Okay, I am very sorry if people thought I had discontinued this story, I haven't and I'm sorry I took so long to update, I've been kinda busy and all...this chapter is from Farah's view, and I apologise if anyone finds it short of crummy after such a long wait.

Chapter 28: Meet the family

I could barely hide my grin; I was home, back in Amber, my home. Admittedly, it had been 'altered', as King Shahraman had said, but in time it would look like it had before, a city of beauty. As I walked through the corridors to my father's throne room, I did my best to hide any of my excitement, mainly because I knew my father would be slightly angry at me, after all, I had run away, so he was expecting me to look at least a little remorseful.

"Um, Farah, before I meet your family, is their anything in particular you should tell me about them," the Prince asked me quietly as we approached the room, opposite of us were the gardens, I stared at them, the tranquil place hadn't been damaged too much by the Persian army, nothing had been done that couldn't be repaired, just like the rest of the city.

"Well, no, not really," I replied, I thought about my family for a few moments and then realised something. "Though my brothers may be a little angry at you because they'll obviously think you kidnapped me, but I'm sure after you got past that matter you'll all get on fine,"

"Well, how many brothers exactly do you have?" he enquired.

"Oh not many," I said, "Fourteen," He suddenly stopped, as did the rest of the entourage that trailed behind us.

"Fourteen?" he repeated, almost choking as he did so. I shrugged; it was nothing out of the ordinary. I continued walking ahead of him.

"Yes, fourteen: Ajay, Avanindra, Harshal, Harsha, Yuyutsu, Nandan, Prajeet, Puneet, Puskara, Vidur, Eknath, Santosh, Sankara, Shashee and Kanak," I said reciting the names of all my brothers. The Prince stood, I looked back at him; he was looking at his hands, as if counting on them. He looked up.

"Farah, that's fifteen," he pointed out.

"Oh – I didn't really count little Kanak because to be honest at most he'll probably kick you in the shins and then have his afternoon nap, he is only three," I explained. He began walking again and caught up with me.

"Farah – how do you expect me to remember all those names – some times I can't even remember my own name!" I pointed out.

"Really? You do have bad memory," I said casually.

"Farah – I am being serious, what am I going to do, I can't even recall one name you just said!" he whispered sharply.

"Oh don't worry, I'll just prompt you on the way, they usually stand in alphabetical order anyway," I murmured. The doors to the throne room were opened. Sat on a highly decorative throne was a tall but slightly plump man, my father. He immediately stood and I rushed to embrace him. He was taller than I was, but shorter than the Prince and his father. I had my father's eyes, and nose and I had also gotten the blackness of my father's hair, but now it was nothing more than grey and he hid the majority of it under a turban. His clothes were lavish, as was the room, as a child I hadn't always been allowed in here, so nearly every time I was I noticed something new about it. My uncles sat beside on each side of the throne on lower but just as lavish chairs. My father was not the king, but now almost considered it, my grandfather had been seriously ill for many years and due to his sickness his eldest son, my father, took his place, but remained with the title of a Maharajah.

"Farah – do you have any idea of how much trouble you disappearing has caused?" my father asked of me, I didn't reply, I knew I had caused a lot of trouble though. I stood back and found the Prince, his father and the rest of the entourage where stood behind me. I stepped aside so as my father could greet the Persian King.

"So where are your brothers?" the Prince whispered in my ear.

"They won't be here, only my father, grandfather uncles and guests are allowed in here, we'll meet them later, when we are excused," I explained. My father turned to the Prince after talking to Shahraman.

"And you are the young man that accompanied my daughter on her journey?" he enquired. The Prince bowed as a sign of respect and then replied with 'Yes, your majesty'.

"Well, I'd like to thank you firstly for making sure that no harm came to her, but why on Earth did you not escort her immediately back to her to the palace," my father enquired, not fiercely, but firmly, my father was a fair man and frankly I could tell he didn't care who was involved as long as I was alive and well. The Prince opened his mouth, about to reply, but I knew he'd probably just say something that'd just complicate things so before a word could drop from his mouth and I butted in.

"Father could I please go and meet with my brothers?" I asked.

"Uh, yes of course, they'll be wondering how you are," he said briefly, and waved his hand signalling I could go, however he noticed that I was also pulling the Prince along with me. "Farah, I said you could go, not the young Prince," he pointed out; I stopped abruptly and turned round.

