Disclaimer: I do not own The Wrath and the Dawn. It belongs to Reneé Ahdieh. The majority of the dialogue in this chapter is from the book. Only one quote was written by me (which is Khalid's "You don't need to -")
A/N: Thanks so much to all who are reading this story :) This chapter involves Shahrzad continuing her story, so once again, I just kinda skimmed over it since it isn't terribly important to re-know when you've already read the book!
Chapter 5: The Second Dawn
(Corresponds with Chapter: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, pages 68-82 of The Wrath and the Dawn)
He never used to act so...illogically.
Shahrzad hadn't even been in his life for forty-eight hours and she already had turned his life upside down. She was supposed to be...dead…by now. And yet, she managed to convince him to let her live another day with her adventurous tales and promises to reveal her secrets. She continuously defies him and infuriates him, yet he continues to let her live.
If anyone else treated him in such a way, they would have been severely punished by whipping or even death. Yet, he leaves her unscathed.
If she died this morning, he would've been closer to ending the curse - the wretched curse that loomed over him and his kingdom.
But she's still alive, and he still can't stop feeling intrigued by her. And thinking about her dying makes him feel...uneasy.
Ever since he left her in the courtyard that afternoon, he could think of nothing but her. He would sit down to read reports on the kingdom, but her face kept appearing in his mind. He'd visualize her long dark hair and feel a longing to run his fingers through it. And then his mind would drift to that afternoon, and how he admired her willingness to learn archery instead of sitting in her room, sewing a shamla. She certainly was more of a fighter.
Even if he was capable of sleeping this night, he was fairly certain he wouldn't have been able to with thoughts of her continuously invading her mind.
He was supposed to go see her tonight. He told her he would. But...he probably shouldn't. She would just make him act even more illogically.
But she was magnetic.
And he was a man of his word. He had to go.
It was already very late, so he hoped she had stayed awake.
When he reached her chamber, however, she wasn't sitting on her bed. He looked around and didn't see her anywhere.
Where was she? She knew he was coming...was this another one of her games?
He then felt the coolness of a breeze hit him and he turned to the direction it came from. The wind had come through the entrance to her terrace. He stepped through the entryway and found her standing against the railing, staring out into the night.
He paused and briefly gazed at her. The way the moonlight shone on her face...she was ravishing.
He went over and stood beside her without saying a word.
"You can't see them, but I love how you can smell the citrus blossoms from here...the suggestion of something beautiful and alive."
Her comment puzzled him. Was she insinuating that the palace felt like death to her?
What was she even doing here?
"You're partial to citrus blossoms?"
"Yes. But I prefer roses above all. My father has a beautiful rose garden."
With her mentioning her father, perhaps he could sway the conversation to figuring out how she came to volunteer to be his bride.
He took the moment to stare at her again, trying to analyze her while also admiring how beautiful she looked. "I think a father who tends to flowers must have objected to...this."
She didn't bother looking at him. She continued staring out into the night. "I think a king who hopes to be beloved by his people shouldn't execute their daughters at dawn."
She thinks she knows everything, but she doesn't. A part of him wished he could be beloved by his people, but he knew it would be impossible as long as the curse continued.
"Who said I hoped to be beloved by my people?"
Shahrzad looked at him. "And all this time, I could have sworn you were a smart man," she said quietly. Mockingly. She was trying to mimick him.
Two could play that game. "And all this time...I could have sworn you didn't want to die."
First she blinked and then erupted into a fit of laughter. He was taken aback by it, but soon realized he enjoyed the musical sound of her laugh.
What was wrong with him…
"You're very strange," she said to him.
"So are you, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran."
"At least I know it."
"I'm aware of it as well."
"But I don't punish people for it."
He sighed. She simply didn't understand. "I envy people who see the world as you do."
"Are you insinuating I'm simpleminded?" she questioned him angrily.
She was anything but simple.
"No. You see things the way you live your life. Without fear."
She was completely fearless, while he cowered behind a curse.
"That's not true. I'm afraid of a lot of things."
