The tangle of the forest in his hair,
The silence of the woodland in his eyes,

— Oscar Wilde

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Him

He splashes the water on his face and then cups his hands as the servant pours him more from the pot, splashing his face again with it. He wipes his face with a cloth before handing it back to the boy, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

"What upsets you?"

He looks at his friend who's standing at the door of the house. He stands up from where he's crouching on the ground and goes to undo the reins of his horse, adjusting its saddle.

"I don't know," he replies to him. "Maybe this desire for more upsets me. I cannot be happy."

"Or maybe it's the desire to be loved."

He smiles sardonically at his words and looks away. Every break of dawn puts the shackles at his feet. Every night that falls returns him his freedom. The constant pretense through the long years of ruling have tired him. He knows sooner or later, he'll have to give up on what doesn't rightfully belong to him.

"I see why I'm still restless. Because my desire cannot be met."

Her

The sun is shining feebly. The rain is no more falling. The day is rather cooler than the scorching heat of reality sizzling her life. Maybe it'll forever be that way-- the sky will be gentler than the earth to her.

Noura looks at Saleh, princess Maysoon's guard, who stands at her service, waiting for her command for him. Like before, Maysoon has proven to be a helpful companion, covering up for her and dismissing Eskander's guards so Noura can carry out whatever plans she has without anyone knowing.

The princess didn't ask her any questions, already knowing why she needs to go to the bazar when Noura mentions it. She had already told her in their previous conversation, but Maysoon doesn't bring up this friend of hers she's meeting, respecting her privacy.

"Saleh," Noura addresses the guard. "I'll be back in a while. Wait for me at the stand."

He tips his head. "As you please, sayidati. But please be watchful. The situation at the kingdom these days is not pleasant. I've received orders from the amira to take you back safely to the palace on time."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful and return shortly."

He takes the reins of both of their horses and walks away. She strides down the other direction deeper into the bazar where she knows she will find him. Noura pulls the hood of her cloak over her head to keep her face covered.

Like always, the crowd is thick and loud. She dodges bodies from bumping into her and makes her way to the the edge of the market where people are thin and he has asked to meet her. The note from the morning is clutched tightly in her fist. There are questions in her head, and this time he must answer them.

When Noura arrives at the familiar spot of a plank set over two cut barks of woods to make a bench, she finds it empty-- he's not there. Disappointment instantly begins to take roots into her as she looks around, hoping to find the stranger with bewitching eyes.

At first, she thinks of waiting for him there. Then realizing she only has limited time, she decides to search around for him. If she's fortunate enough, she'll find him. Otherwise she'll have no choice but to return to the palace with her dismay.

Noura gathers her dress and walks ahead to where a beggar is sitting at the corner of a street. When she approaches him, he looks up at her from the bread in his hand.

"Salam," she greets him. "I'm looking for a man. He has mismatched eyes, one blue and other brown. Do you know where I can find him?" she asks, hoping he'll be able to help her given she has run into the stranger multiple times at the bazar, meaning he's probably seen around. His eyes alone are enough to catch people's attention if not anything else so she expects he might know him.

"Abd al Hadi?" the beggar says.

Noura raises an astonished eyebrow. "Is that his name?"

"No. That's what they call him. Abd al Hadi-- servant of the Guide." He points to the bread and a pot of milk lying by his side. "He's guided by God; he serves the people with whatever little he has."

She blinks, completely baffled by what the poor man is telling him. The stranger she's looking for himself appeared rather poor to her himself.

"So," Noura asks curiously, "where do I find Abd al Hadi?"

"Around," he replies simply. "But who are you, sayidati?" The beggar studies her keenly. "And what do you want from him? He doesn't speak to anyone."

She cannot think of an excuse to come up with, but luckily she doesn't need to as the stranger, now Hadi in her mind, walks out of the street and they come face to face.

"You." Noura focuses on him. "I was looking for you. Thank God I found you."

The beggar looks behind him and grins. "My friend, here you are. This lady here was asking about you. Do you know her?"

Hadi doesn't answer him but keeps his stare fixed on her. He smiles faintly, and Noura cannot bring herself to return it.

Hadi. The name bothers her. There can be hundreds of men by the same name, yet a new thorn seems to prick her in the heart-- another riddle to solve.

"Can I speak to you about something?" she requests.

He nods and turns around, walking back the street he came out from. She hesitates, glancing at the beggar who's now busy eating his bread, then follows after him.