"Yes but his majesty the Prince is keen to meet my brothers, aren't you?" I said turning to him with a fake smile plastered across my face.

"Actually I don't mi – " he began

"See just dying to meet them," I said and quickly hurried along, almost tripping the Prince up as I dragged him with me. I could just tell my father was staring baffled at me.

"What did you do that for?" the Prince asked me as we were walking through the corridors of the palace.

"Well can you honestly say you actually wanted to engage in a long conversation with my father?" I asked.

"Well…partly, and anyway, he's going to want to know what happened sooner or later and every single time he wants to question me you can't keep making excuses to leave the room," the Prince pointed out.

"Yes I can, I'm his favourite daughter, I don't mean to sound smug, but I have him wrapped around my little finger," I said, it was true, until recently, I had been the only girl in my family, and ever since I could remember, my father had always wanted me to be happy so if I wanted something, I would most certainly get it, he treated me like a treasured item, it surprised me that I never became seriously spoilt.

"Somehow I cannot imagine he'll act too pleased when you say you wish to marry a Persian prince, whether you want to or not, I know he'll not allow it," said the Prince slightly pessimistically.

"Well…" I started, "If I can completely repulse Eknath then I know for certain he definitely won't want to wed me,"

"Who's Eknath? Isn't he one of your brothers?" asked the Prince.

"Yes, but this is someone else, the man I'm arranged to marry, I briefly met him when I was young; seems a nice gentlemen but I'd rather keep things on the friendship level…mainly because the idea of marrying someone with the same name as my brother is just…unusual," I murmured, thinking.

"Well why don't you just be an arrogant, lazy, foul-mouthed – " the Prince began

"Yeah, don't over do it," I said sharply.

"…Spoilt princess - that should be enough to scare him into living like a hermit," said the Prince.

"Yes, I did come up with that idea before you mentioned it," I said slightly blatantly.

"See – you're acting arrogant already!" smiled the Prince. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, if I'm correct Eknath should be visiting this month briefly so if and when he decides I'm too much of a pig to marry then you can consult my father about you taking Eknath's place," I said, I stopped walking in the corridor and stepped out into the gardens as I noticed my brothers. "In the meantime I think it best for you to just suck up to my brothers and father," I added. My brothers noticed me and came racing over, my closest brother, Yuyutsu, embracing me.

"Farah where have you been?" most of them demanded to know. Then they noticed the Prince, it was like their persona changed entirely, with me they were kind and happy but then they began to approach the Prince and their eyes seemed to burn with anger.

"You," muttered Yuyutsu darkly, he acted in a way I had never seen him act before, he was a general in Amber's army, so I knew he had probably acted like this before though, but it was the way he would act with an enemy prisoner not a friend of mine. "You kidnapped my sister!" he cried.

"No you don't understand, I – " started the Prince but was suddenly punched very hard by Yuyutsu. He stepped back and smacked a pillar with the sudden blow and fell to the ground.

"Yuyutsu!" I cried, I really wanted to yell at him, but I knew what he had done was because he thought I had been kidnapped, I just wish he had listened to reason. I was about to sit down by the Prince but Yuyutsu took my arm and swiftly pulled me away. It seemed I'd have to wait to they weren't around to go and talk to the Prince…

I later found the Prince sitting in a room he had been given. He was sat on his bed, staring with eyes of thought at the ceiling; he did not appear to immediately notice my presence, but his eyes turned and then he sat up after realising I was there.

"Your brothers really know how to make someone feel welcomed don't they?" he asked sarcastically, but not bitterly, which was reassuring because if my brothers were always at war with the Prince, then it would make my married life, if it were to the Prince, utter hell.

"Give them a while and they will get use to you…" I murmured, which was actually a polite way of say 'be quiet and go around kissing their feet till they like you'. "I asked my father and it appears Eknath arrived earlier this week,"

"And?" enquired the Prince wanting to know what my father and I thought of him.

"Well, my father is going to take some convincing, and I just want to say – tonight at the evening meal, I'm going to be acting in a way purely to put Eknath off, so don't think it's the real me and get put off," I said.

"What if I'm attracted to the fake-you?" the Prince asked.

"Can you honestly say you'd find slurping my food and belching attractive? Because I don't know many men that find getting food spewed over them while having a conversation an aphrodisiac," I said bluntly.

"Point taken." The Prince murmured.