What could she possibly be afraid of? He looked into her eyes, searching.
As a rush of wind blew through, sending strands of her hair out of place, he listened intently to her reply.
"I'm afraid of dying."
He stared at her. His mysterious bride proved to be even more perplexing. And the mention of her dying once again brought a feeling of uneasiness over him.
When the wind disappeared into the night, he saw her reach to move a strand of hair that fell in front of her face. However, he stopped her from doing so.
He wanted to do it for her. Feeling compelled to touch her, he pushed the hair behind her ear and felt a bit of a chill run through him.
"Tell me why you're here."
Why wouldn't she tell him?
"Promise me you won't kill me."
He was determined to always be a man of his word. He couldn't promise such things when there was a curse that needed to be broken.
"I can't do that."
"Then there's nothing more to say."
She turned away from him and headed back inside. He followed her.
She had stopped in front of her bed. It looked like she was deep in thought for a moment, and then she began removing her clothing.
He didn't come here for this…
"You don't need to -" he began to say. But he was unable to finish his sentence when he saw her turn around. She grabbed his qamis and lifted it over his head. She then placed her hands upon his shoulders and waited for him to make the next move.
He found his couldn't resist temptation.
Unlike the previous night, this time he was willing to admit to himself that he did care for her. He shouldn't, but he couldn't help it.
He still refused to kiss her. He hadn't kissed a woman since...since Ava.
He swore to himself after the crumbling of that marriage that he would never kiss a woman again unless he truly and strongly cared for her. He would not encourage a false relationship. Never again.
But the fact that he even thought about kissing her disturbed him.
He picked up his clothes that were carelessly scattered on the floor and dressed himself. He headed over to the small table in her room, but when he didn't hear Shahrzad follow him, he turned to look at her and saw her still lying down in bed.
"I'm not hungry," she said in response to his questioning glance.
Breathing deeply, he debated whether he should go ahead and leave her now. But why even bother fighting this feeling?
He was already in too deep.
He returned to the foot of the bed, at the opposite end from her. He had to at least try to keep his distance.
As he watched her roll on her side in her mound of pillows, he couldn't help but wonder if she was even aware of the effect she had on him. Normally, people would follow him and his wishes, but in this case, he was drawn to her and she was lying in bed without a care in the world. Even though he, the caliph, was with her.
"Would you like me to continue the story? Sayyidi?"
She actually bothered to use his title this time.
"I almost thought you were above the use of honorifics now."
"Pardon?"
"Have you forgotten who I am, Shahrzad?"
She blinked at him. "No...sayyidi."
"So then a lack of decorum just comes with your sense and comfort?"
"Inasmuch as bitter apathy does yours."
Rage ran through him. This girl was insane! How could she speak to him like that? He took a deep breath to compose himself.
"Tell me, why do you find it permissible to talk to me like this?"
"Because someone has to," she said immediately.
"And you think it should be you?" She certainly thought highly of herself.
"I think it should be someone who isn't afraid of you. And, though I do feel...anxious in your presence, the more I see of everything around me, the less I have reason to fear you."
He was astonished by her response, and he couldn't prevent it from showing it on his face. Yet again, she assumed she knew everything. She didn't realize how endangered her life truly was due to the curse.
"You know nothing."
Her eyes sparked with amusement. "You're right. I know nothing. Would you care to educate me, sayyidi?"
He was done with this conversation.
"Finish the story of Agib, Shahrzad," he ordered her.
For once, she obeyed him, and she continued to tell her tale of Agib and his meeting with a genie that would grant him three wishes. Khalid listened with great interest, only occasionally interjecting with some of his own comments.
It was when Shahrzad mentioned the emir's desire to honor his love for his wife that Khalid expressed his displeasure with the character's actions.
"So his question to an all-knowing genie would be about a mere trinket of love?" Khalid asked. What a waste of a question!
"A mere trinket?" Shahrzad stared at him. "Love is a force unto itself, sayyidi. For love, people consider the unthinkable...and often achieve the impossible. I would not sneer at its power."
