Episode 9
930 Words
The Crown of Light
The ancient chamber shook violently.
Stone dust poured from the ceiling.
A massive slab crashed onto the staircase, sealing the only visible exit.
Captain Hamza immediately rushed toward it, pushing with all his strength.
It didn't move.
Another thunderous c***k echoed through the chamber.
Small stones rained around them.
"We're trapped," Hamza muttered.
Emperor Zayan remained calm.
"No."
He looked around the forgotten chamber.
"Palaces built by the Falcon Dynasty always had a second escape route."
Arzoo remembered the murals they had passed.
"There was another corridor..."
"...behind the throne."
The emperor nodded.
"Exactly."
The three hurried deeper into the chamber.
Unlike the treasure room, this section had remained untouched for decades.
Silken banners hung in tatters.
Broken lanterns littered the floor.
Ancient portraits lined the walls.
Arzoo slowed her pace.
One portrait drew her attention.
A young queen sat beneath a flowering tree, holding an infant wrapped in emerald silk.
The queen's smile was gentle.
Her emerald eyes...
They were identical to Arzoo's.
She reached out, brushing the dusty frame.
Below the portrait, elegant Persian calligraphy read:
"Her Majesty, Queen Aaliyah of the Falcon Dynasty."
Arzoo whispered,
"My mother..."
Lady Ruqaiya's words...
The old scholar's confession...
Everything suddenly felt real.
Zayan stopped beside her.
He looked at the painting quietly.
"You have her eyes."
Arzoo swallowed hard.
"I don't even remember her face."
The emperor lowered his gaze.
"Perhaps..."
"...she wanted you to remember her heart instead."
Captain Hamza interrupted gently.
"Your Majesty."
"I found something."
Behind the royal throne stood another carved falcon.
Unlike the first mechanism...
This one had no handprint.
Instead...
There were three circular spaces.
One large.
Two smaller.
The emperor took out the recovered Imperial Seal.
It fit perfectly into the largest circle.
Click.
Nothing else happened.
"There must be two more seals," Arzoo whispered.
The emperor nodded.
"The first was recovered."
"The second was stolen."
He stared at the remaining empty space.
"And somewhere..."
"...a third still exists."
Suddenly—
Footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Not hurried.
Not hidden.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The three instinctively reached for their weapons.
A lone figure appeared beneath the torchlight.
An old man dressed in worn blue robes.
His white beard reached his waist.
He carried no sword.
No shield.
Only a wooden staff.
Captain Hamza immediately stepped forward.
"Stop!"
The old man smiled.
"I have no wish to fight."
The emperor narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
The stranger bowed respectfully.
"I have guarded this chamber..."
"...for twenty years."
Silence.
"No one knew anyone lived here," Hamza said.
"They weren't meant to."
The old man looked directly at Arzoo.
"I've been waiting for you."
Arzoo exchanged a cautious glance with the emperor.
"You know who I am?"
"I knew your mother."
His answer was calm.
"I carried you in my arms the night the palace burned."
Arzoo's heart raced.
"You were there?"
The old man nodded.
"I watched your father, Lord Ashraf, ride into the storm with you hidden beneath his cloak."
"He swore he would protect you."
"And he kept his promise."
Tears gathered in Arzoo's eyes.
"My father..."
"He wasn't my father by blood."
"No."
The old man's smile softened.
"But by love..."
"...he was more your father than many kings have ever been."
The emperor remained watchful.
"If you truly served the Falcon Queen..."
"Then answer one question."
The old man met his gaze.
"Ask."
"What is the Crown of Light?"
For the first time...
The old man's smile disappeared.
He leaned upon his staff.
"It is not a crown."
"It is a judgment."
Neither Zayan nor Arzoo spoke.
The old man continued.
"The Crown of Light is an ancient relic created to reveal the truth."
"It cannot make someone king."
"It cannot give power."
"But it can expose every lie."
Captain Hamza frowned.
"Then why hide it?"
"Because rulers fear truth more than swords."
The old guardian slowly approached Arzoo.
From beneath his robe, he removed a small crystal pendant.
Inside the crystal rested a tiny golden feather.
"The Queen asked me to give this to her daughter..."
"...if she ever returned."
He placed it gently into Arzoo's hands.
The moment her fingers touched the crystal...
A warm glow spread through it.
The chamber brightened.
Ancient carvings on the walls shimmered.
The emperor stared in silence.
"So the legends were true."
The guardian nodded.
"The Falcon blood has awakened."
Without warning—
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
The old guardian's eyes widened.
"They found us."
A crossbow bolt flew from the darkness.
This time...
The emperor reacted instantly.
He pushed Arzoo aside.
The bolt struck the stone pillar behind her.
Then another.
And another.
Masked soldiers flooded into the chamber from a hidden tunnel.
Far more than before.
Nearly fifty.
Their leader stepped forward slowly.
He removed his mask.
Captain Hamza froze.
"No..."
"It can't be."
Arzoo looked at the man's face.
He wore the uniform of an Imperial General.
The emperor's trusted military commander.
General Rashid.
One of the empire's greatest heroes.
The emperor's expression turned cold.
"So..."
"It was you."
General Rashid smiled without shame.
"I served your father."
"I served your grandfather."
"But I never served you."
The chamber fell silent.
Rashid slowly drew his sword.
"The Falcon heir has returned."
"The old guardian still lives."
"And now..."
"...both problems end tonight."
The emperor raised his own blade.
His silver eyes never wavered.
"You'll have to go through me first."
General Rashid smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
He lifted his sword.
"Kill them."
Fifty assassins charged forward.
— End of Chapter 9 —
- Writer
