal his true colors. He loved her Passionately. And her rejection had made him go mad. He disappeared on the day of her wedding only to return a year later, with his purse full of money and his face full of scars. She knew he was angry with her. But to go to this extent for the sake of revenge, she had not expected of her former best friend.
After a couple of hours, they started to give up. The dawn was fast approaching and they were beginning to loose the cover of darkness.
"She must have run into the forest. She is as good as dead" one of them finally spoke up.
"How will we explain this to Kamal?" Vizier said
"Let's not tell him that. Let's go back. Cut off any woman's head from its body" The first voice replied.
"We have looted enough of her jewels. We will put some of it on the head. And then we will damage the face to make it unrecognizable " another voice said.
"And what of her---" Vizier started
"That can be arranged as well. She is not the only woman who is------" said the first voice.
"Enough talk. Let's make haste, dawn is approaching. Soon the place will be surrounded by the royal guard ". Spoke the harsh voice.
"But isn't this what the king wanted? "
"Of course he did. He thinks him to be a traitor . " Vizier said.
"Kamal's work as well?"
"Whose else can it be" said Vizier.
"It could have been yours," said the voice
"Well it wasn't. It was all his idea. I only joined him because I needed the money" he said.
"So why are we afraid of the guards then?" asked one of the men.
"Because we are sell swords. We avoid the royal troops at any cost. You can stay here. Kamal had promised you this manor as a reward. Our job was to kill everyone and collect her head. Come on"
To her relief, she heard them starting to leave.
After an hour when the sun had risen properly, she descended from the tree. She knew that she could not go back. If this happened upon the king's order then she will be either murdered or imprisoned if she went back. This explained why no one helped them last night. Why no one came to their rescue?
She cried silently for everyone. Her favorite maids, her servants, and above all her trusting, beloved husband. He was an honorable man. He was the first one to loose his life last night. The look of shock , apparent on his face even after death. The next ones to die were his loyal guards.
She was saved by one of her housemaids. The old woman grabbed her by her shoulders and dragged her away when the blood bath started. She ushered her to a secret tunnel below the house
"Take this child. It belongs to you now anyway" She was handed a small box that contained her husband's ring And then she was told to run. She wanted the maid to come with her but the woman stayed behind, to close the door of the secret passage, so none of the enemies could pursue her.
So she took the passage and ran as fast as she could. She came out near the gates. From where she took to the forest.
And now she was stranded in there.
She kept moving forward, partially blinded by her tears, and the ring clutched close to her heart.
It was then the actual pain started.
It came down in thick painful waves as she struggled to keep herself moving. She knew what was about to happen but she wanted to be as far as possible before it did. she kept herself walking ignoring her pain. The trees around her thickened at first but then they slowly started thinning down. By the afternoon she had crossed the borders of her kingdom. She was both thirsty and hungry, but She kept herself moving. The painful waves were now so frequent that she knew it won't be long now.
Before the sun went down she spotted an old run-down cottage. She made for it , gasping with pain every ow and then, her legs and feet wet, both with water and blood, her hand still clutching the ring.
She managed to reach the cottage door and started knocking on it ,as if her life depended at it. Which It did. The door was opened by a man. He was so old that every single strand of his hair was white.
"Who are you? " he asked in shock.
Before she could answer an equally old woman peered from behind him. She gasped when she saw her.
"You poor dear? Come in" she shrieked, as she came forward to help her get inside the cottage.
"Where did you come from girl?" the old man asked still in shock.
The girls was in too much pain to answer him.
"Not now Aristo , look at the state of her. Bring me some hot water. " she replied to her husband.
He started bustling around the cottage. He put the kettle on to boil, he rummaged in drawers to get the old woman all that she wanted. A scissor ,some clean pieces of cloth, bandages, an earthen bowl full of burning coals.
"Now Dear, everything is ready. Take deep Breaths . Open your legs wide, and push" the old woman said.
The girl screamed as she did what she was told.
"Again dear. You are almost there" the woman said
She kept doing it again and again until she was absolutely exhausted.
"You cannot give up now dear. If you do you will loose both your and the child's life. Come on .Push" she ordered, as she sponged her head with a wet piece of cloth.
The girl gave a push one last time with all her strength and then slumped back, barely conscious, as the little cottage filled with the sound of cries. But this time it was not from her.
"Look dear. It's a boy" the old woman wrapped the crying little boy in a clean piece of cloth and handed it to her. She was too exhausted to hold him but the woman held the crooning baby against her.
"He is a beautiful child. " the old woman wiped her tears of joy as she held onto the little squirming bundle . The old man looked at his happy wife and smiled as widely as her.
"What will you call him? " he asked her gently.
The girl looked up. Her eyes full of hope for the first time since the start of all these events.
" Ameer Hamza" she whispered.