Hi Everyone,
Do apologise for the delay in posting. I really can't wait to see what you all think of the story!
Chapter 3
The sun seeped into the room and Dastan turned his face away to escape. Instantly he felt his face land on a parchment crumpling it as he weighed it down. He slowly woke himself from sleep and pushed himself up on his elbows and brought it to him to read.
'Fine,' it said, 'I will be your friend since you are begging. Now stop being such a girl about it.'
With those words, he knew that from this day they were back to being Dastan and Tamina. However, he could not be with her every minute as they had been for weeks in the desert. He was once again orphaned and knew he had to support his brothers. It was the same realisation as that day at the seashore when he was twelve; he knew his childhood was over. So it is now. His casual youthful existence was at an end. The old Dastan had to go. Not his spirit, not his character, but he had to let go of his reckless drinking ways. He had lived his life, got drunk, brawled, chased women and now his duty called him. His life was in danger and the empire was under great threat.
He looked forward to simply being in the palace compounds, undisturbed, and he knew that whenever he was not in court or with his friends, he would try to be with her. Tus and Garsiv were also surprised by this new lifestyle as they discussed the security details.
"As much as we need to appear normal, we need to make sure we stay in," Tus said as he looked at the latest map of Hassansin sightings.
"Agreed brother, I will move the cavaliers as advised," Garsiv said as be moved to leave.
"And tell Dastan to stay in the Palace," Tus said as a matter of fact.
Garsiv turned on his heel, "No," he said slowly, "You tell him that. We always end up fighting and I become the damned."
Tus knew Garsiv was right but he was not the best one to discipline Dastan. The youngest prince had his own way of living; he would get drunk, fight for wagers, scale walls, charm women and spend more time with his friends on the streets than the palace. This was known to everyone and would easily reach their enemy who needed the royals weakened. Dastan needed to be within these walls.
"Well, your King is giving you an order," Tus quipped trying to get out of the argument.
"No, it is the order of a pushover of an elder brother!"
"To a brat of a younger brother," Tus stood firm.
At that time, Dastan walked in and looked at the two brothers in a confrontational stance. He stood by for a second before he spoke.
"Brother you wanted to see me?" he presented the question to Tus.
"Garsiv did, actually, " Tus said before Garsiv could escape the forced duty.
"Yes, well, we require you to stay in the Palace compound at all times. Security concerns. You will stay here and whatever you require will be brought to you," Garsiv stated as he would say the plainest thing and prepared for an onslaught from Dastan.
"Yes, of course," Dastan agreed.
"For once listen to—" Garsiv started to argue, stopped midsentence, "What did you say?"
"I said yes. Can do with some rest and time with my family." Dastan smiled.
The brothers looked at each other in shock but decided not to pursue an argument they had already won.
"I heard you have a new maid," Tus said giving him a knowing look.
"Ah I see that word travel fast and me having a maid is the kind of intelligence a King should have," Dastan countered inciting a laugh from both Tus and Garsiv.
"I think," Garsiv narrated, "what our elder brother means is that she does not look like any maid. She walks with poise and has softer features for a maid."
"I do not know her past, neither do I want to. She saved my life, I owe her and that debt is being paid," he simply replied and after a brief exchange, Dastan was sent to perform his royal duties. He hoped that he would see Tamina at least once before the evening.
In the days following, he warned Tamina not to walk so poised, to which she retaliated by walking as a hunchback just to annoy him!
Tamina's life in the palace was a mixture of emotions. She looked at him as he was talking to Bis. She was comforted to be with Dastan against her will, even as she worried for the fate of the dagger. Yet she could not contain her heart when it came to the Prince.
Her duty was to serve a Prince without been seen and this ensured that she had ample time to observe him. She would look on from behind the curtain as he practiced his sword craft with Bis, maneuvering the blades with his body moving majestically across the ground. His smile and laugh would echo through the wind to her ears.
Dastan treasured every glimpse he got of her. She would be dressed in beautiful coloured clothing and her eyes framed in black brought more mystery than the scarf itself.
The routine of their life started to sprout from the first day. In the morning, she would start arranging the bed even before he was awake and always made him help her adjust the coverings.
"Hold the other end of the sheet," she instructed while Dastan was narrating a matter to her.
"What?" he protested.
"Hold the other end of the sheet and tuck it in," she stated again.
"I am aPrince!"
"And this is your bed," she stated back. Needless to say, from that day onwards, he had to help her arrange his own bed.
They would bicker about everything butat night she would always come back to his room and fall asleep on the carpet. Dastan always fell asleep after her and she always woke before him to sneak back to her room. She would always stop at the bed and ensure that he was comfortable, cover him with the sheet, and close the curtain to keep the sunlight out before she left.
