a/n: Thank you to those who followed/favorited this story! It means so much! And thanks to those who simply read and enjoyed.

So, WARNING! This chapter is pretty dark and heavy. It deals with violence and abuse too. I put a warning in front of the part that might trigger people. I didn't go into detail with the rape, I just implied it and put Gamila's reaction to realizing what was going on. If you are triggered in any way by any of that, don't read that part!

Other than that, please enjoy!

bookwriter123456: Thank you for your review! And yeah, this story used to have like 13 chapters. But I decided to rewrite this story and make it better. I only took down the other chapters though, instead of deleting the whole story. So yeah, that's why there's a lot more reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer! I don't own Marvel!


One Year Later

"jamilat, aistiqz. (Gamila, get up.)"

Gamila slowly opened her tired eyes to see her brother, Kareem shaking her awake. He had changed quite a bit in the last year. He was taller than her now, by several inches. He was thin and malnourished, but he had also filled out a little as well from all the hard labor they did each day under the beating hot sun. His complexion had darkened, making his light brown eyes stick out a bit more. Those eyes that resembled a dusty road were filled with a mixture of seriousness and sadness. Gamila supposed hers were the same way. "'ant nayimun. tahan yabhath eanka. ealayk 'an tastayqiz alana. 'ukhbiruh 'anak kharajat min almueaskar li'akhdh shakhin 'aw shay' ma. (You overslept. Tahan is looking for you. You have to get up now. Tell him you stepped out of camp to take a piss or something.)"

Gamila immediately sat up and threw off the rag that she called a blanket. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled it back with the bit of cloth she had been given. Then, she quickly slipped into her boots and exited the tent. Kareem nodded at her quickness in satisfaction. His sister has started out being one of the strongest soldiers in camp. But soon enough, many of the boys had outgrown her, becoming much stronger than her. However, she remained to be the quickest and quietest soldier in the camp. She could sneak in and out of any place without detection most of the time. That's why if there was any job that required stealth, Gamila was sent to do it. She may not have been the strongest, but she didn't need to be. She was quick, quiet, and deadly with most weapons (particularly knives and guns).

The two siblings walked (or rather, jogged) towards the main camp. Tahan was pacing in front of his tent, occasionally glancing up to see if she had arrived. His habibti. She was going to be very important to him in the next few days and in the next few months. When he next looked up, she was approaching the tent with her brother. "'ayn kunt? (Where were you?)" he snapped angrily. "min almftrd 'an takun huna klu yawm baed shuruq alshams. (You're supposed to be here every day after sunrise.)" With that, he slapped her across the face so hard, Gamila saw stars. This wasn't unusual. Tahan hit her at least once a week, if not more. Kareem looked on helplessly. He wanted to stop Tahan from abusing his sister, but he was powerless. If he tried anything, he would be shot, and Gamila might be too.

"kharajat li'akhdh shakhin (I stepped out to take a piss)," Gamila replied, trying to keep a neutral tone. She wanted to reach up and rub her cheek, but she knew that any acknowledgement of the injury would only result in more punishment. "kunt fi tariqi eindama wajahat kariman. 'iinaa asif sidi. (I was on my way over when I ran into Kareem. I'm sorry, sir.)"

Tahan relaxed slightly, buying into the lie. "gharamatan. la tade hdha yahduth maratan 'ukhraa, habibati. (Fine. Don't let it happen again, sweetheart.)" He put a controlling hand on the space between her shoulder blades, making Gamila shiver. This was another thing that had become a common occurrence.

Gamila has grown up a lot in the past year. Her innocence had diminished until there was practically nothing left. Within the first six months of her kidnapping, she had learned a hard lesson: her long dark hair and full dark eyes had drawn in more than a few unwanted eyes. The older men in the camp made it quite obvious that they desired her. Not in the way her father had wanted her mother, which was what Gamila had imagined at first. No. Their desire was one of lust, not of love. Horrified, Gamila had done her best to avoid the advances of the men.

To her surprise, Tahan had supported this. Any man caught looking at her for too long was told off. Any man who touched her inappropriately got a lot worse. The men eventually backed off, leaving her be. Gamila had even been grateful to Tahan. But only for a bit. Because she quickly learned that his intentions were not so noble.

Not long after, she began to notice a change in Tahan. He still hit her and yelled and screamed at her, but then there were the other times. The times in between. In private moments when there was no one around to see them. He would smile at her differently. His eyes would linger on her a little longer than necessary. And when he would touch her arms or back, his hands would linger much longer than necessary. In fact, whenever he was training her or teaching her or talking to her, he seemed to be looking for some excuse to place his hands on her.

