His Queen

Chapter 23

King Humair's POV

I rushed in when I heard the maid scream, many things ran through my mind, I prayed nothing had happened to queen Ifza, I had left her but a few minutes ago and she had looked like she did as usual,

Was it possible for her condition to worsen in such a short time?

I ran into her room oblivious of anything and anyone around me, when I finally saw her, I felt my heart stop for a minute, I thought perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me because she lay there on her bed, her eyes were open and that could only mean that she was awake, she was finally awake.

I felt joy and relief flood my entire being, my prayers had been answered, I could not describe the joy I felt at that moment, I wanted to rush to her and stay by her side, then I saw her eyes, she wasn’t looking at me, he eyes were somewhere else,

I followed the direction of her eyes and when I saw where her eyes lay, I felt my heart constrict, she was looking at general Jawhar, she was looking at him like he was the only one in the world,

Chapter 23

I followed the direction of her eyes and when I saw where her eyes lay, I felt my heart constrict, she was looking at general Jawhar, she was looking at him like he was the only one in the world, to say I was puzzled would have been an understatement of the whole situation,

And what was most baffling about the whole situation was the fact he was also looking at her in a similar way, he looked worried, perhaps even more worried than I was, I was still in shock when I heard her weak voice calling his name,

At that moment, I was sure my heart stopped for a few seconds, general Jawhar turned to look at me, he looked torn then he turned away to leave the room, he close to the door when queen Ifza’s tired voice broke the silence once again, she was calling out to him once again, I watched him stop for a second, for a brief moment I thought he was going to stop and go to her but then he walked out, the door closed behind him, leaving a very disturbing silence in his wake.

I was still very surprised, this was an interesting turn of events, I would surely be a liar if I said I expected events like this happen before my eyes, this was a matter that required closer investigation, very close investigation indeed.

Gathering my wits around me, I turned to look at thee maids who were looking with an expression I couldn’t read, I cleared my throat and said “Summon the royal physician, inform him that I require his attention immediately and I would like to be alone with the queen”

They bowed and left, leaving queen Ifza and I alone, I proceeded towards her bed where she lay, I couldn’t believe that she was finally awake now, those charcoal black eyes of hers watched me as I approached, now that she was awake and despite her fragile and weak state, she still managed to look at me with arrogance and pride,

I had to fight back a smile, the fact that she could still look at me like that meant that her pain was not to severe, I took a seat by the side of her bed, her eyes bored into me, she was yet to say a single word to me and honestly, I had no idea what to say her as well, I had wanted nothing more than for her to open her eyes and now that she was awake, I felt there was nothing to say but all the same, something must be said,

“You are finally awake queen Ifza, I am glad” I said,

I hadn’t expected an answer from her but she managed a weak laugh “I find that very difficult to believe, I thought you would have been happy to be rid of me your majesty” she said, her eyes held contempt and malice,

I felt a slight pang in my chest, her words seemed a little too harsh, a soft chuckle escaped my lips “Even after just barely escaping death, you are still as nasty and condescending as you were before and I must say that is quite a shame, a lesson or two ought to have been learnt” I said,

Anger flashed in her eyes and I suppressed a smile, there was something about this woman that made me behave out of the ordinary, I knew it was pointless to be arguing with her especially because she had just regained consciousness but I felt that she was way too proud for own good,

“I will like it if you left your majesty, I fail to see the reason why you are here, I will like to be with Junnut if you please” she said and turned her eyes away from me.

I couldn’t suppress the chuckle that escaped my lips, this woman was maddening, she drove me to the brink of losing control, “Did she really think she could dismiss me if she so wished?” I could not understand where all this pride came from, she was in no position to behave like she was doing right now,

“I am afraid I do not wish to leave, you are my wife after all and how irresponsible it will be for me to leave you alone in a situation like this” I said, a small smile playing at the corner of my lips,

Her eyes were back to me and flashing like black fire burned in their depth, those eyes were supposed to repel and push me far away but for some reason, I felt like looking into eyes forever and let myself be completely and utterly consumed by those flames.

She was about to say something when a voice came from outside announcing the arrival of the royal physician, she remained quiet and said nothing, the smile that had formed on my face refused to leave and I was glad for it because it seemed to make queen Ifza’s anger reach dangerous heights.

