A.N: Just a quick note to let you know this little oneshot was written rather quickly. I reread it and ran a spell check but I'm not sure I saw every mistake so if there still are some, I'm sorry. Hopefully it's all making sense none the less and I hope you like it. PLEASE review. Thanks :-)
Secret observer:
Tamina still wasn't sure what exactly it was that was driving her to do this but she just couldn't force herself to do as her training and every rule of prudence and proper behavior demanded and just... leave. She had to take a closer look, she had to peek, she had to spy. She knew she was acting childishly, like a little girl having a crush but she had wanted a chance to watch the man she had agreed to marry without him knowing about it. She had wanted to take a look at who he truly was without him having a chance to play some kind of act for her.
So when Dastan - the Persian prince that had asked for her hand in marriage - had been looking for somebody as a partner in weapon's training and had agreed to her suggestion of one of her most trusted guards of the temple - the very guard she had entrusted with the task of protecting the dagger and getting it safely out of Alamut so that it would not fall into the wrong hands, the prince had agreed, a mischievous smirk appearing on his face.
Given the fact that he had safely returned the dagger to her and the bruises on her trusted guards face that had a deep shade of purple to them by the time he had answered to her orders and had reported to her chambers, she knew those two had a score to settle. Ashok - that was the name of the entrusted guard - had not said anything about the particulars of how he had lost the precious dagger to the prince, but he had apologized, had even been willing to sacrifice his life to make up for the embarrassment that was the loss of the dagger, the failure of his task and the defeat by the Persian prince.
She knew he would be eager for the chance of a rematch and now that he had fought the Persian before, Tamina was sure he would be more careful. Ashok was the best trained warrior within the limits of this city and she knew he took pride in that. Losing the dagger this easily to a Persian invader had left him with a deep sense of embarrassment. It had hurt his pride and even though it would be just training, she knew Ashok would fight like his life was depending on it. He wanted to make good on the mistake he had made and he wanted to
prove himself to both his princess and himself. He wanted to prove that he was just as good a warrior as the Persian prince Dastan.
Being honest Tamina didn't believe that was true. The city of Alamut was famous for two things - for the beauty of it's wells and for it's sacred temples. Architects and priests were Alamut's most distinguished citizens, not warriors. Within the Persian empire that was different, because the Persians favored other things to look up to in a man... So even if Ashok was the best warrior of Alamut, that meant little by Persian standards. Tamina was sure all three princes were very well trained and skilled in the art of fighting... But there was only one way to truly find out about it for herself.
Of course she could have just stepped out onto the courtyard and watch but she had not wanted to do that. This way it was... far more exciting. Tamina was hiding behind a thin curtain drawn in front of a balcony that gave a good view of the sandy yard below, building a small but suitable space for a sparing match. Actually it was the very same space the palace guards had their usual morning training session at. Tamina had never watched before. She despised the raw brutality of the act but this time it was different. This time she wanted a chance to watch and she wanted it without being seen. She wanted a chance to find out what her future husband was truly like...
Tamina watched Dastan walk along the length of the yard. He had changed from the clothes he had worn when she had first met him back to - what she supposed was - the armor he wore in battle. Of course he had after all this was weapon's training... She watched as he walked up and down and then back to the middle of the court, leaned down and draw a little bit of the sand from the ground, letting it run through his fingers. She realized what he was doing down there right now - walking around, examining the ground. He was trying to get a feeling for the practice court, familiarizing himself with it. He was preparing...
Those preparations were interrupted when Ashok - her trusted guard - arrived on the court as well. Tamina watched Dastan get up in one swift, fluid motion. He watched his hand reflexively move towards the dagger located at the broad leather belt he wore. His hand was lingering just above the hilt but he didn't draw it. Obviously he had been taken by surprise by the arrival of the alamutian guard and Tamina could see recognition AND suspicion dawn on the Persian prince's face. She was sure he had believed Ashok had come to attack him until he had realized he was here for different reasons. The surprise clearly sounded in his voice when Dastan tried to get his suspicions confirmed.