"Where are you going?" she asks him as he continues to make his way towards the other end. He doesn't respond. Noura clutches the dagger strapped to her waist.

"Hadi?" she calls him and he halts in his track, turning to face her now.

They're standing in the middle of the street and she makes sure too keep considerable distance between them. Noura stares into his luring eyes, one soft like earth after rain and the other gleaming like sea under sun. Whether they're a trap of innocence or an actual display of it, she cannot figure.

"Is that your name?" she inquires him for confirmation.

The man slowly shakes his head in denial.

"What is your name then?" she demands, and he doesn't reply, once more turning to walk at the other end of the street.

"Wait." Noura catches up with him. "I don't have much time."

He just points at the opposite side of the pathway as they come out of the street on the other end. Noura looks in the direction of his finger, finding a small house clustered among the others with jasmine flowers grown on both of its sides. On the outside it looks tiny, but the plants over its walls makes it appear beautiful nonetheless.

She cranes her neck back to him. "Is that yours?"

He smiles and nods, gesturing for her to follow him there.

"No," she quickly refuses, "I cannot."

He gives her a disheartened expression, and she sighs.

"Listen to me, you need to stop sending me these." Noura opens her hand where his note is lying atop her palm. "I don't know who you are, how do you know I live at the palace, or how do you deliver these to my chambers, but this can cause me trouble. You understand that, right?"

He only stares at her in response.

"I cannot come to meet you at the bazar whenever you wish me to," she explains. "This might create a misunderstanding and can create problems for you too."

He silently hears her out.

"We might have known each other in our childhood, but I don't remember you and you're unwilling to tell me your name." She ponders for a moment before adding, "I don't recall any Hadi I know of and you claim that's not your name."

He gazes at her a few lingering seconds before his eyes flick to the note in her hand.

"Do you promise not to send these again?" she urges.

He motions with his hands to say he needs to write down his reply, and she tilts her head in incredulity.

"I don't believe that you really can't speak."

He steals away his eyes.

"Talk to me, tell me who you are."

He meets her orbs again upon her request, his features terse but his own orbs sullen. The sunlight kisses his skin and highlights his scars, over his jaw and down his neck to where the mark disappears under the collar of his tunic.

For a fraction of time, she takes him a soldier rather than a man wandering in this bazar aimlessly. The thought scares her, but the tenderness of his look towards her keeps her rooted to her spot. Maybe these nameless glimpses of her past or the tranquility of her nostalgia paralyzes her against him, but at the same time the unpredictability of his identity unsettles her. She doesn't know whether she should solve this puzzle of a man or just leave when she still has time. She doesn't like her memory failing her about him.

He searches around for something, the picks up a stone and goes to crouch down by the jasmine plant. He begins to scribble something on the dusty sidewalk and Noura goes up to him to see it.

If I tell you who I am, will you come to see me again?

She reads the scribbling, then looks at him. "Why do you insist on me coming here to see you?"

To this, he only smiles softly, and removes his scribbling, writing something else now.

If you promise to seeing me, I promise I'll stop sending you the notes.

Noura hesitates, and he hopefully gazes at her, waiting for her agreement. But when she doesn't say anything, he stands back up, plucking a jasmine and holding it out to her, as if making a commitment to keep up with his tactic.

Flabbergasted, she can only blankly stare at him, until a voice that calls to her breaks her trance.

"Sayidati?"

Startled, Noura looks to her side to find Annas, the stable keeper, standing there, watching her with calculating eyes as his gaze flicks between her and the man, who, to her disadvantage, is still holding out the flower to her. She quickly takes a step back from him.

"Annas, w-what are you doing here?" she stutters, within a second her heartbeat going berserk at the myriad unfavorable possibilities that comes with Annas catching her red handed with a stranger in a compromising situation. The fact that he works for Eskander only makes it more disturbing for her. Noura feel her throat going dry and she swallows.

"Let's go, sayidati," Annas disregard her question, briefly glancing at the man who calmly observes everything, and Noura hurries after Annas, leaving the stranger behind with her riddle unsolved once more.

When they're out of the place making their way towards the stand, Annas speaks up again.

"Governor Fereydun sent me to run an errand for him. But why are you here, sayidati, and how do you know that man?" he asks suspiciously, queerly.

"I don't know him." She chews her lip uneasily. "I just ran into him."