That had been the extent of it, but it was enough to make Gamila extremely uncomfortable. She tried to calm her goose flesh as she entered his tent, where her friend, Amira was lying on the ground.

Amira looked absolutely miserable. Her eyes were red and they had bags under them from lack of sleep. Her skin was paler than Gamila had ever seen it. She was very thin, except for her belly, which announced that she was only a few months away from giving birth. To Tahan's son (of course, there was no real way to know what it was, but Tahan wanted a son, so a son it had to be).

There were a couple other women in the tent. Farida and Soraya were the only other women in the camp, both of whom were young wives to some of the older men. Farida was eighteen and Soraya was fifteen. They had been here for many years, and had been in the same position as Amira was now. Tahan had asked for all the women in the camp to help his young wife as she prepared to give birth.

Gamila gave the other two girls a nod before she knelt beside Amira. She took her friend's hand and forced a smile on her face. "kayf tasheur ya amyr? hal kan ladayk 'ayi shay' lil'akl? (How are you feeling, Amira? Have you had anything to eat?)"

For a moment, the pregnant girl just stared at her, looking very confused. Then, her eyes seemed to focus and she looked at Gamila with a grin on her face. "jamyl! kayf halikm? kayf hal almudrs? (Gamila! How are you? How is school going?)"

The Arabic girl looked at her sick friend sadly. She had been like this for a month now. Amira was very sick and malnourished. Both Soraya and Farida feared she would die unless her situation changed, and soon. Gamila patted her hand gently. "hasn. 'ana 'ataealam alkthyr ean alyaman waljghrafya. 'atamanaa 'an taeud maei 'iilaa almudrasat. (Good. I'm learning a lot about Yemen and it's geography. I wish you would come back to school with me, though.)"

Amira shook her head weakly. She gave a slight grin. "wayajib 'an takhudh alriyadiaat maratan 'ukhraa? la, shukrana. 'ana last mithlak ya jamilat. (And have to take math again? No thank you. I'm not like you, Gamila.)"

Gamila forced a weak chuckle at her comment. "alrrahat alana. sawf 'uhdar lak bed altaeam walma'i. alhusul ealaa qawtik tisl. (Rest now. I'm going to get you some food and water. Get your strength up.)" Amira nodded, already half asleep as her eyes closed. Gamila stood up and approached the other two girls in the tent. Soraya was two years older than her and Farida was six years older and fully an adult, but they viewed Gamila as an equal. They were envious at times, that she wasn't forced to marry anyone or that their husband's eyes had been drawn to the pretty young girl, but they respected her as well, for her strength and determination. No one had ever stood up to Tahan before she came along. "hal sataqum badhaluk? (Is she going to make it?)" Gamila asked them. It was the same question she asked every time.

Farida shrugged, as she did every time. "la ymknna 'an nakun muta'akdina. hdha ghyr muhtamalin. (We can't be sure. It's not likely.)" Soraya nodded soberly by her side, tears filling her eyes. Amira had become close friends with these two women. Gamila wasn't the only one losing a friend.

"madha kanat alhajata? (What does she need?)" Gamila asked next.

"alghidha' walma' walbitaniaat walmanashif , warubama naweaan min aldawa' (Food, water, blankets, towels, maybe some kind of medicine)," Soraya said softly.

Gamila nodded focusing on every word. "'iidha kanat ladayha kl dhlk , fahal ymknha 'an tafeal dhilka? (If she had all that, she could make it?)"

Again, Farida shrugged. "yumkin. ymkn 'an nuhawil , lkn hdha alshita' kan qasyaan lilghayat ealayha waealaa altifli. la ymknna 'an nakun muta'akdina. (Maybe. We could try, but this winter was very hard on her and the baby. We can't be sure.)"

Gamila nodded again, this time thoughtfully. Amira was knocking on death's door. It wouldn't be long before Amira and the baby were dead, gone from this world forever. Gamila had experienced more death than she cared for in the past year. Her parents, other kids who were her friends, countrymen that she had been forced to kill. So far, nine people had died at her hands. At least, nine that she was certain of. There were probably more that she hadn't seen. Gamila's gaze hardened. She was determined that Amira and this child would not join the list of the dead.

The Arabic girl left the tent in determination. Tahan turned to face her immediately. "hasna? (Well?)" he demanded impatiently.