"Anyway, the evening meal is in an hour – around my father you have to act educated but always wanting to know more, ruthless but warm-hearted, slightly slimy in the way you'll be sucking up to him but at the same time appearing very noble," I explained.

"Farah, you're asking me to be the human personification of an oxymoron, are you aware of that?" he asked.

"Yes, and that's because if you do act the way you normally do, my father will think you're an oxymoron, minus the 'oxy' that it is," I said with an affixed sarcastic smile.

"Fine, I'll act in your unusual contradicting way if it'll persuade your father," the Prince finally agreed.

"I'm sure it will," I smiled happily, and then disappeared to prepare for the meal. I suppose at that time it never actually occurred to me that I was trying to make the Prince be someone he wasn't, I was trying to make him be someone my father wanted him to be, and even then, I wasn't sure what my father wanted, at the time, I probably should have realised that the only person my father wanted me to marry was someone who didn't wear a mask and spoke their own words, not words put into their mouth by someone else...

As the blue sky began to darken, I met the rest of the family in the hall we usually ate in. The starter was yet to be brought out from the kitchen so in the short period of time before it was to be we talked. My family was very large so numerous dishes had to be made so we all could eat, it made me wonder slightly about families of the same size but with less money, when I thought about such things it made me realise how very blessed I was to have been born into royalty. I could see my family hadn't taken to the Persian royal family very much, as I entered the room, it was quite clear that one family would stay to one side of the room, and the other to the other side of the room. I wanted all the uneasy tension to disappear and when I went and talked to the Prince my family became a little more accepting and starting to engage in some brief conversation, which was better than nothing.

"So which one is Eknath?" the Prince whispered to me. Eknath's father was also present, and it wasn't particularly helpful seeing how he seemed best friends with my father. Eknath was similar to the Prince, he was of medium height and slim, he was a little bit darker with a sharper nose but with softer eyes that were brown and I assumed longer hair (which I guessed was black as his father's was) as it was kept under a turban. Eknath was attractive and having very briefly talked to him earlier he seemed a man with a good heart, yet I couldn't love him, he seemed more like a brother than a husband to me, and I could see he thought the same, when he looked at me there was love in his eyes but not in the way it was in the Prince's eyes, somehow I was sure that for Eknath there was someone else…but I couldn't ask him about it, if I did then he'd assume I had someone too and then he tell my father. We uneasily sat at the table, and for the first few minutes there was nothing but just a deadly silence. It was always difficult starting a conversation in that place because of how your single voice would echo embarrassedly around, but it was difficult even more so because no one actually wanted to talk to each other. I was placed opposite Eknath, which was probably meant to have been done in a way 'cunning way which I wouldn't notice'; quoting something my father probably had said no doubt. I guess I had to start looking very off-putting, however, before I could even shovel food in my mouth in a manner-less style, something unusual had happen – Eknath had somehow managed to get there first, he was eating more grotesquely than anything I had ever seen. Not even in Almalendu's Tavern did they eat in such a way. I couldn't just copy, because that would make us look even more the perfect couple what with us being alike; I was actually very annoyed that he had seemingly stolen my plan, because I knew he had – I had seen him eating alone earlier when he wouldn't have noticed me (I was not stalking him, but making some 'observations') and at that time he ate perfectly politely. He coughed very unnecessary making food spew everywhere, I had to hand it to him, if he was doing this purely to disgust me, then he was doing a fantastic job. He chewed very loudly, coughed, belched and made this horrible nasal sound occasionally. I was pretty sure just like my stomach; my father was turned and now definitely didn't want me to marry this person. What crossed my mind though was why didn't he want to marry me? I decided that I would follow him once the meal was over and ask him.

It was hard trying to find Eknath once the meal had ended, I told the Prince I was going to go talk to him, but after I said that I couldn't find him. I went down into the moonlit gardens after giving up, but to my surprise he was also there. I didn't notice him at first; he was sat under a tree with a face drowned in thought. It was only till I stood right beside him did he notice and look up.

"Princess Farah, why are you here?" he asked.

"Why are you?" I asked him, not answering.

"I wanted to think," he replied. I sat down beside him.

"Well I wanted to think too," I explained. He looked at me quizzically.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but haven't you just taken my answer and used it as your own in a way which I have to point out is very obvious?" Eknath pointed out.

"Well I didn't fuss when you stole my idea," I muttered.

"Pardon?" he queried briefly hearing what I had said.

