Once again, I felt compelled to put this chapter in the first person, from Hazel's POV. I find her POV easiest to write because she's the only character in the story who interacts with all the other major characters without me having to change scenes. If you like it, let me know, if you don't tell me. I plan to write more first person chapters in the future, but not every single one will be like this.

Chapter 11

The party slowly started to die down. Most of the guests had already gone home. I didn't care, though. Hakim and I remained in the palace gardens, content to get away from it all, if only for a moment.

And then she came back.

This time she was with Hakim's father. Behind her smile and pleasant demeanor, the tension between us was evident. We did not let it show, however, as Hakim and his father spoke. Though I knew the conversation was important, I zoned out almost immediately. Neither of them were really talking to me, and I had yet to hear the girl speak at all.

There were only two parts of their conversation I was able to grasp. One, the girl's name was Ishita – Princess Ishita, and she was apparently from some distant land or another. Two, she was staying at the palace for a few weeks.

That's when I knew something wasn't right. Why would Hakim's father invite a girl Hakim didn't even know to stay with them for a month? It made no sense. After a few more minutes, the sultan pulled Hakim aside, apparently wanting to talk in private. That left me alone with Ishita.

For ages we just stood there, occasionally looking at Hakim, and even less often looking at each other.

"So, are you a friend of Hakim's?" she asked, breaking our awkward silence.

"You could say that," I replied coolly, knowing she already knew Hakim and I were close. "And how long have you known him?" I asked, though I was sure I already knew the answer.

"I just met him tonight. He's quite a catch, isn't he?" There was really no right answer to that question. Say yes, and it was like I was officially declaring that we were competing for Hakim. Say no, and it was like I was surrendering him into her hands. I got the feeling the question was rhetorical, anyway. She was hinting at something; she knew something I didn't.

The conversation, however tense, did bring out more information about Ishita. I hadn't thought it possible, but she was even more beautiful up close. Not only was she physically attractive, but she seemed to have this natural confidence and belief in herself, like she knew she was beautiful and wasn't afraid to flaunt it. However, this could also be perceived as arrogance, which I loathed, and which made her far less appealing in my eyes.

Hakim returned to us before I could say or think anything else. His father went back inside. While I didn't know what they were just talking about it, I got the feeling it was something negative. Hakim seemed nervous, all of a sudden, and seemed to want to avoid Ishita, which, to be honest, I wasn't bothered by in the slightest.

When he offered to walk me home, I gladly accepted. Even though I knew Ishita would be there when he got back, I preferred he spend as little time with her as possible. Plus, I was always grateful for some alone time with him. The hovel was a good place to talk, but it got lonely. Going to the palace however, was not the ideal romantic setting. With six other people living there, the best we could get was some corny play date like we had when we were little. Hopefully that would change when I told Dad about us. I had been putting it off for so long, and still couldn't find the right moment to tell him.

The walk home was quiet, both of us still wrapped in our own thoughts, and neither of us wanting to admit what we were thinking. For the first time in my life, I felt like I couldn't tell Hakim what I was feeling. I couldn't tell him how much I resented this girl, how she ate away at my own confidence. We'd definitely fight over it, and there was already so much going on. I wanted to hold on to whatever normalcy was left in my life.

There were only so many reasons why a strange girl would end up staying with Hakim. But somehow, I refused to believe what I knew was the truth. I could only hope that somehow he would be able to stop it...before it was too late.