"You are the practice partner princess Tamina spoke about?."
"Yes."
Dastan had wanted a chance to get his mind off everything that had happened. He could have asked Bis or Garsiv or even his oldest brother Tus for that matter but he hadn't wanted to do that. In that alternate timeline that had now never happened - had never happened because he had been able to prevent it - they had all died. It was hard no to believe they had all died for him... Bis trying to save his freedom and his very life from the guards trying to arrest him, Garsiv because he had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and the Hassansins send to kill Dastan had put an end to his life. And Tus by their uncle so that he would never get a chance to stop Nizam after finally hearing the truth from his younger brother. Fighting against either one of them - even if it was just for training, would have not given him the distraction he had wanted.
When princess Tamina had suggested to pick one of her finest warriors to be of assistance for him instead, Dastan had gladly agreed. Little had he known what to expect and when the man Tamina had told him she would send appeared in the courtyard now, fully armed and with a grim expression on his face that looked actually scary, Dastan was no longer sure this had been a good idea.
"I know you..."
"Yes, Persian, you do know me. I'm the one you ripped off his horse, knocked out with a move not suitable for a fair fight in battle and stole from just a couple of hours ago."
"Nice to meet you again then."
"Pah!"
Without any further warning the Alamutian guard Dastan had fought once before today already and had triumphed over with a move he certainly didn't consider unsuited or unfair but just as something that wasn't taught in weapon's training but a skill one picked up of the street where fighting just a tiny bit dirty ensured to live through yet another day attacked the Persian prince.
Dastan wasn't exactly taken off guard by the attack but he was surprised. He was used to situations where fights turned dirty and all that mattered was having the upper hand but he had never experienced such a thing in a training session before. He barely had time to get to his swords and block the attack of the Alamutian soldier. He gritted his teeth as he watched the other man take as step back, gathering his strength to attack again.
To the Alamutian this was more than training. It was a fight - a real fight - and he wanted to make up for the embarassement and the humiliation of having lost one fight to dastan today already. Dastan swallowed hard. If he lost the advantage in this fight, there was a good chance the other man would hurt him. Maybe even kill him... He was angry and an emotional opponent was capable of almost everything, even if it meant risking the fragile peace that had just been made between Persia and Alamut. He wanted to make up for losing a battle and Dastan knew without a doubt he couldn't give the other man a chance for that...
He blocked another forceful and vicious attack and quickly stepped back before Ashok could attack yet again. This would not be a clean fight but luckily for him he had grown up in an environment where he had picked up the skills of fighting for one's life even if it meant playing dirty. The slums of Nasaf were no place where one survived very long being overly charitable and trusting. At least in that regard he knew he had the upper hand on the Alamutian palace guard. Dastan was sure that man had never been forced to fight for his life ever before until today when they had met in battle.
Dastan blocked another attack from the Alamutian, losing his patience on the man rapidly. He would not allow him to fight him back any further He switched from defense to offense in one swift move, his swords crashing down on the other man's spear, the blades vibrating in his hands. Ashok took a quick step back, wielded his weapon with a grace that clearly told Dastan the man had years of experience using it and grabbed it with both hands. The expression on his face was even more grim now if that was even possible and he attacked again.
The sound of their weapons crashing down on each other and their heavy breathing was all that filled the courtyard. Neither one of them said anything and neither one of them had a chance to win the upper hand on the other. Dastan realized the Alamutian was a very good warrior. Maybe not completely up to him in skill but certainly in strength and endurance. The only reason he had been able to win before was because Ashok had been distracted by losing the dagger, desperately wanting to get it back. The fight during the invasion would have taken much longer had it been any different...
Up on the balcony where she was hiding, Tamina held her breath. She realized with a sudden clarity that this was not a sparing match - it was a real fight. Ashok had lost a battle against the persian prince once today already and he wanted to redeem himself. Tamina felt glad Dastan was wearing the same armor she was sure he had been wearing in battle - just as Ashok did - and she actually regretted having offered the prince to find a suitable training partner for him. Ashok was hurt in his pride, overeager and maybe even willing to sacrifice the newly formed alliance in order to win back his princess's trust. Maybe she had gone too far, maybe she had actually put both men in danger and now that it was done she couldn't interfer any more...