He was aware what the power of love and the lack of love could do. His curse was proof of that. But he hated being reminded of it.
He stared back at her. "I am not sneering at its power. I am lamenting its role in this story."
"You are saddened by love's importance in the emir's life?"
Thinking about Ava's desire for love and the past two and half months of marrying bride after bride, he answered her. "I am frustrated by its importance in all our lives."
She smiled sadly at him. "That's understandable. If a bit predictable."
As usual, she was assuming she knew everything about him.
"Again, you presume to know a great deal for a day and two nights, my queen."
He wasn't sure why he called her his queen just then. It just slipped out..and yet saying it had felt so...right. She was his.
Yet it looked like she felt uncomfortable by it as her face reddened, and she didn't say anything in response. It ended up making him feel uncomfortable.
"You're right," she eventually said, softly. "I should not have said that."
She actually regretted something she said...he was stunned.
"And I should not have interrupted you. I'm sorry," he whispered in the stillness of the room. He almost regretted calling her his queen aloud.
"Please continue," he added.
She nodded before carrying on with Agib's story.
With every word she spoke, he could tell she was growing more anxious. He knew they were getting closer to the dawn and wondered what she would do when it came this time. And what he was going to do.
When it seemed that Agib's life story had concluded, the sun was streaming into the room. Daybreak had arrived.
"Are you finished?" he asked her gently.
But she shook her head back and forth. "At the wedding of the new emir was a guest from a faraway land - a magician from Africa in search of a magic lamp. But in truth, he was not really looking for the lamp. He was looking for a young boy. A young boy named Aladdin."
She was still trying to toy with him. "This is a new story."
"No, it's not. It's part of the same story."
A knock was heard on the door, and it felt like the air was sucked out of the room.
Shahrzad trembled as she got up to grab her shamla and tie it around her waist.
"Shahrzad -"
"You see, Aladdin was an excellent gambler...a trickster of the highest pedigree. His father before him was -"
"Shahrzad," he said firmly. He couldn't take her stalling the inevitable. She had to die today. He needed to move on.
"It's not a different story, sayyidi," she said in a low voice. He could see her fidgeting with her clothing.
At the sound of another knock on the door, Khalid stood up. "Come in."
A few soldiers entered the room, as expected. But he didn't expect to see the shahrban with them. What was he doing here?
"General al-Khoury. Is something wrong?" he questioned him.
"No, sayyidi," he said after he bowed before him. "But...it is morning." His eyes then looked in Shahrzad's direction.
The general was truly concerned that he wouldn't let her die...he had come himself to ensure it was done. Well, it indeed had to be done…
Aref gestured for the guards to take her. Khalid watched as one of them grabbed her arm. He suddenly felt overly protective of her...another man should not be touching what belonged to him.
She fought back, pulling her arm away from the guard. "Don't touch me!" she shouted. She hit another guard's arm that came towards her.
"Are you deaf? How dare you touch me? Do you know who I am?" she yelled, panicked.
She was...his queen. He couldn't stand to watch this. When he thought about her going to her death, he felt like...he couldn't breathe.
The breaking of the curse would just have to wait a little while longer. He couldn't allow his queen to be treated this way, so he made a decision he could possibly regret later.
"General al-Khoury?"
"Yes, sayyidi."
"I'd like to introduce you to the Mountain of Adamant," he announced as he looked into Shahrzad's nervous eyes.
This girl had completely unraveled him. With her, he lost all common sense as she drew him into her.
Aref was perplexed as he looked between him and Shahrzad. "But, sayyidi...I don't understand. You cannot -"
At his protests, Khalid turned to him. "You're right, General. You do not understand. And you may never understand. Regardless, I'd like to introduce you to the Mountain of Adamant…"
Even he didn't completely understand it himself. He looked back at her and let out a slight smile when he saw relief flood her eyes.
"My queen."
And with that statement, the guards all backed away from her. The general looked furious.
Without another word, Khalid led the guards and the general out of the room.
A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review - I'd love to know what you think!
The next two chapters are big chapters, guys! I'm so excited!