"I'll be honest with you, Eknath; if we are to marry then you'll need to learn more table manners," I murmured. Eknath stared at me with widened eyes.

"What? You still want to marry?" cried Eknath. I kept on remaining oblivious to his intentions.

"I am sure I did just imply that with I just said," I replied. Eknath got to his feet.

"Farah, you are a beautiful girl but I really do not want to marry you, the only love I have for you is that of friendship and nothing more," Eknath explained desperately. There was a few moments silence. Eknath looked confused. "W-why aren't you angry? Hit me in the shin or something if it'll make you feel better," he said.

"Eknath, I'm not going to inflict pain on you just because you don't want to marry me, and even if I was it would be with a bow and an arrow, but you were right about aiming for your shins," I smiled, Eknath managed to crack a slight smile too, "But, like you, I don't really love you either, and now I'm guessing, that like me, you're probably in love with someone else," I continued softly. There was silence, Eknath looked at the ground briefly.

"You're right, but I just can't tell my father, our marriage has been arranged since we were young," Eknath explained.

"Well you don't have to talk to your father, but to mine," I explained.

"Elaborate on that," Eknath asked.

"My father, after the performance you gave, probably wouldn't invite you to another gathering till time itself runs out, you act even more oafish and then you've practically spat, torn and burnt the wedding arrangements. However, the person I do wish to marry is a Persian, so if you could subtly hint to my father how good it would be if I were to marry some of that origin what with the alliances that could be made and the trade that could be start not only to mention having one of the world's biggest armies behind, then he may be persuaded," I explained. Eknath looked quite surprised about something.

"I have to admit, for a woman you're actually rather clever Farah," Eknath stated. I looked at him sharply.

"What are you trying to imply?" I asked quickly.

"Nothing, but…well, you're a girl, and politics really isn't a place for a girl," Eknath explained.

"Remember what I said about my bow and arrow Eknath? I'm really thinking of using them now," I hinted sharply. Eknath put his hands up.

"Okay, okay, I'm going…" he murmured and went off. I heard him talk with someone in the distance, and I heard my name mentioned, then I heard two types of footsteps, one of which was probably his and was going out in the distance, the other was coming towards me. I looked to see a rather old man looking at me. His face was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on where he was from. He was dressed in white robes and his eyes seemed almost shut.

"Princess Farah, you recall the young woman that died on your journey," he asked in an aged voice. He was talking about Shirin.

"Yes," I replied, I then realised who this man was, he was a priest, when members of my family died he was the one that arranged the funerals.

"Well, her body is now prepared…and most of the arrangements have been made, I was told you were thinking of a burial, not a cremation, yes?" the Priest asked, his voice was gentle, a way of speaking he had probably mastered over the years. I nodded. "A tomb has been prepared for her, she will be placed in the crypt for noblemen and women, those close to the royal family, I assume that was what she was descended of?" he asked. I found myself nodding, well…for all I, or even Shirin herself, could of known she may have very well been, but I seriously doubted it, if she was from a family of money then they would have not abandoned her, and even then there were suspicions around what she had said in her moments of craziness. "Well, it is usually the job of someone close to the departed to decide anything such as clothing to be worn or facial decoration for the deceased, with there being no such person except for you and the young Persian prince, and in this particular case - what with it being a woman – it has to also be a woman, that being you..." the Priest tried to explain. My face must have dropped with the realisation that he wanted ME to help prepare a dead body, what with what he quickly added: "But you could always have someone else do it,"

"No, I'll be fine…" I found myself murmuring. He thanked me and then told me where I would have to go tomorrow, he then left me. I sat silently, not sure how to feel, was I meant to be scared? Since she had died, I had just tried my best to block any thoughts about Shirin. I wanted the funeral over and done with so I could move on, however harsh that sounded, yet I didn't want to let go. I was confused about how to feel, I was happy I was going to hopefully marry someone I loved yet I was sad because I saying goodbye to someone I cared about. I stood and slowly began to walk to my chambers, I needed sleep and I needed to think less. As I walked quietly and in the light of candles, I made a promise to myself, when I got married, I wouldn't yet any human ever harm me or anyone I cared about again…it was what I wanted, but who knows what fate would bring.

Okay, again, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, I've become a little slack with that what with me nearing the end of the story, I'll try my best to have this story finished (which it still isn't) and my next one started by the end of September.