"'iinaha tahtaj 'iilaa alghidha' walma' walbataniat walmanashif wal'adwia (She needs food, water, blankets , towels, medicine)," Gamila explained, somewhat snappishly. Had anyone else spoken to him like that, Tahan might've hit them. But he had to admit, he admired this little girl's bravery, even if it was stupid. "hataa mae dhlk , fa'iin alfuras dayiylatan. walakun ela alaqli sayakun hunak fursatun. (Even with that, the chances are slim. But at least there would be a chance.)"

Tahan glared at her as if this was all her fault. Gamila glared back. This was his fault. She wasn't the one who decided to marry a thirteen year old girl and impregnate her all while they were fighting against their country. However, if she said that out loud, that would only result in punishment. She spoke out of turn occasionally, but she wasn't completely stupid. There were some times that were just wrong. This was one of those times.

For a while, they just glared at one another. Gamila thought that perhaps Tahan would take out his frustrations on her, but he didn't. He broke eye contact first and turned around to kick at an empty crate, sending it flying. Then, he spun back around, seething. "tamut , wasawf 'aqtiluk. tasmaeuni ya habybti? (She dies, and I will kill you. You hear me, sweetheart?)" he said, spitting out the last word.

"thuma ealayk 'an tadeani 'anqudhaha (Then you have to let me save her)," Gamila shot back. "'iinaha tahtaj 'iilaa altaeam walma' bialtaakidi. albitaniaat satakun tabeatan latifat. (She needs food and water, for sure. Blankets would be a nice edition.)"

"wahal satuqadam laha hasusak? (And are you going to give her your rations?)" Tahan said sarcastically.

Gamila shook her head. "la, sa'asraquhum. (No. I'll steal them.)" This caught Tahan off guard. They had stolen things before, of course, but it was always from political enemies or enemy soldiers. The nearest army was hundreds of miles away. And it's not as if they were very well off, supplies wise. "taqae 'aqrab madinatan ealaa bued 25 mylana faqtin. sa'adhhab wasariqat bed al'ashya' min shakhs ma. thuma sa'ueiduh 'iilaa huna mbashrtan. (The nearest town is only twenty-five miles away. I'll go and steal some things from someone. Then I'll bring it right back here.)"

Tahan considered this for a moment. It would work, that was for sure. Gamila was quick and quiet enough to pull off a robbery like that. And even if she was caught, she could easily eliminate them. There was only one problem. "wakayf tatawaqae 'an tahmil kl shay' hna? (And how do you expect to carry everything back here?)" he replied slowly.

Gamila blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought about that. But she thought up a solution with ease. "baed dhlk sawf akhudh karim maei (Then I'll take Kareem with me)," she answered smoothly.

"walmukhatarat athnyn min 'ant yuhrib maea? (And risk the two of you running off together?)" Tahan snorted. "la 'aetaqid dhlk, habibti. sa'adhhab maeak. (I think not, sweetheart. I'll go with you.)"

Gamila wanted to protest, but she knew there was no point. Tahan would overrule her. The idea of spending a full day with just a Tahan made her uneasy. But there was no way around it. No sense in fighting it. How bad could it be, really? It would probably be no different than any other day. So she nodded curtly. "gharama (Fine)," she mumbled under her breath. Then, she straightened. "yjb 'an natruk fi 'aqrab waqt mumkin. kulama aistaeadat 'amirat bed alquat mrtan akhra 'iilaa jusdiha , kan dhlk afdl. balnsbt laha waltiflu. (We should leave as soon as possible. The sooner Amira gets some strength back into her body, the better. For her and the baby.)"

Tahan didn't argue with this logic. It didn't even irritate him that Gamila was trying to give out orders. He gave a ghost of a smirk at the idea. His habibti was growing a backbone. Cute, he thought. But he would have to break that backbone before it grew out of control.

"jame ma tahtajuh. qabilny maratan 'ukhraa huna fi eshryn daqiqa. 'ant tafahum? (Gather what you need. Meet me back here in twenty minutes. You understand?)" Gamila nodded and sprinted back towards her tent. Tahan watched her retreating figure with the smirk still on his face.

Soon, he told himself. Soon.


The twelve year old Arabic girl stared at the warmly lit house about 500 yards in front of her. She could see the small family inside, gathering around the father who was reading from the Quran. Gamila had memories of her father doing the same thing every evening. It felt like it was hundreds of years ago. In fact, it felt like something she had seen complete strangers do, not her. She had spent her whole life fighting and killing. Not sitting around a kind father, reading from the scriptures, while a loving mother gently stroked her hair.

