"all the hardest and coldest people you met were once as soft as water. and that's the tragedy of living - afra"
Afra had been trying very hard to sleep . Majorly since she hardly had devoured the peacefulness of sleep in a long time . From the day she had gathered the information about the royal order .
Now that she had seen and been through the most haunting time of her life , she had been feeling unenergetic and suddenly drained off from all the enthusiasm she had been using .
Unpacking her bag and changing into a comfortable and loose nightwear along with a large headscarf , she decided to head over to the kitchen to get some water and maybe a thing or two to munch on .
It was evident enough , according to her at least , that nobody would be down there at almost two in the morning . Well with the exception of ghosts who occupied the unoccupied part of the castle she was striving in at the moment .
"And of course , the best weapon would be the Masterpiece itself , Ayatul Kursi ." She sang to herself , typing her niqaab and blowing herself with the holy verses . "All hail to Allah !" She mimicked the voices of some great martyrs or tried doing that , before marching off for the battle .
"Seriously though , no wonder horror movies don't use jinns and Muslim based stories ." She chuckled to herself , climbing down the stairs carefully . "Just recite the Ayatul Kursi as the ultimatum weapon and BAM ! The end !"
She laughed as noiselessly as possible , walking around the staircase to take the kitchen hallway . As she walked down the dark lanes , humming her favourite nasheeds and abruptly turning over her heels every millisecond to make sure no one was following her , she heard some clinking .
She paused , watching as she gently swung the door to find Sulaaymaan in , trying to find something in the refrigerator .
"Oh shoot ! The ghost's - No , Sulaaymaan is there ! What do I do ?" She tapped her foot impatiently.
"I have clothes on . And Ayatul Kursi too . All I need to do is get some water and run for my life . Hard but you can do it girl !" She patted her back defensively , squaring her shoulders and walking in like a boss until her eyes fell on Sulaaymaan's pretty much healthy physique and height .
"So unfair !" She gritted her teeth and almost abruptly stopped and fell to the floor when she saw Sulaaymaan shut the fridge door , his eyes scrutinizing her from her feet to head before almost immediately dropping his gaze .
"Assalaamualaikum ." She heard his voice was different , much nasaly and croaky . She could not get much look from the angle she was standing at but he definitely sounded very sick .
"Walaikumusslaaam ." She muttered , watching him warm up leftover dinner .
She did not know anything about him kidnapping her and his very weird aura . In that moment all she saw was his dark pink nose that looked like it was blown off to its death , teary eyes and pale skin . She did not like him at all , but at the precise time , he was sick and any sick person could not be ignored .
"Let me help you with that Mr . Prince !" She squeaked , making him almost drop the spoon in his hand and look at her blankly .
"No no - "
"No ! You're sick . So please let me help you with that ." She argued , coming by his side despite her mental safety alarm switching on . When she did notice how close she was standing she stumbled back a few steps .
"It's alr - "
"Mr Prince , either you hand me that spoon right this instant or I'm going to pack on tonnes of foundation on your face and finish it off with lipstick and eyeshadows and make you walk around the castle scaring off the ghosts ." She blurred out in one breath , a hand at her knee as she bent over to catch her breath .
When she managed to stand upright , she noticed Sulaaymaan had a crooked grin on his face . It made her feel bad that his lips were badly cracked and partly bleeding .
"Our so called castle isn't that old to be considered as a home to inhumanely creatures just so you know ." He chuckled , walking over to the dining table and getting seated .
"I don't trust you ." Afra blurted , watching him out of a corner of her eyes . She had always taken notice of how Sulaaymaan would start staring at her sometimes making it all the more difficult for her to adjust to his presence .
Fifteen minutes later and Afra had arranged all the dishes she had warmed up rounded around him .
She seated a couple of chairs away and was constantly shifting in her position . The reason for he discomfort was unsure . Perhaps his presence could be blamed or the look of divine serenity on his face . She couldn't say. But all-in all it was him .
"How are you feeling ?" She asked , wanting to break the thickening tension in the air .
"Alhumdulillah , pretty fine . Good enough to be able to swallow real good ." He shot her a lopsided grin and Afra nodded .
She found herself staring at her own hands , trying to do anything to free herself from the discomfort of the uneasiness between them .
"Hmmm , what about you ? What are you doing down here at two in the morning ?" He questioned , taking a bite off of his bread , while his head causally was stuck in her direction .
She shrugged ."Came out to get some water ."
He nodded thoughtfully . "You can take your water and leave . I'll be gone in a few minutes too ."