The fight raged on with the very same intensity, swords and spear crashing down on one another causing Tamina to wince time and again. Both men were concentrated and grim in their will to fight on until one of them got the upper hand and would be able to use his advantage. To her own surprise it was her warrior who managed to do it first. While Ashok pulled back from one of Dastan's attack, the Persian prince lunged forward once more, losing his balance for just a second.
It was all the advantage Ashok needed. He crashed his spear down on Dastan's weapons and managed to knock one of his swords from Dastan's hands, lunging forward, his spear only inches away from the prince's throat, actually drawing blood hadn't Dastan moved back and out of the way so quickly. The Alamutian warrior stared at him his voice cold, hard and full of disgust.
"Weren't it for the decision the princess made, the treaty she made with your brother and the fact that I am loyal to her to the death, I would use this chance Persian."
Ashok - feeling he had won now, being able to knock one of the swords out of Dastan's hand and having his weapon on the prince's throat - was triumphant... It was his mistake. Without any warning Dastan grabbed the spear pointing to his throat, taking a step to the front and pushing his whole body weight against the other man's weapon. With a groan as the movement twisted his arm, Ashok let go of the spear and with a quick move Dastan managed to lunge forward, sweeping the Alamutian warrior of his feet.
Ashok landed on the ground with a thud and a groan, having his breath knocked out of him. Dastan threw the spear out of the other warrior's range and stepped up to him, the one remaining sword he still had in hand moving up to the Alamutian's chin, dangling dangerously close to his throat now. Dastan couldn't help but smirk.
"What for?"
The Alamutian warrior looked up at Dastan, dazed and obviously shocked by the way he had so suddenly lost his advantage on the Persian prince and had ended up on the ground by the prince's feet and having lost his weapon yet again for the second time today. For a long moment he just stared at Dastan and then - to the young Persian prince's surprise - a soft chuckle appeared on the other man's lips. He tried to hide it back for a moment but then let go, actually bursting out in laughter for a moment before containing his emotions again and looking back up at Dastan once more.
"Looks like I have to work on my skills..."
Even after his little outbreak of laughter, Dastan still had expected bitterness to appear in the soldiers voice he had now managed to defeat for the second time this day but it didn't. Surprise was there and the same amusement he had already displayed but he wasn't angry. Dastan reached out a hand and was surprised to find the Alamutian soldier grab it and actually let him help him get to his feet again. Dastan smiled a crooked smile at the other warrior, not wanting to tease in any way and therefor keeping his voice neutral and friendly.
"It couldn't hurt."
"Then maybe we should repeat our little... exercise."
Ashok came back up onto his feet, looking at the Persian prince with a new found respect that managed to surprise Dastan. He had not expected the Alamutian warrior to admit and accept his defeat so easily. He had expected more hatred to come his way but he was glad that the warrior had decided not to hold a grudge against him any longer. He was a good partner in weapon's training, one that actually meant a challenge for Dastan and it would be a mutually beneficiary relation if they managed to be civil around one another. Right now it seemed, there was a good chance. Dastan gave the other man a short smile.
"Gladly."
"Until then, prince Dastan."
Ashok actually bowed to Dastan now. All of his anger was suddenly gone, realizing that the Persian prince had won because he was better than him and not because he had used some dirty trick. Actually there was a lot he could learn from the Persian that would help him to fulfill his own duty better. This was a good chance and Ashok - being the loyal guardian that he was - saw the advantage in it. HE picked up the spear he had lost upon his fall, bowed to the Persian prince again and left the yard, leaving Dastan behind alone.
Now that Ashok had left and this training session between her warrior and the Persian prince was over, Tamina knew it would have been time for her to leave. This was what she had come here for after all and now what she had wanted to witness was over. But she could not bring herself to leave. For reasons unknown to her she was drawn to Dastan - to his very presence down on the sandy yard - that made it impossible for her to leave her hiding place and go about her business. She just had to go on watching...