Gamila shook her head. There was no point in dwelling on the past. No matter how much she missed her parents, they weren't coming back. It was better to just pretend like they had never existed.

The father closed the Quran and they all stood up. The three children kissed their parents goodnight before heading to their warm beds. Then, the father kissed the mother and they too went to bed, turning off all the house lights as they went.

"aintazar lifatrat 'atwal qlylaan, hataa taghfu (Wait a little longer, for them to fall asleep)," Tahan instructed her in a whisper. "bimjrd 'an takun nayimaan, sariqat kl ma tastatieu. 'iidha hawaluu 'iiqafak, faqtaluhum. la tataradad. fhm? (Once they are asleep, steal whatever you can. If they try to stop you, kill them. Do not hesitate. Understood?)"

The Arabic girl only gave a curt nod in response to his question. Tahan was satisfied by this answer, for the moment.

Soon, he reminded himself. Soon.

They waited maybe thirty minutes before deciding that it was safe to get closer to the house. They kept to the shadows in the street, which were unlit. Gamila tiptoed around the house, listening closely at each window. The only sound coming from the windows was the faint breathing of the family inside. They were sound asleep. She tiptoed back to Tahan to inform him of this.

He nodded. "adhhab. sa'uraqib huna. (Go. I'll keep watch out here.)"

Gamila made her way to the front door and slowly opened it. It creaked a little, but not loudly enough to be heard by any sleeping person. She didn't bother to shut the door behind her. It would only be an obstacle for when she had to sneak back out.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and she slipped into the kitchen. Her footsteps were eerily silent. Most people needed years of practice to master this skill. Gamila seemed to have a naturally light tread, and if she put in a little more effort, her feet made no sound. The pre-teen girl opened cabinets and found some containers of rice. She grabbed two full ones and placed them on the doorstep, for Tahan to pick up. She made her way back to the kitchen to find more things.

Onions, potatoes, beans, lentils, lahuh, buttermilk, hawaij. All came out with the rice. It was more food than Gamila could remember seeing in a long time. Clearly this family was very rich.

After she had gathered the food, she crept into the living room to see if she could find any blankets or pillows. Something to keep Amira warm during the cold nights.

Her hands had just touched a knit afghan when a light flicked on. Gamila froze, cursing herself in her head. She had been so preoccupied with getting everything Amira needed that she had forgotten to listen for the family. Gamila turned to see the youngest child, a little boy. He couldn't be any more than six. He looked at her with wide, terrified eyes. "madha tafeal fi manzilina? (What are you doing in our house?)" he asked her in a shrill voice. It was certainly loud enough for the parents to hear.

"akhrs! (Shut up!)" Gamila hissed at the boy. "hal turid 'ana tamuat? (Do you want to die?)"

This only serves to make him more terrified. "Baba! Mama!" he cried loudly. "Baba! musaeadat! (Help!)"

Gamila knee what she had to do. She was supposed to kill the boy. Without hesitation. But she did hesitate. Killing adults was one thing, but six year old boys was another. He hadn't done anything. Just gotten up to get a glass of water. It wasn't his fault. But Gamila had her orders. And if she wanted to save Amira and her baby, then the boy had to die.

The Arabic girl forced herself not to cry as she drew one of her many throwing knives. Quieter than a gun, she thought to herself. Less messy, too. With no more hesitation, she tossed the knife into the boy's skull, right in the center of his forehead. His cries were silenced immediately and he fell to the ground, blood trickling out of the wound.

Gamila heard footsteps heading into the kitchen. The parents must've heard their son's cries and came to see what the matter was. Adrenaline kicked in, and Gamila was able to move again. She poked her head out of the door to see that Tahan was strangling someone who had heard the boy's voice. "nahn bihajat 'iilana alkhuruj min huna. sa'aetani bialwalidin. (We need to get out of here. I'll take care of the parents.)"

Tahan only grunted in reply, focusing on cutting off the man's air supply. He was scratching at a Tahan's arms, but it was no use. Tahan was stronger. He would be dead soon.

She rushed back inside and turned off the lights. Better to bring them down in the dark, so they couldn't fight back. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she pulled her blade out of the little boy's skull, so she had both her knives. As she did so, she couldn't resist gently closing the eyes of the boy. Gamila regretted every death that she had ever instigated, but this one was perhaps the worst. Especially since it was triggering so many memories.