"Where is Hafez? Did you come alone?"

"No, I came with Saleh. I insisted on Hafez to stay behind."

Annas gives her an anxious look. "Sayidati, there are rising riots across the kingdom, and it's not safe to go out alone. The general strictly ordered for your guards to be with you. He won't be pleased if he finds out."

"I won't make this mistake again." She smiles at him convincingly. "Can you please keep it to yourself?"

She cannot believe how manipulative she has become in the past few weeks. The risks she's taking and their consequences are adding up. Noura makes a mental note to take hold of them before everything comes crashing in her face.

Annas tips his head. "Just please be careful next time, sayidati. We're answerable to the caliph and the general in case of any mishap, and none of them are known to be forgiving."

Noura nods in embarrassment before changing the topic. "Were you here to deliver the governor's message to Hadi?"

Annas stiffens sightly, then replies to her, "Yes, sayidati."

He doesn't add more, so Noura proceeds to inquire, "The man you saw me with, I learnt he's called Abd al Hadi. Do you know him by any chance?" she mentions subtly, indirectly asking if they're the same people, but Annas shakes his head.

"I've see him at the bazar often when I come here, but that's not his name. I suppose since he doesn't speak and no one knows his name, the people gave him their own."

Noura contemplates over his words, too many missing pieces to still complete the portrait for her. "And the Hadi who is Eskander and Fereydun's friend, you come to him frequently I suppose?"

"Al Hadi," he says. "He's a merchant. The general aids him in trade. Since he's not here anymore, the governor is looking after his duties. The earnings they make are spent on the army."

Every response Annas gives her is measured-- if he gives away one thing, he hides hundred more from her. But she doesn't point it out, knowing the man is more loyal to his lords than her. So Noura stops her investigation once they arrive at the stand, where Saleh is waiting for her. He brings her her horse and mounts his own. Annas stays behind.

"You're not coming?" Noura asks him.

He shakes his head. "I still have to run the errand."

She just nods, not asking further, and snaps the reins of her horse, Saleh following after her as they make their way back to the palace.

When she arrives at her chamber, Hafez perks up in attention and comes rushing to her.

"Sayidati, thank God you're back. I was so worried." He exhales heavily in satisfaction.

Noura chuckles at his concern. "Who do you fear now, Hafez? Eskander isn't here anymore."

"But there is someone who has been looking for you. And I didn't know what to tell them where you went."

"Who?"

"Me."

Someone from behind her answers and she clenches her jaw in frustration at his voice. Noura takes a moment to gather herself before turning around to look at him.

"What do you want, Muawwiz?"

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Please Read

Hey, I've noticed some of you having certain confusions understanding a few things in the story. I haven't mentioned ages of my characters or difference of years between events in the book, so I've decided to give a briefing here:

• Noura's father serves caliph Khalid (father of Yusuf, Sulaiman, and Maysoon, but not Al Shafay).

• When Khalid dies, her father leaves the council, and so they leave the palace too. At that age, she's still a child.

• Yusuf, Khalid's eldest son, fights his uncle for the throne and claims it when he's only 16. So Yusuf is considerably older than Noura (thus not her playmate), but not old enough to have a son her age, meaning Al Shafay is not Yusuf's son.

• Arwa, Yusuf's wife, is older than Noura, but not so much to be her mother (more like an older sister). So the queen is still in her youth in the story.

• Al Shafay is a prince, son of one of Khalid's siblings, and not a rightful heir to the throne.

• The time span between the first rebellion (Yusuf against his uncle for the throne) and the second rebellion (Sulaiman against Yusuf for the throne) is considerable enough that Noura has grown out into her early adulthood.

• The time span from the second rebellion (when Al Shafay claims the throne) to the present time the story is taking place in is only a few years.

• Lastly, Eskander is not Noura's blood brother, and though they grow up like siblings, when he leaves to join the army once he grows out of his boyhood (during Yusuf's rein), he returns many years later for them to have their childhood bond faded. So if their relationship weirds you out, unfortunately it's completely normal to your author who's keeping it that way (:

If you still have any queries or confusion, feel free to drop them and I'll try to help you clear them. But if you have any theories regarding solving the mystery, then please excuse me for not answering them, as I could be leaving spoilers that might ruin the fun for others.

Happy reading and much love for your support.

PS: For teasers and excerpt of the book, you can check out my Instagram:

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