His Queen

Chapter 37

General Jawhar’s POV

I was in my chambers reading a book, it was late in the evening almost mid-night, I had spent the day in the barracks with the soldiers, it was interesting to be there with them, General Nihal had joined us later in the day, we had dinner under the stars exchanging stories of previous battles, it had been nice to see the soldiers of both sides get along, I had returned not long ago and once again I had met my dinner neatly packed and waiting for me.

She never learned even when I had clearly stated that I was no interested in her, she was relentless, I just hoped she saw reason in time and realize that she was simply wasting her time, I was not sure I could love any woman like I loved Banafsha, I loved her with the entirety of my being, king Humair was a lucky man indeed and I truly wished them happiness.

I heard a sound outside, it sounded like a soft thud, like someone had jumped over the fence, I was immediately on alert, was it an intruder? I quickly reached for my sword, I stood up silently and carefully padded to the door,

I could hear muffled footsteps, it sounded like someone was tiptoeing around, the footsteps were getting closer to the door, the intruder was close now, without wasting time, I pushed to door open and jumped out, there was indeed a man dressed in black with his face covered,

I attacked him with my sword and he quickly pulled out his sword to shield himself from my attack, he narrowly escaped having his right arm sliced off, he stepped back quickly, his eyes were wide with horror, I was about to lunch another attack when the man quickly pulled down the cloth that shielded his face,

I hurriedly halted my attack, he was someone I knew, this was the informant I had sent over to Dulkhan to bring back news on Gulshan and his activities,

“General it is I” the man said quickly, I could see the fear in his eyes,

He was a soldier of the Marwan army and I had trained him myself, he was a young man with a strong ability to gather information and he had great skills with daggers, they were preferred weapon of choice.

“My apologies, I didn’t know it was you, why did you have to sneak in like a thief? I could have severely injured you” I said to him,

“I have just arrived from Dulkhan and I have very important news to report general, I could not afford to wait until tomorrow morning to report to you, it is very important, that’s why I had to sneak in, my apologies general” he said,

I simply nodded my head and said “What news have you returned with from Dulkhan? What is Gulshan plotting this time?” I asked,

The man cleared his throat and said “Gulshan is still plotting to have the queen dead as usual, he plans to send his assassins once again but that is not the important news I have general”

“What could possibly be more important than an attempt on the queen’s life?” I asked, suddenly feeling curious,

“The princess is alive, I heard them say that the princess Junaina is still alive and that she is held captive in the dungeons, I could not break into the dungeons but I confirmed from some of the guards that she is indeed alive and is locked up in the dungeons” the man said,

I felt like the world had stilled for a few seconds, we had been hoping and praying that princess Junaina was alive but we could never be sure, Banafsha had spent years trying to find her, we had always known that she was taken to Dulkhan but no one knew if she survived or not, this was good news, good news indeed.

“Are you absolutely sure of what you are saying? Are you sure she is the same princess Junaina? We cannot afford mistakes” I said,

The man nodded his head and said “I am sure general, the guards could not stop bragging about it, they had told me she had been locked up for a long time now and that queen Ifza will never be able to find her”

I felt like wringing the neck of that animal Gulshan, how he keep a woman locked up in the dungeons for so long, he was truly a monster, a beast with no comparison, I could only imagine what she must have gone through, I could not bring myself to think about it but the only thing I was grateful for was that she was alive, we had to rescue her, no matter what.

“You have done well, you can return to your chambers now, I will make sure you are rewarded” I said to the man,

He bowed his head in greeting and walked out.

This was a matter that needed to be addressed as soon as possible, I must speak with Banafsha and king Humair first thing in the morning, it was already late now and nothing could be done now.

I went back into my chambers very well knowing that I had little chances of falling asleep tonight.

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Banafsha’s POV

I had been told that my attention was needed urgently in the throne room, the king’s messenger had arrived not too long ago and I had told him I will there shortly,

Junnut had helped me dress in a simple dress of rich blue color, it was made of smooth silk and lace, I wrapped a veil around my hair, my face was void of any make up, I was currently on my way to the throne room, my maid were walking behind him while the two guards walked behind me and two more walked behind, I wondered why so much protection was needed.

Today I was not feeling as terrible as I had felt the previous days, my injury was just a little sore but it was much better now, but it still hurt anytime I tried to so anything stressful, even today when I had tried lifting my hands when wearing my dress, I had felt a stab of pain in my stomach, it was obvious I still couldn’t do anything that required too much stress, I hated not been able to do anything, it had been so long since I held a sword and I truly missed it, the sword had felt like an extension of my own hand, I couldn’t wait to recover completely so that I didn’t have to feel like I was completely and utterly useless.