He did it with such calmness and precision that it was clear in her that he had a routine to this, born from years and years of training. Tamina smiled to herself. It reminded her of herself. She had the very same calmness about herself when her maids prepared her for a prayer ritual at the high temple. It were years or experience and of sheer repetition that caused the very same calmness she now witnessed on prince Dastan to appear within her very own actions in moments such as this as well. She stared through the curtain, watching his every move, feeling strangely excited about the fact that he had no idea he was being watched.
It seemed there was a routine to his ritual that he always went through and Tamina watched in strange fascination as the prince went over to where his sword had fallen to the ground when Ashok had knocked it from his hand, picked it up and put down the two swords he had used while training with Ashok, gently placing them on the wooden table at the side of the yard. He reached to his back next, pulling free the two throwing knifes from the silver clad, broad leather belt he was wearing before reaching to the last weapon of the little arsenal, the plain dagger lodged at the front of the belt. Tamina swallowed hard thinking about the dagger of time now that not so long ago had been there, alongside with the rest of the prince's weapons - a trophy on the very same belt when the Persians had first invaded her city...
She pushed the thought aside and watched with ever growing fascination as the prince now blindly reached for the bands securing the leather belt, untying them and placing that first piece of clothing right next to his weapons. It was only now that she realized the Persian prince was no longer wearing any jewelry. He had done so when she had first met him - rings on his fingers and a bracelet on his arm but it seemed to make sense that now - training for a fight - he had discarded those fickle displays of nobility. She wasn't sure what it was that fascinated her about his actions but she was drawn to them and even if she would have wanted to - which she did not - she would not have been able to cast her eyes down, turn and just leave.
She just stayed where she was, watching in silence as the Persian prince now undid the ties that held the thick leather body armor - that had been holding his swords right before he and Ashok had started their fight and slipped out of it. Tamina was surprised that there was no change in his demeanor. Somehow she had expected him to look more relaxed now, like a weight had been lifted off of him but there was no such thing happening.
Persian she reminded herself. Born a son of a king who expanded his empire through war, probably told from birth that it was the one and only way to rule an empire, trained to fight since aa very young age and experienced from numerous battles - as the scars on his face clearly showed. Of course his demeanor didn't change. He was so used to wearing armor and weapons that he probably felt vulnerable without them...
A thought popped into her head for just a second - noble blood or not... It was something the oldest of the three Persian princes had said when introducing his younger brother to her. Tamina frowned at the memory trying to make sense of it. She hadn't given it too much thought at that moment, overwhelmed by the suggestion of marriage. She had to either as the future heir to the Persian throne or prince Dastan himself about it sometime... Right now however her mind was occupied otherwise.
She continued to watch as Dastan now undid and slipped out of the vambraces shielding his wrists and lower arms from any kind of attack. She wasn't sure why but she was surprised to find him wear some sort of linen wrapping underneath them, obviously designed to protect the skin from the heavy leather armor. She had never really paid attention to it with any of her guards but it seemed to make sense. Wearing this kind of armor in battle where one had to move a lot while attacking ad defending oneself, some sort of protection for the skin - sweaty from the fight and the sheer exhaustion of it and exposed to the rawness of the fabric the armor consisted of - it made sense. Still she had not expected it.
The prince unwrapped the shielding, bandage like pieces of cloth from his lower arms and untied the knot from the burgundy sash he was wearing underneath the leather belt next. Tamina found herself swallowing hard when she realized her future husband to be was now only wearing a worn out, linen, sleeveless shirt that had once been white but had turned an unappealing shade of grey - probably from overuse and having it washed too often - a pair of sturdy leather pants and some heavy boots. Maybe it was time for her to leave,,,,
When he slipped out of his shirt now, placing it atop all the other pieces of clothing he had already gotten rid of - the thought of leaving left her immediately. It seemed like she was glued to the spot, staring at his bare back he had just exposed to her without knowing about. She couldn't help it. Tamina felt like it was physically impossible to look away. She bit her lip, chewing on it nervously and stared at Dastan's back, taking in the way his muscles flexed as he tried to relax his shoulders now.
