Episode Ten

As Aira was about to diverge to the bridge that led to Faheem's private hall, Tafari held the sleeve of her dress and redirected her back to the concrete pathway, his words following a hushed explanation.

"You won't be meeting his Lord there!" 

Aira nodded and followed Tafari to the hall at the end of the bridge. When he slid the door, a lady dressed in a silk red high-collar zephira(a snug-fitting blouse cut short, leaving a midriff bare) and nirzara(a long flowing skirt that reached down to the feet) bowed her head gracefully and extended her hand towards the door at the far end, a silent invitation for Aira follow her. And she guided her through the door, pointing to the last room on her left.

  "Some maidservants are waiting for you in the bathing room. They will help you get ready for his lord."

  Aira bowed in response.

The bathing room was adorned with hues of opulent black fabrics and soft candlelight, a large wooden tub filled with rose petals in the centre of the room inviting her to step into its embrace. Immersing herself in the warm water after the maidservants stripped off her clothes, a sensation of soothing warmth enveloped her, letting out a sigh of contentment when one maidservant began massaging her scalp with milk. The scent of rosemary and lavender from the cleansing paste filling her nostrils, calming her mind as the other scrubbed her body. Once they were done, the maidservants helped her out of the tub and dried her before wrapping her in a silk robe and taking her to the adjacent room, where they helped her get ready.

"You look beautiful, lady Zesha," the maidservant who washed her hair complimented as Aira's reflection gazed back at them from the full-length mirror. She was dressed in a white hafesha dress, for Faheem had ordered them to dress her in white, her hair styled in cute double buns adorned with flower ornates and silver hairpins. The makeup on her face highlighting her facial features without overpowering her natural beauty.

Aira, opening the main door at the front, found the lady from earlier waiting for her with a bowl in her hand. The bowl containing a concoction she knew all too well: a contraceptive concoction. As she brought the bowl to her mouth, the pungent, acrid smell of the concoction assaulted her nostrils, making her retch. But she held her nose and downed it with a gulp, waves of nausea rising with every breath.

"Here." 

The lady handed her a honeyed date and opened the door for her, where she found Tafari waiting for her outside.

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Aira entering the hall beside Faheem's, she noticed five doors on the left, and a staircase on the right. Tafari led her up the stairs to the second floor and opened the only door at the far end, gesturing for her to get in.

"Wait for his lord here." He closed the door behind her and went to stand outside the hall.

Aira, looking around. The room was just simple but elegant, with nothing interesting. A majestic bed with a canopy that draped over the four posts dominated the far corner. And in the centre of the room was a round ornate table with two chairs upholstered with silk. On top of it, an intricately crafted vase filled with exotic flowers that added a touch of colour to the room and a tray with three silver wine jugs and two wine cups next to it.

Seated at the bed's edge, Aira reached into her pouch and retrieved a white ceramic pot. She carefully applied the ointment to her lips and neck, a blend of sandalwood, spider venom, and hartar, all mixed with almond oil. The hartar intended to counteract the effects of the spider venom,  from prolonged and painful erections to no erection at all. Afterwards, she securely fastened the sachet containing the dry mixture, separate from the almond oil, onto her sash.

'I hope it will work.'

'Since you don't want to sleep with him, why don't you tell him you are not a virgin? The worst he can do is have you thrown out of the palace," the inner goddess suggested.

'Are you crazy? Have you forgotten that the first lady made that woman lie about my virginity test? Do you want me to lose my head?'

'What if we find a way to leave this place? I know you came here to try to save Eshe, Ila and Lala, but I doubt you will find a way soon when you are still learning to survive in the palace. Don't you think it would be better to start over somewhere else, where we could have some peace of mind? Where you wouldn't have to keep looking over your shoulder every time?'

'I can't. I like it here. Leaving the palace would mean being away from Faheem, and inside the palace walls would mean being away from other men. And I prefer protecting myself from him alone than many men. Can't you see how men no longer flirt or tease me because I belong to his lord? Besides, I love working in the infirmary and learning apothecary from Mistress Asma. And with my new ointment, he would never be able to have sex with me.'

'So how long does the effect last?'

'Three days.'

'Okay, but…'

The atmosphere changing and the air around her getting chilly, Aira jumped into bed and instinctively closed her eyes when the door slid open, hoping Faheem wouldn't notice she was pretending.

"If you are going to pretend to be asleep, at least relax yourself," Faheem stated, sitting on one of the chairs and faced Aira's direction.

Aira opened her eyes and slowly sat up, pulling the black quilt to her shoulders. She then took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, only to find herself glancing at Faheem, who was drinking his wine with abandon, a few drops trickling from his lips down his chin. Faheem placing the wine glass on the table, their eyes met, and Aira quickly looked away, feeling a flush of heat on her face.

"Come here!"

She tried to get her feet off the bed, but they felt as if they were held by imaginary chains, her grip on the quilt tightening.

"Don't make me come there!"

  His voice held a warning that made her instantly stand from the bed. Feeling like a lamb moving towards a lion, she dragged her feet towards him and stood a few inches from him. Her head held down, playing with her fingers.

"Sit on my lap!"

She remained still, making Faheem grab her arm in an almost painful grip and pull her into his lap.

"Put your arms around my shoulders!"