She would walk in with the guards with breakfast as any maid would, but as soon as the guard walked away, she returned to normal Tamina. While her gentler side took care of him at night, during the day, Tamina loved to annoy Dastan every chance she got. If Dastan had his way, he would want her to be around every minute. He could not do that for duty kept him away at work, but at four o'clock in the afternoon, he would climb the roof of one of the buildings to see her at the well washing her own clothes.
While the mornings were spend apart, the nights proved quite entertaining to both. Dastan taught her how to play cards and she taught him old Alamutian. They would lie on the carpet, at opposite ends so that they could face each other. They spoke endlessly of their time together and the adventure they shared.
"Tell me a story," she requested once.
Dastan's face clouded with a sense of sadness as she said the words, "Sorry, my Father loved telling us stories… when you said those words…"
"You must miss him so dearly," she said and he nodded in reply, "then tell me one of his favourite stories."
Dastan did not have to think back to know his father's favourite story. He knew it by heart.
"Once there were two Princes and when they were yet boys, they went hunting. They were stalking a beautiful buck, but they weren't aware of a lion stalking them. The crown Prince was caught between a rock and the lion when it unexpectedly pounced; the younger prince jumped at the lion with a spear and killed it to save the future King. My father told us the story over and over again," he said.
She smiled back to comfort him at the memory of his father. As much as he shared his memories, he was however surprised by how little she spoke of her family.
It was around a week into their new arrangement and Tamina came in and pulled the curtain harshly after a Dastan had a drunken night out with his friends, waking him up instantly.
"Go away," he moaned as he buried his face in his pillow.
"It is morning, Your Highness," she said in a mocking tone, annoyed at him for not spending the night with her. He moaned again in reply.
Tamina picked up the food tray and came to the bed.
"Move over," she said as she sat on the bed next to Dastan. He was lying on his stomach now and slowly propped himself up with his elbows. At times he would sleep shirtless, this day being one of them, and Tamina had to take care not to stare at him with wanting.
"I told you I don't like that cheese," he said looking at the platter.
She took a piece and popped in her mouth, "I know. I took it because I like it."
"So you pick what you want to eat for breakfast and what I want is irrelevant? Doesn't the palace feed you?"
Tamina missed the food she enjoyed at her palace table and she cannot exactly explain to Dastan how a lowly priestess gets the best food in Alamut.
"Well, obviously we do not get food fit for royalty!"
Dastan looked at her savoring each morsel. "Leave some for me."
As he said that, Tamina cupped her nose and cringed.
"Oh, go rinse your mouth," she said and just to annoy her, he asked 'Why' about five times, exhaling at her face. Although it was annoying, his playfulness made a giggle escape her lips as she fell back onto his bed.
"It has been weeks since I returned," he said as he sat back down next to her after he had cleaned up, "We will have some peace for the next few days."
"How come?" she questioned.
Tus had sent Garsiv on a clandestine operation to Avrat with Dastan to remain in the Palace. He felt that enemies were looking for Dastan to harm his King. It would be an easy story to catch on like wildfire; a boy the late King saved to turn against his brothers for power, a boy without claim to the throne killing his King. Tus also felt heavy guilt at the accusations he believed and the bounty he once put on his little brother's head.
He looked at her sitting with her left leg tucked under and the right swinging at the edge of the bed. She loved to sit that way whenever she got a chance. Her face had a beautiful serene smile as she looked out of the balcony. He was starting to adore her against his own will but he knew he could not tell her where Garsiv had gone.
Garsiv had a habit of barging in unannounced and keeping tabs on Dastan, more out of brotherly competition than suspicion. Unfortunately that also meant that he would become suspicious of Tamina. With him gone, he had a few days of freedom with her.
"Doesn't matter why… just be ready at the eastern garden before you serve my afternoon meal," he instructed.
He watched her replace her veil and leave his room. He hated time after breakfast as he would not see her until late afternoon after all the council meetings. He kept looking over the information received from Persian outposts with the generals. Every time Dastan tried to piece together the events, the part that did not fit was always caused by one person- Nizam.
His uncle remained in Alamut finding Persia's enemies and surprisingly finding each enemy on his own, each swiftly executed or killed in battle. He had no proof but only an inkling, which at this time would only be a burden to Tus. He will find his proof, but not today. Today he was keeping other promises.
The day went slower than he hoped and she too spent a lonely morning being despised by the other maids. Rumors had started to swirl that she was the Prince's play thing. Although she knew she was not his plaything, Tamina wondered if there were others like her, acting in the way everyone believed her to be. She was jealous. She feared to ask herself why these feelings were evoked. She was here first and foremost for the dagger. Why would she care who he decided to bed?
Her thoughts were occupied with this as she walked in the eastern garden as instructed.
"Miss," Bis called from behind but before she could reply, he asked her to follow him.