Her eyes caught on the long scar on his upper back, right beneath his shoulder blades that went from one side of the shoulder to the other. She wondered how he had managed to get hurt like this, if it had happened in battle or maybe had been some sort of accident. She wondered if it had been painful, if he had needed the aid of a physician, if his family had been worried about him, if he had recovered well from it... She had no idea why any of this actually mattered to her, after all she barely knew the Persian prince at all... She wondered if he would answer her all of that questions would she actually ask him about it though...
Her thoughts quickly veered back to the here and now when Dastan took off his boots and then slipped out of the pants he was wearing with some difficulty. Tamina found herself feeling sort of warm all of a sudden... She kept on staring as the Persian prince was now almost completely undressed, the only thing still covering his body a pair of linen shorts that he decided not to take off. Tamina wasn't quite sure if she regretted his decision or not... She was mesmerized by the sight in front of her eyes to an extent she had never experienced before.
Even though the scars he was wearing clearly showed he was battle worn and that somehow scared her, she still thought of him as beautiful. The muscles on his arms and back flexed and relaxed again as he moved to rearrange his clothes on the table and then took a couple of steps to the small well at the side of the yard next to the wooden table. She had no idea why she hadn't even thought about this before but of course he had undressed to get cleaned up a little. Certainly fighting against Ashok had been exhausting, especially in the daunting heat of the afternoon and he had felt the need to freshen up before slipping into the fresh pieces of clothing that had been placed on the table as well. Tamina hadn't even realized they were there until now... She needed to remind herself that prince dastan had no idea she was watching. His display had not been for her personal entertainment at all...
Still she enjoyed it. She had a better look at his face now as he had turned sideways and had cupped his hands, reaching down into the well and drawing some water from it. He splashed the clear, cool liquid into his face and repeated the action a second time before reaching for a linen towel. She watched as small beads of water ran down his face, making her pay closer attention to his features.
The bright blue of his eyes, the scar on his cheek - yet another sign of battle and fighting - the dark stubble on his chin that gave him less of a royal, prince like and more of a bold and sort of adventurous look, and the dark hair, framing his face, hiding his features from view as he leaned down to pick up a bucket to now fill with water. Tamina realized with a certain... surprise that it was the same way with his features than with the rest of his body. He did have a beautiful, almost still boyish face - especially when he smiled - but even with the signs of battles fought visible on it, it did not diminish the fact that he was good-looking in any way. She had to admit she liked it.
She watched in silence as he cleaned himself up more thoroughly than she had expected from a Persian warrior, watching the way his muscles played right underneath the tanned skin, enjoying what he was offering her to look at without even knowing it. He took his time cleaning the sweat of his body before toweling of the pearls of clear liquid from his skin and then getting back to the wooden table to pick up his clothes.
When he slipped into the clean, white linen shirt and the pair of more comfortable black pants now, getting dressed again and looking less like a warrior and more like the young man he was - not even like a prince but like a normal peasant of the streets - Tamina found herself blushing. She did not know what made her feel like she had done something wrong right at that moment but it was exactly what she felt like. She felt like she had done wrong on the Persian prince for spying on him like this. She had done it long enough now and it was time for her to leave. But she had learned a valuable lesson right here and now. She felt for this man - and she felt more for him than she had thought possible and had allowed herself to admit - especially after just meeting him a couple of hours ago for the first time.
She couldn't truly explain why but she felt more sure about the righteousness of agreeing to marry him, she felt more confident about the whole idea... Maybe, one day, a long time from now when she had been married to him for a while and they would have reached the point where they knew each other better - the same thing the Persian prince had spoken about earlier today - she would tell him about what she had done here today. But it would be a long time until then... Or maybe she would just keep her little secret all to herself .- from now until forever...