"No no !" She almost shrieked , finding his eyes open wide . "I mean , it's bad manners to leave someone eating all alone . Besides you're sick , so I'll just clean up all this and then head back ."
She found him smile widely , this time a sincere one ."That's very considerate of you . Thank you."
She nodded , diverting her gaze from his emerald eyes . Not that they did anything to affect her in the least , but she wanted to stay as far away as possible from him .
'Cause it was Haraam !
The rest of the dinner , Afra watched his actions secretively . His hair , even though it looked rather unkempt, still wasn't as bad as she had been looking forward to . Surprisingly she loved his hair . It looked so gorgeous and had a remarkable sheen to it . Besides , she loved how it naturally swept across his forehead and dangled across his eyes like a shadow .
He had been eating relatively steadily , taking his time . Not that Afra minded that since he was pretty sick and she was not an early sleeper too . She watched him reach out more towards the soup she had warmed up , drinking it in satisfaction .
After what felt like an hour or more , he got up and started to carry along his dishes .
"I'll just put these away in the dishwasher before you start threatening me ." He smirked and in that moment , Afra found his face warmed up with that light pink undertone his skin had .
He was looking better .
He stood leaning against the wall , following her movements and Afra felt her moves were being scrutinized too closely for her to be able to move safely with antique dishes in her hands .
Her hands worked miraculously faster than at any other time . Before she knew it , she was grateful that she was done and could take leave .
"I'm done ! You should go to bed too . Take care . Assalaamualaikum and good night ." Afra babbled in single breath , her back to him all the time as she spoke over her shoulder .
Just as she was about to step outside , his voice stopped her in her tracks . "I hope you won't hate me too much . Your bread tasted good . So I'm looking forward to learn it from you ."
She felt her cheeks burn .
That night , Sulaaymaan had bet his heart that his mind wouldn't spare him even a wink .
The last few hours were very eventful and greatly unlooked for . He was not objecting it . But it sure did shake him up just in the right time when he was almost about to pass out with both the physical weakness and mental breakdown he had had a couple of hours prior .
He had found Afra standing at the kitchen door .
From the looks of it , it felt like she had been hooked up to that spot for quite a while . Until he turned over and she looked at him with widendd eyes .
Logically he did understand that she had probably come down for some water and would quietly go back . It surprised and ignited his burnt dreams with new hopes when she almost attacked him for not letting her warm up his dinner .
It was anyway really exhausting to prepare some dinner when he was dizzy but he did not want to bother her . Especially since he knew she hardly acknowledged his presence let alone actually like him .
So when she volunteered on her own , it came off asva miracle to him . He tried arguing with her so she would not do it just for the sake of it . But she was obdurate and had made him give up .
All the while he noticed her baggy and very comfy pajamas paired with an extremely long Hijaab that went till her knees . Even with her nightwear she looked very virtuous and discreet .
Her niqaab covered her face but failed to cover the light glowing through it . Something that he couldn't miss so easily .
Her eyes twinkled under the direct gaze of the lights switched on in that part . Sulaaymaan sat stunned at how engrossed she seemed in her work yet he could feel her body tensed every now and then .
She held the sweetness of Islam in her eyes , the modesty of Fatima Raziallahu Anhu , the vast knowledge of Islamic shariah and was always doing her best to impress and please the divine Lord .
He may not be perfect , but she was slowly changing him .
He was infact , totally flabbergasted by her etiquette and rich information on Islam in spite of being a revert . In this regardb, he was deeply ashamed of his actions and his eyes and the shaitaan lurking him into sneaking peeks at her or even making him constantly stare at her non stop .
He had to change .
He had to be a more appropriate man to be able to stand out as being worthy of respect and dignity from her . Of course , he was apprized of the fact that it was going to be a pretty good challenge since he was talking about the woman who stole my life .
Without her , he was dead .
As she placed the dishes around him , he felt her give him a quick smile before sitting a good feet away . That felt devastating to see but well , atleast they had some social time with each other .
During the entire course of dinner , he would give her atleast one glance . However this time , to make sure she was comfortable enough seated alone with him . Albeit he admitted that her hands were very appealing and he wanted to hold them among his large hands .
She was such an addiction .
The whole meal they only exchanged a few words , and Sulaaymaan could not miss the tension building up gradually in the air . He was eating slowly but once it hit him that she was pretty much in discomfort , he hurried up and once almost choked on his food .
Once done , he watched her gather up everything and clean the table and the kitchen and hurry up to her room without even giving him a glance .
One day .
One day he promised to himself that he'd make her his and drown himself in the water of love that was present in her eyes .