His Queen

Chapter 25

General Jawhar’s POV

I had been unable to sleep a wink yesterday night, I had stayed up all night thinking about what must have happened between Banafsha and king Humair, she had called out to me in the presence of everyone and if I was king Humair, I will be thinking all sort of things by now, I would have doubt in my mind,

Their marriage was new and so it was easy for him to easily distrust her, he was a man after all and so I was bound to understand him and he will no doubt be thinking right at this moment, I did not want to become a hindrance to their married life,

Banafsha was now a married woman and so I knew that the story she and I had come to an end, there could be nothing between us anymore, the one to protect and look after her was now king Humair and I knew he will protect her to the best of his ability, I had no doubt about that.

As soon as it was early enough, I will seek an audience with him and explain things to him, I could not allow Banafsha’s character to become a thing of question, she was a virtuous woman and I meant to inform the king about that.

I stood up to choose a cloth worthy of an audience with the king, when I finally found what I thought was nice enough, I went out to draw the water for my bath, I was surprised to see to that Haifa was seated outside with a basket in her hands, she had a grim expression on her face,

I had no idea what she was doing here so early in the morning, she stood up when she heard my movements,

“Greetings, it is quite too early for you to be here” I said,

She fidgeted with her basket for a few seconds before saying “Greetings general, I am here early because you failed to have your dinner yesterday, I had waited for your return but you didn’t come back so I came here as early as possible”

For a few seconds I didn’t know what to say to her, she stood there looking at the floor and fidgeting with her basket, today she wasn’t wearing her bright clothes, she was dressed in a pale blue dress and a white veil was wrapped around her head,

I walked up to her and she glanced at me shyly, I knew what she wanted and it was unfortunate that I couldn’t give her what it was she wanted from me, I didn’t have the strength to love another, I was a liar if I said that Banafsha was not in heart till this very moment,

“Haifa, I am sorry but I cannot give what it is you seek, my heart belongs to another already and it will bastardly of me to give you hope, I hope you can understand me please” I said,

Her eyes pooled with tears, she blinked and they slipped down her cheeks,

I had not expected her to start crying, I had nothing to say to her, I couldn’t give her hope and make her believe that something could happen in the future,

“I am sorry Haifa but you need to stop coming here, there is nothing for you here and there is nothing I can offer you” I said,

She said nothing as she gently placed the basket in her hand on the floor and turned away from me, the tears still streaming down her cheeks,

I watched her as she walked away then when she got to door and stopped “Eat your food, mother had told me it is wrong to skip meals” she said and rushed out.

I couldn’t understand why she was so bothered about me, she had only known me for a few weeks and she was already bothered whether I ate my meals or not, I picked the basket and turned to go inside, I believe I could have some food before I left, it was still very early after all.

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King Humair’s POV

The only reason I had been able to fall asleep last night was because I knew I was going to have a busy day, I had to visit the barracks, it was something I did every year, I visited the soldiers and had lunch with them and a tournament was usually held, there was usually a sword fight and archery tournament, there was always rewards for the winners, sometimes I participated, other times I just sat and watched the games,

Nihal sometimes participated and it seemed like he was participating this year, it was always an interesting affair which I always looked forward to but today, I felt I was in no mood for such excitement, I had a lot on my mind and this was not going to help me in anyway.

I was in my chambers reading a book or so I claimed because I had no idea what I was reading, I was just flipping through the pages absentmindedly, it was almost time for me to leave and I did not feel like going to the barracks at all.

I flipped through another page and once again read nothing, this was a frustrating situation indeed, I had never felt this way in my whole life, I had always prided myself on being able to keep my focus no matter what but right now, I was not so sure anymore, this was the first time in my life that I had something bothering and I could absolutely nothing about it.

“Your majesty, general Jawhar of Marwa seeks an audience with you” a voice called out,

Well this was interesting, he was the last person I expected to see, a small smile crossed my face as I said “Let him in”

There was silence for a few seconds then the door opened and general Jawhar walked in, he bowed his head and said “Greetings your majesty”

“Greetings general” I answered,

“I thank you for agreeing to see me on such notice your majesty” he said,

A small smile crossed my face when I said “Believe me general, if you hadn’t come to see me then I would surely have sought you out”

His face remained passive not betraying a single emotion, I liked people like him, they were difficult to read and I always an interesting time trying to understand people like him,

“I have come to discuss a very important matter with you your majesty, it is a matter I believe I should clarify before it becomes a serious one” he said,

I gestured for him to have a seat which he did, we sat on opposite chairs, facing each other,

“I believe I have an idea the issue you wish to discuss with me, I am also very curious about a lot of things so please speak comfortably and tell me everything” I said,

General Jawhar cleared his throat and said “whatever you think is going on between Banafsha, I assure you that it isn’t the case”

I leaned forward and folded my fingers underneath my jaw and said “And what do I think general?”

He met my gaze head on and said “Banafsha and I are not lovers, that’s what you are thinking I am sure”

A small smile curved my lips, the more I spoke to this man, the more I felt he was a person I could relate with “So if that’s not it, then please tell me what it is” I said,

“I am in love with Banafsha and I have been for a long time, I have proposed marriage to her many times and she had always rejected me because she had not felt the same way towards me, Banafsha had always thought of me as her family and nothing more, that is all there is between Banafsha and I” he said,

I had said this was going to be a very interesting conversation and it was turning out to be indeed.

I smiled because for some reason I believed this man, he didn’t look like the type to lie, I knew he was telling me the truth but just for the sake of clarification, I decided to ask one last question,

“And what of yesterday night? That was what had made me wonder from the beginning, I am just human and I am bound to ask questions” I said,

General Jawhar was quiet for a while, then he said “I am not sure why Banafsha acted that way but I can assure you that nothing is going on between Banafsha and I and nothing will ever happen, this much I can promise you”

A full smile swept across my face, there was nothing more to discuss, I stood up and said “I was supposed to attend an event in the barrack, come with me I am sure you will find it interesting” I said,

A small smile formed on his face and he said “I will be honored your majesty”

This seemed like the beginning of a wonderful friendship.