Chapter 6 ~ Hadji~
--Five years ago—
I fidgeted in my seat. I was excited about this trip. We were heading to Bangalore. I had not been there in since I was nearly seven.
"Hadji, calm down." Jonny said from the seat next to mine.
"I am sorry, Jonny." I said. "It is just that I have not been to Bangalore in five years. I miss my mother."
"Don't be sorry, Son," said Dr. Quest from the front seat, as Race piloted the plane over the Atlantic Ocean. "You have a right to be excited."
"If things are the same, perhaps I can show you around," I offered.
By the time we arrived, I was so excited that Jonny had threatened to tie me to the chair about 5 times.
When I stepped off the plane, I noticed a woman approaching us. "MOTHER!" I shouted and ran to her. Instantly, I was holding her.
"Oh my Hadji," she whispered. "I have missed you." She kissed my forehead.
"I have missed you, too, Mother" I pulled away from her and introduced everyone.
Mother led us to a long black limo. I noticed the man standing by the limo. Pasha.
"Pasha!" I ran to him and held him. "I am glad you are all right. I have missed you."
"I have missed you, too, child." He said.
We climbed in to the limo. I gazed out of the window as we rode down the streets.
"Bangalore has not changed much." I observed. "But then it has been five years."
"Do you remember how to get around?" Jonny asked me.
"I believe so." I replied. Out the window, the Royal Palace came in to view. Strange how it still felt like home. As though I had never left. I remembered that I had not told Dr. Quest that I was royalty. "There is my home." I said pointing at the palace.
"Yeah, right, Hadji." Jonny laughed when he saw what I was pointing at.
"He is serious," Mother came to my defense.
"I never told you because I feared your lives would be placed in danger. My father, Haresh Singh, was the sultan. It is my job, now that he is gone, to be sultan."
"Why were you in America the day Rachel found you?" Dr. Quest asked.
"I will answer that," said Pasha. "You see, we told Hadji that his father was ill, when in reality he was murdered."
"Murdered?" I repeated.
"You were too young to understand." Mother said as the limo made a right turn.
"Who's in control now?" asked Race.
"Hadji's cousin, Vilak." She replied.
I reached over and grabbed Dr. Quest's hand and gazed in to his face. "Forgive me for not telling you, but I feared that if I had told you, your life would be placed in great danger," I said. "Or worse…terminated. You see when I ran into Mrs. Quest, I was being hunted."
"That's understandable." He said, squeezing my hand. "I'm not mad, Hadji. To be perfectly honest, I'm not surprised, about the fact that you're royalty. When Rachel brought you home, she explained to me that you were being hunted, just as you said. She and I got the impression that you and your father were important figures in the government."
"I'll say" Jonny interrupted with a grin.
"Watching how you handled yourself these past years, you seemed more responsible, more…I don't know…dignified than other kids your age." He said, ignoring Jonny.
"Thank you for not being mad at me." I said to him. I turned to my mother, "I want my throne, but I do not want to be 'sultan' until I am 18 and finished with high school. Mother, I want you to play 'sultan' until then."
"Very well, my child." She smiled at me.
--Five years ago—
I fidgeted in my seat. I was excited about this trip. We were heading to Bangalore. I had not been there in since I was nearly seven.
"Hadji, calm down." Jonny said from the seat next to mine.
"I am sorry, Jonny." I said. "It is just that I have not been to Bangalore in five years. I miss my mother."
"Don't be sorry, Son," said Dr. Quest from the front seat, as Race piloted the plane over the Atlantic Ocean. "You have a right to be excited."
"If things are the same, perhaps I can show you around," I offered.
By the time we arrived, I was so excited that Jonny had threatened to tie me to the chair about 5 times.
When I stepped off the plane, I noticed a woman approaching us. "MOTHER!" I shouted and ran to her. Instantly, I was holding her.
"Oh my Hadji," she whispered. "I have missed you." She kissed my forehead.
"I have missed you, too, Mother" I pulled away from her and introduced everyone.
Mother led us to a long black limo. I noticed the man standing by the limo. Pasha.
"Pasha!" I ran to him and held him. "I am glad you are all right. I have missed you."
"I have missed you, too, child." He said.
We climbed in to the limo. I gazed out of the window as we rode down the streets.
"Bangalore has not changed much." I observed. "But then it has been five years."
"Do you remember how to get around?" Jonny asked me.
"I believe so." I replied. Out the window, the Royal Palace came in to view. Strange how it still felt like home. As though I had never left. I remembered that I had not told Dr. Quest that I was royalty. "There is my home." I said pointing at the palace.
"Yeah, right, Hadji." Jonny laughed when he saw what I was pointing at.
"He is serious," Mother came to my defense.
"I never told you because I feared your lives would be placed in danger. My father, Haresh Singh, was the sultan. It is my job, now that he is gone, to be sultan."
"Why were you in America the day Rachel found you?" Dr. Quest asked.
"I will answer that," said Pasha. "You see, we told Hadji that his father was ill, when in reality he was murdered."
"Murdered?" I repeated.
"You were too young to understand." Mother said as the limo made a right turn.
"Who's in control now?" asked Race.
"Hadji's cousin, Vilak." She replied.
I reached over and grabbed Dr. Quest's hand and gazed in to his face. "Forgive me for not telling you, but I feared that if I had told you, your life would be placed in great danger," I said. "Or worse…terminated. You see when I ran into Mrs. Quest, I was being hunted."
"That's understandable." He said, squeezing my hand. "I'm not mad, Hadji. To be perfectly honest, I'm not surprised, about the fact that you're royalty. When Rachel brought you home, she explained to me that you were being hunted, just as you said. She and I got the impression that you and your father were important figures in the government."
"I'll say" Jonny interrupted with a grin.
"Watching how you handled yourself these past years, you seemed more responsible, more…I don't know…dignified than other kids your age." He said, ignoring Jonny.
"Thank you for not being mad at me." I said to him. I turned to my mother, "I want my throne, but I do not want to be 'sultan' until I am 18 and finished with high school. Mother, I want you to play 'sultan' until then."
"Very well, my child." She smiled at me.