His Queen

Chapter 12

Banafsha’s POV

The last day had passed by in a blur and today was my wedding day to king Humair, my hand maidens and Junnut had fussed over my hair and make-up, as much as Junnut tried to hide it, I could see she was excited, she had finally gotten the chance to apply make-up on me and style my hair as she saw fit,

The king had sent my wedding dress the previous night, I had not bothered to look at it, I had just told the messenger who brought it to hand it over to Junnut and I had retired for bed,

I couldn’t wait to get this done and over with, Junnut had woken me up at first light, she had a smile on her face when she said “It’s your wedding day today Banafsha, we have to get you ready”

I had expected them to be done quickly but that was one thing I had never been so wrong about, first they demanded I take a perfumed bath with warm oils, I had decided to take my bath on my own, I didn’t want Junnut to see my injury, it had gotten a lot worse and the area surrounding it had become a pale bluish color.

They had protested but finally let it go when I stubbornly stood my ground, I had soaked my body in the hot water for what seemed like forever, anytime I tried getting out, they will scream at me to stay in,

After a long time, they finally asked me to get out, the moment I stepped out, a warm cloth was handed to me, I wrapped it around my body and stepped out of the washroom,

Junnut sniffed the air when I stepped out and nodded with satisfaction, so did the other hand maidens, next, they had wash my hair then they had massaged it with perfumes and scented creams, this went on for another unending process, when they finally let go of my hair, it shone and shimmered, the black was prominent and luscious and it scented heavenly, for a brief second, I couldn’t help the smile that crept into my face, then I remembered why I was doing all this and the smile vanished in an instant.

The next part was too lock me up in a room filled with burning incense, I had sat in there for another long period of time before they finally brought me out,

Then the next part was the henna design, Junnut had drawn the design on my hand and another maid with the name Rihanna had done the design on my leg, this was the part that took the longest, I had to sit there and wait until the henna paste dried on my skin.

Soon enough, everything was ready, all that was left was to put on my dress and jewelries, Junnut went to retrieve the gown the king had sent, I heard the other hand maidens exclaim in excitement when Junnut pulled the dress out of the box in which it had arrived,

I reluctantly turned around to look at the dress and for a moment, my breath hitched in my chest, despite my hatred for the king, I could not deny that the dress was beautiful, it was a white dress of silk and lace, the embroidery on the dress was done with beautiful golden thread, the gown itself was just beautiful and the bridal veil was made in the same design.

I felt a flutter in my heart when I thought of putting it on,

Junnut and the others help me dress, and put on my jewelries which the king had also sent with the dress, a pair of shoes were also sent along, the shoes were white and golden, they were also very beautiful,

Styling my hair was the last part, they gathered my hair and tied it with it a golden ribbon, the ribbon was woven into my hair along with golden pearls, it was plaited into one long braid, before my veil was placed on my head.

When I looked at my reflection in the looking glass, I couldn’t deny that it was the most beautiful I had ever been in my entire life, my lips were painted with red and my eyes were lined with kohl, my face had been lightened with talc, my skin was fragrant and so was my hair.

For just a brief moment, I forgot my situation and just enjoyed how I looked in my beautiful dress fit only for a queen, a smile crossed my face.

“It is time, your majesty, the king awaits” a hand maiden who I remembered to be Leila said,

The smile vanished from my face and a somber expression covered my face, I felt Junnut hold my hand and squeezed gently giving me confidence,

I didn’t need confidence, I just couldn’t believe that I was getting married to a man I despised more than anything in the world but I needed to this, with that thought in mind, I stood up and headed for the door, Junnut and my hand maidens trailed behind me.

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Humair’s POV

I had completed my dressing for the ceremony, it was nothing elaborate, I was dressed in a white kaftan with white trousers to match, then I had worn a golden jacket on top, a wide band was also placed on my stomach, finally, a white turban was placed on my head and my ceremonial sword was handed to me.

I looked at my reflection in the tall looking glass and knew that my parent would have been happy to see me dressed in the traditional wedding attire, especially my mother, she would have been overjoyed.

Nihal stepped into the room when I was done dressing, I turned to look at him, he had a broad smile on his face,

“Congratulations on your wedding day your majesty” he said as he bowed his head,

I gave him a look of scorn “You seem to finding this very interesting right?” I said,

He casually shrugged and said “I can’t deny that I am overjoyed that my king is getting married to a woman who will make sure his life in never boring, you will always have something to look forward to with the queen of Marwa, of this much I can be sure”

I glared at him and said “I also wish to be overjoyed by a friend’s wedding, so general Jaan, when do you plan on settling down and starting a family, I heard you are quite popular among the ladies of Atrabad, why don’t you find one and settle down?”

Nihal smiled and said “Your majesty, today is your wedding day, I believe we should be talking about you and not me”

I smiled and said “I believe it’s time to head to the banquet hall, there is no need to keep our guests waiting”

Nihal bowed his head and said “After you your majesty”

I laughed and headed out, Nihal stood behind me as we walked to the banquet hall,

Once we arrived at the entrance, we were announced as we walked in, everyone bowed their head as I stepped in, I greeted my guests which included kings and queens from far and near and also the citizens of Atrabad and of course Marwa,

It had always been a tradition of Atrabad to celebrate royal weddings with the citizens and it was a tradition I hoped will continue for a long time to come.

After greeting my guests, I sat on my throne and awaited the arrival of queen Ifza, her throne was beside me, it was a little smaller than mine and more feminine in nature, it had been my mother’s throne and I was happy to see it again after a long time.

Right at that moment, I heard the queen being announced, the doors opened and there she stood looking like an angel descended from heaven in her white dress, I had picked out the dress thinking it will look perfect for her and I hadn’t been wrong,

Her face was covered by the bridal veil but since it was made of lace, I could still see her face and by God, she was beautiful.

As she walked toward me, I realized something, that maybe, just maybe I could fall in love with this woman.