Hesitating, she felt his hand squeezing the back of her neck and reluctantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. His hands trailing from her neck down to her shoulders, then to her side before resting on her waist.

While Faheem's fingers toyed with the sachet, the room seemed to hold its breath alongside Aira, her heart almost ripping out of her chest.

"For your sake, you better hope I return to normal after tomorrow, or else I will have to kill you. I hate distractions," Faheem said casually, as if talking about the exotic flowers on the table, but Aira remained silent, focusing on the sachet he was playing with.

"What is in the sachet?"

"S…..andal…wood. To help me…relax and…sleep…better."

Faheem pulled the sachet from the sash and sniffed it. Loving the scents.

"What else is in there?"

"Passion…flower." Luckily hartar, and passion flower had a similar scent.

"I will keep it!"

"But, his lord…what if I…create another….one for you. One…with…more herbs?" Aira's voice held a note of persuasion as she tried to snatch the sachet back, Faheem lifting his arm out of her reach.

"I want this one!"

Undeterred, Aira made another attempt to get the sachet back, bringing her face close to Faheem's as she extended her hand. And he smirked. "Why are you always the first to make a move?" 

Aira realised what he meant and pulled back, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"I…am…s…"

Faheem held her chin and pulled her towards him, and he couldn't help but scrutinise every detail of her delicate, captivating face. His eyes tracing her full, well-defined lips, the shape of her small, straight, upturned nose, her long eyelashes and the slightly arched of her eyebrows that framed her large almond-brown eyes beautifully, wondering what part of her was making him go crazy before kissing her with a hunger that scared her. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp, not knowing how to respond to his kiss and didn't want to.

Suddenly, Faheem stood from the chair with her in his arms, holding her close to his chest and lying her down on the bed.

"You better be worth the distraction," he said, holding her hands above her head.

Please, ointment. Don't fail me.

Faheem ripping her dress from the neck, she froze. The inner demon she thought she had overpowered when she stopped wanting to die playing the scenes from that night at a raging speed. Whispering to her the things she longed to forget.

Faheem's face turning into Shomari's.

Tears falling from her eyes, and her body hyperventilating.

Her breaths feeling like a struggle against invisible restraints.

Eyes seeing red, her vision tunnelling, feeling the world around her closing in.

  With pleas stuck in her throat as she relived that night.

When Faheem saw her in that state, he released her arms, the scene reminding her of all the awful memories he wished to forget, and scooped her in his arms, holding her, gently rocking her as he whispered assuring words to her.

"It's okay, Zesha, I am right here with you. Nobody is going to hurt you. I will keep you safe."

Faheem's words of reassurance and warm embrace made the overwhelming fear that had engulfed her slowly start to lose its grip, pushing the inner demon back to its cave.

  "Now breathe with me, in…" 一Faheem took a deep breath一 "and out." And exhaled.

As Aira focused on her breathing with Faheem, her frantic breaths gradually synced with his measured ones, the chaotic whirlwind of panic slowly dissipating, fear no longer holding her in its iron grasp. Wrapping her arms around him, his warm embrace feeling like a warm protective blanket that kept her safe from that night. 

  "Let me take you to my room so you can rest, okay?"

Aira nodded weakly, feeling Faheem wrap her in a quilt. He carried her to his private hall and laid her on the bed, but when he was about to leave to get some calmose, a sedative with calming and relaxing effects, Aira clung to his hand, an unspoken plea in her eyes.

"Okay, I will not leave you," he said softly and sat beside her. 

"Tafari!" 

Tafari came rushing in and bowed his head. "Yes, his lord?"

"Get me some calmose from the study room."

"Yes, his lord."

In a few minutes of taking the calmose, Aira felt a slight drowsiness overcome her, but she didn't mind. Closing her eyes and drifting to sleep, still holding Faheem's hand.

◼◼◼◼

Seated on the couch at the far end, looking at Aira, Faheem triggered a flood of horrible memories and emotions. First, it was a surge of anger as he remembered Rehi's screams at night and how their uncle had left her a shadow of her former self. A girl who walked with a head held high sought solace in the darkness, her shoulders ever slouched, and her eyes dulled.

Soon after, a stabbing pain replaced the anger, his mind drifting back to that rainy day when he found her lying in her pool of blood, her wrists slit.

  Tears burning at the back of his eyes, missing his sister today more than any other day, wishing he could see, hug and talk to her again.

But above all, it was regret, the regret of not keeping her safe, breaking the promise that he would always protect her. So busy trying to prove himself to his uncle to see his sister was hurting. If only he could go back in time and change everything.

They would never step foot in the palace.

◼◼◼◼

After Aira regained consciousness, it took a moment to open her eyes. And when the fog of sleep lifted, she shot up from the bed and touched herself, Faheem offended that she thought he had taken advantage of her in that state.

"Don't worry. Nothing happened!"

He got up from the couch, picking up the pink hafesha dress from the round table and placed it beside Aira.

"When you are ready, you can go back." 

  Aira was surprised by his reaction. She had expected him to be angry with her, to threaten to kill her or even strangle her for ruining the night. But he spoke softly, his eyes filled with pity and concern, the lust from earlier gone.

And while she remembered how he had taken care of her, she felt a warm sensation in her chest and a flutter in her stomach, smiling at his retreating back. As he walked out of the door.

He is not all that bad.