His Queen

Chapter 46

After I returned to her, I had helped her with her food and then she had made me bring out her dresses, dresses that she had not even looked at since we arrived, the king had sent a whole wardrobe of dresses and veil but she had not bothered with any of them, she only wore the simple dresses she had been given before the wedding and I had brought some along with me from Marwa so I found it very surprising that she suddenly wanted to see them now,

She had finally decided on a royal blue gown that had designs made with golden lace, the bodice was a bit snug on her, I knew her measurements by heart and I knew how a dress will look on her body just by merely looking at it, the dress was long and will surely kiss the floor as she walked, the sleeves were long, they were snug up until her elbows then came flowing down to her fingertips, the neck of the dress was attached to the shoulders of the dress, so from her neck to the top of her shoulders would be exposed, the entire dress was made of soft silk and laces of different types, it was surely a dress fit to be worn for a king.

But still I wondered why Banafsha wished to wear it, there was a time I knew all that went on in Banafsha’s head but recently, even I was usually left in awe at her behavior.

After selecting the dress, jewelries were sorted out and when I asked to show her the veils she would use with her dress, she had told me she would not be needing it for tomorrow, this was another shock to me, Banafsha had never seen the king without her veil on her head, even today, when he had come to dine with her, she had made me put on her veil before he arrived,

I could believe that Banafsha’s heart had shifted towards the king in just one meal together, a meal that had not ended up eating, a meal that the king had hurried out of and a meal that I had met Banafsha looking unlike herself.

Tomorrow’s events will no doubt be interesting to watch, I just hoped that Banafsha was not planning something that could get her in trouble with the king.

I had left her room and was now walking around lost in my thoughts, by the time I realized where I was going, I found myself in the garden, I had now idea I had come here, it seemed like I was already used to coming here and so I usually found myself here after a short walk.

I looked around, it was really my first noticing my surroundings, I usually sat in the clearing but a little ahead was a cluster of beautiful flowers that looked ethereal in the bright moonlight, tiny fireflies shone on them making the garden look like something out of a dream.

It was peaceful as I stood enjoying the cool breeze and watching the flowers as they moved in the breeze and the fireflies that shone above them.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” a deep voice said from behind me,

I turned around quickly, I knew it was him even before I turned around, I somehow knew his voice already, he stood there in a black kaftan and black matching trousers, tonight he had tied his hair just like it had been the first night I had seen him, he was looking up ahead into the twinkling lights, the faint light from the fireflies shone in his eyes,

He walked forward and stood beside me, I said nothing and kept staring ahead, we watched the beautiful night in silence,

“It gets even more beautiful in the raining season, the flowers covers the entire grounds, the scent of the flowers fills the air and the fireflies illuminate the whole garden, it is truly a beautiful sight” he said,

I turned to look at him and there was this faraway look in his eyes, it looked like he was recalling a memory from a long time ago, this gave me time to really look at his face, he had dark lashes and they were thick, he had high cheekbones and a well cut jaw, he was tall, very tall indeed, I was considered tall for a woman but as I stood beside him, my head only came up to his shoulder.

When he didn’t have that mocking smile on his face, he looked like a completely different person, he looked and gentle, looking at him closely, he was really pleasing to the eye.

I caught myself staring at him and quickly looked away, why did I behave like this with this man? I had never bothered to look at any man like I did with him, I had known Jawhar was a handsome man with great charisma but I had never behaved like this with him, I didn’t find myself staring at him like I just did with general Jaan,

I suddenly remembered who he was, he was the general of one of the greatest kingdoms, he was a close friend to the king and I was just the queen’s maid, I had to leave now, I had no business talking to him or even standing beside him,

I turned around and found that he was now looking at me, his eyes bored into mine, I found that I was drawn to those eyes, his dark eyes, with the faint green light in them, I had to leave here right now, I had no reason to be here with this man,

I stepped back quickly and bowed my head “I will my leave my lord” I said and turned to leave,

He rushed after me “My lord?” he said, it was a question, like he failed to understand why I was referring to him like that,

I cleared my throat and said “You are the General of the Army and thereby a noble and I am just a maid to the queen, I have no reason to stand here with you like this, so I must leave now my lord”

I watched as something crept into his face, it looked like what I said had hurt him, he opened his mouth to say something but then he closed it again,

I realized he had nothing to say, I bowed my head one more time and walked away,

“You don’t have to bow your head to me, I don’t want you to bow your head to me please” his voice cut through the silence of the night,

I stopped and turned to face him, he was looking at me like he had been doing a few moments ago, he took a few steps forward,

“I wish that you will talk to me like you always did, I am no lord or anything noble as you said, I am just a simple soldier and I do not deserve your respect” he said with a smile on his face,

The was the first time his smile looked genuine and once more, his face changed completely, he looked a lot younger and more pleasing to the eyes, I looked at his eyes as they looked into mine, in their depth, I saw emptiness.

I wanted to know why a man like him could have such a feeling in his heart, he looked like he had what most people dreamt of, he was strong and the entire army was under his control, the king was his close friend so I wondered why he looked like he did right now,

He looked like he didn’t want me to go, like he really wanted me to stay but I knew I could not stay, taking a deep, I walked out of the garden and the man in it.