As we neared the throne room, I felt stomach start to do backflips, I was going to see the king, I had seen him since our last encounter, I wondered what he would say to me and how he will react, most importantly, how will I react when I saw him and what will I say to him, I had behaved in a way that I had never done before, I still don’t know what came over me but I can’t say that I was not disappointed when he didn’t show up in my chambers last night.

Finally we arrived and I was announced, I walked into the throne room with a confidence I didn’t exactly feel but I will die before I could be called anything other graceful.

The king was seated on his throne looking as handsome as he had done the previous time I saw him, I wondered how it was that I had never bothered to look at him closely and for some reason I was now paying attention to king Humair, I noticed that Jawhar was also in the room along with Nihal Jaan,

Jawhar turned to look at me and a small smile crossed his handsome face, he looked as majestic as he always did, he had black clothes on and his black hair glistened, he bowed his head a little as I smiled back at him, it hurt my heart to see him.

“It is nice to have you join us queen Ifza, I am sorry to make you leave your chambers when you are still unwell but this is an important matter that concerns you and you need to hear about it urgently” the king said once I took my seat beside him, I could hear an edge to his voice, I turned to look at him and he had a small smile on his face, it was surprising what that little smile did to my stomach, I found that I could not hold his gaze so I averted my eyes and face straight ahead.

“What urgent matter might that be?” I said, trying to keep the emotions that were consuming me out my voice,

It was Jawhar that answered “During the days that you were unconscious, Gulshan had sent an assassin but luckily, the king was able to intercept him, so on the king’s orders, I sent a spy to Dulkhan and he returned last night with very important news” he said, he was looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face,

I hadn’t known that animal had sent an assassin or that it was king Humair who had stopped the assassin he sent.

“Queen Banafsha, the informant claims that the princess is alive, he claims that Junaina is alive” Jawhar said, his voice was softer now and I could see the emotions in his eyes, he was happy, very happy indeed,

I could not even move when I heard those words, I just sat still on my throne as the words kept playing in my head, Junaina was alive, she was alive, she was really alive, I did not bother to wipe the tears when they spilled out my eyes, I felt Junnut squeeze my hand, I was happy, beyond happy, I could hear Junnut crying behind me as well.

“Where is she?” I asked when I finally found my voice,

“I heard she is been held prisoner in the dungeons in Dulkhan, the king has decided that she must be rescued” Jawhar said,

I quickly turned to look at the king but he was not looking at me, he was staring at Jawhar with an unreadable expression, finally he cleared his throat and said “It is only natural that we rescue, she is queen’s sister after all”

“I will go myself” I said quickly,

This caused Humair to look at me quickly “I understand how you must feel right now queen Ifza but you must remember that you are unwell and if you undertake this journey, it is safe to say that you will not survive it” he said calmly, but I could hear the silent reproach in his voice,

It made me angry, was he telling me to seat back and do nothing? I turned to him angrily and said “Then what do you suggest I do your majesty? Should I seat back and do nothing?”

He had a calm expression on his face when he said “I am asking you to let me help you, neither you or the general can go to rescue your sister because you will both be recognized immediately you step foot in Dulkhan, you both have long history with the people and your chances of success are slight, so we will send general Jaan, he is skilled in rescue missions but he will need someone who can recognize the princess and someone who will not arouse suspicion”

He was making sense but I still felt angry that I was going to have to let someone else rescue Junaina while I sat back and did nothing.

“I will go with him” I heard Junnut say behind me,

I turned to her quickly as did everyone in the room “Junnut are you sure?” I asked her,

She smiled and said “I believe I am the perfect choice to go, I have never had any reason to meet with the soldiers of Dulkhan and I am very familiar with princess Junaina and most importantly, I can protect myself”

King Humair and Jawhar nodded their heads in agreement, I looked at general Jaan and he had an unreadable expression on his face, I didn’t want to let Junnut go but she was right, she was the perfect choice,

She smiled at me and said “I will be fine Banafsha, don’t worry”

Reluctantly I cleared my throat and said “Junnut can go with General Jaan”

“Then it’s decided, Nihal and Junnut will set out by first light tomorrow” king Humair said and I couldn’t help but feel bad that Junnut was doing this for my sake, I hoped she will be safe, I really did.