"Baba!"

"'atruk 'ukhti wahaday! (Leave my sister alone!)"

"kam 'ant jamilat ya habibati. (How pretty you are, sweetheart.)"

Gamila squeezes her eyes shut to block out the memories. Now was not the time for nightmares. Now was the time to act. When she opened her eyes, there seemed to be a fire in them.

The parents of the boy entered the kitchen. "farwq? hal 'ant bakhyr? (Farouk? Are you alright?)" Gamila could see them. They were slowly walking towards her and the body of Farouk. When the mother was close enough, Gamila stood up and jabbed her blade into the woman's side.

She gasped in pain, and Gamila covered her mouth to stop the noise. The man, however, had heard it. He spun around to see a small shadowy figure pull a knife out of his wife's side.

He was about to cry out, maybe to say his wife's name or to call for help, but no words left his mouth. Gamila had tossed her other knife into his head before he could call out. He fell forward, landing on his face, forcing the knife to go deeper into his brain.

Gamila stood up. She was breathing heavily, forcing herself not to cry and not be sick. Now was not the time, she reminded herself yet again. She had a job to do, and crying over these three lives was not going to help her. So, as she forced herself not to think about the fact that she had now killed at least twelve people, she pulled her other knife out of the father's head and cleaned the blood off on his shirt. Then, she tucked the blades back in her belt and she calmly walked through the door, closing it behind her.


"natawaqaf huna layla. (We stop here for the night.)"

Gamila glanced at Tahan in surprise. She had expected him to want to continue to match until they reached their base camp. True, they still had twenty miles to go, which would take about ten hours, considering all they had to lug back. But Gamila has assumed that he wanted to hurry. She decided not to argue with this, though. Taking a rest seemed wonderful.

"hasananaan (Ok)," she answered, carefully dropping the large back she had been lugging on her back. They made their camp in a clump of bushes that would conceal them from anyone that might come their way. Though, Gamila doubted anyone would be this far out in the desert in the middle of the night.

To her surprise, Tahan had packed two blankets for them to lie on. He must've been planning to stop from the beginning. That seemed very odd to the young Arabic girl, but she waved away any feelings of suspicion. So what if he had packed two rags that he called blankets? They had travelled thirty miles yesterday and robbed a home. A rest was probably necessary.

Gamila took the blanket he offered her and spread it out maybe a foot away from where Tahan was lying. "yjb ealaa wahid minaa mshahd? (Should one of us take watch?)" she asked knowingly.

Tahan nodded, watching her carefully. She was very clever, his habibti. Clever, stubborn, strong willed, and so very pretty (for a young girl). It would be a shame to see her lose what backbone she had grown. He would even miss her arguing or fighting against him. But he had a feeling he would enjoy breaking her even more.

Soon. Soon.

"sakhadh saeat al'uwlaa (I'll take first watch)," he told her. Gamila gave a curt nod in reply before lying back and closing her eyes, letting exhaustion take her.

(Trigger Warning! Skip if you are triggered by abuse!)

It felt as though Gamila had just barely closed her eyes when she was awoken yet again. Tahan had shaken her shoulder, put he seemed to be pinning her down. "madha? hal ja' dawriun limutabaeat almshahd? (What? Is it my turn to keep watch?)" Gamila asked, unsure what was happening.

Tahan shook his head. "'abaq hadyana wafeal ma 'aquluh tmamana. 'iidha lm tafeal , sa'aqtaluk wa'akhik wa'amiratan. 'ant tafahum? (Keep quiet and do exactly as I say. If you don't, I will kill you and your brother and Amira. You understand?)"

Filled with fear and confusion, she nodded. What was going on? Why was he going to kill her and her brother and Amira? What was he going to do?

With no warning, Tahan had both of his hands pinning her down. He was smirking at her, eyes filled with maliciousness. "lm 'akun 'arghab fi alqiam bdhlk (I didn't want to do this)," he told her. "lkn lays ladaya khiaran. laqad talabat dhlk eindama qatalt 'awamiri. (But I have no choice. You asked for this when you fought against my orders.)"

Suddenly, Gamila understood what was happening. The lingering touches, the constant staring, the malicious look in his eyes now, his arms keeping her pinned down. Of course. Tahan hadn't been doing her a kindness by keeping her away from the other men. He had only done it so that he could have her for himself.

Tahan came closer and he kissed her neck. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, but she didn't fight. She just lie there, as tears filled her eyes. She had thought the beatings were bad. But this was so much worse. She would prefer it if he beat her until she was covered in bruises.

