BENEATH THE BURNING SKY

Claim Her!

While the storm flogged the earth mercilessly and harsh winds swept through York, Noah found rest in a cafeteria close by. It had an interior that reeked of higher middle class, a purple hue forming its backdrop while several glistening glass chandeliers illuminated the enclave with yellow light.

He looked out the window lost in thought as raindrops slapped the roof-to-floor glass, casting a gloom outside, a reflection of what he felt inside. At this point, it was clear to him that he had become an ordinary man, a mere Zangi living in York where he should be hated.

To him, that Zangi warrior was gone, the one forged by the crucible of combat. He had seen so much death that it was apparent to him that soon, it would be his turn to join the ancestors. Hence, he must make amends for the path he took after his parents’ demise.

He barely even noticed the people in the same room with him. But after a while, a figure stood beside him, clearing her throat to attract his attention.

“Excuse me, sir,” her tiny voice caressed his eardrums.

“Mhmm?” He turned his attention to her, running his eyes from her toes to her head. She was clad in baggy worn out clothes, a brown face cap, with a nose mask. His brows raised as he wondered why she was all covered up.

“May I have your order please?” She continued, her voice more timid than her composure. It was so tender it melted his heart. The most spectacular thing he observed about her were her dreamy blue eyes. It almost stung him. His chest tightened.

“Elise!” An aggressive voice boomed from the counter. “Come here, immediately!” It was as if the owner of the voice had a grudge with whomever this Elise was.

“Stupid girl!” A plump woman stomped forward, grabbing Elise by her ragged clothes and pulling her away from Noah’s table. “How many times do I have to tell you to attend to my VIP customers first, huh? Do you not know that they are paying a premium?”

“I’m sorry, mum. I thought I had attended to them all…”

“Shut up!” A thunderous slap descended on her cheek, her cap falling off as a testament to the impact. Her rosy hair loosened, draping down her shoulders and Noah beheld her sleek, silky skin. However, the sight of her watery eyes killed him ten times.

Right on cue, a plus sized man in a branded yellow polo rushed out as well, grabbing her by the hair. “This is why no one wanted you. I tried everything possible to find you a husband, but you are as ugly as you are foolish.” He spat venom.

“I’m not ugly…” The girl burst into tears, unable to hold back the shame of embarrassment.

“Of course you are. Take a look at your deformed face!” The mother shot back. “If you are never going to get married, at least be useful here.”

“Of course she would get married! She must!” The father pulled her hair, moving several inches forward until he reached the very center of the enclave. He spread his arms with a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen,” he began. All eyes fell on him. “Don’t be carried away by this girl’s ugliness, she is so dumb her only expertise is to satisfy any man lustily. All we want is to get rid of her as she has cost us a lot.”

“But she is deformed,” a man’s voice echoed from the audience, and a peal of laughter rippled across.

“Oh, come on! It’s just the face. You can still make use of the waist.” He retorted, and the intensity of the laughter increased. “She got burnt by the fire ten years ago, when the house of Benson Noah was razed by the Zangi.”

This statement caused Noah’s pulse to spike! His eyes narrowed as the image of the girl who rescued him flashed by him. The resemblance was striking! Her silky skin…

“Before then she was a beauty and we had plans. Trust me, she will give you beautiful children.”

“I will take her!” Silence descended on the room as Noah sprung up to his feet. His no-nonsense expression is chilling, to say the least, as he focused on the fact that perhaps, life had given him a chance at redemption!

The father turns to him, a bright smile forming on his face. “For a price, of course. As you know, the custom for marriage requires that dowry be paid.”

“Then it would be.” He ambled forward, his frame intimidating all in the room as he grabbed his bride, pulling out the notes Pete had gifted him and handing it all to the man.

“Not a bad price,” the man smiled greedily, counting the notes. “I thought I would get less.”

“Low-life mongrel!” The mother bellowed from across the room. “Now you will live like a commoner all your life…”

“Enough!” Noah thundered, pulling the weeping Elise into his arms. “She may be a commoner, but I shall make her the happiest woman in the world. I swear it.” He proclaimed, but several cackles of laughter followed. He simply kissed his teeth, and exited the café, along with his new bride.