His Queen

Chapter 2

HUMAIR’S POV

“I humbly requests that the king of Atrabad minds his business and not get involved in matters concerning Marwa, I hope that you take kindly to my request and I also hope to make known the fact that if Atrabad continues to meddle in affairs concerning Marwa then I will be forced to take measures against Atrabad.

I await your reply in good graces.

Queen Banafsha of Marwa”

By the time the messenger concluded reading the letter of the queen of Marwa, I was already trembling with rage, the entire court was aghast by the words they had just heard, Nihal stood beside me with a small smile on his face, I wanted to wipe that smile of his face,

The queen of Marwa had not only rejected me but she had also mocked me, she was threatening me and the whole of Atrabad with war, was that her solution to every situation for heaven’s sake,

“Your Majesty, you cannot let this insult go unanswered, this Queen Banafsha has to be shown the error of her ways, she has to learn to speak with respect” My Prime Minister Nithar said to me,

I remained quiet,

“I agree with the Prime Minister, queen Banafsha has crossed a line and so she must be thought a lesson” the Minister foreign Affairs added,

“I suggest we attack her and take over her kingdom” the Prime Minister added,

“And what of the issue that brought about this whole problem? The woman who was murdered by someone from Minna, do we just forget about justice because queen bana…….. Queen Ifza needs to be thought a lesson?” I said to them,

“Justice will be served later but for now, this is about maintaining our power, if we take this issue lightly, other kingdoms will think we are weak and that is not acceptable” the Foreign Minister said once again,

I didn’t want a war, but the ministers were right, I couldn’t stay back and do nothing, power and authority needed to be established, I turned to look at Nihal

“What are your thoughts on this General?” I asked

“I agree with the ministers, this might seem like a trivial matter but it is matters such as this that our enemies tend to capitalize on and use to their advantage, as for the war itself, we out-man the soldiers of Marwa 4 to 1, we can easily take Marwa with one third of our army, Marwa should have known better than to wage war, it was a war they were doomed to lose from the beginning” Nihal said,

I nodded my head, I trusted Nihal’s council and judgement and besides, he was the general in charge of my entire army, his opinion was valued greatly in such matters.

“Send a message to the queen Ifza and tell her to prepare for battle” I said

“As you command, your majesty” the entire court said

“You are all dismissed” I said, they bowed once more then filed out of the throne room

I was once again left with Nihal,

“Was it so difficult to pronounce her name?” he said

“It’s a bit difficult to pronounce and besides I prefer the name Ifza, I feel it suites her better” I said

“Well she just condemned them to a war they can’t win, that’s not very protective of her” Nihal said

“I look forward to how all this will turn out in the end, I am finding this all very intriguing” I said with a smile on my face

“So am I your majesty” Nihal said, a smile on his face as well.

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BANAFSHA’S POV

“Banafsha you shouldn’t have made a decision like that, it was reckless” Junnut said to me as she brushed my hair,

Junnut was my personal maid, she had been my maid since we were children, she was just a little older me, my mother had brought her to me when we were younger to be my companion and we had remained friends since then, she was my second closest friend after Jawhar.

“I was only trying to get justice for the woman who was killed and I will do whatever I can to get it for her family, even if it means war” I said,

“Jawhar shouldn’t have let you this, he should have stopped you, but then again, he loses all sense of reasoning when you are involved, he loves you too much to find any fault with you at all” Junnut said,

“Is it that obvious to see?” I asked,

Junnut laughed and said “All one has to do is look at the Jawhar looks at you and everything you need to know is written on his face, he looks at you like you are the only woman in the entire world, I have no idea why you do not just accept him, Jawhar will protect you with his life and he will help you with your plans for revenge, Banafsha, Jawhar will do anything for you”

She was right but I was not interested in such things “I am interested in having anyone protect me Junnut, I have survived just fine for the 21 years of my life just fine and I will continue to do so” I said,

“No matter what Banafsha, you need a man to protect you and take care of you, a woman always needs a man” Junnut said,

“I am not just a woman, I am a warrior and a queen who needs to protect her people” I said,

“One day you will understand, but for now, I just feel pity for Jawhar, you are not being nice to him at all” Junnut said as she shook her head sadly,

I smiled a little, Junnut was a funny person “And what about you Junnut, why don’t you find a nice man and get married?” I said,

Her face lit up “I Haven’t found him yet but when I do, he will sweep me off my feet and take me away” she said, her eyes had this dreamy, faraway look, I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the sides of my lips,

“You have read too many of those romance novels in the library Junnut, I knew something like this will happen when you started reading them, I tried to warn but you didn’t listen and now, look at the outcome” I said and stood up from the stool and turned to look at her,

Junnut waved a dismissive hand at me “What do you know Banafsha? You are so embedded in your battle formations and sword play and ruling your kingdom that you have forgotten what’s actually important, we had the same dreams when we were children but now, you have forgotten about all those dreams” she said,

I felt a sad feeling overcome my heart, once I had sat with Junnut under the stars at night and together we had fantasized about princes and great warriors, we had thought we will grow up to be beautiful women and great princes and warriors will come asking for our hand but those dreams were shattered and forced to be buried under new goals and ambitions, those were the dreams of a little girl, I was now a grown woman with duties and responsibilities, I had no time to dream about princes and warriors, I had to be my own warrior now,

“That was a long time ago Junnut, I need to sleep, it’s late” I said,

Junnut must have noticed something in my voice because she simply bowed and left without saying a word.

The door closed behind her and I was left alone with my thoughts, I walked over and sat on my bed, I looked outside toward the sky, where the stars shone brightly, once I watched the stars with my parents and sister, we were happy and content, back then, I couldn’t wish for anything more, I remembered my father’s kind eyes, my mother’s beautiful smile and Junaina’s happy laughter,

I sighed, those days were long gone now, I was alone and had no one beside me, I lay down on my bed and let memories of happy days go through my mind, it wasn’t long before I fell into the embrace of sleep.