Instead, she looked up and found the brightest star in the sky. Gamila closed her eyes and pretended she were living on that star, while she waited for it all to be over.

(End of trigger warning!)


Gamila lie in her tent, staring up at the sky. She couldn't sleep. Couldn't eat. Could hardly do anything. She didn't cry. The girl only lie flat on her back, staring at the sky.

It had been three days since she had returned from town with Tahan and the food for Amira. Three days since she had lived through a nightmare. One that was never ending. In some ways, it felt like she was still lying down in the middle of the desert, with Tahan pinning her down. She could still feel him inside her, like he had never left. The pain that had come as a result had yet to go away.

Gamila had to pretend like nothing had happened. When they came back from their "trip", it was obvious to just about anyone that Gamila was acting different. She was quieter now. She kept her head down, and hardly looked anyone in the eyes anymore, not even Tahan. She was no longer defiant or stubborn. She was… subdued. Obedient. Silent. Kareem has been the first to notice that something was wrong with his sister. When he had asked her what was wrong, she only shook her head and insisted that she was fine. It didn't really matter. Kareem didn't need to know what Tahan had done. There was nothing he could do. Gamila also feared that if she told anyone, Tahan would only rape her again. So she kept her mouth shut and her head down. She obeyed orders and she didn't argue with him.

Gamila rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the bad memories. It seemed that there was no relief for her. Sleeping meant nightmares, but being awake meant that she was going to relive her memories of that night. She was going to go mad sooner or later. What she needed was a distraction.

The girl tried to think of something that could block out all the bad things. Something that she had loved before Tahan had ever existed in her life. There was school work, of course, but it wasn't like there were any textbooks around. Or books of any kind. Nothing for her to study. Playing with her friends had been eliminated a long time ago. There was no tv, no games. That left only one thing: music.

Her Baba used to sing to her all the time. He had a beautiful voice, so full of passion. If Gamila or Kareem ever woke up with a nightmare, he would sit by their bed and sing to them until they calmed down again.

Gamila figured that it couldn't hurt to try. Her voice wasn't as beautiful as her father's had been, but it wasn't terrible either. She thought back to the lullaby Baba used to sing all the time, and she started to sing softly to herself.

ﺮﻳﻣﺎ ﺮﻳﻣﺎ ﺍﻠﺣﻧﺩﻗﺔ

ﺸﻌﺮﺍ ﺃﺸﻗﺮ ﻭ ﻤﻧﻗﻰ

ﻭﺍﻟﻟﻲ ﻳﺣﺑﻚ ﺒﻳﺒﻮﺴﻚ

ﻭﺍﻟﻟﻲ ﺒﻐﺿﻚ ﺸﻮ ﺒﻳﺗﻟﻗﻰ

ﻴﻟﻼ ﺘﻧﺎﻢ….. ﻴﻟﻼ ﺘﻧﺎﻢ

ﻻﺪﺑﺣﻼ ﻃﻳﺮ ﺍﻟﺣﻣﺎﻢ

ﺮﻮﺡ ﻴﺎ ﺤﻣﺎﻢ ﻻ ﺘﺻﺩﻖ

ﻨﺿﺣﻚ ﻋﺎ ﺮﻳﻤﺎ ﺘﺘﻧﺎﻢ

(Rima the smart

Her hair is fair and tidy

Whoever loves you will kiss you

But whoever hates you... will have problems

Sleep ...Sleep

To offer her (him) a pigeon

Go, O pigeon, don't stop

I am fibbing Rima to sleep.)"

The young girl felt tears prick at her eyes and she started to cry quietly as she repeated the lullaby to herself.

Had Tahan been able to see her right then, he would have been smiling.

He had done it.

He had broken her.


a/n: Here's the link to the lullaby Gamila sings. It's technically a Lebanese lullaby and not a Yemeni one, but I couldn't find any Yemeni lullabies.

/watch?v=xb2h-SXAvUE

I tried to find the Arabic version using the English alphabet so those of you who don't speak Arabic could hear it in your head, but I couldn't find it anywhere. So I just went with the Arabic alphabet.

It's actually a really beautiful song. I'm kinda in love with it.

Anywho, please review! This chapter was super dark, but it won't always be this heavy. I'm thinking I'll do maybe four or five chapters of Gamila's life before the Avengers step in. I want to give her some background, but I also don't want to stretch it out so much that it becomes boring.

Until next time!