The door opened and the royal physician rushed in along with his assistant, a tall scrawny young man with sharp eyes, they bowed their heads in greeting to me and queen Ifza, I nodded my head in response to their greeting and queen Ifza remained completely silent, another smile passed my face.

The royal physician rushed to her side and started fussing over her, he checked a lot of things, queen Ifza looked like she wanted to command him to stop and be gone from her sights but for some reason, she was silent.

After what seemed like an eternity to queen Ifza, the royal physician withdrew his hands, he looked at me and for the first since reporting on queen Ifza’s condition, a faint smile played on his wrinkled face,

“Your majesty, I am pleased to inform you that the queen is now out of danger and her injury is healing well, there are no further signs of infection, she is just weak from the stress and pain she went through, I will prescribed some tonics for her maids to give to her as long as she takes them diligently and rest for a long time, I assure you she will be okay in no time” he said,

I was pleased with those words, very pleased indeed “I thank you for your hard work, I will see to it that you are properly rewarded” I said,

The physician and his assistant bowed their heads and left, leaving queen Ifza and I alone once more, I looked down at her, she refused to look at me, her eyes were fixed on the ceiling,

I suddenly remembered how she had called out to general Jawhar, she had sounded like a woman at that moment, and there had been no pride or arrogance, she was simply a woman calling out to her………

I pushed the thought away quickly, I didn’t want to believe it was what I was thinking, but thinking back now, I realized that they had seemed to close from the start and I remembered that he had called her using her name all the time I had known them both, I remembered how shocked he had looked on the night I had proposed marriage to queen Ifza,

I didn’t want to think that there was something between them in the past and I had idea if they still had something now, I suddenly didn’t want to stay here any longer, I suddenly had many things running through my mind and sitting here with this maddening woman was not going to help me, I needed information and I needed it fast.

I stood up, she turned to look at me but said nothing,

“I will take my leave now, I had wanted to know the situation of things and how well you were faring and now that I know what I need to, I will leave you alone to rest” I said and walked without waiting for her reply.

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Queen Banafsha’s POV

I was glad when he finally left, I was bothered by his presence, I knew I had felt something when I was unconscious and I wanted to know who was responsible for what it was I had felt, when I had opened my eyes, the room had been empty then a maid had come in and started screaming, I had wanted to ask her to be quiet but I had been too weak to say a word.

She was still busy screaming when Jawhar and King Humair rushed in, once I set my eyes on Jawhar, I knew he had been the reason for what I had felt in my state of unconsciousness, it was completely logical, there was no one else.

When I had seen him looking at me like he did, I hadn’t known when his name escaped my lips, he had looked like he wanted nothing more than to come over to my side but something was holding him back, I saw the clashing of emotions in his eyes and then he turned to leave, I could not believe he was leaving, once again, the words betrayed me and left my lips,

He had stopped for a few seconds then he had walked out without looking back at me.

It was then that I had turned to the king of Atrabad, it was his fault, everything was his fault, I didn’t care if anyone said otherwise, I was going to believe that everything was his fault.

I had every reason to hate him, he was arrogant and so very full of himself, he had no regards for others, I still found it hard to believe that he was considered a fair and just king, I wondered the type of life the people of Atrabad lived to consider such a man just and fair.

Just thinking that I was now bound to him in marriage was nauseating, I did not want to be married to such a man, I despised him and nothing could change that.

Just then the door burst open and Junnut rushed in, her face was stained with tears and her eyes told me she had been crying for a while, I felt glad to see her,

In a matter of seconds, she was by side, holding my hand and squeezing it, I managed a small smile,

“Oh Banafsha, you have no idea how grateful I am that you woke up, I had spent nights praying for your recovery, thank you Banafsha, thank you so much for staying alive” Junnut said and buried her head in my palm and sobbed her eyes out.

I felt my heart constrict with emotions, I felt ashamed that I had thought of dying and leaving everyone behind, leaving behind people who cared about me, I was a bad queen, Junnut and Jawhar deserved none of what I had forced them to endure, I will only do better now, I try my hardest not to cause them anymore pain,

“I am sorry Junnut, I am really sorry, I promise I will never do anything like this again, I promise you this” I said,

Junnut raised her head to look at me, a small smile on her face then she said “you don’t need to say anything Banafsha, I am just glad you are alive”

A smile crossed my face and I said “As I am”